Primary Colors (film)

Primary Colors
Promotional film poster
Directed byMike Nichols[1]
Screenplay byElaine May
Based onPrimary Colors
by Joe Klein
Produced byMike Nichols
Jonathan Krane
Neil Machlis
Starring
CinematographyMichael Ballhaus
Edited byArthur Schmidt
Music byRy Cooder
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • March 20, 1998 (1998-03-20)
Running time
143 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$65 million[2]
Box office$52.1 million[3]

Primary Colors is a 1998 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Elaine May was adapted from the novel Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics, a roman à clef about the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign, which was originally published anonymously, but in 1996 was revealed to have been written by journalist Joe Klein, who had been covering Clinton's campaign for Newsweek.[4][5][6] The film starred John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Maura Tierney, Larry Hagman, and Adrian Lester.

It was critically acclaimed but a box office bomb, earning $52 million from a $65 million budget. Bates was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, and May was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

  1. ^ David Lister (May 14, 1998). "Travolta reveals Clinton's prime sense of humour". Independent. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  2. ^ Bernard Weinraub (March 23, 1998). "Don't You Wish You Could Get Buttered Popcorn in Civics Class?". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2011.[dead link]
  3. ^ "Primary Colors". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2014-01-31. Retrieved 2011-06-29.
  4. ^ David Lauter (March 15, 1998). "What the Movie Gets —and What It Doesn't". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  5. ^ Faye Fiore (March 2, 1998). "Just What He Didn't Need Right Now; Movies: Will 'Primary Colors,' a thinly veiled slice of presidential life, hurt or help Bill Clinton?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  6. ^ Columnist's Mea Culpa: I'm Anonymous Archived 2011-03-13 at the Wayback Machine, Doreen Carvajal, The New York Times, July 18, 1996