Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
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Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
EXCLUSIVE: Fox has closed a deal to acquire rights to Marie Brenner’s 1997 Vanity Fair article “The Ballad Of Richard Jewell”, which will be developed for Jonah Hill to play the title subject. Jewell was the security guard who discovered a backpack in the Olympics compound in Atlanta in 1996. Initially hailed a hero for reporting the suspicious knapsack and then helping clear bystanders from the area before it exploded, Jewell was subsequently vilified just three days later as a potential suspect, his life and reputation torn apart in the advent of the 24 hour news cycle. Leonardo DiCaprio will play a lawyer Jewell knew casually, a Southern attorney who mostly did real estate closings and seemed in over his head, but he guided Jewell through a hellish Twilight Zone that went on even after the FBI officially cleared Jewell’s name three months later.
Brenner, whose VF article was the original source material for the Michael Mann-directed tobacco whistle-blower tale The Insider, accompanied Jewell and his attorney just as it finally became clear he had nothing to do with placing the bomb. The film will be produced by Appian Way’s DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Hill and Kevin Misher, the latter of whom brought in the article. Misher Films’ Andy Berman will also have a producing role.
This comes as both DiCaprio and Hill are up for Oscars for Best Picture nominee The Wolf Of Wall Street. It is particularly a strong role for Hill, who continues his remarkable transition from comic actor to serious roles that started with an Oscar-nominated turn in Moneyball and continues with the Rupert Goold-directed True Story, in which Hill plays Michael Finkel, a disgraced journalist who got the chance at redemption when a suspected killer (James Franco) took Finkel’s name, and would only talk to that journalist. That project is also at Fox, with New Regency.
This latest deal seems timely with the Sochi Winter Olympics about to begin, but this is more a cautionary tale about how a media rush to judgment, based on law enforcement leaks and rumors, can trample the rights of individuals before the facts are even in. Jewell’s move from hero to a potential bomber looking for attention happened in an alarmingly short span before, in his words, the FBI and journalists were on him “like piranha on a bleeding cow.” Based on the flimsiest evidence and the FBI’s zeal to corral a suspect, Jewell, a former sheriff’s deputy who earlier that year moved in with his mother to care for her during a health crisis, and took a security job because he thought it would be strong resume material as he tried to become a cop, was suddenly depicted as a 34-year-old loser who lived with his mother.
After the Atlanta Journal Constitution boldly wrote a front-page story that flatly said Jewell fit the profile of a lone bomber, 10,000 reporters decamped outside their small apartment, which the FBI tore apart looking for evidence, taking hair samples and fingerprints. Jewell’s mother was particularly traumatized, particularly when her favorite newsman, Tom Brokaw, came on NBC and reported the feds probably had enough to arrest and charge her son, but perhaps not enough to convict him yet. Jay Leno turned Jewell into a nightly running joke on The Tonight Show, ridiculing him for his weight and other matters. It was an ugly chapter for journalism, with bogus reporting that included the assertion on CNN that Jewell was seen before the explosion with a homemade bomb. Lawsuits were filed and settled with several news outlets. Jewell died in 2007 at age 44, and at least in his obits, he was called a hero. An anti-government militant later confessed to the crime.
DiCaprio and Hill are managed by LBI, Hill by WME, and the deal was struck for Brenner by Ron Bernstein at ICM Partners.
Brenner, whose VF article was the original source material for the Michael Mann-directed tobacco whistle-blower tale The Insider, accompanied Jewell and his attorney just as it finally became clear he had nothing to do with placing the bomb. The film will be produced by Appian Way’s DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Hill and Kevin Misher, the latter of whom brought in the article. Misher Films’ Andy Berman will also have a producing role.
This comes as both DiCaprio and Hill are up for Oscars for Best Picture nominee The Wolf Of Wall Street. It is particularly a strong role for Hill, who continues his remarkable transition from comic actor to serious roles that started with an Oscar-nominated turn in Moneyball and continues with the Rupert Goold-directed True Story, in which Hill plays Michael Finkel, a disgraced journalist who got the chance at redemption when a suspected killer (James Franco) took Finkel’s name, and would only talk to that journalist. That project is also at Fox, with New Regency.
This latest deal seems timely with the Sochi Winter Olympics about to begin, but this is more a cautionary tale about how a media rush to judgment, based on law enforcement leaks and rumors, can trample the rights of individuals before the facts are even in. Jewell’s move from hero to a potential bomber looking for attention happened in an alarmingly short span before, in his words, the FBI and journalists were on him “like piranha on a bleeding cow.” Based on the flimsiest evidence and the FBI’s zeal to corral a suspect, Jewell, a former sheriff’s deputy who earlier that year moved in with his mother to care for her during a health crisis, and took a security job because he thought it would be strong resume material as he tried to become a cop, was suddenly depicted as a 34-year-old loser who lived with his mother.
