Hollywoodland
Encyclopedia
Hollywoodland is a 2006 American biographical
docudrama
film directed by Allen Coulter
in his feature directorial debut. The film documents a fictional account of the investigation surrounding the death of actor George Reeves
(Ben Affleck
), the star of the 1950s television series Adventures of Superman
. Adrien Brody
plays Louis Simo, a fictional down-on-his-luck private investigator on the case, as he questions Toni Mannix
(Diane Lane
), who was involved in a long romantic relationship with Reeves and was the wife of MGM
studio executive Eddie Mannix
(Bob Hoskins
). Reeves had ended the affair and had become engaged to a younger woman, aspiring actress Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney
).
), a Los Angeles
private investigator more interested in generating an income than in devotion to his clients, is helping out a client named Chester Sinclair by spying on Chester's wife, under the impression that she is cheating on him, by taking pictures outside of a building she goes to from time to time. On a visit to see his son and ex-wife Laurie, Simo learns that his son is upset over the death George Reeves
, the actor who played Superman on television, but was recently found dead inside his Beverly Hills home with a gunshot wound to the head, which lead the police to rule his death as suicide
. Simo learns from a former colleague on the police force that the Reeves suicide has aspects that the cops don't want to touch. Simo, sensing the potential for making a name for himself, begins investigating the case and notes several apparent conflicts with the official version of Reeves's death. Simultaneously Simo bickers with Laurie over his failures as a father, particularly now when his son seems so troubled.
In 1951, Reeves, a charming man whose acting career has stalled, catches the eye of a beautiful woman and they end the night in each other's arms. In the morning, a newspaper photo reveals to Reeves that the woman is Toni Mannix
, the wife of Eddie Mannix
, the general manager of MGM Studios. Frightened that an affair with a studio boss's wife will destroy what's left of his career, Reeves is angry that Toni didn't tell him. Toni, however, tells Reeves that she and Eddie have an open relationship and not to worry. The pair fall in love and the much wealthier Toni begins to buy Reeves expensive gifts such as a house, a car and jewelry. During their relationship Reeves gets the starring role in the television show Adventures of Superman
. Reeves takes the job with humility, but continues hoping for more meaningful work, but now everyone takes him for a joke. As the years pass and Toni ages, Reeves becomes bitter at being a kept man and at Toni for not using her clout to help his career. He meets a young woman in New York
, Leonore Lemmon, and leaves Toni for her. Toni is broken-hearted and furious, and Eddie seethes at her "mistreatment" by Reeves.
Meanwhile, Simo initially suspects that Leonore Lemmon might have accidentally shot Reeves during an argument and imagines how the scenario might have played out. Later, Simo arrives back home to find thugs, who apparently were working for Eddie Mannix
, in his house who beat Simo in hopes of scaring him off the case. This and other evidence lead Simo to suspect that Eddie had Reeves murdered and, again, Simo imagines what such an event might have looked like. Simo then learns that his client Chester Sinclair has murdered his wife because he got tired of waiting for information from Simo. A stricken and guilt-plagued Simo gets drunk and visits his son at school, but his inebriation scares the boy. Later, Simo visits Reeves's manager, Art Weissman. Weissman speaks highly of Reeves and his charm. He gives Simo a home movie Reeves had shot in hopes of promoting wrestling work. What Simo sees in the film suggests to him a sadness in Reeves, a weariness and humiliation with where his life has led. Simo's final imagined variation on Reeves's death concludes with the actor shooting himself. This is the most vivid of the three scenarios, with Simo imagining himself standing in the corner of the upstairs bedroom, and even making eye contact briefly with the weary Reeves.
Reeves's quest for fame and success and Simo's realization of how that quest is paralleled in his own existence causes the detective to reevaluate his life. Simo watches another home movie, this one of himself and Laurie and their son in happier days. The film ends with Simo coming to Laurie's house wearing a suit and tie, and greeting his son hopefully.
is the parent company of both Warner Bros. and DC Comics
and as such has all final say in the depiction of characters relating to their properties.
