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The Ides of March is a 2011 American political drama film directed by George Clooney from a screenplay written by Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon. The film is an adaptation of Willimon s 2008 play Farragut North. It stars Ryan Gosling and Clooney alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, and Evan Rachel Wood.
The Ides of March was featured as the opening film at the 68th Venice International Film Festival and at the 27th Haifa International Film Festival, and was shown at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. It received a wide theatrical release on 7 October 2011, and grossed $76 million worldwide. The film received positive reviews from critics and was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2011. Gosling earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance, while Clooney, Heslov and Willimon were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Plot
Stephen Meyers is the junior campaign manager for Governor of Pennsylvania Mike Morris, who is competing against Arkansas Senator Ted Pullman in the Democratic presidential primary. Both campaigns are vying for the endorsement of Senator Franklin Thompson, who controls 356 delegates; these would clinch the nomination for either candidate. At the Morris campaign s headquarters in Cincinnati, Meyers receives a call from Tom Duffy, Pullman s campaign manager; Duffy asks him to meet in secret at a local bar. Meyers calls his boss, Morris campaign manager Paul Zara, who does not answer. Meyers decides to meet with Duffy anyway and Duffy offers him a position in Pullman s campaign; Meyers refuses. When Zara calls back, Meyers does not tell him about the meeting.
Meyers starts a sexual relationship with Molly Stearns, an attractive intern whose father is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Meyers admits to an angry Zara that he met with Duffy, who said that Pullman will offer Thompson the position of Secretary of State in exchange for his endorsement. Zara and Meyers discuss the matter with Morris, saying they must make the same offer to Thompson. Morris refuses on principle, as he thoroughly disagrees with Thompson and his policies, and wants a clean campaign without such deals.
While Molly is sleeping, Meyers picks up her phone by mistake and finds that Morris is trying to call her. He discovers that Molly and Morris had a brief sexual liaison several weeks previously shortly after Molly arrived on the campaign in Iowa, and Molly is now pregnant with Morris child. Molly needs $900 for an abortion, but cannot tell her father because her family is Catholic. Meyers helps her with the money but warns her not to tell anybody and fires her from the campaign to make the problem go away. Ida Horowicz, a reporter for The New York Times, reveals to Meyers that an anonymous source leaked his meeting with Duffy and that she plans to publish an article unless Meyers gives her the details about the Morris campaign s overtures to Thompson.
After dropping Molly off at the abortion clinic, Meyers goes to Zara for help. Zara reveals that he leaked the meeting to Ida with Morris s approval as a pretext for firing Meyers over his purported disloyalty. An angry and desperate Meyers offers his services to Duffy, who says he met with Meyers only to influence his opponent s operation, under the likelihood that Meyers either would come to work for him or would be fired for taking the meeting. Meyers offers to sell out Morris but Duffy declines, believing Thompson s endorsement of Pullman is assured. Meyers berates Duffy for using him, for which Duffy halfheartedly apologizes, and advises him to quit politics before he becomes a cynic like Duffy.
Having been told that Meyers had threatened to take down the campaign, Molly fatally overdoses on pills in a hotel room. Meyers comes across the scene and steals her phone. Unbeknownst to the Morris campaign, he meets with Thompson to set the conditions for his endorsement and his delegates. Meyers confronts Morris and gives him an ultimatum: Either give him Zara s job and offer Thompson the post of Vice President, or Meyers will go to the press with Molly s purported suicide note and expose the affair, all but assuring Morris s reputation tarnished and Pullman getting Thompson s endorsement. Morris relents, giving up what is left of his personal integrity, and meets Meyers demands. Zara takes his firing philosophically and is amicable when he chats with Meyers at Molly s funeral.
Thompson officially endorses Morris, making him the de facto Democratic nominee. Promoted to senior campaign manager, Meyers is on the way to a remote TV interview with John King when Ida Horowicz ambushes him and says her next story will be about how Meyers delivered Thompson and his delegates and got his promotion. He reacts by having security bar Horowicz from entering the auditorium. Meyers takes his seat for the interview, just as Morris finishes a speech about how integrity and dignity matter. King then asks Meyers for insight as to how the events surrounding the primary unfolded.
