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18½
Poster
Directed byDan Mirvish
Written by
  • Daniel Moya
  • Dan Mirvish
Produced by
  • Dan Mirvish
  • Daniel Moya
  • Terry Keefe
Starring
CinematographyElle Schneider
Edited byDan Mirvish
Music byLuis Guerra
Distributed byAdventure Entertainment (US)[1]
101 Films International (UK)[2]
Release dates
  • October 2021 (2021-10) (Woodstock Film Festival)
  • May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) (United States)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

18½ is a 2021 American comedy-thriller film directed by Dan Mirvish, written by Daniel Moya, with a story by Dan Mirvish and Daniel Moya. The film stars Willa Fitzgerald, John Magaro, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Catherine Curtin, Richard Kind, Sullivan Jones and the voices of Jon Cryer as H. R. Haldeman, Ted Raimi as Alexander Haig and Bruce Campbell as President Richard Nixon.[3]

Plot

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At the height of Watergate, a White House transcriber tries to leak the 18½-minute gap in the Nixon White House tapes to a reporter, but they run afoul of swingers, hippies and nefarious forces.

Cast

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Production

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The film started shooting March 3, 2020, at the Silver Sands Motel and Cottages in Greenport, Suffolk County, New York. Production was halted after 11 days because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5] For the next six months, Mirvish edited the footage they had, composer Luis Guerra worked on the music, and the production team recorded voice sessions for the fictional 18½-minute gap in the Nixon White House tapes with Bruce Campbell, Jon Cryer and Ted Raimi over Zoom. Filming resumed in September, 2020, for the final four days once COVID protocols were in place with the Directors Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild.[6]

Release

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Adventure Entertainment released the film theatrically in the United States starting on May 27, 2022.[7] The film came out in the UK on July 11, 2022.[8] The film was released on airlines JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines, through distributor Gate23.[9] The DVD special edition of the film was released on April 9, 2024, from MVD Entertainment Group. The DVD includes a feature length behind-the-scenes documentary called "Covid 18½: The Making of a Film in a Global Pandemic," as well as a commentary track from director Dan Mirvish and screenwriter Daniel Moya, audio of full Richard Nixon tape with Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi and Jon Cryer, and a live audience track from film's world premiere at Woodstock Film Festival.[10][11]

Festivals

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18½ was selected to screen at the following film festivals:

Reception

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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 78% approval rating, based on 45 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Some tonal inconsistency makes 18 1/2 more of a 7/10, but this well-acted period piece mines the Watergate scandal for fresh, insightful dramedy."[27]

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "Just when you thought we might have covered this dark chapter in American history from all angles, along comes the slyly subversive, occasionally loony and thoroughly entertaining 18 ½, which is fictional and yet contains essential truths and clever insights throughout."[28] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com wrote, "it's a film that sticks in the mind after you've watched it. Every choice is made with confidence, but from an intuitive place, like decisions made by a lucid dreamer."[29] Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Mirvish's excellent cast approaches this sequence like a one-act play, swinging at every curveball their fellow actors throw. Nothing they're saying matters much, but they say it with such verve and passion that they pull the audience right into the free-floating anxiety of a fraught time in American history, a half-century ago."[30]

The film was one of 301 features qualified as eligible for the 95th Academy Awards.[31] The original songs "Brasília Bella", "Wonder Bread" and "Deadly Butterfly" from the film were 3 out of the 82 songs qualified for the 2023 Academy Awards Best Original Song category.[32] "Brasília Bella" was considered an "Oscar Contender" by The Hollywood Reporter,[33] IndieWire[34] and GoldDerby.[35]

References

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  1. ^ "'A Miracle Before Christmas', 'Surprised By Oxford' Castings; Fade To Black Films Slate; Acquisitions By Samuel Goldwyn, Freestyle, Adventure Entertainment, Gravitas; More – Film Briefs". deadline.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  2. ^ "BBC Series 'The Split' Gets Italian Version – Global Bulletin". variety.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  3. ^ 18½ at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ "How to Shoot a Film in a Global Pandemic". filmmakermagazine.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  5. ^ "Dan Mirvish on Wrangling a Wild Tale of the Tape in "18 1/2"". moveablefest.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  6. ^ "How to Shoot an Indie Film During a Pandemic". variety.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  7. ^ "'A Miracle Before Christmas', 'Surprised By Oxford' Castings; Fade To Black Films Slate; Acquisitions By Samuel Goldwyn, Freestyle, Adventure Entertainment, Gravitas; More – Film Briefs". deadline.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  8. ^ "18 ½ – An interview with Dan Mirvish". setthetape.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  9. ^ "With Airline Sales, Watergate Film 18 1/2 Soars Into the Mile-High Club". filmmakermagazine.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  10. ^ "Watergate Thriller-Comedy '18½' Slated for April 9 DVD Release From MVD". mediaplaynews.com. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  11. ^ "Comedic Nixon Tape Thriller '18 1/2′ Available on DVD From MVD". mediaplaynews.com. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  12. ^ "Woodstock Film Festival Announces Slate For This Fall's 22nd Edition". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  13. ^ "The Year of the Hybrid: 9 Ways to Make the Most of a Hybrid Festival Premiere". filmmakermagazine.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  14. ^ "Mostra Internacional de Cinema em São Paulo exibirá mais de 131 filmes online". mundoconectado.com.br. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  15. ^ "Gijón 59th FICX Edition Brings Back Audiences To Theaters". variety.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  16. ^ "Talent on Tap – Whistler Film Festival Presents Dan Mirvish's 18 ½". hnmag.ca. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  17. ^ "St. Louis International Film Festival screenings this month". source.wustl.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  18. ^ "Dispatches From The 2021 Tallgrass Film Festival". kmuw.org. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  19. ^ "BBC Series 'The Split' Gets Italian Version – Global Bulletin". variety.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  20. ^ "The Rome International Film Festival returns with big names on big screens". sixmilepost.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  21. ^ "Talent on Tap – Whistler Film Festival Presents Dan Mirvish's 18 ½". hnmag.ca. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  22. ^ "18½ – MANIFF 2022". themovieisle.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  23. ^ "Like spring itself, Bay Area film festivals about to experience a warming trend". datebook.sfchronicle.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  24. ^ "PREVIEW OF CINEQUEST/CINEJOY 2022". beyondchron.org. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  25. ^ "RiverRun Announces 2022 Film Lineup". yesweekly.com.
  26. ^ "Oxford Film Festival Announces 2022 Lineup". hottytoddy.com.
  27. ^ "18 1/2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  28. ^ "'18 1/2': Yes, another Watergate movie, but this one's fun and totally fictional". chicago.suntimes.com.
  29. ^ "18 1/2". rogerebert.com.
  30. ^ "Review: Who is the 'Girl in the Picture'? and more movies to see at home this weekend". Los Angeles Times.
  31. ^ "Oscars: 301 Feature Films Deemed Eligible for Nominations". variety.com.
  32. ^ "Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift Film Tunes Among 82 Deemed Eligible for Oscars' Original Song Race". variety.com.
  33. ^ "Feinberg Forecast: Updated Oscar Projections as the Race Enters December". hollywoodreporter.com.
  34. ^ "Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, and Diane Warren Are All Right Back into Best Original Song Contention". indiewire.com.
  35. ^ "2023 Original Song Contenders (Part 3)". goldderby.com.
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