Seth Rogen to play Walter Cronkite in JFK assassination film

Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Seth Rogen will play Walter Cronkite in a new film about President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

The 35-year-old actor will portray the former UPI reporter and trusted CBS anchorman in the movie Newsflash, which centers on the CBS coverage of Kennedy's death in 1963.

Cronkite, who was named the anchor of CBS Evening News in 1962, announced Nov. 22, 1963, that Kennedy had been shot in Dallas, Texas. The subsequent coverage helped establish Cronkite as "the most trusted man in America," although NBC was the first to report the president's death.

Cronkite was reading on air the dispatches from the UPI news wire, written by Merriman Smith, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage. The book Bulletins from Dallas by Bill Sanderson tells Smith's story.

Deadline reported the film will revolve around Cronkite, producer Don Hewitt, CBS President Jim Aubrey and a young Dan Rather, who later became a well-known news anchor. Sources said Mark Ruffalo and Bryan Cranston are being considered for Hewitt and Aubrey, respectively.

Ben Jacoby penned the script, with Stronger helmer David Gordon Green on board as director. Greg Silverman will produce through Stampede Ventures alongside Adam Kolbrenner of Madhouse Entertainment.

Newsflash marks a dramatic turn for Rogen, who is known for such films as Pineapple Express, Neighbors and The Interview. He most recently appeared in The Disaster Artist alongside James Franco.