Matt Damon to star in John Krasinski’s The King of Oil
Deadline is reporting that Academy Award winner Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, The Martian) is currently in negotiations to star in The King of Oil, produced by John Krasinski’s (A Quiet Place, Jack Ryan) Sunday Night Productions banner for Universal Pictures. The project would reunite Damon and Krasinski who previously worked together on Manchester By the Sea and Promised Land.
The King of Oil is based on the autobiography The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich, written by Daniel Ammann. Rich was a fugitive billionaire commodities trader that was pardoned by President Bill Clinton on his last day in office in a controversial decision. Rich, a child of the Holocaust, became the richest and most powerful commodities trader of the century. In 1983, he was indicted on 65 criminal counts, including tax evasion. Ammann’s book revealed details on Rich’s illegal dealings with Iran during the hostage crisis and much more.
Damon would play the pardoned Rich, who died in 2013 at the age of 78. The outlet notes that Krasinski may step in to direct the film but the director for the project has not yet been confirmed.
The three-time Emmy nominated Krasinski recently directed, co-wrote, and starred in the massive horror hit A Quiet Place and will play Jack Ryan in Amazon’s upcoming series, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. His other credits include Detroit, 13 Hours, and The Office.
Damon’s next onscreen project is the biographical drama Ford v. Ferrari starring alongside Christian Bale and Jon Bernthal based on the true story of the battle between Ford and Ferrari to win Le Mans in 1966. His recent credits include Deadpool 2, Suburbicon, and Downsizing.
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