At first using the title Truth, Justice, and the American Way, Superman's well-known patriotic catchphrase, Warner Bros. threatened legal action unless the film's title was changed so as not to associate the classic slogan with Reeves's death—especially since Warner Bros. was banking the film Superman Returns
which was released a few months earlier in June 2006. The filmmakers changed the title to Hollywoodland, not as a reflection of the ailing Hollywood Sign
, but in reference to the general milieu of "movieland" itself.
The filmmakers wished to use the familiar filmed opening of Adventures of Superman
in context within Hollywoodland, but Warner Bros. refused to license clips from the show itself. The movie recreated the show's opening and substituted a re-recorded version of the opening theme.
Arguably, the largest hurdle for the production was over the usage of the Superman "S" symbol, one of the most iconic superhero symbols, and a seemingly obvious requirement for the costume Affleck had to wear when portraying Reeves shooting Adventures of Superman. It was originally reported that the Superman costume in the film would be missing the "S" because of Warner Bros. ownership; later reports claimed that while Focus Features could not use the logo in promotional materials, the costume would sport the iconic letter "S" in the film, which it does.
" in Spanish for his houseguests. His somewhat off-key rendition is met with polite applause, he then retires to the upstairs of the house, and the shooting occurs soon afterward.
and a 6.9 on the Internet Movie Database
. Ben Affleck earned the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival
for his performance as George Reeves. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Eddie Murphy
in Dreamgirls
.
Hoskins and Lane have also been applauded for their performances. Critics at The Wall Street Journal
and Vanity Fair
called this film and 2006
's Brokeback Mountain
(also from Focus Features
) Oscar
contenders, but the film never received any Oscar nominations.
The film debuted at #2 at the box office. Shot on a budget of less than $14 million, 'Hollywoodland' grossed $14,426,251 in the United States as of October 26, 2006. A further foreign gross of $1,878,000, plus $9,140,000 in DVD rentals and a spot in the top ten DVD sales for its first three weeks of release (ref. Rentrak Corporation, 3-3-2007) allowed the movie to turn a profit.
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
film directed by Allen Coulter
Allen Coulter
Allen Coulter is an American television and film director, credited with a number of successful television programs. He has directed two feature films, Hollywoodland, a film regarding the questionable death of George Reeves starring Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, and Ben Affleck, and 2010's Remember...
in his feature directorial debut. The film documents a fictional account of the investigation surrounding the death of actor George Reeves
George Reeves
George Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
(Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
), the star of the 1950s television series Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
. Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody is an American actor and film producer. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist . Winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 at age 29, he is the youngest actor to do so...
plays Louis Simo, a fictional down-on-his-luck private investigator on the case, as he questions Toni Mannix
Toni Mannix
Toni Mannix was an American actress and dancer in the early talkies. She became notorious for an extramarital relationship with actor George Reeves during her marriage to MGM studio head Eddie Mannix.-Early life:...
(Diane Lane
Diane Lane
Diane Lane is an American film actress.Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at the age of 13 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance, starring opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Soon after, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine...
), who was involved in a long romantic relationship with Reeves and was the wife of MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
studio executive Eddie Mannix
Eddie Mannix
Edgar Joseph "Eddie" Mannix was an American film studio executive....
(Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
). Reeves had ended the affair and had become engaged to a younger woman, aspiring actress Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney
Robin Tunney
Robin Jessica Tunney is an American actress. She is best known for her lead roles in the movie The Craft and the television series Prison Break and The Mentalist.-Early life:...
).
Plot
In 1959, Louis Simo (Adrien BrodyAdrien Brody
Adrien Brody is an American actor and film producer. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist . Winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 at age 29, he is the youngest actor to do so...
), a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
private investigator more interested in generating an income than in devotion to his clients, is helping out a client named Chester Sinclair by spying on Chester's wife, under the impression that she is cheating on him, by taking pictures outside of a building she goes to from time to time. On a visit to see his son and ex-wife Laurie, Simo learns that his son is upset over the death George Reeves
George Reeves
George Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
, the actor who played Superman on television, but was recently found dead inside his Beverly Hills home with a gunshot wound to the head, which lead the police to rule his death as suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Simo learns from a former colleague on the police force that the Reeves suicide has aspects that the cops don't want to touch. Simo, sensing the potential for making a name for himself, begins investigating the case and notes several apparent conflicts with the official version of Reeves's death. Simultaneously Simo bickers with Laurie over his failures as a father, particularly now when his son seems so troubled.
