July 18, 1969. U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy had just left a party when he drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. Senator Kennedy was able to escape; however, his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, a young political aide, was left to die in the accident.
Senator Kennedy swam to shore, went back to his hotel room, changed into dry clothes and went to bed, while Kopechne was left in the submerged vehicle. Nine hours later he reported the accident to authorities.
Kopechne’s body and the car were finally recovered by divers the next day. Kennedy pleaded guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of a crash after causing injury and later received a two-month suspended jail sentence.
Apparently Hollywood thinks this would make a great movie sympathetic to the plight of Senator Kennedy because Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson is in talks to direct it and here’s what THR had to say about it.
From the Hollywood Reporter:
Written by Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan, Chappaquiddick is political thriller that unveils the true story of what is described as the seven most dramatic days of Senator Ted Kennedy’s life.
On the eve of the moon landing, Senator Kennedy becomes entangled in a tragic car accident that results in the death of former Robert Kennedy campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne. The Senator struggles to follow his own moral compass and simultaneously protect his family’s legacy, all while simply trying to keep his own political ambitions alive.
Is this banana land? Are they really going to make this a sympathetic piece aboutTed Kennedy?
Film producer Marc Ciardi promises:
“You’ll see what Senator Ted Kennedy had to go through.”
Wow!
I checked three times, this isn’t an Onion article!
The film is described as “a political thriller” that will apparently “unveil the true story” of “the seven most dramatic days of Senator Ted Kennedy’s life.”
