Kerry Washington, Wendell Pierce, and Greg Kinnear star in HBO Films’ Confirmation; the story of the Supreme Court nomination hearings for Clarence Thomas.
In the summer of 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Judge Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court of the United States; he was slated to replace retiring Justice Thurgood Marshall. During the confirmation hearings we met attorney Anita Hill who accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.
These proceedings which had many glued to their televisions and consuming every article they could, were volatile and deeming, but it gave the world a glimpse into how survivors of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and lewd behavior are often treated, and became a true turning point in the advancement of workplace equality and “forever changed the way we think about sexual harassment, victims’ rights and modern-day race relations.” Now Kerry Washington as an executive producer and lead in the upcoming HBO Films’ Confirmation will reenact this pivotal moment in American history for audiences in April 2016.
Kerry will portray law professor Anita Hill, alongside Wendell Pierce as Judge Clarence Thomas and Greg Kinnear as Democratic Senator Joe Biden. Senator Joe Biden (now Vice President of the United States of America) presided over the hearings as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Jeffrey Wright brings his talents to cast as he portrays Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree, Professor Hill’s lead attorney during the proceedings. Rounding out the Team Hill supporters are Erika Christensen who plays Shirley Wiegand, Hill’s close friend and Kimberly Elise as Sonia Jarvis, a civil rights attorney on the Hill’s legal team. Jennifer Hudson will portray Angela Wright, another woman who accused Thomas, but was never called to testify before the Judiciary Committee.
More talented individuals are in the cast of Confirmation: Eric Stonestreet will portray Ken Duberstein, a Washington lobbyist hired by President George H. W. Bush to promote Judge Thomas’ confirmation; Dylan Baker plays Republican Senator Orrin Hatch; Malcolm Gets plays Republican Senator Arlen Specter; Grace Gummer plays Ricki Seidman, aide to Senator Edward Kennedy; Zoe Lister-Jones portrays Carolyn Hart, an aide to Senator Biden; Peter McRobbie portrays Republican Senator Alan Simpson; Treat Williams plays Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy; and Alison Wright portrays Ginni Thomas, Judge Thomas’ wife.
Confirmation was directed by Rick Famuyiwa and written by Susannah Grant. Some of the other crew members are director of photography Rachel Morrison; editor Dirk Westervelt; production designer Stephen Altman; composer Harry Gregson-Williams; and costume designer Hope Hanafin. The production team includes executive producers: Michael London, Janice Williams, Kerry Washington, and Susannah Grant; Darren Demetre is the producer; and this is a HBO Films presentation of a Groundswell Production in association with ABC Signature Studios.
Stay tuned for all the news that We So Nerdy will bring you over the coming months, and know we will live tweet Confirmation when it airs exclusively on HBO in April.