Strange Bedfellows

Studios are reportedly bidding hard for the right to finance the filming of “Body Politic,” based on a political satire published by St. Martin’s Press in 1987. The authors, Lynne Cheney and Victor Gold, ought to know how to lampoon D.C. mores--Cheney, chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is the wife of Wyoming Rep. Richard Cheney, the nominee for secretary of defense.

The plot: During a President’s re-election campaign, his vice-president has a fatal heart attack while engaged in a “delicate act” with a female news anchorwoman. The press secretary’s assignment: Keep the veep “alive” in as long as possible.

A screenplay has already been written by John Warren, with Frank Oz attached as director. The indie producers developing the project are John Davis, Katherine Knowlton and David Kennerly.