State Of Play (2009)
This political thriller is an adaptation of the 2003 British miniseries of the same name and, although the finished product does a solid job of applying a complex tale to current media issues, the entire thing was almost scrapped. In the category of ‘films you’d be forgiven for thinking were cursed’, State Of Play places firmly and squarely in the near-catastrophe section.
The plot of the film sees a conflict of interest arise when a Washington D.C. journalist investigates the suspicious death of a Congressman’s mistress – the Congressman being his former college roommate. After the film rights of the original – written by Paul Abbott – were sold to Paramount in 2004, a substantial bidding war ensued when that original deal fell through, and Universal Pictures ultimately prevailed. With studio backing in place, Working Title Films producers began to assemble their team.
Director Kevin Macdonald was attached from very early on in the process, having drawn attention with previous efforts, such as Touching The Void and The Last King Of Scotland. Joining him was Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom, World War Z), who was tasked with adapting the original material – however, a family emergency quickly placed Carnahan on the bench, causing the studio to bring in Tony Gilroy (the Bourne franchise) for writing duties. This second pen was soon assisted by Billy Ray (Captain Phillips).
The casting process also created significant hurdles for the production. Brad Pitt was committed to State Of Play in 2007, and he reportedly spent a large portion of time researching the journalistic role and preparing for the project. However, when it became clear that he preferred an earlier version of the screenplay than the director did, he left the project just one week before filming was scheduled to begin. Attempts at compromise over this difference of opinion were impossible, due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild Of America strike.
Director Kevin Macdonald focused his time and energy on courting Russell Crowe to replace Pitt, which proved successful after scheduling negotiations. However, as a result of the production delay caused by Pitt’s exit, his planned co-star, Edward Norton, also needed to depart the project. Norton had been committed to the role of the Congressman since 2007, and carefully negotiated an amicable agreement to leave the film. He was replaced by Ben Affleck, and State Of Play finally made it into theatres in 2009, to critical approval.