Cast
- Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers, Morris s junior campaign manager.
- George Clooney as Mike Morris, Governor of Pennsylvania and a Democratic presidential candidate.
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Paul Zara, Morris s campaign manager and Meyers s superior and mentor.
- Paul Giamatti as Tom Duffy, Ted Pullman s campaign manager.
- Evan Rachel Wood as Molly Stearns, an intern for Morris s campaign and Meyers s love interest.
- Marisa Tomei as Ida Horowicz, a reporter for the New York Times.
- Jeffrey Wright as Franklin Thompson, Democratic Senator from North Carolina.
- Max Minghella as Ben Harpen, a member of Morris s campaign staff.
- Jennifer Ehle as Cindy Morris, wife to Governor Mike Morris and the First Lady of Pennsylvania.
- Gregory Itzin as former Senator Jack Stearns, father of Molly Stearns and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
- Michael Mantell as Ted Pullman, Senator from Arkansas and Morris s opponent in the Democratic primaries.
Production
In October 2010, Variety reported that Clooney signed on to produce, direct, and star in the film adaptation of Beau Willimon s Broadway play Farragut North. Exclusive Media Group, Cross Creek Pictures, Smoke House Pictures, and Leonardo DiCaprio s Appian Way Productions financed the film. Filming in Cincinnati, Ohio began in February 2011 in Downtown Cincinnati at Fountain Square, Over-the-Rhine historic district, Northside, Mount Lookout, Xavier University, other neighborhoods and at Miami University s Farmer School of Business and Hall Auditorium (Miami University and Hall Auditorium are located in Oxford, Ohio). Principal photography also took place in Downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan. On 14 March, filming began at the University of Michigan and included 1,000 extras.
The theatrical release failed to recognize Cincinnati in the credits as a filming location. Producer and screenplay co-writer Grant Heslov said that the omission of Cincinnati in the credits was an inadvertent mistake, something that slipped through the cracks. He also said that the credits would be corrected for the home release of the film.
Release
The Ides of March premiered on 31 August 2011 as the opening film of the 68th Venice International Film Festival. Sony Pictures Entertainment bought the distribution rights for the United States only, while Alliance Films bought Canadian distribution. Sony wanted Clooney to keep the play s title, but The Ides of March was picked as the title. The Ides of March was originally planned to have a limited release in December 2011 and a wide release in January 2012. However, Sony eventually moved the film s opening date to 14 October 2011. This was later moved again, to 7 October 2011.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 243 reviews, with an average rating of 7.38/10. The website s critics consensus reads: While not exactly exposing revelatory truths, The Ides of March is supremely well-acted drama that moves at a measured, confident clip. On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating generally positive reviews . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of B on an A+ to F scale.
Some critics gave the film mixed or even negative reviews. A. O. Scott of the New York Times wrote, it is difficult, really, to connect this fable to the world it pretends to represent. Whatever happens in 2012, within either party or in the contest between them, it seems fair to say that quite a lot will be at stake. That is not the case in The Ides of March, which is less an allegory of the American political process than a busy, foggy, mildly entertaining antidote to it.
