Mel Gibson and Sean Penn are teaming up to play The Professor And The Madman
While it’s not surprising to learn that Mel Gibson’s secured the movie rights to a novel titled The Professor And The Madman: A Tale Of Murder, Insanity, And The Making Of The Oxford English Dictionary, it is a little odd that he didn’t call dibs on the latter role. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, Gibson’s upcoming adaptation of Simon Winchester’s bestselling novel will see him play Sir James Murray, a real-life lexicographer and philologist who served as the OED’s primary editor for nearly 40 years. Winchester’s book delves into Murray’s work with on the dictionary, which saw him “crowdsource” for help on some of the entries.