After the Atlanta Journal Constitution boldly wrote a front-page story that flatly said Jewell fit the profile of a lone bomber, 10,000 reporters decamped outside their small apartment, which the FBI tore apart looking for evidence, taking hair samples and fingerprints. Jewell’s mother was particularly traumatized, particularly when her favorite newsman, Tom Brokaw, came on NBC and reported the feds probably had enough to arrest and charge her son, but perhaps not enough to convict him yet. Jay Leno turned Jewell into a nightly running joke on The Tonight Show, ridiculing him for his weight and other matters. It was an ugly chapter for journalism, with bogus reporting that included the assertion on CNN that Jewell was seen before the explosion with a homemade bomb. Lawsuits were filed and settled with several news outlets. Jewell died in 2007 at age 44, and at least in his obits, he was called a hero. An anti-government militant later confessed to the crime.
DiCaprio and Hill are managed by LBI, Hill by WME, and the deal was struck for Brenner by Ron Bernstein at ICM Partners.
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
That sounds interesting. Such a weird case.
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
can't imagine how much worse that would have been in the age of youtwitface
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
Remember this very well. It's too bad he still had to fight this even after it was clear he was not the suspect.
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
Is Jonah Hill going to lose weight for the role? I kid. I'm sort of surprised this wasn't already made into a tv movie. I know I really felt bad for the guy at the time.
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
The most fucked up part of the Jewell story is that the accusations were so loud and the retraction so quiet that to this day many people think the person who bombed the 1996 Olympics was Richard Jewell. For years I thought he was convicted.
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
Richard Jewell is history's greatest monster, second only to First Officer Murdoch!
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
Hell, I thought he was guilty up until I read this story
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
I remember Richard Jewell on SNL. Norm McDonald interrogated him on Weekend Update and accused him of killing Princess Diana and Mother Teresa
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
Me too ... I remember the story breaking but never knew he was cleared. I'll admit, if done right I think this sounds very interesting. I figured it was going to be a run-of-the-mill crime procedural. A cautionary tale which may vilify the media -- I'm in!
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
Just what we need, another DiCaprio/Hill film that lionizes a criminal!
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
ESPN had a 30 for 30 short released a little over a week ago about Richard Jewell. I thought it was pretty good and (of course) made me feel horrible for Jewell.
http://grantland.com/features/30-for...udging-jewell/
http://grantland.com/features/30-for...udging-jewell/
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
EXCLUSIVE: Paul Greengrass is circling to come aboard and team with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in the Fox film they are making about Richard Jewell, the heroic security guard who discovered a suspicious backpack in the Olympics compound during the 1996 games in Atlanta. He soon was vilified as a possible terrorist, and his good work in helping clear bystanders from the area before the bomb exploded turned into a trip to the Twilight Zone. Script is by Billy Ray, who wrote Greengrass’ Captain Phillips.
The film is based on Marie Brenner’s 1997 Vanity Fair article The Ballad Of Richard Jewell, and the plan is for Hill to play Jewell and for DiCaprio to play a Southern attorney who knew Jewell casually. The lawyer, who mostly did real estate closings, seemed over his head but guided Jewell through the demoralizing nightmare that signaled the downside of the advent of the 24-hour news cycle. The FBI finally cleared Jewell three months later. The film will be produced by Appian Way’s DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Hill and Kevin Misher, the latter of whom brought in the article. Misher Films’ Andy Berman also will have a producing role. Mike Ireland is overseeing for Fox. Hill and DiCaprio were eager to set up another project together after they had such a good time making The Wolf Of Wall Street, for which both got Oscar nominations.
I am not positive this will be made with Greengrass, but the director has an affinity for nonfiction films in which small people are beaten up by the system. He’s covered the topic in Bloody Sunday, United 93 and most recently, Captain Phillips. Greengrass is repped by CAA.
The film is based on Marie Brenner’s 1997 Vanity Fair article The Ballad Of Richard Jewell, and the plan is for Hill to play Jewell and for DiCaprio to play a Southern attorney who knew Jewell casually. The lawyer, who mostly did real estate closings, seemed over his head but guided Jewell through the demoralizing nightmare that signaled the downside of the advent of the 24-hour news cycle. The FBI finally cleared Jewell three months later. The film will be produced by Appian Way’s DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Hill and Kevin Misher, the latter of whom brought in the article. Misher Films’ Andy Berman also will have a producing role. Mike Ireland is overseeing for Fox. Hill and DiCaprio were eager to set up another project together after they had such a good time making The Wolf Of Wall Street, for which both got Oscar nominations.
