Good Night, and Good Luck.
Short description
Set in the early 1950s, this historical drama depicts the conflict between CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy. As the United States faced a wave of anti-communist fear, Murrow and producer Fred Friendly used their program, See it now, to investigate and challenge McCarthy's political tactics and his targeting of suspected communists. Despite facing pressure from government officials, network executives, and corporate sponsors, the journalists worked to defend democratic principles and expose the senator's methods.
Directed by George Clooney, this was his second feature film following Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Clooney also co-wrote the screenplay and starred as Fred Friendly, appearing alongside David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., and Frank Langella. The production involved companies from the United Kingdom, United States, France, and Japan.
Produced on a budget of 7 million USD, the film earned 51 million USD at the worldwide box office. It was well received by both audiences and professionals. It holds a rating of 7.4/10 on IMDb from 105,000 votes and 7.1/10 on TMDB from 1,153 votes. Film critics gave the movie a higher score of 8.4/10 based on 226 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film uses documentary footage featuring Senator McCarthy. During test screenings, viewers unaware of this claimed that the actor playing McCarthy was “overacting severely.”
- Every morning, director George Clooney gathered the cast and handed out copies of newspapers from that day in 1953. The actors had half an hour to retype articles from the newspapers on old typewriters. Afterwards, he held conferences with an editor, during which the actors pitched the editor materials from their supposed article for inclusion in that day’s issue.
- The phrase that became the film’s title, “Good Night, and Good Luck,” originally belonged to Robert P. Morrow (1908-1965) from his time in London as a war radio correspondent. These words were said by residents of Great Britain during World War II, when they were unsure if they would survive the night under Luftwaffe bombs.
- To help raise funds for the film’s production, George Clooney mortgaged his own mansion in Los Angeles.
- Every 23 minutes (exactly the length of television programs in the 1950s), a jazz composition performed by Dianne Reeves sounds in the film.
- George Clooney received one dollar each as a screenwriter, director, and actor. This helped reduce the film's production costs, with a budget of just over $7.5 million.
- George Clooney was very nervous before showing the film to his father, a former reporter. After watching the film, Nick Clooney reassured his son, saying that he had accurately conveyed the atmosphere.
- Initially, it was intended to be not a feature film, but a live broadcast program for CBS.
- The entire set and all the decorations were built on one floor; the elevator cabin was made to rotate around its axis, so during continuous shots it was simply rotated, and then supposedly another floor was shown.
- The film features Matt Catingub's orchestra, with all arrangements done by Catingub himself. He also produced the last album of American popular singer and actress of the 1940s-1950s Rosemary Clooney (1928-2012), George Clooney's aunt. Clooney personally asked Catingub to work on this film.
- While preparing to film, George Clooney revisited films from the 1950s and 1960s. He was particularly impressed by Sidney Lumet’s (1924-2011) thriller “The Hill” (1964), his drama “12 Angry Men” (1956), and Jean-Luc Godard’s drama “Breathless” (1960). He even attempted, though unsuccessfully, to find the same camera lens used in Godard’s film.
- The film was shot simultaneously with two cameras, a decision George Clooney made due to a back injury. At a minimum, this allowed him to cut the shooting day in half, to 9 hours.
- In the film, Joe resigned voluntarily to avoid being fired when his secret marriage to Shirley, played by Patricia Clarkson, came to light. In reality, Joseph Wershba (1920-2011) wrote for the New York Post for 6 years before returning to CBS when their rules regarding employee marriages changed. He became one of the original producers of the popular show “60 Minutes”.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
