State of Play (Kevin Macdonald, 2008)

[Jeff]

Macdonald has assembled a hell of a cast for his next film:

Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren and Robin Wright Penn will join Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Jason Bateman in "State of Play," the Universal Pictures/Working Title adaptation of the British miniseries.

Kevin Macdonald is directing; Matthew Michael Carnahan wrote the script.

McAdams will play a reporter in the middle of a career-making story, as her newspaper investigates the death of the mistress of a fast-rising congressman. Mirren will play the newspaper's steely editor, a role undertaken by Bill Nighy in the original mini. Wright Penn will play the congressman's estranged wife. She becomes romantically involved with the pol's former campaign manager (Pitt), who leads the newspaper's investigative team. Norton plays the congressman and Bateman plays the other lead reporter.

[domino harvey]

I got all excited because my mind automatically went to

[Jeff]

I got all excited

Well I would definitely see that film, but I like this Kevin Macdonald too. One Day in September and Touching the Void were great, and I thought The Last King of Scotland was very well directed even if Forest Whitaker gets most of the credit for its success. Macdonald gets a free pass around here just for being the grandson of Emeric Pressburger. I'd love a boxed set of his documentaries on Pressburger, Eric Campbell, Howard Hawks, and Donald Cammell.

[hot_locket]

I got all excited because my mind automatically went to

You are not the only one :(

[Antoine Doinel]

Brad Pitt leaves over issues with the script.

[Antoine Doinel]

Russell Crowe is in. From IMDB:

Crowe Saves 'State of Play'

Russell Crowe has been confirmed as Brad Pitt's replacement in political thriller State Of Play after Hollywood-strike related issues forced the Troy star to pull out of the project. Director Kevin MacDonald flew to Crowe's native Australia in a bid to persuade him to take the role immediately as production begins this month. Pitt, 43, was onboard the film for months, but pulled out citing concerns with the script - sparking Hollywood fears the actor may face legal action from studio bosses at Universal Pictures after walking away from a film that was stalled by a strike. A star-studded cast including Edward Norton, Dame Helen Mirren and Rachel McAdams have already signed on to the film, an adaptation of the 2003 British TV miniseries.

[Jeff]

Not only has Pitt been replaced with Crowe, Edward Norton has been replaced with Ben Affleck. That hardly seems like a fair trade.

"State of Play" has undergone another player substitution.

Edward Norton has dropped out of the Kevin Macdonald-directed drama, and Ben Affleck is set to step into Norton's role in the Universal/Working Title film.

The news of Norton's departure follows the high-profile exit in November of Brad Pitt, who left the production citing script concerns. That, in turn, led Universal to raise the possibility of legal action against Pitt.

Russell Crowe was quickly recruited to replace Pitt in the film written by "Lions for Lambs" scribe Matthew Michael Carnahan. With Crowe on board, the film's production start date was moved from November to January (HR 12/4).

Because of the change in start date, Norton, who also is set to produce and star in the indie comedy "Leaves of Grass," found himself with a schedule conflict. So he asked Universal if he could be replaced so that he could fulfill his commitment to the Tim Blake Nelson-directed "Leaves."

Affleck, who like Norton is repped by Endeavor, stepped in to take over the role of an ambitious politician who finds himself engrossed in a murder conspiracy.

He'll join Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn and Jason Bateman in the film. Andrew Hauptman and Working Title partners Tim Beven and Eric Fellner are producing.

[Antoine Doinel]

Well, as far as career makeovers go, Affleck seems to be making some smart decisions.

[geoffcowgill]

Well, as far as career makeovers go, Affleck seems to be making some smart decisions.

Yeah, but now it sounds like he's going to try to act again.

[flyonthewall2983]

zing!

[Antoine Doinel]

Set pics.

[flyonthewall2983]

Trailer.

[Jeff]

Trailer.

Looks decent. I like MacDonald, and think he's pretty talented. It looks like the Crowe for Pitt substitution is going to work out okay, but seeing that trailer really reinforces what a shame it is they lost Edward Norton. Ben Whofleck should stick to directing Dennis Lehane adaptations.

[Antoine Doinel]

That trailer seems to be leaning on the ridiculous side of things. Here's hoping the script is a bit smarter, though the mega-corporation-as-murderer films are getting really stale. Also, is Jason Bateman's role in this of any substance? He's in the trailer for about a split second and he doesn't even get a name credit.

[MichaelB]

It'll be interesting to compare reactions on either side of the Atlantic.