I am not positive this will be made with Greengrass, but the director has an affinity for nonfiction films in which small people are beaten up by the system. He’s covered the topic in Bloody Sunday, United 93 and most recently, Captain Phillips. Greengrass is repped by CAA.
#21
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
With all of that shaky cam, people will finally understand why we thought Richard Jewell was the bomber. "It was that blurry white blob!"
#22
re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
ESPN had a 30 for 30 short released a little over a week ago about Richard Jewell. I thought it was pretty good and (of course) made me feel horrible for Jewell.
http://grantland.com/features/30-for...udging-jewell/
http://grantland.com/features/30-for...udging-jewell/
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
EXCLUSIVE: Clint Eastwood is seriously circling the job of directing Fox’s high profile Billy Ray-scripted untitled project about Richard Jewell, the heroic security guard who discovered a suspicious backpack in the Olympics compound during the 1996 games in Atlanta. Jewell, who’ll be played by two-time Oscar nominee Jonah Hill, was vilified as a possible terrorist, and his good work in helping clear bystanders from the area before the bomb exploded turned into a trip to the Twilight Zone. Leonardo DiCaprio is a possible to play the Southern lawyer who helped Jewell navigate that hell.
Some navigating has to be done to make this one happen with Eastwood. After the blockbuster American Sniper, Eastwood can have his pick of projects. But he has always been incredibly loyal to Warner Bros, the place where he has made movies for decades. So Warner Bros and Fox are trying to find some common ground which might involve them sharing the picture as co-production partners. All parties are wary at the moment, but doesn’t this sound too good not to happen?
The film is based on Marie Brenner’s 1997 Vanity Fair article The Ballad Of Richard Jewell. The lawyer that DiCaprio might play knew Jewell casually and mostly did real estate closings. He seemed over his head, but guided Jewell through the demoralizing nightmare that signaled the downside of the advent of the 24-hour news cycle. The FBI finally cleared Jewell three months later. The film will be produced by Appian Way’s DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Hill and Kevin Misher, the latter of whom brought in the article. Misher Films’ Andy Berman also will have a producing role. Mike Ireland is overseeing for Fox. It came together when Hill and DiCaprio were eager to set up another project together after they had such a good time making The Wolf of Wall Street, for which both got Oscar nominations.
This project has been catnip for top directors since it was scripted by Ray, whose credits include Captain Phillips. Paul Greengrass circled it before returning to do another Bourne Identity with Matt Damon. David O. Russell also kicked the tires. They will have to come to some meetings of the mind over sharing and also things like budget, but Eastwood is the guy who brought in American Sniper for $58M (its gross is around $535M worldwide). This Richard Jewell story sounds like a pitch down the middle of the plate for him. Stay tuned.
Some navigating has to be done to make this one happen with Eastwood. After the blockbuster American Sniper, Eastwood can have his pick of projects. But he has always been incredibly loyal to Warner Bros, the place where he has made movies for decades. So Warner Bros and Fox are trying to find some common ground which might involve them sharing the picture as co-production partners. All parties are wary at the moment, but doesn’t this sound too good not to happen?
The film is based on Marie Brenner’s 1997 Vanity Fair article The Ballad Of Richard Jewell. The lawyer that DiCaprio might play knew Jewell casually and mostly did real estate closings. He seemed over his head, but guided Jewell through the demoralizing nightmare that signaled the downside of the advent of the 24-hour news cycle. The FBI finally cleared Jewell three months later. The film will be produced by Appian Way’s DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Hill and Kevin Misher, the latter of whom brought in the article. Misher Films’ Andy Berman also will have a producing role. Mike Ireland is overseeing for Fox. It came together when Hill and DiCaprio were eager to set up another project together after they had such a good time making The Wolf of Wall Street, for which both got Oscar nominations.
This project has been catnip for top directors since it was scripted by Ray, whose credits include Captain Phillips. Paul Greengrass circled it before returning to do another Bourne Identity with Matt Damon. David O. Russell also kicked the tires. They will have to come to some meetings of the mind over sharing and also things like budget, but Eastwood is the guy who brought in American Sniper for $58M (its gross is around $535M worldwide). This Richard Jewell story sounds like a pitch down the middle of the plate for him. Stay tuned.
#24
DVD Talk Gold Edition
re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
Wow, not a fan of DiCaprio but this has the potential to be great...
#25
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re: Richard Jewell (2019, D: Eastwood) S: Hauser, Rockwell, Hamm, Bates, Wilde -- '96 Olympic Bombing
I am sure DiCaprio will be very actorly in the way he acts in this actor's role.