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The Front Runner (film)

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The Front Runner
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJason Reitman
Screenplay by
Based onAll the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid
by Matt Bai
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyEric Steelberg
Edited byStefan Grube
Music byRob Simonsen
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
  • August 31, 2018 (2018-08-31) (Telluride)
  • November 6, 2018 (2018-11-06) (United States)
Running time
114 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million
Box office$3.2 million[2][3]

The Front Runner is a 2018 American political drama film directed by Jason Reitman, based on the 2014 book All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid by Matt Bai, who co-wrote the screenplay with Reitman and Jay Carson. The film stars Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J. K. Simmons, and Alfred Molina. It chronicles the rise of American Senator Gary Hart, the front-runner candidate to be the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, and his subsequent fall from grace when media reports suggested he was having an extramarital affair.

The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 6, 2018, by Columbia Pictures. It received mixed reviews; while Jackman was praised for his performance, critics said the rest of the cast felt wasted and the film did not "dive deep enough into its central issues to make a compelling argument."[4] The film was a box-office bomb, earning just $3.2 million against its $25 million budget.

Plot

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After finishing second to Walter Mondale in the 1984 Democratic Party presidential primaries, former Senator Gary Hart is now the widely accepted front-runner in the 1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Leading up to the formal launch of his campaign in April 1987, some of Hart's campaign staff are concerned that he won't open up about himself (letting the public "get to know him"), instead focusing on ideas and policy. Meanwhile, at The Washington Post, editors and journalists discuss whether the paper should report on Hart's marital problems and rumoured promiscuity.

After the first week of campaigning, Hart joins his friend Billy Broadhurst for a yacht cruise from Miami to Bimini on the Monkey Business, where he meets Donna Rice, a young woman. Days later at an array of pay-phones in an airport, two reporters (A.J. Parker of the Post and Tom Fiedler of the Miami Herald) overhear Hart's end of a conversation, presumably with Rice.

On the campaign plane, Hart gets to know Parker, offering paternal advice and giving the young reporter a Tolstoy novel to learn about the Soviets. Later, in Iowa, Parker offends Hart during an interview by asking whether he has "a traditional marriage". Hart responds: "You want to know what I'm doing in my spare time, A.J., is that it? Follow me around, put a tail on me. You'd be very bored."

Meanwhile, in Miami, Tom Fiedler has received an anonymous call from a young woman alleging that Hart "is having an affair with a friend of mine". Fiedler dismisses the call at first, but ends up tracking two women on a flight to Washington, D.C., and staking out Hart's townhouse, where he sees Hart go out and come back with Rice. Hart eventually notices Fiedler's car and there is a confrontation, during which Fiedler asks about the woman and Hart denies any wrongdoing and asserts that his personal life is nobody's business. Knowing the story will hit the news, Hart phones his wife, Lee Hart, and apologizes.

After the story appears in the Herald, Lee and daughter Andrea are besieged by reporters outside their home in Troublesome Gulch, Colorado. Meanwhile, in D.C., campaign staffer Irene Kelly is tasked with befriending Rice to try to get information from her, after which she sends Rice back to Miami, where her privacy is torn to shreds by the press.

Hart argues with his campaign manager, Bill Dixon, about whether to respond to the Herald story. Dixon thinks Hart needs to speak out to control the damage, but Hart vehemently argues that any response at all would legitimize the reporters' action and set a dangerous precedent.

The Post receives an anonymous package with photos taken months previous of Hart with another woman. Parker argues that reporting on this aspect of Hart's life is not good journalism, but the editor, Ben Bradlee, overrules him, indicating that they need to change with the times.

While preparing for a press conference, Hart's campaign team notes that polls show a majority of the public believes the media has gone too far in their coverage of Hart and that a candidate's marital indiscretions are irrelevant to their qualifications for being president. When told that reporters may ask whether he has ever cheated on his wife, Hart strongly retorts, "It's nobody's goddamn business!", which the team agrees is the perfect answer. Then Lee arrives, and the staff leaves. She tells Hart that she may leave him eventually, but not now.

At the press conference, it is Parker who asks whether Hart has committed adultery. Instead of giving the rehearsed answer, Hart weakly stammers that he doesn't think it is a fair question. Later, Parker asks for comment from the campaign on the anonymous photos the Post received. Seeing how upset Lee is over the public scrutiny and its negative impacts on their family, Hart drops out of the campaign.

A postscript states that "Gary and Lee Hart remain married to this day".[a]

Cast

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Hart Campaign

Washington Post

Miami Herald

Miami

Traveling Press

Presidential biographer and historian Jon Meacham appears in a cameo role as the moderator of a Georgetown town hall.

