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I was worried, but she gave me a lot of tidbits and little nuggets of Richard that were indicative of greater truths," he admitted to THR. With Bobi, our commonality was telling the story of this tragedy. "I was more nervous about meeting Bobi than I was Clint, because Clint and I have a certain commonality based on what we do for a living. The actor spent time with Jewell's mother, Barbara "Bobi" Jewell, while filming the movie. Jewell died in 2007 at the age of 44 after medical problems following a diabetes diagnosis. Despite Jewell having his name cleared, many people continued to associate him with the crime. The security guard was originally praised as a hero after saving many lives during the Centennial Olympic Park bombing but was soon vilified by the media when he became a suspect. Hauser plays the titular character in Richard Jewell. Entertainment DOUG COLLIER/AFP via Getty Images Richard Jewell, portrayed by Paul Walter Hauser.Read on to see how Hauser, Wilde, Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates prepared to play their real-life roles. Jon Hamm and Ian Gomez star in the film as FBI agents investigating Jewell, though their characters are not based on real people.
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The prolific director's only movie to have opened lower was Bronco Billy ($3.7 million) nearly 40 years ago. responded to the backlash by stating, "It is unfortunate and the ultimate irony that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, having been a part of the rush to judgment of Richard Jewell, is now trying to malign our filmmakers and cast."ĭuring its opening weekend, the film earned an estimated $4.7 million in a near-career worst showing for Eastwood. Kathy Scruggs was a modern, independent woman whose personal life should not detract from her accomplishments." Wilde later tweeted that her comments "were lost in translation" and added, "I do not believe sex-positivity and professionalism are mutually exclusive.
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"She’s no longer with us, she died very young, and I feel a certain responsibility to defend her legacy - which has now been, I think unfairly, boiled down to one element of her personality, one inferred moment in the film." "I have an immense amount of respect for Kathy Scruggs," Wilde told THR in defense of her portrayal. That is entirely false and malicious, and it is extremely defamatory and damaging." "Such a portrayal makes it appear that the AJC sexually exploited its staff and/or that it facilitated or condoned offering sexual gratification to sources in exchange for stories. "The AJC’s reporter is reduced to a sex-trading object in the film," said a letter written on behalf of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Cox Enterprises. Olivia Wilde Clarifies Stance on 'Richard Jewell' Portrayal: Kathy Scruggs Was "Bold, Smart and Fearlessly Undeterred" The Atlanta newspaper formally complained about Wilde's portrayal of Scruggs in a story published Dec. "There has never been any evidence that this is how Kathy got the story," he told The Hollywood Reporter. Kevin Riley, the paper's current editor in chief, said there is no evidence that this transaction ever happened. In the film, Wilde's Scruggs offers to trade sex for the name of the suspect with an FBI agent. Richard Jewell has generated controversy for its portrayal of Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde), who was the first journalist to state that Jewell was a suspect.
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The film is based off of the 1997 Vanity Fair article that chronicled the events of the bombing and Jewell's vilification.
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He was initially praised as a hero, but the FBI later identified him as one of the many suspects, which led the public to vilify Jewell, who was ultimately cleared by law enforcement. The bomb later detonated, killing one person and injuring dozens of others. When Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) discovered a backpack containing pipe bombs, he heroically sounded the alarm and cleared the area. Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell tells the true story of the titular Atlanta security guard who became a prime suspect in the bombing at the 1996 Olympics before ultimately being cleared by law enforcement.
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