Accolades
| Awards Group | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 84th Academy Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon | Nominated |
| 65th British Academy Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Nominated |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon | Nominated | |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association | Best Acting Ensemble | Nominated | |
| Casting Society of America | Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Studio or Independent Drama Feature | Ellen Chenoweth, Amelia McCarthy | Nominated |
| Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards | Best Film | Nominated | |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | ||
| Best Ensemble | Nominated | ||
| Actor of the Year | George Clooney (Also for The Descendants) | Nominated | |
| Actor of the Year | Ryan Gosling (Also for Drive and Crazy, Stupid, Love.) | Runner-up | |
| David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Film | Nominated | |
| 68th Venice International Film Festival. | Brian Prize | Won | |
| Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards | Best Film – International | Nominated | |
| Best Screenplay – International | George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon | Won | |
| Best Actor – International | Ryan Gosling | Nominated | |
| 69th Golden Globe Awards | Best Picture – Drama | Nominated | |
| Best Director | George Clooney | Nominated | |
| Best Actor – Drama | Ryan Gosling | Nominated | |
| Best Screenplay | George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Movie Awards | Hollywood Editor Award | Stephen Mirrione | Won |
| National Board of Review | Top Ten Films | Nominated | |
| Palm Springs International Film Festival | Chairman s Award | George Clooney (Also for The Descendants) | Won |
| Producers Guild of America Award | Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures | George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver | Nominated |
| World Soundtrack Awards 2012 | Best Score of the Year | Alexandre Desplat | Nominated |
| Best Soundtrack Composer of the Year | Alexandre Desplat | Nominated |
| Year | 2011 |
| ReleaseDate | 2011-10-07 |
| RuntimeMins | 101 |
| RuntimeStr | 1h 41min |
| Plot | An idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail. |
| Awards | Nominated for 1 Oscar, 9 wins & 36 nominations total |
| Directors | George Clooney |
| Writers | George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon |
| Stars | Paul Giamatti, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman |
| Produced by | George Clooney,Jennifer Davisson,Leonardo DiCaprio,Guy East,Barbara A. Hall,Grant Heslov,Randy Manis,Brian Oliver,Stephen Pevner,Ari Daniel Pinchot,Jonathan Rubenstein,Nigel Sinclair,Todd Thompson,Mark Trustin,Beau Willimon,Nina Wolarsky |
| Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
| Cinematography by | Phedon Papamichael |
| Film Editing by | Stephen Mirrione |
| Casting By | Ellen Chenoweth |
| Production Design by | Sharon Seymour |
| Art Direction by | Chris Cornwell |
| Set Decoration by | Maggie Martin |
| Costume Design by | Louise Frogley |
| Makeup Department | Jodi Byrne,Clifton Chippewa,Kevin J Edwards,Julie Hewett,James A. Hughett,Kimberly Jones,Kimberley Kirkpatrick,Waldo Sanchez |
