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The rustle of a notepad. The click of a pen lid. On a floral-patterned sofa sits Dustin Hoffman pinch agelong hair, large collar and a thin and quiet look. Opposite is Jane Alexander, wearing a bluish button-down dress, cornered and tense successful nan glow of a array lamp. In this taut, claustrophobic acting masterclass, nary item is excessively small.
“The constitution artists ran successful because nan sweat was pouring disconnected Dustin’s face,” Alexander recalls pinch a laugh. “Gordon [Willis, cinematographer] said, ‘Don’t touch that, I’m lighting disconnected his sweat!’ I emotion that.”
This was a pivotal segment successful All nan President’s Men, dubbed “the granddaddy of each publicity movies”, which premiered astatine nan John F Kennedy Center for nan Performing Arts 50 years agone connected Saturday. The movie was based connected nan 1974 book of nan aforesaid sanction by nan Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein astir their investigation into nan Watergate imbroglio that brought down President Richard Nixon.
Flawlessly directed by Alan Pakula, and starring Robert Redford arsenic Woodward and Dustin Hoffman arsenic Bernstein, All nan President’s Men was a box-office deed and nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 4 including champion adapted screenplay for William Goldman and champion supporting character for Jason Robards arsenic nan Post editor, Ben Bradlee.
There was besides a champion supporting character information for Alexander successful nan domiciled of Judy Hoback, who successful nan screenplay is referred to arsenic “the Bookkeeper” of nan Committee to Re-elect nan President. She had only five minutes and 9 seconds of surface clip but, half a period later, looks backmost connected it arsenic 1 of nan highlights of her career.
Alexander had appeared connected shape and successful movie successful The Great White Hope other James Earl Jones. She went consecutive from performing a matinee of Noel Coward’s Present Laughter pinch Douglas Fairbanks Jr astatine nan Kennedy Center, a short locomotion from nan Watergate complex, to filming her little scenes successful All nan President’s Men wrong a mini location connected a basking summer’s afternoon.
“I retrieve stepping successful and reasoning I was a small spot late,” Alexander, 86, says via Zoom from Purchase, New York, pinch her pet canine Romeo listening in. “We went correct to nan set, and Alan Pakula looked astatine maine and he said, ‘Oh God, you look great, let’s go, we’re gonna sprout it now!’ I said, ‘No, I haven’t gone to constitution and hairsbreadth yet.’ He said, ‘I emotion what you look for illustration – conscionable for illustration that.’ I said, ‘I don’t person my costume.’ He said, ‘I emotion that, what you got.’ I said, ‘That’s conscionable my summertime shmatte, a small bluish thing.’ He said, ‘Perfect.’
“We went correct into nan location and rehearsed successful that small, mini room. Alan group it up truthful brilliantly. I don’t deliberation you could person grounded successful that segment because he put maine correct successful nan area pinch that ray truthful it was very claustrophobic. It was a basking time and it was hotter wrong nan house.
“Dustin was leaning guardant from nan couch. There was a Panavision camera, humongous, nan size of a Volkswagen car. Gordon Willis is sitting up location operating supra america and he’s crowding. I retrieve it each being like, ahhhhrrrrrgh! I couldn’t spot anybody but Gordon, nan camera, Dustin. I couldn’t spot wherever Alan was. It was group up for causing awesome tension.”
The segment is simply a study successful gimlet-like persistence and nan psychological toll of whistleblowing. The relentless Bernstein keeps pushing nan bookkeeper, who is caught betwixt conscience and fearfulness but will go nan first root wrong nan Committee to Re-elect nan President to corroborate nan beingness of a concealed slush fund.
Alexander remembers it each vividly. “It’s astir apt 1 of nan favourite scenes I’ve ever done successful my life,” she says. “I ever felt that Alan directed it truthful beautifully and I’m told by a number of acting teachers that they usage that segment successful classes for group to study and watch very carefully.
“Essentially, it looks for illustration it’s successful 1 take; of course, it’s not. There’s a batch of cutting but it’s conscionable nan 2 of america and he only uses 2 angles for some of us. Dustin was ever leaning forward. It was tight, it was tense. Now, why did I moreover fto him successful nan room? Because I request to show personification this story. With Bernstein for illustration that, truthful upfront, I don’t cognize if I tin do it and I don’t cognize if this is nan correct person. Woodward would astir apt person been easier to divulge everything to.”
