Richard Jewell (film)

Richard Jewell
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClint Eastwood
Screenplay byBilly Ray
Based on
  • "American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell"
    by Marie Brenner
  • The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle
    by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyYves Bélanger
Edited byJoel Cox
Music byArturo Sandoval
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • November 20, 2019 (2019-11-20) (AFI Fest)
  • December 13, 2019 (2019-12-13) (United States)
Running time
129 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$45 million[2]
Box office$44.6 million[3][4]

Richard Jewell is a 2019 American biographical drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood and written by Billy Ray. It is based on the 1997 Vanity Fair article "American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell" by Marie Brenner and the 2019 book The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen.[5][6][7][8][9] The film depicts the July 27, 1996, Centennial Olympic Park bombing and its aftermath, as security guard Richard Jewell finds a bomb during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and alerts authorities to evacuate, only to later be wrongly accused of having placed the device himself. Paul Walter Hauser stars as Jewell,[10] supported by Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, and Olivia Wilde.

After its world premiere on November 20, 2019, at AFI Fest, the film was theatrically released in the United States on December 13 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It grossed $44 million against a $45 million budget and received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances (particularly those of Bates, Rockwell, and Hauser) and Eastwood's direction. However, several journalists criticized the film's portrayal of the reporter who first accused Jewell, Kathy Scruggs, specifically its depiction of her trading sex for stories. Richard Jewell was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the ten best films of the year, and for her performance in the film Bates won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at both the Academy Awards[11][12] and the Golden Globes.[13]

  1. ^ "Richard Jewell". AFI Fest. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference opening was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Richard Jewell (2019)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  4. ^ "Richard Jewell (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Climek, Chris (December 12, 2019). "Review: 'Richard Jewell' Clears One Name While Smearing Another". NPR. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  6. ^ Brenner, Marie (February 1997). "American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  7. ^ Alexander, Kent; Salwen, Kevin (November 5, 2019). The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-1419734625.
  8. ^ Lee, Benjamin (December 13, 2019). "Stop defending an irresponsible movie and start apologising". The Guardian. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  9. ^ Tracy, Marc (December 12, 2019). "Clint Eastwood's 'Richard Jewell' Is at the Center of a Media Storm". The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  10. ^ 'Richard Jewell' Star Paul Walter Hauser Says Landing Lead Role "Was A Total Shock" – The Contenders NY Video – Deadline
  11. ^ Kathy Bates On 'Richard Jewell' Controversy: "I Worried It Would Affect How People Would Feel Toward The Film" – Deadline
  12. ^ Laura Dern wins Best Supporting Actress - Oscars on YouTube
  13. ^ Golden Globes