By Jake Coyle
AP Film Writer
NEW YORK — Sean Penn will direct a movie about a police officer who was at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in 2021, Warner Bros. announced Tuesday.
Following his Oscar-winning performance in “One Battle After Another,” Penn will direct the as-yet untitled film from his own script. Bradley Cooper is in talks to star, though no deal has been finalized.
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Representatives for Penn and Warner Bros. didn’t comment Tuesday on the movie’s protagonist but said he’s based on a real person.
When Penn attended the 2022 hearings of the House Select Committee investigating the deadly attack on the Capitol, he sat between Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police officers Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges, both of whom responded to the attacks.
Fanone testified that he rushed to the scene and was “grabbed, beaten, tased, all while being called a traitor to my country.” The assault, which stopped only when he said he had children, caused him to have a heart attack. Hodges also testified about his harrowing experience.
At the hearings, Penn said he was attending as “just another citizen” to observe and see if justice would be served.
The film is described as being about “an unexpected friendship.” Production is expected to start mid-2027.
