Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett join 'Truth'

For a directorial debut, "Truth" is managing to assemble a heavyweight cast, as Redford and Blanchett take lead roles in a biopic from the "White House Down" screenwriter. James Vanderbilt's credits include "Zodiac" as well as both "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (think Andrew Garfield, not Tobey Maguire). Though "White House Down" was a political thriller, it remained fictional in subject matter, but "Truth" instead tells the tale of real-world news anchor Dan Rather and his producer Mary Mapes. Both were at the center of a controversy surrounding then-president George W. Bush and alleged preferential treatment received during military service, with the news broken by Rather in September 2004 as presidential elections were in full swing. Dan Rather retired shortly after, while Mapes was fired from her position along with three other staff members, and the film is based on Mapes's biographical "Truth and Duty" published in 2005. Redford, lauded for in "All The President's Men" in 1976, is in position to play Rather, with Blanchett as Mapes. Vanderbilt is also co-producing for "White House Down" company Mythology Entertainment.