Production

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Development

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Political columnist Matt Bai became interested in American Senator Gary Hart after writing a 2003 profile of him for The New York Times, and he released the book on which the film is based, All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid, in 2014.[5]

The screenplay for the film was written by filmmaker Jason Reitman, Bai, and former Hillary Clinton press secretary Jay Carson. Reitman also produced with Helen Estabrook for Right of Way Films, and Aaron L. Gilbert produced for Bron Studios.[6]

Casting

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In June 2017, it was reported that Hugh Jackman would portray Gary Hart in The Front Runner.[7] In August 2017, the extended cast list for the film was announced, including Vera Farmiga as Hart's wife Oletha "Lee" Hart, Kaitlyn Dever as Gary and Lee's daughter Andrea Hart, Sara Paxton as Donna Rice, Ari Graynor as journalist Ann Devroy, and J. K. Simmons as Bill Dixon, Hart's 1988 presidential campaign manager and longtime friend.[8] The following month, Jennifer Landon and John Bedford Lloyd joined the cast in unspecified roles.[9] In October 2017, Chris Coy was cast as press secretary Kevin Sweeney.[10]

Filming

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Principal photography began on September 18, 2017, in Georgia, with Jackman revealing the first image from the set that day.[11][12] Production took place in both Atlanta and Savannah.[13]

Release

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In May 2018, Sony Pictures and Stage 6 Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film at the 71st Cannes Film Festival, with a planned awards season release.[14][15] It had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018,[16][17] and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8.[18]

The Front Runner began its limited release on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, the first film to ever be released on Election Day in the United States. It then expanded to 22 theaters on November 16, and nationwide on November 21.[19]

Reception

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Box office

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The film made $6,849 from four theaters on its first day (an average of $1,712 per screen), a figure Deadline Hollywood noted as underwhelming; however, the site wrote that it is rare for a film to open limited on a Tuesday, and the film's impending opening weekend would be the true gauge of its box office strength.[20] It ended up making $56,000 in its opening weekend (a six-day total of $76,199), which Deadline called "awful" and "really horrible when you consider that it's a limited launch of an awards contender wannabe."[21]

During its theatrical run, The Front Runner earned $2,000,105 at the domestic box office.[3]

Critical response

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On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 58% based on 230 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10; the website's critical consensus reads: "The Front Runner exhumes the wreckage of a political campaign with well-acted wit, even if it neglects to truly analyze the issues it raises."[22] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[23]

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
AACTA International Awards January 4, 2019 Best Actor Hugh Jackman Nominated [24]
AARP's Movies For Grownups Awards February 4, 2019 Best Actor Hugh Jackman Nominated [25]
Best Ensemble The Front Runner Nominated
Hollywood Film Awards November 4, 2018 Hollywood Actor Award Hugh Jackman Won [26]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards December 3, 2018 Best Portrayal of Washington D.C. The Front Runner Nominated [27]

Notes

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  1. ^ Lee Hart passed away on April 9, 2021, which is after the film was released.
  2. ^ a b c d A fictional or composite character

References

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  1. ^ "The Front Runner". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "The Front Runner (2018) - Financial Infirmation". The Numbers. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "The Front Runner (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  4. ^ Fujitani, Ryan (November 21, 2018). "Ralph Breaks the Internet and Creed II Are Certified Fresh". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  5. ^ Shafer, Jack (October 31, 2014). "Matt Bai's 'All the Truth Is Out,' About Gary Hart". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  6. ^ McNary, Dave (June 27, 2017). "Hugh Jackman to Play Senator Gary Hart in 'The Frontrunner' Movie". Variety. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  7. ^ Siegel, Tatiana; Galuppo, Mia (June 27, 2017). "Hugh Jackman to Play Gary Hart in Jason Reitman Political Drama (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  8. ^ Breznican, Anthony (August 23, 2017). "Here's Who's Starring With Hugh Jackman In the Gary Hart Film 'The Front Runner'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  9. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (September 29, 2017). "Jennifer Landon & John Bedford Lloyd Cast In 'The Front Runner'; Harold Perrineau Joins 'Dumplin'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  10. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (October 5, 2017). "Chris Coy Joins Hugh Jackman In 'The Front Runner'; Disney's 'Nicole' Adds Kingsley Ben-Adir". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  11. ^ Breznican, Anthony (September 18, 2017). "Hugh Jackman reveals first image as Gary Hart in 'The Front Runner'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 19, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  12. ^ Busch, Jenna (September 18, 2017). "Hugh Jackman Tweets a Pic from Day One of The Front Runner". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  13. ^ Christopher Marc (August 23, 2017). "Hugh Jackman's 'The Front Runner' Shoots September–October In Atlanta". Omega Underground. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  14. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (May 10, 2018). "Jason Reitman's Gary Hart Movie 'The Front Runner' Set At Sony, Will Bow In Fall – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  15. ^ "The Front Runner". Stage 6 Films. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  16. ^ Tapley, Kristopher (August 30, 2018). "'First Man,' 'Front Runner' and 'Roma' Among 2018 Telluride Film Festival Selections". Variety. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  17. ^ "Telluride Film Festival Program Guide" (PDF). Telluride Film Festival. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  18. ^ Vlessing, Etan (July 24, 2018). "Toronto: Timothee Chalamet Starrer 'Beautiful Boy,' Dan Fogelman's 'Life Itself' Among Festival Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  19. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 5, 2018). "Gary Hart Movie 'The Front Runner' Votes For Election Day Release In Industry First". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  20. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 7, 2018). "'The Front Runner' Election Day Opening Doesn't Win Bipartisan Support; Hugh Jackman Pic Hopes On Weekend Voters". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  21. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 11, 2018). "'The Grinch' Who Stole Business: Dr. Seuss Pic Opening To $66M As 'Overlord' & 'Spider's Web' Wither – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  22. ^ "The Front Runner (2018)", Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, archived from the original on 2024-09-03, retrieved October 10, 2021
  23. ^ "The Front Runner reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  24. ^ "International Awards". AACTA Awards. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  25. ^ "2018 Movies for Grownups Awards Nominees". AARP. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  26. ^ "Honorees Database". Hollywood Film Awards. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  27. ^ "The 2018 WAFCA Awards". Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
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