Bill Pullman Elected To Join Rob Reiner’s ‘LBJ’

 Bill Pullman has signed on to play Sen. Ralph Yarborough in Rob Reiner’s LBJ, joining Woody Harrelson and Richard Jenkins in the pic about LBJ’s ascent to the presidency and passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act. Filming is set to begin in September on location in New Orleans, Dallas and Washington, D.C.

The script by Joey Hartstone centers on the political upheaval Vice President Johnson (Harrelson) faced when he was thrust into the presidency after JFK’s assassination in November 1963. With political battles on both sides of the aisle, Johnson struggles to heal a nation and secure his presidency by passing Kennedy’s Civil Rights Act. Pullman will play Yarborough, the famed progressive Democrat from Texas who was often at odds with the President despite their common roots. They were in the car together in Dallas when JFK was killed. Jenkins is playing Sen. Richard Russell.

 Acacia Entertainment, Savvy Media Holdings, Castle Rock Entertainment and Star Thrower Entertainment are producing the pic, with Matthew George producing with Reiner, Liz Glotzer, Michael R. Williams, Tim White and Trevor White. The project is being financed by Acacia, Savvy, Tadross Media Group, Parkside Pictures and ITS Capital. Martin Shafer, Elizabeth A. Bell, Danny Roth, Damiano Tucci, Michael Tadross Jr., Chris Conover, Allan Mandelbaum and Julie May are executive producing.

Pullman is next up in the films American Ultra and Brother In Laws and is now shooting Independence Day 2. He is repped by ICM Partners and Anonymous Content.

Voltage Pictures is handling international sales and CAA domestic.