Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment Acquires N. American Rights To Rob Reiner’s LBJ starring Woody Harrelson

Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment announced today that it has acquired all rights for the U.S. and Canada for director Rob Reiner’s LBJ starring Woody Harrelson in the role of the bombastic 36th President.

The film also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Richard Jenkins, Bill Pullman, Jeffrey Donovan and Michael Stahl-David, and was produced by Reiner, Matthew George, Liz Glotzer, Trevor White and Tim White. LBJ had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and is set for a theatrical release in 2017.

The deal was brokered by Electric Entertainment’s Head of Domestic Distribution, Zac Reeder and by CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.

After powerful Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson (Woody Harrelson) loses the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination to Senator John F. Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan), he agrees to be his young rival’s running mate. But once they win the election, despite his extensive legislative experience and shrewd political instincts, Johnson finds himself sidelined in the role of vice president. That all changes on Nov. 22, 1963, when Kennedy is assassinated and Johnson, with his devoted wife Lady Bird (Jennifer Jason Leigh) by his side, is suddenly thrust into the presidency. As the nation mourns, Johnson must contend with longtime adversary Attorney General Bobby Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David) and one-time mentor Georgia Senator Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins) as he seeks to honor JFK’s legacy by championing the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“This is exactly the kind of film that Electric’s domestic division was created for, and we couldn’t be more excited to work with Rob Reiner and Woody Harrelson as we bring this engrossing and timely picture to North American audiences,” said Electric CEO Dean Devlin.

“Rob Reiner is one of the great American directors; together with Woody Harrelson’s mesmerizing performance, they have created an incredible portrait of the 36th President. We are very excited to be working with Dean Devlin, Zac Reeder and the team at Electric,” said Matthew George.

This marks the latest release for Electric Entertainment’s newly created domestic division, which also released the Tribeca Film Festival title THE BOOK OF LOVE starring Jason Sudeikis, Jessica Biel and Maisie Williams on January 13th, 2017.

Reiner is currently directing the Iraq War political drama SHOCK AND AWE from LBJ screenwriter Joey Hartstone, which stars Jessica Biel, Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, James Marsden and Milla Jovovich.

Harrelson can currently be seen in the Sundance Film Festival premiere WILSON, which debuted at the fest in January, and the upcoming WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. He has also recently been cast in the forthcoming STAR WARS standalone HAN SOLO film.