West Wing creator to direct John Edwards biographical drama

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who created the TV shows The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, has nabbed rights to the Andrew Young book centered on former presidential candidate John Edwards, titled The Politician: An Insider’s Account of John Edwards’s Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal That Brought Him Down, according to THR.

Sorkin is set to make his feature directorial debut on the project, which he’ll write and produce.

According to the report, Young first volunteered for the Edwards Senate campaign in 1998 and later became one of his most trusted confidants. During the 2008 presidential primary, Edwards began making unethical demands of Young relating to the candidate’s mistress and her child with him.

Sorkin recently penned the script for David Fincher’s forthcoming drama The Social Network, which hits theaters in October. He has also wrote scripts for Charlie Wilson’s War, The American President and A Few Good Men.