The Paper

The Paper follows Henry Hackett, the editor of a New York City tabloid, across a single working day. He is devoted to the job, but the long hours and modest pay have worn him down, and an offer from a more serious newspaper adds to his doubts. At the same time, the paper is cutting costs under pressure from its publisher, and the managing editor, Alicia Clark, pushes for a sensational front-page story about a murder case in which two young men have been arrested. Henry doubts the case is as clear-cut as she presents it and sets out to verify the facts before the edition goes to press, while also dealing with his pregnant wife, Martha, a fellow reporter who wants him to take the other job.

Ron Howard directed the film, the ninth of the thirty-two he has directed in chronological order, between Far and Away and Apollo 13. David Koepp and Stephen Koepp wrote the screenplay, and Brian Grazer, Frederick Zollo and David Koepp produced it for Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. Michael Keaton plays Henry, with Robert Duvall as Bernie White, Glenn Close as Alicia Clark, Marisa Tomei as Martha and Randy Quaid and Jason Alexander in supporting roles, among a credited cast of eighty-one.

Made for a modest six million dollars, the film took in about forty-eight million worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb and TMDB, audience ratings sit around the middle of the scale, with the TMDB figure at 6.6 out of 10 from 246 votes, while a critics' rating of 7 out of 10 from 37 reviews places reviewers somewhat higher than the general audience.