First Look at Jeremy Renner in ‘Kill the Messenger’

Our first look at Renner in the role of Webb comes via USA Today. The actor said this on Webb’s relentlessness, “Good investigative journalism ruffles feathers. From the reaction he got, Gary was doing something right.” Renner serves as executive producer and helped put together a cast which includes Ray Liotta, Rosemarie DeWitt, Michael Sheen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Paz Vega, Michael K. Williams, Andy Garcia, Tim Blake Nelson, Oliver Platt, and Richard Schiff.  (See more at)

Jeremy Renner Kill the Messengerurl

Jeremy Renner Kill the Messenger

Images via Usa Today: here’s a bit of the areticle

“That is one tough trade,” says Renner. “It took me to a pretty intense world.”

The dramatic thriller is based on San Jose Mercury News journalist Gary Webb, who wrote a highly controversial 1996 series alleging the C.I.A. played a role in the importation of crack cocaine to California, with illicit proceeds funding the Nicaraguan Contra rebel army.

The reporter’s life changed drastically after receiving a source phone call that started the ball rolling, says director Michael Cuesta, the Emmy Award-winning director of Showtime’s Homeland. The tale follows the reporter as he pulls together the pieces of his story and then deals with the blowback.

–

For Kill the Messenger Renner takes on the role of Gary Webb, the real-life dedicated reporter for The San Jose Mercury-News. In the 1990s, Webb uncovered the Central Intelligence Agency’s role in importing cocaine into California that was sold to raise money for the Nicaraguan Contras rebel army. Supported by his wife and children, Webb pursued the story and went public with his evidence. When targeted for a vicious smear campaign by the CIA and rival journalists, Webb found himself fighting for his reputation and his family. (excerpt via)