In 1951, Reeves, a charming man whose acting career has stalled, catches the eye of a beautiful woman and they end the night in each other's arms. In the morning, a newspaper photo reveals to Reeves that the woman is Toni Mannix
Toni Mannix
Toni Mannix was an American actress and dancer in the early talkies. She became notorious for an extramarital relationship with actor George Reeves during her marriage to MGM studio head Eddie Mannix.-Early life:...
, the wife of Eddie Mannix
Eddie Mannix
Edgar Joseph "Eddie" Mannix was an American film studio executive....
, the general manager of MGM Studios. Frightened that an affair with a studio boss's wife will destroy what's left of his career, Reeves is angry that Toni didn't tell him. Toni, however, tells Reeves that she and Eddie have an open relationship and not to worry. The pair fall in love and the much wealthier Toni begins to buy Reeves expensive gifts such as a house, a car and jewelry. During their relationship Reeves gets the starring role in the television show Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
. Reeves takes the job with humility, but continues hoping for more meaningful work, but now everyone takes him for a joke. As the years pass and Toni ages, Reeves becomes bitter at being a kept man and at Toni for not using her clout to help his career. He meets a young woman in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Leonore Lemmon, and leaves Toni for her. Toni is broken-hearted and furious, and Eddie seethes at her "mistreatment" by Reeves.
Meanwhile, Simo initially suspects that Leonore Lemmon might have accidentally shot Reeves during an argument and imagines how the scenario might have played out. Later, Simo arrives back home to find thugs, who apparently were working for Eddie Mannix
Eddie Mannix
Edgar Joseph "Eddie" Mannix was an American film studio executive....
, in his house who beat Simo in hopes of scaring him off the case. This and other evidence lead Simo to suspect that Eddie had Reeves murdered and, again, Simo imagines what such an event might have looked like. Simo then learns that his client Chester Sinclair has murdered his wife because he got tired of waiting for information from Simo. A stricken and guilt-plagued Simo gets drunk and visits his son at school, but his inebriation scares the boy. Later, Simo visits Reeves's manager, Art Weissman. Weissman speaks highly of Reeves and his charm. He gives Simo a home movie Reeves had shot in hopes of promoting wrestling work. What Simo sees in the film suggests to him a sadness in Reeves, a weariness and humiliation with where his life has led. Simo's final imagined variation on Reeves's death concludes with the actor shooting himself. This is the most vivid of the three scenarios, with Simo imagining himself standing in the corner of the upstairs bedroom, and even making eye contact briefly with the weary Reeves.
Reeves's quest for fame and success and Simo's realization of how that quest is paralleled in his own existence causes the detective to reevaluate his life. Simo watches another home movie, this one of himself and Laurie and their son in happier days. The film ends with Simo coming to Laurie's house wearing a suit and tie, and greeting his son hopefully.
Cast
- Adrien BrodyAdrien BrodyAdrien Brody is an American actor and film producer. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist . Winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 at age 29, he is the youngest actor to do so...
as Louis Simo - Diane LaneDiane LaneDiane Lane is an American film actress.Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at the age of 13 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance, starring opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Soon after, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine...
as Toni MannixToni MannixToni Mannix was an American actress and dancer in the early talkies. She became notorious for an extramarital relationship with actor George Reeves during her marriage to MGM studio head Eddie Mannix.-Early life:... - Ben AffleckBen AffleckBenjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
as George ReevesGeorge ReevesGeorge Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman.... - Bob HoskinsBob HoskinsRobert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
as Eddie MannixEddie MannixEdgar Joseph "Eddie" Mannix was an American film studio executive.... - Robin TunneyRobin TunneyRobin Jessica Tunney is an American actress. She is best known for her lead roles in the movie The Craft and the television series Prison Break and The Mentalist.-Early life:...