Since only one post above has even mentioned the fact that it's sourced from a TV series, it's worth noting that the original State of Play was one of the most critically acclaimed BBC dramas in years - almost certainly the reason why Kevin Macdonald was able to attract such a stellar cast. But because of its profile in Britain, the resulting film will almost inevitably be found wanting in comparison - for starters, they're going to have to cut one hell of a lot from a six-hour original.

Then again, Traffic didn't suffer from being a remake of a Channel 4 drama, though in this case there was a far greater gap between TV and feature film versions (and I don't recall Traffik [sic] capturing the popular imagination in the way that the BBC State of Play did).

Still, at least Kevin Macdonald's British, so he should be savvy enough to know which bits to tamper with and which to leave well alone!

[Antoine Doinel]

Macdonald talks about what really caused Brad Pitt to walk away from the film at the last minute.

[hot_locket]

Isn't Pitt notorious for this sort of teasery? I know he's burned Aronofsky at least a couple times.

[Jeff]

Macdonald talks about what really caused Brad Pitt to walk away from the film at the last minute.

That's a great article aboud Macdonald in general. He also talks about the difficulty of adapting the six-hour miniseries and the hazards of coming to America and directing within the "star system." It's a good read.

[flyonthewall2983]

I must say that the lack of an R-rating really has me discouraged to see this.

[Fiery Angel]

I know, I was hoping for some Rachel McAdams McNudity myself.

[Dr Amicus]

Early reviews (Empire, in passing in the Observer) seem positive so fingers crossed.

The TV series was superb, one of the highlights of its year (come to think of it, one of the highlights of the decade) - so as MichaelB says, it has a lot to live up to. The Observer article linked to above suggests that by taking a slightly different angle, some of the problems associated with trimming down such complex material have been successfully addressed. [-o<

[Jeff]

With shades of All the Presidents Men,this is as much an elegy for dead tree journalism as it is a political thriller. If the repeated references to the decline of journalistic integrity, the constrictions placed on editor by corporate ownership, and the laments about the rise of the blogosphere don’t convince you, the end title sequence certainly will.

Crowe's ink-stained wretch is in the Bob Woodward mold (with shades of Robert Downey Jr.’s take on Paul Avery in Zodiac). As previously mentioned, Crowe was a last-minute replacement for Brad Pitt. The move was, in the long run, probably an upgrade, but the frequent appearances by Crowe’s Australian accent suggest that he was phoning it in. Ben Affleck costars as a young congressman and Crowe’s college roommate (never mind the fact that Crowe’s looks show every bit of the eight years of seniority he has on Affleck). Affleck isn’t nearly as awful as usual here, making the fact that he too was a last-minute replacement for Edward Norton somewhat less disappointing.

The political intrigue, which involves a Blackwater-esque private military security firm, crooked congressmen, and greedy CEOs is a little ham-handed in it’s attempts at relevance and timeliness, and director Kevin Macdonald’s house of cards falls apart in the third act. No matter though, since it’s all an excuse to see Russell Crowe pass the torch (almost literally) to the newsroom blogger played by Rachel McAdams. A deliciously smarmy Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, Helen Mirren, and Robin Wright Penn (in a role that I’m sure worked better in the miniseries) round out the stellar cast.

Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto shot the newsroom stuff in anamorphic 35mm on celluloid, and the political stuff on high-def video – a smart and subtle technique that works well. Dante Spinotti is improbably credited as the second-unit DP.

Though I don't think State of Play ultimately works quite as well as Macdonald’s narrative debut, The Last King of Scotland, he does an admirable job of cramming a lot of plot and thematic weight into an elegantly shot little thriller.

[bunuelian]

Did anyone hear the NPR review of this over the weekend? I really liked the reviewer's observation about the lack of chemistry between Affleck and Crowe, and the excerpt that followed. The overbearing music in the background over a conversation in stage whisper had me giggling - and Crowe's inflections versus Affleck's dull delivery came through the radio as a rather unappealing way to spend ten bucks.

[thirtyframesasecond]

I saw it this weekend. It's alright, not a patch on the original series though. The acting talent's not on par for one, though Crowe's a pretty decent lead. Shame Affleck's too bland in the Stephen Collins role, and there's a baffling performance by Jason Bateman in the Dominic Foy role. Macdonald has also cut the editor's son as played by James McAvoy, which gave more substance to the role of the editor; Helen Mirren is far more in the background than Bill Nighy had been in the series. Otherwise, the relationship between Crowe and McAdams, as seasoned journo and blogger is a bit trite; she learns many lessons in journalism from him. The conspiracy threat's more sinister and overt at least, and updating the series to contemporary America at least asks questions about the modern multimedia age. It's an entertaining ride but has serious flaws all the same.