Meryl Streep
© AFP/File Vincenzo Pinto LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Streep, 56, who has won two Oscars and been nominated for a record 13, will play Martha Mitchell, the whistle-blowing wife of former US attorney general John Mitchell, in a celluloid version of John Jeter's play "Dirty Tricks."
Martha Mitchell became famous during the scandal that led to Nixon's 1974 resignation to avoid impeachment, for her revealing late-night telephone calls to journalists that earned her nicknames such as "the mouth that roared."
Her revelations to journalists, including Bob Woodward, who broke news of the Watergate scandal, and veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas firmly implicated her husband in the scandal.
The creator of the hit television show "Nip/Tuck," Ryan Murphy, will write and direct the film that will be produced for Hollywood's Paramount Pictures by movie icon Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner of Plan B Productions, Daily Variety said.
Annette Bening
© AFP/File Tim ClaryOscar-nominated actress Bening will play Thomas, who worked for United Press International, while Paltrow with take on the role of Maureen Dean, the wife of White House counsel John Dean, who stood firmly by her husband when he was dragged into the fray.
Veteran actress Jill Clayburgh will play the president's wife, Pat Nixon, who grew to loathe Mitchell for destabilising the presidency, according to Variety.
Nixon's administration did its best to silence southern belle Martha Mitchell with a series of "dirty tricks" after she began speaking too freely about the events surrounding the political firestorm.
Murphy put up his own money to option the screen rights from playwright Jeter after seeing "Dirty Tricks" on stage last year, Variety said.
"John (Jeter) loved my idea for the movie, the focus on a period in the country when both feminism and political corruption exploded in Washington," Murphy told the industry bible.
Streep won a best actress Academy Award for 1982's "Sophie's Choice" and best supporting actress for 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer."
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