Woody Harrelson will be the next Hollywood actor to portray former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, in a production that will bring filming to Baton Rouge later this year. LBJ will be directed by Rob Reiner, with filming to begin in September. Along with Baton Rouge, the movie will also be shot in New Orleans, Dallas and Washington D.C., the film’s producers announced this morning.
Harrelson joins the ranks of several other actors who have portrayed the 36th president on the big screen, including Tom Wilkinson, Liev Schreiber and Bryan Cranston. LBJ is being produced by Acacia Entertainment, Savvy Media Holdings, Castle Rock Entertainment and Start Thrower Entertainment. The script is by Joey Hartstone, and it centers around the political upheaval Johnson faced when he was sworn into presidency hours after former President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963.
This morning’s announcement comes as another movie that was partially shot in Baton Rouge—Jurassic World—is making a killing at the box office. As the Los Angeles Times reports early tracking suggests the film, which racked up a record-breaking $208.8 million in the U.S. and Canada through Sunday, could add $90 million in its second weekend. The film has also vaulted Universal Pictures to No.1 among studios in ticket sales so far this year.
In January, Baton Rouge was named the nation’s best “small city” to live and work as a filmmaker by industry publication Moviemaker.
The announcement also comes as leaders in the film industry here are asking Gov. Bobby Jindal to veto a bill passed in the recently ended Legislative session that caps film tax credits at $180 million per year. Average annual spending on the film tax credit has been $271 million since 2011.
—Deanna Narveson
