In a stroke of creative casting, Tom Selleck will play President Eisenhower in a two-hour TV movie for A&E about the buildup to D-Day. The production of the tentatively titled "Eisenhower: Thunder in June" is being fast-tracked for a spring air date, timed to the 60th anniversary of the historic invasion.
A&E senior vp original programming Bob DeBitetto acknowledged the scant resemblance between the hirsute actor and the follically challenged general, but defended his casting decision.
"The fact that he isn't an obvious choice is a good thing," DeBitetto said. "What we wanted to avoid at all costs was a caricature or an impersonation. It's a character piece, and Mr. Selleck has the acting chops to bring out the complexity of the man."
"Eisenhower" will be less a traditional biopic than a procedural thriller in the vein of war-room dramas like the Cold War saga "Thirteen Days." The film recounts the 90 days leading up to World War II's most massive invasion, from Eisenhower's behind-the-scenes preparations to his relationship with Winston Churchill. The role of the British prime minister has yet to be cast.
A location for the film has yet to be determined, but New Zealand has emerged as a strong candidate because it can provide the Victorian-period architecture necessary to re-create mid-20th century London, where the Allied forces congregated to plan the invasion. The United Kingdom and Ireland are other location possibilities.
"Eisenhower" will be one of A&E's more expensive productions, but the film will not re-create D-Day itself; producers will likely rely on newsreel footage to convey the horrors of war.
A&E sister network History Channel also is planning a programming blitz timed to the 60th anniversary of D-Day.