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‘MAN of Steel,” “Wolverine”. . . every superhero needs an origins movie. Now the world has waited long enough. It’s time to see how Hillary Rodham Clinton got her superpowers.
“Rodham,” a highly touted screenplay by newcomer Young Il Kim about Hillary during her late 20s when she was dating Bill and assisting the Watergate investigation, was included on the most recent “Black List” of Hollywood’s most-liked unproduced scripts. It’s currently gearing up for production amid rumors that whoever scores the title role is guaranteed heavy consideration for an Oscar. “Great Gatsby” star Carey Mulligan, who has experience playing a figure of fascination married to an adulterous lout, was initially said to be a front-runner, but is now saying she’s not interested.
So who will step into Hillary’s sensible shoes? Among those rumored for the role of Ms. Rodham in her days as a single young lawyer are Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Amanda Seyfried and Emma Stone, plus Jessica Chastain, who’s distanced herself from the project.
Let’s take a look at some of these options and then consider the dark-horse candidates nobody is talking about — yet.
REESE WITHERSPOON
Pluses: Has already played an astonishingly successful and devious politician in “Election,” a resourceful schemer in “Vanity Fair” and a canny Washington operator in “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.”
Minuses: Too girly, too nice. Plus, it would be weird for the woman who played June Carter Cash to play the woman who said, “I’m not sitting here like some little woman standing by my man, like Tammy Wynette.”
SCARLETT JOHANSSON
Pluses: Curvy, sultry, smoky-voiced and bedroom-eyed. Exactly how you’ve always thought of Hillary! Hey, when that 3 a.m. phone call happens, who better to be on the line with than ScarJo?
Minuses: Let’s be careful here. We don’t want Hillary Rodham’s foxiness to distract us from her very real professional accomplishments. Stop treating her like a fantasy object, guys.
AMANDA SEYFRIED
Pluses: Mamma mia, but Seyfried is everywhere these days, from innocent Cosette in “Les Misérables” to not-all-that-innocent Linda Lovelace in the upcoming “Lovelace.” She’s definitely got the sizzle to take on a big part, and she has acting chops. Moreover, having starred on the polygamy drama “Big Love,” she has lots of experience with stories about women who have to learn how to share their man with lots of others.
Minuses: Incessant smiley perkiness is a drawback when you’re aiming to play a ’70s Wellesley feminist who is described in the script as “the valedictorian of the ‘look-like-s – – t school of feminism.’ ”
EMMA STONE
Pluses: She’s one of the hottest actresses of the moment. In “Gangster Squad” she was fought over by Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn, just like Hillary, in the script for “Rodham,” is torn between future Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and the Bill she’ll wind up marrying.
Minuses: Too boring. Hillary is never boring, unless you’re talking about the laser vision that drilled into senators on the Foreign Relations Committee, which tried to trip her up over the Benghazi fiasco.
JESSICA CHASTAIN
Pluses: A great choice, if she’s interested. As she showed in her punky turn in “Mama” and her hilarious Southern belle in “The Help,” she’s got range, and that’s not even including her stellar, brittle, icy, stubborn, exasperating work in “Zero Dark Thirty.” Chastain’s one of the best actresses working, and she’d be able to bring out the many layers of Hillary Rodham.
Minuses: None, really. Except Chastain gives off a real method-acting vibe. We wouldn’t want her to explode from the intensity of transforming herself into Hillary.
ADELE
Pluses: She’s ballsy. She’s blond. She’s about the right age, she’s charismatic, she’s enduring, she sets fire to the rain. No one messes with Adele. You can smell the determination that made Bill Clinton look beyond the Coke-bottle glasses and sense he had met his match.
Minuses: Unfortunate habit of talking like an extra in “Oliver Twist” could be a drawback when playing a Midwestern girl.
LADY GAGA
Pluses: Out-of-the-box choice. Would whip up some much-needed publicity. And don’t tell me she has no acting experience. Wouldn’t it be fun to see her in polyester pantsuits?
Minuses: Playing a young operator destined to become the most powerful woman on Earth would be a step down for Gaga, who is too gigantic for any one planet.
DENNIS RODMAN
Pluses: Is at ease in drag, has international diplomatic experience after his recent trip to North Korea and is known for intimidating opponents. Also: The poster tagline writes itself: “Dennis Rodman Clinton.”
Minuses: Too old.
AND THE WINNER IS…
JESSICA CHASTAIN
She can do tragic and wounded, she can do intensely prepared, she can do angry. When you’re destined to be married to Bill Clinton, you’ll need all of those things and maybe the gift for interrogation Chastain showed off in “Zero Dark Thirty.”