as Leonore Lemmon - Kathleen RobertsonKathleen RobertsonKathleen Robertson is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Clare Arnold in Beverly Hills, 90210 .-Career:Robertson started taking acting classes when she was ten, and had roles in local theater productions...
as Carol Van Ronkel - Lois SmithLois SmithLois Smith is an American actress whose career in theater, film, and television has spanned five decades.Smith was born Lois Arlene Humbert in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Carrie Davis and William Oren Humbert, who was a telephone company employee...
as Helen Bessolo - Larry CedarLarry CedarLarry Cedar is an American actor and a voice actor best known as one of the players of the highly-acclaimed Children's Television Workshop mathematics show, Square One TV on PBS from 1987 to 1994. He also played Alex the Butcher in a series of commercials for Kroger in 1989...
as Chester Sinclair - Caroline DhavernasCaroline DhavernasCaroline Dhavernas is a Canadian actress. Dhavernas is best known in the United States as "Jaye" from the short-lived television series Wonderfalls on Fox. She starred as Dr. Lily Brenner in the ABC medical drama Off the Map.-Life and career:...
as Kit Holliday - Kevin Hare as Robert Condon
- Molly ParkerMolly ParkerMolly Parker is a Canadian actress, notable for her roles in Canadian and American independent films and the HBO television series Deadwood.Parker won a Genie Award in 1997 as Best Actress in a Leading Role for Kissed...
as Laurie Simo - Zach MillsZach MillsZachary "Zach" Mills is an American teen actor.-Personal life:Zach was born in Lakewood, Ohio, to Kerry and Patrick. His father is from Cleveland, Zach's mother is from New York, which is where Zach performed his first professional acting job at the age of 7. Zach has two older half brothers who...
as Evan Simo - Neil CroneNeil CroneNeil Crone is a Canadian voice actor and comedian who does the voices of Gordon the Big Engine, Splatter and Diesel 10 from the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. He does Phillip the Concierge in the My Secret Identity episode "Sour Grapes"...
as Chuck - Gareth WilliamsGareth Williams (actor)Gareth Williams is an American actor. He is probably best known from his role as Mike Potter, a recurring character on the television drama Dawson's Creek....
as Del - Dash MihokDash MihokDashiell "Dash" Mihok is an American actor.-Life and career:Mihok was born in New York City, New York, the son of actors Andrea and Raymond Thorne . He attended the Bronx High School of Science and was raised in Greenwich Village. While at the Bronx High School of Science, Dash played baseball as...
as Det. Sgt. Jack Paterson - Veronica Watt as Rita HayworthRita HayworthRita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
- Joe SpanoJoe SpanoJoseph Peter "Joe" Spano is an American actor who came to prominence through his role as Lt. Henry Goldblume on Hill Street Blues and is now well known for his work in NCIS as FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell....
as Howard StricklingHoward StricklingHoward Strickling served as head of publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures from the late 1920s into the early 1950s.... - Jeffrey DeMunnJeffrey DeMunnJeffrey DeMunn is an American theatre, film and television actor.-Life and career:DeMunn was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Violet and James DeMunn. Stepson of noted actress Betty Lutes DeMunn...
as Art Weissman
Historical liberties
Hollywoodland takes liberties with actual historical events for dramatic purposes. Several events and places are condensed to fit into the film, including:- During a personal appearance at a children's western show, George Reeves meets a boy with a loaded gun, who almost shoots bullets at him. Reeves talks him into giving up the gun by saying that they would bounce off him but hurt innocent bystanders. Although Reeves repeated this story himself, researchers have never been able to find anything to corroborate the story.
- After Reeves's death, Leonore Lemmon is shown at the reading of his will, stunned when everything he owned in his estate goes to Toni. In reality, since Lemmon was not included in his last will and testament, she was not invited to the reading. Lemmon did, however, make public statements akin to the dialogue in the film.
