Linda Cardellini will star opposite Michael Keaton in “The Founder,” the story of how Ray Kroc turned McDonald’s into a global fast food empire.
FilmNation is producing along with Jeremy Renner and Don Handfield through their shingle, the Combine. Shooting started June 1 in Atlanta.
The story will focus on how Kroc, who had been a milkshake dispenser salesman, created one of the most powerful brands in the world. Kroc began working for the McDonald brothers — portrayed by B.J. Novak and John Carroll Lynch — in 1954 at the age of 51 as a franchising agent and bought the chain for $2.7 million in 1961.
Cardellini will play Joan Kroc, the third wife of Ray Kroc. The duo met in 1957 and married in 1969.
The Weinstein Co. acquired U.S. rights to “The Founder” earlier this year.
Cardellini stars as Laura Barton in “Avengers: Age Of Ultron” and is the lead in Netflix’s “Bloodline” series. She is repped by ICM Partners and Mosaic.
