Shattered Glass (2003)

The story of a young journalist who fell from grace when it was discovered he fabricated over half of his articles from the publication The New Republic magazine.

Director:

Billy Ray

Writers:

Buzz Bissinger (article) (as H.G. Bissinger), Billy Ray

Stars:

Hayden Christensen, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Zahn

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 11 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hayden Christensen	...	Stephen Glass
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Charles 'Chuck' Lane
Chloë Sevigny	...	Caitlin Avey
Rosario Dawson	...	Andy Fox
Melanie Lynskey	...	Amy Brand
Hank Azaria	...	Michael Kelly
Steve Zahn	...	Adam Penenberg
Mark Blum	...	Lewis Estridge
Simone-Élise Girard	...	Catarina Bannier
Chad Donella	...	David Bach
Jamie Elman	...	Aaron Bluth
Luke Kirby	...	Rob Gruen
Cas Anvar	...	Kambiz Foroohar
Linda Smith	...	Gloria (as Linda E. Smith)
Ted Kotcheff	...	Marty Peretz

Storyline

This film tells the true story of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist Stephen Glass (Christensen), who rose to meteoric heights as a young writer in his 20s, becoming a staff writer at "The New Republic" for three years (1995-1998), where 27 of his 41 published stories were either partially or completely made up. Looking for a short cut to fame, Glass concocted sources, quotes and even entire stories, but his deception did not go unnoticed forever, and eventually, his world came crumbling down...

---

Plot Keywords:

fabricated facts | journalistic fraud | writer | magazine | journalist | 

---

Taglines:

He'd do anything to get a great story.

---

Genres:

Drama | History

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, sexual references and brief drug use

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 November 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le mystificateur

Filming Locations:

Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$77,540, 2 November 2003

Gross USA:

$2,220,008

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,944,752

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films, Cruise/Wagner Productions, Baumgarten Merims Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally, Greg Kinnear was to play Charles Lane.

---

Goofs

To further prove Stephen fabricated the location of his stories, Chuck could've asked the security guard what the building person capacity was.

---

Quotes

Stephen Glass: [Narrating] There's so many show offs in journalism, so many braggarts and jerks. They're always selling, always working the room, always trying to make themselves look hotter than they actually are. The good news is reporters like that make it easy to distinguish yourself, if your even a little humble and a little self-effacing, you stand out so you bring a co-worker lunch and his there buried under a dead line and you remember birthdays. I mean even Woodward Bernstein went out for a burger ...

---

Connections

Featured in The 2004 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2004)

---

Soundtracks

Wild Thing
Written by Chip Taylor
Performed by X
Used by permission of EMI Blackwood Music Inc.
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing

User Reviews

Liar, liar

This is, without a doubt, one of the best films of the current season. It is a movie that makes one think about our values, and above all, how low will some people go to get their 15 minutes worth of fame by lying, cheating and taking down the same institutions they are trying to break into.

The idea of this picture is based on actual facts, so there is nothing fabricated in it, as we are presented an ambitious man working his way up the editorial ladder. Stephen Glass, is such a person. This is a very intelligent individual who goes to extremes to write fiction and make the reader believe that what he is reading is fact. Heaven help us from the Stephen Glasses of the world.

Stephen Glass was the perfect person to be hired by the New Republic, a magazine for the elite. It is a magazine that prides itself in only running text and no pictures. Well, it would have helped the publication to have demanded photographic proof from Mr. Glass, as the receptionist clearly points out at the end.

The cast assembled by director Billy Ray for this film is flawless. The work of Hayden Christensen as Stephen Glass, and Peter Sarsgaard as Jack Lane are brilliant. This was an inspired choice as both bring to the film the right tone, complementing one another. These actors will go far, no doubt.

The ensemble cast is also very effective. Chloe Sevigny, Rosario Dawson, Hank Azaria and Steve Zahn make you believe they are the people they are supposedly playing, which, in itself, is no small accomplishment.