- The depiction of Reeves's scenes in From Here to EternityFrom Here to EternityFrom Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the...
suffering audience derision at a test screening (and subsequent cutting of his scenes) is part of an urban legend. No test screenings took place, and the finished film includes all Reeves's scenes that were present in the original shooting script. No alternate cuts of the film have ever been proven to exist. - The scene showing Reeves barbecuing his costume is based in fact: Reeves is said to have burned his costume at the end of each season, not just the one time to celebrate the cancellation of the series.
- The detective Louis Simo is a fictional character based somewhat on an actual detective in the case named Milo Speriglio.
- A scene in the filming of a first-season Superman episode shows Reeves in an alley, "taking off," suspended by wires. A wire breaks and Reeves crashes to the studio floor. The oft-repeated alley takeoff in the real series was stock footage and was performed by a stuntman. However, Reeves did take such a fall during a cable-aided takeoff, in a studio-bound forested setting, in the episode "Ghost Wolf."
Legal rights issue with Warner Bros.
During its production, Hollywoodland went through many rounds of getting clearance from Warner Bros. Pictures to use different aspects of George Reeves's Superman persona to reflect the actual nature of his career. Time WarnerTime Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
is the parent company of both Warner Bros. and DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and as such has all final say in the depiction of characters relating to their properties.
At first using the title Truth, Justice, and the American Way, Superman's well-known patriotic catchphrase, Warner Bros. threatened legal action unless the film's title was changed so as not to associate the classic slogan with Reeves's death—especially since Warner Bros. was banking the film Superman Returns
Superman Returns
Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...
which was released a few months earlier in June 2006. The filmmakers changed the title to Hollywoodland, not as a reflection of the ailing Hollywood Sign
Hollywood Sign
The Hollywood Sign is a landmark and American cultural icon in the Hollywood Hills area of Mount Lee, Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles, California. The sign spells out the name of the area in and white letters. It was created as an advertisement in 1923, but garnered increasing recognition...
, but in reference to the general milieu of "movieland" itself.
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
in context within Hollywoodland, but Warner Bros. refused to license clips from the show itself. The movie recreated the show's opening and substituted a re-recorded version of the opening theme.
Arguably, the largest hurdle for the production was over the usage of the Superman "S" symbol, one of the most iconic superhero symbols, and a seemingly obvious requirement for the costume Affleck had to wear when portraying Reeves shooting Adventures of Superman. It was originally reported that the Superman costume in the film would be missing the "S" because of Warner Bros. ownership; later reports claimed that while Focus Features could not use the logo in promotional materials, the costume would sport the iconic letter "S" in the film, which it does.
Spanish song
Each of the three shooting scenarios imagined by Simo begin with Reeves playing guitar and singing "Aquellos Ojos Verdes (Green Eyes)Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)
"Green Eyes" is a popular song, originally written in Spanish under the title "Aquellos Ojos Verdes" by Adolfo Utrera and Nilo Menéndez. The English translation was made by Eddie Rivera and Eddie Woods in 1929....
" in Spanish for his houseguests. His somewhat off-key rendition is met with polite applause, he then retires to the upstairs of the house, and the shooting occurs soon afterward.
Box office and critical reception
Hollywoodland received generally positive responses from viewers and critics, garnering a 70% fresh rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and a 6.9 on the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
. Ben Affleck earned the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
for his performance as George Reeves. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
in Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls (film)
Dreamgirls is a 2006 musical drama film, directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures. The film debuted in three special road show engagements beginning December 15, 2006 before its nationwide release on December 25, 2006...
.
Hoskins and Lane have also been applauded for their performances. Critics at The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
and Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
called this film and 2006
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
's Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
(also from Focus Features
Focus Features
Focus Features is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films....
) Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
contenders, but the film never received any Oscar nominations.
The film debuted at #2 at the box office. Shot on a budget of less than $14 million, 'Hollywoodland' grossed $14,426,251 in the United States as of October 26, 2006. A further foreign gross of $1,878,000, plus $9,140,000 in DVD rentals and a spot in the top ten DVD sales for its first three weeks of release (ref. Rentrak Corporation, 3-3-2007) allowed the movie to turn a profit.
External links
- The Straight Dope on Reeves's death