Alexander makes a briefer, 2nd quality later successful nan movie erstwhile Woodward and Bernstein return to her location and find her sitting connected her porch. “When you person Bob travel into it outside, I’m much fresh and we ne'er perceive what I afloat opportunity but I’m going to spill each nan beans.”
When she first saw nan movie astatine nan Kennedy Center premiere, earlier an assemblage of 1,100 people, Alexander was awed. “It was incredible. I still deliberation it’s 1 of nan awesome films of each time. It’s nan only 1 I watch each 2 years that I’ve been in. It holds up.”
All nan President’s Men ranks alongside His Girl Friday, Citizen Kane, Ace successful nan Hole, Sweet Smell of Success, The Killing Fields, The Paper and Spotlight arsenic 1 of nan champion films astir newspaper journalists plying their trade. It is nan definitive procedural account of reporters joining nan dots betwixt a break-in astatine nan Democratic National Committee office astatine nan Watergate building, Nixon’s reelection run and nan White House.
Redford’s curiosity had been piqued when, weeks aft nan break-in, nan taxable came up pinch reporters during a publicity circuit for his movie The Candidate. He devoured nan Washington Post’s industry-leading reports connected nan Watergate story. When he publication a floor plan of nan paper’s overseas mates – Bernstein, a wide Jew who wore his hairsbreadth long, and Woodward, a Waspy Republican who served successful nan navy – he saw their cinematic potential.
Years later Redford told nan Washington Post: “I thought that was a existent awesome characteristic study. Two guys that couldn’t beryllium much different. Different religions, different politics, different everything. And yet they had to activity together, and they didn’t for illustration each different very much. I said, ‘Boy, that feels for illustration a good, absorbing small black-and-white movie to me.’”
But erstwhile Redford approached Woodward astir a imaginable film, he was rebuffed. Speaking by telephone this week, Woodward, now 83, recalls: “Carl and I were successful nan mediate of covering nan communicative and focused connected that and truthful nan thought of a movie, and nan thought it focusing connected nan narration betwixt Carl and myself, conscionable seemed impossible.
“It didn’t make sense. We were engaged and Redford kept calling and insisting, ‘This is nan measurement to show this story’. Carl and I some thought, yeah, possibly from his extremity it’s nan measurement to show nan communicative but we did not spot it initially.”
However, for illustration nan tenacious men he was seeking to portray, Redford persisted and, erstwhile he learned that Woodward and Bernstein were contracted to constitute a book astir their Watergate investigation, duly bought nan movie authorities for $450,000, a hefty sum astatine that time.
Goldman’s first screenplay, however, did not spell down well. It was afloat of Hollywood liberties including descriptions of women arsenic “delicious looking”, “leggy” and owning “the champion boobs successful Virginia”. Woodward scribbled “No!” aliases “Wrong” successful nan margins galore times. Woodward says: “The first draught had tons of jokes and arsenic Carl said, it was benignant of Butch Cassidy and nan Sundance Bernstein Take connected nan President.”
Bernstein and his past partner Nora Ephron had a spell astatine penning a screenplay but could not defy overdoing Bernstein’s ain heroism. Goldman was offended and later described nan involution arsenic “a gutless betrayal”. But Pakula came connected committee and, on pinch Redford, kept honing nan screenplay, excising nan backmost stories of Woodward and Bernstein’s individual lives to make thing leaner and sparer.
Woodward recounts: “Pakula and Redford came to Washington, stayed astatine nan Madison Hotel crossed from nan Post and we talked to them regularly to reply nan questions of what happened. We had immoderate notes, we had drafts of stories and truthful they sucked it up retired of america for illustration reporters.
“It was a bully acquisition for america to spot personification travel and benignant of return complete your story, which is what they were doing and what they did and it worked because it was, rather frankly, honest. It was not a mistake-free endeavor and we laid retired nan mistakes and nan hostility betwixt america and really Bradlee and different editors astatine nan Post responded.”
He adds: “In reporting you are ever asking nan question, what’s nan adjacent story? What’s nan adjacent level and driving to that. That was nan full tone of nan making of this movie that was adopted by Pakula, each of nan group who worked connected this.”
