The Insider (1999)

A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" expose on Big Tobacco.

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

Marie Brenner (article), Eric Roth,

Stars:

Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 29 wins & 40 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Pacino	...	Lowell Bergman
Russell Crowe	...	Jeffrey Wigand
Christopher Plummer	...	Mike Wallace
Diane Venora	...	Liane Wigand
Philip Baker Hall	...	Don Hewitt
Lindsay Crouse	...	Sharon Tiller
Debi Mazar	...	Debbie De Luca
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Eric Kluster
Colm Feore	...	Richard Scruggs
Bruce McGill	...	Ron Motley
Gina Gershon	...	Helen Caperelli
Michael Gambon	...	Thomas Sandefur
Rip Torn	...	John Scanlon
Lynne Thigpen	...	Mrs. Williams
Hallie Kate Eisenberg	...	Barbara Wigand

Storyline

Balls-out "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman sniffs a story when a former research biologist for Brown & Williamson, Jeff Wigand, won't talk to him. When the company leans hard on Wigand to honor a confidentiality agreement, he gets his back up. Trusting Bergman and despite a crumbling marriage, he goes on camera for a Mike Wallace interview and risks arrest for contempt of court. Westinghouse is negotiating to buy CBS, so CBS attorneys advise CBS News to shelve the interview and avoid a lawsuit. "60 Minutes" and CBS News bosses cave, Wigand is hung out to dry, Bergman is compromised, and the CEOs of Big Tobacco may get away with perjury. Will the truth out?

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Plot Keywords:

cbs | tobacco | research | cbs news | tobacco industry | 

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Taglines:

Two men driven to tell the truth... whatever the cost.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese Arabic Persian

Release Date:

5 November 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

60 Minutes

Filming Locations:

Long Beach Polytechnic High School - 1600 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£437,078 (UK) (10 March 2000)

Gross:

$28,965,197 (USA) (21 April 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blue Lion Entertainment, Forward Pass, Kaitz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

157 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After filming a scene shot at the school, Russell Crowe pranked young castmates by screaming and ripping out his hair. The realistic gray wig had many fooled and horrified, until the crew and Crowe erupted in laughter.

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Goofs

Jeffrey Wigand was fired in March 1993. In the movie he is driving an Audi A4. Audi didn't have a model called A4 until 1995. Further, the model shown is a 1998.

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Quotes

Mike Wallace: Did I get you up?
Lowell Bergman: No, I usually sit around my hotel room dressed like this at 5:30 in the morning, sleepy look on my face.

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Connections

Referenced in The O'Reilly Factor: Episode dated 1 February 2008 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Smokey Mountain Waltz
Written and Performed by Richard Gilks
Courtesy of Associated Production Music

User Reviews

Riveting from start to finish

This is a movie that I was on the fence about seeing, simply because it seemed like just another movie about a whistle blower. It is so much more than that, and it is a movie worth watching time and again because of its complexity. It is about journalistic integrity, corporate greed, good vs. evil, and standing up for what you believe in, no matter what the cost. It pulls no punches about how far the tobacco industry would go to hide the truth from the American public about cigarettes, but it never seems propagandized.

Russell Crowe gives a top-notch performance of Everyman scientist Jeffrey Wigand that meets Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer's portrayals of 60 Minutes Hotshots Lowell Bergman and Mike Wallace frame by frame. These three actors have the perfect blend of chemistry and timing, and fit their characters like a glove. They completely inhabit their roles and at times it seems more like a documentary than a fictional story.

From beginning to end, it has the kind of edge of your seat tension that keeps one glued to the screen. Despite being a fairly lengthy film, it moves at a quick pace, and is absolutely riveting. The direction is superb, the camera angles are fast and furious, and it is a delight to watch.