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Run This Town (film)

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Run This Town
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRicky Tollman
Screenplay byRicky Tollman
Produced byJonathan Bronfman
Randy Manis
StarringBen Platt
Mena Massoud
Nina Dobrev
Scott Speedman
Gil Bellows
Jennifer Ehle
Damian Lewis
CinematographyNick Haight
Edited bySandy Pereira
Music byAli Shaheed Muhammad
Adrian Younge
Production
companies
CounterNarrative Films
JoBro Productions & Film Finance
Manis Film
Distributed by
Release dates
  • March 9, 2019 (2019-03-09) (SXSW)
  • March 6, 2020 (2020-03-06) (Canada)
  • March 6, 2020 (2020-03-06) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes[1]
CountriesCanada
United States
LanguageEnglish

Run This Town is a 2019 drama film about Rob Ford's personal and work-related controversies during his final year as Toronto's mayor, written and directed by Ricky Tollman. It stars Ben Platt, Mena Massoud, Nina Dobrev, Scott Speedman, Gil Bellows, Jennifer Ehle, and Damian Lewis.

It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 9, 2019. It was released in the United States and Canada on March 6, 2020, by Oscilloscope and Elevation Pictures.

Premise

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The film details the turbulent final year of Rob Ford's tenure as the mayor of Toronto.

Cast

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Production

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It was announced in March 2018 that Ben Platt, Nina Dobrev, Mena Massoud and Damian Lewis were cast in the film.[2] Filming began the next month in Toronto, along with the additions of Jennifer Ehle, Scott Speedman and Gil Bellows to the cast. Lewis, playing the role of Ford, was spotted on set in extensive makeup and donning a body suit.[3][4]

Release

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The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 9, 2019.[5] It was released commercially in the United States and Canada on March 6, 2020.[6][7]

Criticism

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The film faced some criticism for excising the role of investigative journalists Robyn Doolittle and Kevin Donovan in exposing the scandal, instead replacing them with a fictional novice male journalist.[8][9] Donovan was critical of the film's portrayal of the media, particularly scenes depicting a reporter paying for the Rob Ford video.[9] Allison Smith stated that Doolittle's replacement with a male journalist was problematic, and the film "would have been more interesting if it had followed Doolittle".[9] She stated that Doolittle may have been replaced because her book Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story had been optioned for a film or television production.[9]

Joe Mihevc, formerly a councillor on Toronto City Council, stated that the film misrepresents Ford's character, portraying him as a mean-spirited individual and omitting the "humanness of Rob" and the traits that attracted those who voted for him.[9]

The film was also praised by Donovan for its correct portrayal of the backroom politics, and by Smith for the depiction of reporters reconstructing a timeline of Rob Ford's activities based on postings to his social media accounts.[9]

Awards

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The film received three Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards, for Best Art Direction/Production Design (Chris Crane), Best Sound Editing (Nelson Ferreira, Dashen Naidoo, J.R. Fountain and Dustin Harris) and Best Makeup (Emily O'Quinn, Steve Newburn and Neil Morrill).[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Run this Town". South by Southwest. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  2. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2018-03-26). "Ben Platt, Nina Dobrev, Mena Massoud & Damian Lewis To Star In 'Run This Town'". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  3. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2018-04-04). "Jennifer Ehle, Scott Speedman & Gil Bellows Board 'Run This Town'". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  4. ^ "Damian Lewis Is Unrecognizable as Rob Ford on Run This Town Set". E! Online. April 24, 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  5. ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 16, 2019). "SXSW: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey to Premiere New Work". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  6. ^ "Run this Town". Elevation Pictures. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  7. ^ Day-Ramos, Dino (January 23, 2020). "Oscilloscope Teams With Twitter For Innovative Release Of Ricky Tollman's 'Run This Town' Starring Ben Platt". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  8. ^ Arnold, Amanda (April 10, 2018). "Female Reporter Slams Movie For 'Rewriting' History By Casting Male Actor". TheCut.com.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Glasner, Eli (2020-03-06). "What the Rob Ford movie Run This Town gets right — and what it gets wrong". cbc.ca. CBC News. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  10. ^ "Écrans canadiens : Song of Names, The Twentieth Century et Antigone en tête des nominations". Ici Radio-Canada, February 18, 2020.
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