Katie Holmes to produce, feature in biopic on Watergate scandal prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks

Actor-producer Katie Holmes will play Jill Wine-Banks, one of the prosecutors during the Watergate scandal, in her next film, an adaptation of The Watergate Girl: My Fight For Truth and Justice Against A Criminal President. Holmes’ Noelle Productions banner has optioned the best-selling autobiography authored by Wine-Banks herself. The actor is set to star and produce the project, Deadline reported. The book, released in February last year, sheds light on what was arguably the most troubled time in American history. The Watergate Girl, however, is also a story of a young woman, the only one on the three-member team that prosecuted the highest officials in the White House. The press referred to her as the “the mini-skirted lawyer”. Not only did she have to ward off casual sexism prevalent at the time, but also handle matters as personal as her failing marriage. Not just that, there was a robbery at Wine-Banks’ residence and her phones were tapped. The former General Counsel of the Army is currently a legal analyst at MSNBC. Wine-Banks says she is excited, honoured and humbled to be working with Holmes and have her experience shared as the only woman prosecutor in the obstruction of justice case against the Nixon regime on the big screen. She adds that even though it was nearly 50 years ago, the investigation and trial remain just as compelling and relevant to current events and sexism. “I hope this film opens up more dialogue around the challenges still facing professional women”. Holmes, on the other hand, says she was drawn to this story, for it is as relevant today as it was then. “Women are constantly trying to break through the glass ceiling in the male workplace and this woman single-handedly helped reshape the Watergate trial," Deadline quoted Holmes as saying. The Dawson’s Creek actor said she is inspired by female protagonists, and it is a “world I will always want to explore.”