Cranston-starring play 'All The Way' picked up by HBO Films
The US network branch is backing a screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play about Lyndon B. Johnson.
Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad" and "Godzilla" will retain his leading role as US President Lyndon B. Johnson, with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment acting as production company, Variety reports.
Written by Robert Schenkkan, who will also adapt for HBO, the storyline follows LBJ during his first year in office, 1963/64 -- a year that saw him deal with succeeding John F. Kennedy, negotiate the US's controversial involvement in Vietnam and set the Senate on its way to outlawing racial segregation.
The original, which was Cranston's Broadway debut, saw him receive the 2014 Tony for Best Actor in a Play, while the work itself was deemed Best Play, meaning that it took both categories for which it was nominated.
Schenkkan has previously written the film adaptation of "The Quiet American" as well as for 2004 TV movie "Spartacus," a mini-series adaptation of Michael Crichton's "The Andromeda Strain" and 2010's "The Pacific." Cranston will soon appear in animated movie "Kung-Fu Panda 3" and 1950s Hollywood thriller "Trumbo."
