Chris Pine Has Signed On to Play Walter Cronkite in NEWSFLASH, JFK Assassination Drama

Chris Pine has been hired to play the iconic CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite in the upcoming drama Newsflash. The film will follow the events of November 22, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Texas, and the way that event changed the world of news television, leading the country to feel that Cronkite’s iconic voice was one of the most trusted in America.

Mark Ruffalo is set to play Cronkite’s producer, Don Hewitt, who played a huge role in the pivotal time in news history. The film is still looking for a director to take on the historical drama. The script was written by Ben Jacoby, and Deadline reports the following synopsis: “Cronkite, Hewitt, their boss Jim Aubrey, and Dan Rather, a young news man who happened to be in Texas and who first distinguished himself as a dogged reporter as he and other journalists frantically dug for truth after reports went over the wire that gunfire rang out in vicinity of the president’s motorcade.”

This sounds like it will be a major undertaking for an experienced filmmaker. I am excited to see Pine and Ruffalo in these roles, especially to hear Pine get that iconic Walter Cronkite voice right. I’m always interested in movies that take on this time period, and it’ll be fascinating to see it from another point of view. With the talent already on board, I’m sure Newsflash will end up being an all-star film. We will keep you posted.