Colin Farrell to Star as Oliver North in Iran-Contra Series for Amazon (EXCLUSIVE)

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Colin Farrell is ready to return to the small screen.

Farrell and his “Lobster” director Yorgos Lanthimos are teaming up again on an Amazon show about Oliver North and his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair. Farrell will star as the former U.S. marine in the untitled limited series, which will primarily focus on the Iran-Contra scandal, and Lanthimos will direct.

According to sources, the project is still in development as Amazon awaits scripts from Enzo Mileti and Scott Wilson. Ben Stiller and Nicky Weinstock are exec producing for Red Hour Films.

“I’m really excited to be working with Colin again on something quite different to what we have done so far,” Lanthimos said. “I look forward to joining forces with Ben and Nicky, who had an excellent casting idea and saw the potential of the material early on and Amazon, who has embraced the project with great enthusiasm. It makes me very confident and excited to be working on a script which, although based on relatively recent history, feels very fresh and relevant to our times.”

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North, a decorated U.S. marine who’s currently a political commentator and host of the Fox News show “War Stories With Oliver North,” is best known for his time on the National Security Council during the Iran-Contra affair. He claimed partial responsibility for the sale of weapons through intermediaries to Iran, with the profits being channeled to the Contras in Nicaragua.

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“Great projects can stand out for the filmmaker, the talent, or the pure originality of the storytelling. Brilliant projects like this stand out by virtue of having all of those elements,” said Joe Lewis, Amazon Studios’ head of comedy, drama, and VR. “We’re excited to be making stories with Yorgos, Colin, Ben, and Nicky from Enzo and Scott’s incredible scripts.”

The project marks another major victory for Amazon in the TV realm. The streaming giant is already currently developing Matthew Weiner’s next series as well as a David O. Russell drama starring Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore.

As for Farrell and Lanthimos, the pairing seemed inevitable following the critical success of their satire “The Lobster,” which earned Lanthimos an Oscar nomination for original screenplay. The two just finished working on the A24 movie “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and were quick to find their next project together.

Farrell is no stranger to jumping from film to TV, having starred in Season 2 of HBO’s “True Detective.” He’s been active on the film front as well, with “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” bowing last November and Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled” remake opening this summer. Before shooting the series, Farrell will co-star with Denzel Washington in Dan Gilroy’s “Inner City.”

Lanthimos is currently filming “The Favourite” with Emma Stone. Farrell and Lanthimos are repped by CAA and LBI Entertainment, and Lanthimos is also repped by Sayle Screen.

Since taking their company independent one year ago, Red Hour partners Stiller and Weinstock have set up a wide range of comedies and dramas at TV studios and networks, as well as features through their financing partnership with Bold Films and other buyers.

Mileti and Wilson have “Swindle” set up Paramount Pictures and an Untitled Action Comedy feature setup at 20th Century Fox. They are currently writers on “Kingdom” for Endemol and the DirecTV Audience network. . Mileti and Wilson are repped by WME and Echo Lake Entertainment.

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