Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski were set to executive produce an HBO movie about Roger Ailes, according to a Deadline Hollywood exclusive. As of Thursday, however, HBO has decided not to proceed with the project.
The site's Nikki Finke reports that the "Morning Joe" co-hosts had signed as executive producers for the film, which would be based on Gabriel Sherman's upcoming biography about Ailes. A source had described the movie, saying, "HBO prefers to take on Fox News through Ailes. The idea is that it should make Fox News look like a Mafia, and you get into this through Ailes, sidestepping Murdoch, not approaching the story head on."
On Thursday, HBO Films President Len Amato told Finke that the company will not pursue the Ailes movie. "It had become clear to us before even receiving a script that due to our company’s CNN affiliation the film could never be seen as objective,” he said via email.
Sherman, media writer for New York magazine, has written extensively about the Fox News CEO. He penned a cover story about Ailes' objectives for the 2012 election, which the network hotly contested, last year.
The upcoming biography has been a thorn in Ailes' side for some time now. There were reports that Ailes was trying to expedite the publication of a competing book by conservative writer Zev Chafets. In June, a local newspaper owned by Roger Ailes canceled Sherman's subscription — and also canceled his wife's subscription after she tried to sign up.
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