The Insider
Short description
A tobacco industry executive, Jeffrey Wigand, is fired from his position at Brown & Williamson after raising objections about additives used in cigarettes. Lowell Bergman, a producer for the television news program 60 Minutes, learns of Wigand's dismissal and approaches him about speaking publicly. Wigand must weigh his obligations under a confidentiality agreement against the consequences of revealing what he knows, while the company he left applies pressure on him and his family. Bergman's own position at the network comes under strain as the story develops and questions arise about whether the interview will be broadcast.
Michael Mann directed The Insider, his sixth feature, arriving between Heat and Ali. The screenplay was written by Eric Roth and Mann, and Mann produced alongside Pieter Jan Brugge. Al Pacino plays Bergman and Russell Crowe plays Wigand, with Christopher Plummer as broadcaster Mike Wallace, Diane Venora as Liane Wigand, Philip Baker Hall as Don Hewitt and Lindsay Crouse as Sharon Tiller. The production involved 86 credited cast members and 358 credited crew.
Made for a budget of 90 million dollars, the film took in about 60 million dollars worldwide, so it did not recover its costs at the box office. It has a rating of 8.7 out of 10 from 135 reviews, higher than the 7.8 out of 10 from around 192,000 votes on IMDb and the 7.5 out of 10 from roughly 2,156 votes on TMDB.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on the article "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (by Marie Brenner) from Vanity Fair magazine.
- The makeup artists constantly struggled with Russell's thick hair. At first, they trimmed it, and eventually shaved it off completely and made him wear a wig.
- The psychological drama "The Insider" is highly documentary in nature – its plot is entirely based on real events from the first half of the 1990s. Both director Michael Mann and his inspiration, Dr. Jeffrey S. Wigand, have repeatedly stated publicly that the fictionalization in "The Insider" is limited only to the names of Dr. Wigand’s wife and children, which were changed at his request.
- Russell Crowe’s character gave testimony in a real courtroom in the state of Mississippi, where the prototype for his character actually testified under oath.
- To prepare for the role, Russell Crowe gained over 37 pounds by eating mostly cheeseburgers and drinking bourbon. The actor’s blood pressure and cholesterol levels rose as a result of this diet. It took the actor 6 weeks to gain the weight, and another 5 weeks to lose it.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
