Academy-Award winning writer and renowned playwright, Aaron Sorkin’s works include the Broadway play (and later, the movie) A Few Good Men, television series The West Wing and The Newsroom, and feature films The American President, Charlie Wilson’s War, Moneyball, Steve Jobs, and The Social Network, for which he won an Academy Award. Sorkin is up for two Golden Globe Awards on Feb. 28, receiving nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay for The Trial of the Chicago 7.
NPC Virtual Newsmaker: "The Trial of the Chicago 7"
Feb 18 2021
WHEN:
Feb 18, 2021 at 8:00pm
WHERE:
Online
CONTACT INFO:
Lindsay Underwood
MORE INFO:
NPC Newsmaker
In the summer of 1968, just a few days before the start of the Democratic National Convention and mere months after the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Chicago to protest the War in Vietnam and what they believed was a broken democratic system. What was supposed to be a peaceful protest turned into a violent clash with police and the National Guard. By the convention’s end, hundreds of protestors had been injured and arrested, and eight of the protest’s organizers were indicted for violating the Rap Brown law and put on trial. They became known as the Chicago 8 -- and after a mistrial was declared for Bobby Seale -- the Chicago 7.
On February 18, the 51st anniversary of the trial’s verdict, Aaron Sorkin, the writer and director behind the film The Trial of the Chicago 7, and stars Sacha Baron Cohen (“Abbie Hoffman”) and Eddie Redmayne (“Tom Hayden”), will join National Press Club President Lisa Nicole Matthews for an in-depth discussion on the legacy of the Chicago 7 and the movie’s relevance today following a year of massive protests and America’s long-overdue reckoning with systemic racism.
This NPC Newsmaker will stream this Thursday, February 18 at 8:00 p.m. ET on the Club’s website and YouTube Channel, and is accessible to both the media and members of the general public free-of-charge.
The Panel
Aaron Sorkin (Screenwriter, Director)
Sacha Baron Cohen (“Abbie Hoffman”)
Sacha Baron Cohen is a prolific actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of the outlandish characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, Admiral General Aladeen and, more recently, Erran Morrad. Baron Cohen is nominated for three Golden Globes this year, earning recognition for his portrayal of Abbie Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7 (which also netted him a SAG Award nomination), and nods for both acting and producing for Borat Subsequent Movie Film.
Eddie Redmayne (“Tom Hayden”)
Eddie Redmayne is an award-winning actor best known for his roles in My Week with Marilyn, The Danish Girl, the musical Les Miserables, and his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, for which he won the Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. On the London stage, Redmayne won an Oliver Award and a Tony Award for his role in John Logan’s Red.