A pivotal figure of the Watergate scandal is getting the big screen treatment, with Chris Pine set to play lawyer-turned-whistleblower John Dean in a new feature.

Variety has the scoop on the project, which chronicles the political exploits of Dean, who served as White House Council under President Richard Nixon from July 1970 through August 1973 -- right at the heart of the scandal that imploded Nixon's presidency. The film is set up at Amazon Studios, and Dean himself will serve as an executive producer on the feature.

According to Variety, Dean was known as the “connoisseur of cover-ups,” and  "became a crucial Nixon whistle-blower by offering testimony that implicated the president in the historic cover-up" of the break-in at the Democratic committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, during Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign. In exchange, Dean pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, and received a sentence of four months of house arrest. He remains in the public eye today as an author of numerous books and a political commentator, and has been outspoken against the Republican Party and the current administration.

The script for the film -- currently untitled -- is being penned by Evan Parter, who Variety notes is an "Up-and-coming screenwriter ... whose scripts have appeared more than once on the annual Black List." Amazon scooped up the flick after hearing only the pitch, so expect production to take some time as the film comes together.

[via: Variety]