Good Night, And Good Luck (Movie, 2005)

Directed by George Clooney
Written by George Clooney & Grant Heslow

David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow, journalist and host of the CBS television program See It Now
George Clooney as Fred Friendly, coproducer with Murrow of See It Now
Robert Downey, Jr. as Joseph Wershba, writer, editor, and correspondent for CBS News
Patricia Clarkson as Shirley Wershba
Frank Langella as William Paley, chief executive of CBS
Jeff Daniels as Sig Mickelson

Jazz combo
Dianne Reeves
Peter Martin
Christoph Luty
Jeff Hamilton
Matt Catingub

In September 2005, Clooney explained his interest in the story to an audience at the New York Film Festival: "I thought it was a good time to raise the idea of using fear to stifle political debate." Having majored in journalism in college, Clooney was well-versed in the subject matter. His father, Nick Clooney, was a television journalist for many years, appearing as an anchorman in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York. The elder Clooney also ran for congress in 2004.

George Clooney was paid $1 each for writing, directing, and acting in Good Night, and Good Luck, which cost $7.5 million to make. Due to an injury he received on the set of Syriana a few months earlier, Clooney couldn't pass the tests to be insured. He then proposed to mortgage his own house in order to make the film. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former eBay president Jeff Skoll invested money in the project as executive producers.

Clooney and producer Grant Heslov decided to use only archival footage of Joseph McCarthy in his depiction. As all of that footage was black-and-white, that determined the color scheme of the film.

A small jazz combo starring jazz singer Dianne Reeves was hired to record the soundtrack to the movie. This combo (Peter Martin, Christoph Luty, Jeff Hamilton and Matt Catingub) was featured in the movie in several scenes; for example, in one scene the newsmen pass a studio where she is recording with the rest of the band. The CD is Dianne Reeves's second featuring jazz standards, and it won the Grammy Award in 2005 for best jazz vocal performance.

One complaint about the movie among test audiences was their belief that the actor playing McCarthy was too over the top, not realizing that the film used actual archive footage of McCarthy himself.

Wikipedia/Good Night, Good Luck

• Category

  Film & Animation

[Babs McConologue]

This was an amazing film. There was no over the top action or violence. It's just beautiful dialogue, brilliant camera work and awesome acting.

[SophyaAgain]

And a wonderful soundtrack!

[SophyaAgain]

You're welcome. That's a great movie, isn't it ?

[Vagabond Vagabondish]

Definitely in my top 10 favorite movies, possibly higher. A well-crafted, INTJ-tingly fest. :)

[NewJeffersonian]

It's not radio.

[Ralph Hickok]

The guy who plays Murrow has a terrible voice for radio. Couldn't Clooney get somebody who sounds a little more like Murrow?

[300daysandnights]

did you post the full movie?

[bigtimer1254]

Good ole down home, good living type movie.That's what Democracy is all about.

[Michael Sheldon Reed]

Nominated for Best Picture, deservedly.