Favorite Movie and Television Productions About Journalism
Below is a list (in chronological order) of my favorite movie and television productions about journalism or features journalism:
FAVORITE MOVIE AND TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS ABOUT JOURNALISM
1. "His Girl Friday" (1940) - Howard Hawks directed this second adaptation of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's 1931 stage play, "The Front Page". Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell starred.
2. "Roman Holiday" (1953) - William Wyler directed this delightful comedy about a bored European princess visiting Rome on a state visit, who becomes involved with an American reporter after giving her courtiers the slip. Gregory Peck, Oscar winner Audrey Hepburn and Eddie Albert starred.
3. "All the President's Men" (1976) - Alan J. Pakula directed this Oscar nominated adaptation of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward's 1974 book about their investigation of the Watergate scandal. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman starred.
4. "Broadcast News" (1987) - James L. Brooks directed this Oscar-nominated tale about a love triangle between a neurotic television news producer; a prickly reporter, who happens to be her best friend and a charismatic, yet less intelligent news anchorman. Oscar nominees Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks and William Hurt starred.
5. "The Pelican Brief" (1993) - Alan J. Pakula directed this adaptation of John Grisham's 1992 novel about a Tulane University law student and a Washington D.C. reporter investigating the assassinations of two Supreme Court justices. Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts starred.
6. "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (1993-1997) - Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher starred in this television series about Superman, which heavily emphasized on Clark Kent aka Superman and Lois Lane's relationship and roles as journalists for The Daily Planet. The series was created by Deborah Joy LeVine.
7. "State of Play" (2003) - John Simm and David Morissey stared in this six-part miniseries about a newspaper's investigation into the death of a political researcher, who worked for a Member of Parliament (MP) investigating the connection between the oil industry and corrupt high-ranking ministers. Created by Paul Abbott, the miniseries was directed by David Yates.
8. "Good Night, and Good Luck" (2005) - Oscar nominee David Strathairn, George Clooney and Jeff Daniels starred into this historical drama about the conflict between Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin about the Cold War blacklists of the 1950s. The Oscar nominated movie was directed by Clooney and co-written with Grant Heslov.
9. "State of Play" (2009) - Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck starred in this movie adaptation of Paul Abbott's 2003 television miniseries in which a Washington D.C. newspaper investigates the death of a political researcher who worked for a congressman investigating the connection between a private defense contractor and corrupt high-ranking politicians. Kevin Macdonald directed.
10. "Spotlight" (2015) - Tom McCarthy co-wrote and directed this account of The Boston Globe's investigation into widespread and systemic cases of child sex abuse by numerous Roman Catholic priests in Boston. Michael Keaton, along with Oscar nominees Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams starred.