A Section Eight Production, “Good Night, And Good Luck.” takes place during the early days of broadcast journalism in 1950’s America. It chronicles the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. With a desire to report the facts and enlighten the public, Murrow, and his dedicated staff – headed by his producer Fred Friendly and Joe Wershba in the CBS newsroom – defy corporate and sponsorship pressures to examine the lies and scaremongering tactics perpetrated by McCarthy during his communist ‘witch-hunts’. A very public feud develops when the Senator responds by accusing the anchor of being a communist. In this climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity will prove historic and monumental.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Regal Cinemas Gallery Place Stadium 14
701 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
“Good Night, And Good Luck.” opens nationwide on October 14.
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Video & Transcript
•Video: Clooney on casting McCarthy
•Video: Clooney on finding common ground
•Video: Clooney on media
•Video: Clooney on revisionists and McCarthy
•Video: Clooney on why this film
•Video: Straitharn on Murrow
•Video: Panel on entertainment
•Video: Panel on liberal voices
•Video: Silver and Clooney on media
Note: All videos provided in QuickTime (MPEG-4) format.
About the Participants:
Grant Heslov is president of Section Eight Television, George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh’s Warner Bros. based production company. He also directed the feature film “Par 6” and the short “Waiting for Woody.” Along with his producing and directing, Heslov has had a long career as an actor. Some of his TV credits include CBS’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and Fox’s “The X -Files.” Some of his feature credits include roles in “The Scorpion King” starring Duane “the Rock” Johnson, “Enemy of the State” starring Will Smith, “Dante’s Peak” starring Pierce Brosnan, “The Birdcage” starring Robin Williams, Michael Chrichton’s “Congo” and James Cameron’s “True Lies” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Heslov served as director and producer of the critically acclaimed series “Unscripted,” and co-executive producer of “K Street,” both for HBO. He is currently developing a ten part series based on the Ten Commandments, with installments to be directed by Soderbergh and Clooney among others.
David Strathairn attended Williams College before launching a successful acting career and has appeared in many of his Williams College classmate John Sayles’ features, including “Matewan,” “Eight Men Out” and “Passion Fish.” He has also worked with some of Hollywood’s top directors including Mike Nichols’ “Silkwood,” Stephen Gyllenhaal’s “Losing Isaiah,” Sydney Pollack’s “The Firm,” Tim Robbins’ “Bob Roberts,” Penny Marshall’s “A League of Their Own,” Taylor Hackford’s “Dolores Claiborne,” Curtis Hanson’s “LA Confidential” and Philip Kaufman’s “Twisted” to name just a few. He has starred opposite Meryl Streep in “The River Wild,” Richard Dreyfuss in “Lost In Yonkers,” Jessica Lange in “Losing Isaiah,” Ray Liotta and Jamie Lee Curtis in “Dominick and Eugene,” Sean Penn and Christopher Walken in “At Close Range,” Debra Winger in “A Dangerous Woman,” Ashley Judd and Oliver Platt in “Simon Birch,” Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore in “A Map of the World.” He’s also appeared in “Blue Car,” which was purchased by Miramax from the 2002 Sundance festival, and “Harrison’s Flowers,” opposite Andie Macdowell. His extensive stage work includes “The Three Sisters” with Billy Crudup and Marcia Gay Harden, “Dance of Death” with Sir Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren and “Salome” with Al Pacino. Television credits include the HBO features “In the Gloaming” and “The James Brady Story” and “The American Clock” for TNT. Strathairn also had a recurring arc on “The Sopranos”.
About Reel Progress:
Reel Progress is a new progressive film series sponsored by the Center for American Progress. Each month, the Center hosts free screenings of progressive films, which are followed by provocative panel discussions with leading public policy experts and filmmakers.
Back to the Reel Progress homepage
Additional Reel Progress films:
• Akeelah and the Bee – April 3, 2006
• Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World – January 8, 2006
• Sometimes in April – September 21, 2005
• Good Night, and Good Luck – September 20, 2005
• The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till – June 28, 2005
• The Education of Shelby Knox – May 24, 2005
• CRASH – April 18, 2005
• This Divided State— March 23, 2005
• WMD — March 2, 2005