The eclectic lives of journalists have been a matter of intrigue for filmmakers. The work-life balance of reporters, exploring the true motives behind famous scandals and facts surrounding public agendas, has always been worthy of being converted into engaging films and books. The profession has been under limelight for the issues of fake news and censorship in several nations as political turmoil has shaken public discourses in a post-truth world.
Journalists have also been portrayed as leading characters in films that revolutionize the public discourse. Many such films have worked in the past, with some being adaptations of real-life incidents while others were simply fictionalized accounts. The success of such films might indicate how audiences viewed journalists of those times, with a well-researched, evidence-backed story always gaining traction amongst a news reading audience. Here are a few films where journalists serve as the saviors of the day for their public service to the fourth pillar of democracy.
10Spotlight
Spotlightwon the Oscar for Best Picture, together with the one for Best Original Screenplay in 2016, on top of being commercially successful. A true-life account of a team of journalistsfrom the Boston GlobecalledSpotlight, the movie looks into how the journalists investigated the cases of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the local area of Boston.
The film’s writers, Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, developed the script from a series of stories by the same journalism unit. Josh Singer had earlier claimed that they had not developed the film to blame and expose the church, but to shed light on the power and importance of good journalism. The film had an ensemble cast, including Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci and John Slattery. Directed by Tom McCarthy, the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival to a positive response. It has continued to be an important film for highlighting the essence of journalism to date.
Related:Spotlight: What’s the True Story Behind the Boston Scandal?
Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks team up in this acclaimed drama filmThe Post, which portrays the events leading up to journalists from The Washington Post publishing the Pentagon Papers, eventually leading to The Watergate Scandal and the resignation of President Nixon.Streep played Katherine Graham, who was leading The Washington Post then. Graham was the daughter of Eugene Meyer, who had bought out the publication in the 1930s. The character of Ben Bradlee, the Executive Editor of the Washington Post at the time, was played by Tom Hanks.
Upon release, The Post became a commercial success and drew praise from critics. It received two Academy Award nominations and several others at the Golden Globe Awards. Time magazine described the film as one of the year’s top ten films.
8All the President’s Men
A 1976 political drama film,All The President’s Men, also featured theWatergate Scandal as the main themeof its plot. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford star as the two journalists of The Washington Post, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, who investigate the scandal. William Goldman, who wrote the film’s screenplay, had earlier served asButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’sscreenplay writer.
Woodward and Bernstein wrote a book of the same name in 1974, which was then adapted intoAll The President’s Men. Written by Alan J. Pakula, the movie went on to be nominated in several categories in the Academy Awards, BAFTA, and Golden Globe Awards. A trivia associated with the film states that Robert Redford initially considered Al Pacino to play Dustin Hoffman’s part!
7The Insider
The Insider’sscreenplay was adapted from an article written by Marie Brenner in Vanity Fair in 1996,The Man Who Knew Too Much, about the whistleblower of the tobacco industry, Jeffrey Wigand. While Russell Crowe played Wigand, the CBS producer Lowell Bergman wasportrayed by Al Pacino, with Christopher Plummer as the American journalist Mike Wallace.
Written by Eric Roth and Michael Mann,The Insiderreceived seven nominations at The Academy Awards, while Mann, who was also the director of the film, received special praise from critics for his direction. Russell was nominated for an Oscar in the category for Best Actor in A Leading Role. Critics considerThe Insiderone of the finest films, showing the potential of journalistic uprightness in navigating the harsh corporate world.
She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, a 2019 book written by reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, served as the basis for the 2022 film,SheSaid. Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan played the two titular reporters, while Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher and Jeniffer Ehle also starred in the film. The film, which followed the investigations of the two reporters of The New York Times on the accusations against Harvey Weinstein at the time for sexual misconduct, was critically successful at its release.
