Variety is reporting that James McAvoy and Robin Wright Penn have been announced as starring in “The Conspirator”, the Robert Redford directed period drama based on true events surrounding the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Penn will play Mary Surratt, the only woman among the group of conspirators charged with killing the president, and McAvoy will play the idealistic war hero Frederick Aiken who comes to defend Suratt. “The Conspirator” is slated to start filming this October, which Redford is producing alongside Wildwood Enterprises’ Greg Shapiro and Bill Holderman, as well as Robert Stone, Webster Stone and Brian Falk of American Film Co. James Solomon penned the script. Redford last…

Robert Redford, according to the Risky Biz Blog, is reportedly directing the historical drama “The Conspirator”, the story of Mary Surratt, an alleged conspirator of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of president Abraham Lincoln. Surratt was also the mother of one of Booth’s alleged conspirators in the 1865 assassination of Lincoln by Booth at Ford’s Theater. Surratt was the first woman executed in the United States of America. James McAvoy is said to be at the top of the producers’ list for one of the lead roles. Shooting on “The Conspirator” is scheduled to start this fall, with a script written by James Solomon. Stay tuned to Shockya.com for more…