Bryan Cranston is the legendary, and legendarily blacklisted, screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in the newly released trailer for Trumbo (and, incidentally, in the full film!). And thus, with such a notion comes a whole lot of biopic-worthy strife, hairdos and, as trailers go, inspirational-but-decontextualized/fragmentary moments of fervor. The film, directed by Jay Roach (of the Meet the Parents and Austin Powers films) centers on the determination of Trumbo to maintain his artistry and integrity while under the immense political pressure of the Hollywood witch hunts of the McCarthy era.
Trumbo spent 11 months in prison when he wouldn’t testify for the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, and afterward began ghostwriting Academy Award winning films such as Roman Holiday and The Brave One. (Prior to his being blacklisted, he’d received an Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay for the Ginger Rogers film, Kitty Foyle).
In the film, Helen Mirren plays an adversarial force for Trumbo— gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, a staunch conservative and huge supporter of the Un-American Activities Committee. Trumbo also stars Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Diane Lane, David James Elliott, Alan Tudyk and Michael Stuhlbarg, most of whom you can watch make a very serious proclamation and/or facial expression in the trailer.
Watch the trailer (presented by Bryan Cranston):
The film is out November 6. (Via Deadline)