Universal is planning to bring the true story of journalist Gary Webb to the big screen in Kill the Messenger. According to Variety, Peter Landesman is writing the screenplay based on two separate books that were optioned by the studio: Webb's own Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion and Nick Schou's Kill the Messenger: How the CIA's Crack-Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb.

In 1996, Webb was the focus of attention when his three-part series "Dark Alliance" implied that the CIA was the reason for the Crack problem in Los Angeles. The film will suggest that he was mostly right, and that the CIA sought to smear Webb's name in a cover up.

Landesman stated, "It's the story of a reporter killed for telling the truth, and it's poignant and relevant as the CIA and U.S. government continue to make nefarious deals with the devil for what they believe is the greater good."

The film will go into production before the end of the year.