Rebecca Lenkiewicz wrote the screenplay forShe Said, while Maria Schrader directed it. Though the film could not be a commercial success, it garnered two BAFTA nominations for Culligan and Lenkiewicz. Premiering at the New York Film Festival, the film is considered by many to be one of the best representations of journalists saving the day in tough and difficult times.
A comedy thriller film that was released in 1985,Fletchis the story of Irwin M. Fletcher, a reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Amidst investing in a drug trafficking business, he gets embroiled in a messy situation with a terminally ill rich man who offers him money to kill him.Fletch has gained a cult status over the yearsand was a critical and commercial success at the time of its release. Chevy Chase played the main character of Fletch, supported by a cast comprising Tim Matheson, Dana-Wheeler Nicholson, Joe Don Baker and Geena Davis. It was adapted from the 1974 book,Fletch, written by Gregory Mcdonald. The success of the Michael Ritchie-directed film inspired another sequelFletch Lives, in 1989, followed by a third filmConfess, Fletch, in 2022.
4The Parallax View
Based on the 1970 novel of the same name written by Loren Singer,The Parallax Viewfilm follows the story of a journalist who looks for possible motives of a secret organization, The Parallax Corporation, in political assassinations. Directed by Alan Pakula, the film’s screenplay was written by David Giler and Lorenzo Semple Jr. Warren Beatty played the protagonist of the film Joseph Frady with co-stars including William Daniels, Paula Prentiss, and Hume Cronyn.
Regarded as a well-made thriller by some critics,The Parallax Viewalso received mixed reviews from some who regarded it as a lackluster film compared to other reputed political thriller conspiracy films, though Warren Beatty’s role was received well by all.
3Good Night, and Good Luck
George Clooney wrote and directedGood Luck, and Good Nightand also had a background in journalism through his college degree, which was released in 2005. Clooney’s father, Nick Clooney, had also been a journalist. While stressing subjects of dissent against the government, and the importance of the media in society, the film touched upon how the American broadcast journalist Edward Murrow encountered the anti-communist senator Joseph McCarthy and his involvement with the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), earlier known as the ‘Truman Committee.’
The movie received critical success and had an ensemble cast featuring David Strathairn, George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Daniels, Patricia Clarkson and others. The film also became a commercial success while receiving six nominations at the Academy Awards. Currently,Good Luck, and Good Nightis also being developed into a television series by AMC.
Warren Beatty stars in this film as the American journalist John Reed, who was the author of the bookTen Days That Shook The World, published in 1919. Documenting the events of the October Revolution, Reed’s book has been the subject of several adaptations in film and print. Beatty also produced and directed the film with Diane Keaton,Jack Nicholson, and many other actorsas his co-stars. Keaton played the American journalist and activist Louise Bryant, while Nicholson portrayed the American playwright Eugene O’Neill. Beatty had been reportedly pondering on making a film about Reed since the 1960s and collaborated with Trevor Griffiths and others to develop the earliest version of the film’s script.
Upon release,Redsbecame an instant hit at the box office and with critics and was also screened at the White House for President Reagan. Earning many nominations at the Academy Awards, it won one in the Best Actor category for Warren Beatty.
Related:Best Movies Based on Magazine and Newspaper Articles, Ranked
A 1986 American war film,Salvadorchronicles the story of the journalist Richard Boyle, who gets stuck in El Salvador while covering for the Salvadoran Civil War. Attempting to save his girlfriend and her children and flee the country, Boyle gets intertwined between the military dictatorship of El Salvador and the political party FMLN. James Wood plays the main role of Boyle, while the supporting roles are played by Jim Belushi, John Savage, Michael Murphy, Cynthia Gibb and Elpidia Carillo. Richard Boyle also served as the co-writer of the film, along with Oliver Stone, who directed the film as well.
Gaining prominence amongst critics,Salvadorhas gained prominence as a vivid description of the war in El Salvador and its many atrocities, told through the scope of Boyle. The film received two nominations at the Academy Awards.
