J. Edgar
Short description
J. Edgar Hoover led the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly five decades, serving under eight presidents while building the agency into a powerful institution. In public he stood as the face of American law enforcement, going after gangsters, radicals and the Ku Klux Klan. In private he compiled confidential files on politicians and public figures, using what he gathered to protect his position. Behind that work lay a personal life he kept hidden, including his long relationship with his deputy Clyde Tolson and his dependence on his mother and his loyal secretary Helen Gandy.
Clint Eastwood directed the film, the thirty-second of the forty features he has directed, following Hereafter and preceding American Sniper. Dustin Lance Black wrote the screenplay, and Eastwood produced with Brian Grazer and Robert Lorenz. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hoover, with Armie Hammer as Tolson, Naomi Watts as Gandy and Judi Dench as Hoover's mother. The production cost about 35 million dollars and took in roughly 85 million worldwide.
On IMDb the film holds 6.5 out of 10 from about 138,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.2 out of 10 from roughly 2,600 votes. A critics' rating of 5.7 out of 10 from 241 reviews places it slightly below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- A film about Hoover was planned at Universal, but the project ended up at Warner Studios – Universal's reaction to Dustin Lance Black's script was negative.
- Leonardo DiCaprio’s wardrobe consisted of 80 costumes. Since the film spans over 60 years, costume designer Deborah Hooper needed to reflect the entire evolution of clothing styles over that period.
- Leonardo DiCaprio's makeup included a full-face plaster mask, various prosthetics, wigs, gray hair, and a prosthetic nose.
- The scenes of the horse races at the racetrack featuring Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer) were filmed on a studio set against a green screen.
- The film crew did not have the financial means to recreate the granite floor of the Department of Justice in Washington. This forced the film's production designer and his team to take an original approach. They photographed the surface from all possible angles and then reproduced it from plywood.
- Joaquin Phoenix was one of the contenders for the role of Clyde Tolson.
- Josh Lucas enthusiastically agreed to play the role of the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh. The actor did so in honor of his grandmother, who was also a well-known pilot and one of the first female commercial pilots in the country.
- The initial working title of the film was simply “Hoover,” not “J. Edgar.”
- Copies of the film were sent to American cinemas under the false title Lawman.
- Judi Dench, who played the mother of the main character, broke a finger while filming the previous movie, but hid this fact from the film's producers so as not to lose the role. She had to play her part, overcoming the pain of the injury.
- Armie Hammer's great-grandfather, the actor who played Tolson, was a tycoon who owned Occidental Petroleum Corporation. In a book titled “ Dossier: The Secret History of Armand Hammer,” author Edward Jay Epstein accused this oligarch of secret ties to J. Edgar Hoover and the USSR. The actor stated that he agreed to the role specifically to “get back at the critics.”
- In reality, J. Edgar is John Edgar Hoover, the most famous and ambitious director of the FBI in the history of the bureau. Hoover took the helm of the Bureau of Investigation in 1929 and held the position for almost half a century, until his death in 1972. He achieved considerable success, but was caught in numerous abuses of power.
- In fact, J. Edgar is John Edgar Hoover, the most famous and ambitious director of the FBI in the history of the bureau. Hoover took the helm of the Bureau of Investigation in 1924 and held the position for almost half a century, until his death in 1972. He achieved considerable success, but was caught in numerous abuses of power.
- Charlize Theron was initially considered for the role of Helen Gandy, but the actress dropped out of the project to participate in "Snow White and the Huntsman" (2012). Amy Adams was the next candidate, but Naomi Watts ultimately landed the role.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