| Production Management | Barbara A. Hall,Michelle Lankwarden,Michael Tinger |
| Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | Ian Calip,Todd Havern,Tami Kumin,John R. Saunders,David Webb |
| Art Department | Justin Ayers,Jeff Bowers,David Brayman,Tim Brown,John C. Cameron,Dan Collick,Jeff Crowe,Benji Dell,Aaron Dytyniak,Jody Gaber,Kemper Harris,Jason Helton,Ronald Hill,Ronald Ivey,Sarah Ivey,Sharon Jonah,Richard King,Kate J. Kogelman,David Kozlowski,Justin N. Lang,Doug Lederman,George Lee,Francis Link,David Lombard,Mike Maher,Hoss Marshall,Ali Mukstar,Vanessa O’Kelley,Douglas Osborne,Paul Peabody,Joseph G. Rey,Tom Roy,Jerry Sanders,Michelle Stadler,Kenneth Stanley,Andy Thompson,Alyssa Toft,Tina Tottis,John Tracey,Keith Walters,Charles A. Wroblewski,Sarah Young,Michael Zambiski,Megan Greydanus,Christopher Hosey,Melissa Pamela Jones,Keith Allan Miller,Ken Moldovan,Christopher Reams,Keith Justin Smith,David Stasiak,Kim Thrasher |
| Sound Department | Rick Canelli,John Demonaco,Matthew P. Hanson,Catherine Harper,Joe Iemola,Robert Jackson,Gregg Landaker,Darrin Mann,Christopher Moriana,Thomas J. O’Connell,Benjamin Rauscher,Unsun Song,Cameron Steenhagen,Jon Taylor,Edward Tise,Elmo Weber,Byron Wilson,Mark DeSimone,Marc Glassman,Jordan O’Neill,Jason Oliver,Derek Vanderhorst |
| Special Effects by | Jacob Stros,Dean Tyrrell,Robert Tyrrell,Russell Tyrrell,Nicholas Leone |
| Visual Effects by | Michael Colburn,Scott Crafford,Mathias Frodin,Amy Garback,Alex Gitler,Heather Elisa Hill,Samuel Jørgensen,Raechel Kasprzak,Julia MacMullen,Rachel McPherson,Kama Moiha,Troy Moore,Marc Nanjo,Liz Ralston,Jay Shindell,Thomas J. Smith,Tony Tercero,Michele C. Vallillo,Matthew T. Wilson,David Cole,Taigne Hammock,Eddie Offermann |
| Stunts | Dan Lemieux |
| Camera and Electrical Department | Saeed Adyani,Michael W. Anderson,Brad Baker,Mike Berlucchi,James Frank Brown,Matthew Bulleri,Michael J. Conner,Tom Cornell,Justin Cragin,Shawn Cragin,Rasheen Crawley,Brandon Cundiff,Tommy Daguanno,Mike Dickman,Scott Eagle,Rod Farley,Russ Faust,Jeff Fisher,Jule Fontana,Ray Garcia,Dennis Geraghty,Dallas Griffin,Erik F. Hill,Andrew Hoehn Jr.,Jake Hossfeld,Brad Irvin,David Jarred,Dan Jarrell,Tim Juengel,Brian Paul Kelly,Brad Knopf,John ‘Quincy’ Koenig,Kenny Kondratko,Julie ‘Doc’ Lindstrom,Scott Lipez,Trevor Loomis,Chris McLeod,Dan Mikulski,Joe Miller,Christos Moisides,David Pearlberg,Trevor Rios,P. Scott Sakamoto,Anthony ‘Spike’ Simms,Scott Sprague,Rafael E. Sánchez,Keith Wandrei,Chris Weigand,Jacob Clegg,Geoff Ernst,Evan Fiddler,Bill Hong,P. Scott Sakamoto,Aaron Smith,John Vinson |
| Casting Department | Ryan Hill,Shoshana Hurand,Hilary Linnenberg,Jacquie Loughery,Greg Matusak,Kathy Mooney,Janet Pound,Amelia Rasche McCarthy,Michael J. Babcock,Ted Demski,Caitlin McKenna |
| Costume and Wardrobe Department | May Azzow,Cynthia Bond,Mary Cahalan,Tom Cummins,Michelle Hutchins,Megan McGilvery,Valerie T. O’Brien,Richard Schoen,Senna Shanti,Carla Shivener,Sabra Temple,Anthony Rivera Jr.,Bernadine Vida |
| Editorial Department | David Cole,Valance Eisleben,Ryan Helsley,Sadie D. Johnson,Sean Lagrange,Vincent Lavares,Carrie Oliver,Jim Passon,Brian Ufberg,Stacy Underhill,Matthew Evan Walsh,Tom Forletta,Brian Gee,Jay Steinberg,Christina E. Wasell |
