Mary Mapes is the producer of CBS' '60 Minutes' and, in the run up to the 2004 presidential election, she's looking for a story for her and her team - including anchor Dan Rather - to chase. The team discovers evidence that President George W. Bush failed to complete the required amount of military service during his time in the Texas Air National Guard during the 70s. It's a story that could truly bring down the right wing government if only they can get hold of some solid documents to support the story. That's when Bill Burkett comes in; he's the former Lieutenant Colonel of the Texas Air National Guard and he claims to be in possession of some papers criticising Bush's lack of attendance for his military service, written by his commander at the time Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian. Unfortunately, in their haste to air the controversial information, the '60 Minutes' team fail to have the documents authenticated - and when several experts out the papers as forgeries, it seems the tables quickly turn on these newscasters in the most devastating way.
This gripping true story is based on the 2005 memoirs of Mary Mapes entitled 'Truth and Duty: The Press, The President And The Privilege Of Power'. It has been directed and written by James Vanderbilt ('The Amazing Spider-Man', 'White House Down', 'Zodiac') in his directorial debut and it is set to be released in US theaters on October 16th 2015.
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Elisabeth Moss, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid, Bruce Greenwood, Stacy Keach, David Lyons, John Benjamin Hickey, Rachael Blake, Katie McConnell, Lee Anne Ford, Toni French, Andrew McFarlane, Carma Sharon