The Good Shepherd
Short description
The Good Shepherd follows Edward Wilson, a Yale student who becomes a member of the Skull and Bones society and is drawn into intelligence work as the United States enters the Second World War. Recruited into the newly formed Office of Strategic Services, Wilson proves suited to a life of secrecy, and he carries that discipline into the postwar agency that becomes the CIA. His professional ascent comes at a personal cost: he grows distant from his wife and son, and the suspicion that serves him at work isolates him from those close to him.
The film was directed by Robert De Niro, his second feature after A Bronx Tale, from a screenplay by Eric Roth. Matt Damon plays Wilson, with Angelina Jolie as his wife and De Niro himself appearing as Bill Sullivan; Alec Baldwin, William Hurt and Joe Pesci are also in the cast. It is a large production, set across several decades of Wilson's career.
Made for 85 million dollars, it returned about 100 million worldwide, a modest result for a film of its scale. Audiences are mixed on it: on IMDb it holds 6.7 from roughly 112,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.4 from a much smaller number of votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- A director’s cut of the film exists, with a running time of 167 minutes.
- The solo, which was included in the soundtrack and plays towards the end of the film, was performed by violinist Lindsey Deutsch from Los Angeles.
- Robert De Niro worked on his 'favorite project' for 10 years.
- Robert De Niro's character, General Bill Sullivan, is partly based on the life of General William 'Wild Bill' Donovan. Donovan headed the Office of Strategic Services (the precursor to the CIA) during World War II.
- Leonardo DiCaprio was initially chosen for the role of young Edward Wilson, but he later declined to participate in the project.
- Filming of the picture began in August 2005 and wrapped up in January 2006 in New York.
- Archie Cummings, Bill Crudup's character, is partially based on the real life of British traitor Kim Philby, who studied at Cambridge University and was later revealed by British intelligence to be a Soviet spy. He later flew to Moscow, where he lived out the rest of his life. The film reflects this by showing a phone conversation between Wilson and Cummings, who is in the Soviet Union.
- Most of the filming took place in the Dominican Republic.
- Philip Allen, the character played by William Hurt, is somewhat based on the life of Allen Dulles, who joined the Office of Strategic Services and headed its intelligence center in Bern during World War II. He later became the Director of Central Intelligence. The CIA had fewer successes in the field of covert operations, and successes alternated with failures. In 1961, after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, Dulles was forced to resign.
- The character of Matt Damon, Edward Wilson, is partially based on the biography of James Jesus Angleton, the founder of the CIA's counterintelligence.
- Eric Roth’s screenplay was long considered one of the best in Hollywood that hadn’t been filmed.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