| Location Management | Deirdre Costa,Eric Fogle,Alan Forbes,Dave Krieger,Bridget Reddeman,Dave Schwandner,Christopher M. Wood,Andy Young,Jennifer K. Zapinski |
| Music Department | Barnaby Archer,Jean-Pascal Beintus,Nicolas Charron,Peter Clarke,Peter Cobbin,Linda Cohen,Gordon Davidson,Alexandre Desplat,Andrew Dudman,Xavier Forcioli,Stephanie Gonley,Aled Jenkins,London Symphony Orchestra,Gerard McCann,Sylvain Morizet,Sam Okell,Claude Romano,Vincent Segal,Del Spiva,Marc Stevens,Norbert Vergonjeanne,Phil Cobb,Lewis Jones,Dominique Lemonnier,Lennox Mackenzie,Helen Vollam |
| Script and Continuity Department | Diane H. Newman |
| Transportation Department | Archie Bane,Robert Barnes Jr.,Billy Baxter,Edward Bergen,Mike Bilkovic,Thomas Brown,Larry Bush,Michael A. Carpenter,Curtis Day,George Dotson,Greg Eastep,Denis Giffen,Jennifer Gonzalez,John Greer,Richard Groendyke,Roger Heider,Greg Hinkle,John R. Holt Jr.,Jonathon Isom,Vince Junkins,Andrew Kelly,Craig Kirchner,Kimmie Knudsen,Leroy Knudsen,Joshua Lane,Craig Metzger,Robert Middendorff,Dean Miller,Tom Mohan,Frank Morreale,Bill Neckrock,Drew Perkins,Franco Rea,Robert ‘Bob’ Rice Sr.,Bob Rocco,Timothy Schewee,Marc Scott,Robert Shaw,Lamar A. Smith,Ken Stevens,Anthony Waldrop,John ‘Detroit’ White |
| Additional Crew | Andrea Amato,Joel Anderson,Carol Apczynski,Anthony Beckwith,Christopher Robert Benjamin,Amy Bradford,Greg Capoccia,Rose Cox,Justin Crutchfield,John Doherty,C. Kyle Eckles,Crystal Ellis,Carey Field,Pamela Ford,Andrew Gearig,Dan Gearig,Brittany Gilpin,Angela Gonzalez-Prendes,Tony Goodrich,Deanna M. Goossens,Ben Gordon,Matt Groneck,Jesse Harrington,Liam Hearne,Eric Hollenbeck,Vickie M. Hsieh,David J. Kennedy,Kathy Kochish,Adam J. Korn,Cheryl Kurk,Curt Kutscher,Heather LaBrecque,Gabe Lang,Nicholas Lazarus,Kim Le Mezo,Lauren Lebeouf,Chelsea Leonowicz,Jennifer P. Luther,Connie Mangilin,Angel McConnell,Caitlin McKenna,Bryan Meganck,Chelsea Mondelli,Carl Murray,Edward Pagac,Katelyn Patterson,Luke Patton,Kurt Peters,Matt Philliben,Mary Proffitt,Sahir Rashid,Chelsea Rebecca,Rye Richardson,Deborah Ricketts,Emily Riedy,Pete Rinehart,Andrew C. Robinson,Jason Roby,Marjorie Rudick-Ford,Johannah Scarlet,Tracey Schaefer,Jayna Schlegel,Sarah Scrivener,Laura Sevier,Paul J. Spear,Noah Stahl,Katie Murphy Sumers,Erica Summers,Sasha Tandlich,Christopher Wade,Jeff Winn,John C. Wise,James Wittenberg,Marc T.S. Zakalik,Michael J. Babcock,Carles Berot,Robert C. Bonnell,Laura Buono,Justin Calkins,Geralyn Clark,Martin Devis,Tim Durban,Anthony Fabiano,Alan Forbes,Sarah Ford,Michael W. Gray,Brenda Herrera,Todd Hicks,Thanh Hoang,Adam Kristopher Johnson,Traver Johnson,Chris Kieffer,Curt Kutscher,Lumumba Mosquera,Tara Oslin,Vincent Parker,Matt Philliben,Eric Ransbottom,Emily Rice,Derek Rimelspach,David Roetman,Mike Sanchez,J.C. Schroder,Joshua Schroder,Sean Steininger,Amanda Sutton,Mark Van Horne,Robert Velo,Lana Waddell,Aisling Warren |
| Thanks | Frank Botman,Kristen Erwin,Egbert Ho,Carrie Jones,John King,Norm Marshall,Mike Mosallam,Matthew Salloway |
| Genres | Drama, Thriller |
| Companies | Columbia Pictures, Cross Creek Pictures, Exclusive Media Group |
| Countries | USA |
| Languages | English |
| ContentRating | R |
| ImDbRating | 7.1 |
| ImDbRatingVotes | 222932 |
| MetacriticRating | 67 |
| Keywords | politics,presidential campaign,intrigue,presidential election,campaigning |