Greg Kinnear has signed on to star as President John F. Kennedy in History’s upcoming — and controversial — miniseries “The Kennedys.”
Kinnear will lead an all-star cast that also includes Katie Holmes as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Barry Pepper (“Saving Private Ryan”) has been tapped to play Robert Kennedy and Tom Wilkinson (“John Adams”) has signed on to appear as family patriarch Joe Kennedy Sr.
“When History announced this ambitious project in December, our goal was A-list auspices behind and in front of the camera,” said History prexy/GM Nancy Dubuc — a day after Dubuc added oversight of Lifetime to her duties. (It’s been a good week for Dubuc, who’s also celebrating April as History’s most-watched month ever.)
“We could not be more pleased that these incredibly talented actors have agreed to sign on to the miniseries,” she said.
“The Kennedys” will run as an eight-hour scripted miniseries on History in 2011. Project reps History’s first scripted mini.
Kinnear’s feature credits include “As Good As It Gets” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” while Holmes starred in “Batman Begins” and “The Ice Storm.” “The Kennedys” reps a reunion for both thesps, who starred opposite each other in the 2000 feature “The Gift.”
“The Kennedys” will explore the personal relationships between the Kennedy clan — including John’s and Bobby’s tumultuous relationship with their father.
Exec producer Joel Surnow is behind “The Kennedys,” along with Asylum’s Jonathan Koch and Muse Entertainment’s Steve Michaels. Steve Kronish is writing the screenplay, while Jon Cassar will direct. Kronish and Cassar are alums of “24,” which Surnow co-created.
Given Surnow’s Conservative politics, critics have expressed concern over the miniseries’ depiction of Kennedy. But History stressed that the mini’s script “is currently being annotated and vetted by History’s resident historians.” Steve Gillon, Ph.D., is the lead historical advisor.
Surnow, Koch, Michaels, Cassar, Michael Prupas and Jamie Paul Rock are exec producers, along with History’s Dubuc, David McKillop and Dirk Hoogstra.
Shooting is set to begin in June in and around the Greater Toronto area and will continue through until
September, 2010.
Many thanks Lucie
It seems really a good project for her!
umm..i don’t know what to say. it sounds like an interesting project, but i want to see katie in more movies on the big screen. oh well, hope she does good. she kinda looks like jackie
a dangerous project, She will have to be excellent. Because a lot of people wants her to fail.
Katie loves to do it all, movies, theatre, dancing, television. I wonder if Tom will be going with them. Hope he does. This must be an exciting time for Katie, career wise. Hope she wears wigs for her role as Jackie K, and doesn’t cut her hair , I will die if she does.
hey annie. you don’t like her with short hair? i love her short hair. it’s very chic.
doesn’t tom start MI4 this summer? i don’t think he’ll be with her. we’ll see…
So true Lucie, a lot of people do want her fail, it’s like they can’t wait for anything she does , so they can have a go at her, for something…..anything really!
Hi Katmaria
Oh no no, it matures her too much, she looks so cute now , the way she puts her hair up, and her ponytail, and when she has her hair straight or curled , very attractive. That’s my opinion, I guess everybody has different taste.
As Annie, I prefer Katie with longer hair… 
Oh my god,why people hate her so much?I like her and I really can’t understand why.I’m a fan from China
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2010/04/24/katie-holmes-tyce-diorio/
Lilo, I do not think the posters at Just Jared represent anything, at least anything good. I think that people who actually know something about her, like her. People who have met her, always praise her. But I also wonder the reason for this, since her outing with TC it all went crazy. I think she has the best attitude, to go on with her life, her family and her career. I find it extremely commendable how well she has adjusted to all this attention, positive and/or negative, I am sure it is much more difficult that what it may seem, and she’s done it with such a class and grace.
As for this new role, I think it is a very risky step BUT very wise too. She’s probably aware that she’s putting herself out there; this will be watched over and over again and scrutinized in every possible way. On the other hand, if this is written properly, with a good quality script it could be a major hit for her. It is very challenging and complex character to play. I am sure she’s very scared but also very excited. She sure is a very brave actress. I wish her the best of luck and I can’t wait to know more about it.
don’t mind the loons at justjared/ they hate tomkat and basically anyone who’s not brangelina.
This is a girl who , before TC, never , never got criticized for anything, she was always complimented. I think that most of them on that site are Brangelina fans, and lash out at anyone. With Katie, I think a lot of it has to do with Scie. I must be hard though, but whatever they say about her, her career at the moment is thriving , and the people that count , eg producers or people who put movies together are certainly taking notice. I wish her the best too, and can’t wait for her movies to come out.
Thank you all to tell me these,I have to say that Brangelina’s fans also hate Suri and TomKat in China.They are jealous of Suri’s beauty and popular so much.That make me don’t like Brangelina.
I love TomKat’s family so much and I wish they happy forever.
(Sorry for the poor English Level 
)
The thing that I have noticed is, the more Katie does , the movies or more projects she is connected to, the more nastier people get, and even if the facts are in front of them, they make up their own, to justify their comments.
I am a huge Katie fan, but I believe I have an honest view of her, just because I like Katie, it doesn’t mean everything is perfect, if you know what I mean.
I think the media gave her a hard time with All MY SONS, and it seems to be starting all over again with the Kennedy project. A few of years ago, at the time of Toms and Katies wedding , I remember Roberta Armani, saying how much Katie reminded her of Jackie O. I think she will make a great Jackie. They love puting her down, at least in between the lines . They don’t do this to anybody else. She is like a doll that everyone keeps on sticking pins into, and the same goes for Suri as well, Tom too[sounds mean , but he started it, should have kept quiet, you don't discuss religious beliefs in public, big no no.] It’s taken on a life of its own that won’t go away, and won’t go away anytime soon.
What I find totally amazing is … Brangelina take their kids to the park, and it’s ok, if Katie and Tom do that it’s a photo op [ I love them], Suri is really so adorable, her smile, her girliness, the way her hair flies, the cuteness of her is unbelievable, from her clothes, to her accessories , she is so cute, ok I admit that I find her lack of warm clothing bothersome sometimes and maybe at 4, the bottle should have gone, but that is not the end of the world.
Truly I would make a brilliant Katie. If it was me in her shoes I would give everyone , from the media to the haters on some sites , something to really talk about, I would!
I would make sure my clothes , my hair , my makeup, my accessories were beyond fantastic, anytime any place. I would give so many interviews ,and look like a fashion model at each one, [ which Katie is quite capable of looking] and come across as confident plussssss
The media would go crazy, sometimes you have to resort to a few tricks , to steer in another direction.
This is really what I think.!
I think this project well be great because of the subject, and because she is working with Tom Wilkinson(love him).