Nixon himself only appears connected TV screens. But location is simply a dramatisation of Woodward’s late-night meetings successful car parkland pinch a concealed root known arsenic Deep Throat who urges: “Follow nan money.” Woodward says: “They really sewage it and they sewage nan lump successful your tummy ambiance precisely right.”
Redford and Hoffman learned each other’s lines truthful they could interrupt each different successful characteristic and springiness their associated interviews other authenticity. They were besides diligent successful their research. Hoffman spent astir 4 months successful nan Post office, speaking to reporters astir their jobs, sitting successful connected meetings and listening successful connected their telephone conversations arsenic good arsenic spending clip pinch Bernstein socially.
Redford, who had conscionable appeared other Barbra Streisand successful The Way We Were, was arguably Hollywood’s hottest activity symbol. But for Woodward, that was not rather nan blessing it mightiness person seemed. He says: “When nan movie came out, I remember, I was unmarried and I would meet women, aliases personification would opportunity you ought to return truthful and truthful out, and truthful I’d telephone connected nan telephone and place myself and say, really astir a day Friday night? ‘Oh yeah, that’d beryllium great.’ ‘I’ll prime you up astatine 7 o’clock, 8 o’ clock.’
“I spell location to nan location aliases flat and I retrieve this doubly astatine least: I’d sound astatine nan doorway and nan female would unfastened nan doorway and look astatine maine and you could realise subconscious levers successful nan subterranean world of anticipation that thought it was Robert Redford but it was me. The doorway would unfastened pinch a existent grin and past she’d look astatine me, realise it’s not Redford and it would spell from this precocious anticipation to bargain basement debased expectation. I’ve seen disappointment a number of times.”
Woodward considered nan casting of Robards arsenic Bradlee a masterstroke – “Separated astatine birth. They’re truthful alike” – and remembers erstwhile a Saturday greeting erstwhile a unsmooth trim of nan movie was first shown to Post staff, who were anxious astir what they would see. “There were a batch of tight sphincters astir that.
“Bradlee told nan story: he’s sitting location successful this theatre watching and had his arms down his head, which is thing he did and, successful nan movie that’s connected nan screen, Robards puts his hands down his head. Ben’s sitting location watching it. It was a jolt. He’d benignant of been caught.”
Producer Walter Coblenz’s committedness to specificity successful nan look of nan movie was nary little remarkable. At 1 constituent he visited Woodward astatine his home. “He said, I want to person personification travel and return pictures of your apartment. We want to cognize what it’s for illustration for nan movie. Then I was sitting successful a chair and he said, ‘Even better, really astir if I bargain immoderate of your furniture?
“I said, OK. He said, nan chair you’re sitting in, I’ll springiness you $150. He bought that, bought immoderate table, bought immoderate lamp, God knows what other he bought. But I retrieve I thought this was a benignant of realism connected steroids and it reflected Redford’s, Hoffman’s, Pakula’s quest for realism.”
This forensic attack extended to nan Washington Post’s office, which was painstakingly duplicated connected a sound shape successful in Burbank, California. Leonard Downie, who worked connected Watergate arsenic lawman metro editor, recalls that Pakula’s accumulation squad took 1,000 photos successful nan newsroom on pinch meticulous notes.
In his memoir, All About nan Story, Downie writes: “Copies of nan aforesaid useful of creation hung successful nan soundstage newsroom, on pinch 1972 calendars displaying nan correct day for each scene. The movie newsroom contained nan aforesaid 2 100 desks, positive nan aforesaid wastebaskets, Teletype, Telex, fax and photograph machines, typewriters, telephones and different equipment, and moreover books.
“The phones had nan correct hold numbers connected them, and 1972 telephone directories were connected nan desks. All nan instrumentality and exertion worked. Unseen actors played nan due group connected nan different extremity of nan statement for Woodward and Bernstein’s telephone calls.”
There was more: “The Post sent packing crates of utilized paper, unopened mail, aged galley proofs, and different trash from our newsroom to scatter connected nan desks connected nan movie set. It besides reprinted nan beforehand pages of seventeen different editions of nan Post for placement connected nan desks connected days depicted successful nan movie.”
In a telephone interview, Downie, 83, who was executive editor of nan Post from 1991 to 2008, says he was impressed by nan accuracy of nan portrayal. “Woodward is difficult to picture because he’s not a colorful person. Redford was good arsenic Woodward. Dustin Hoffman was Carl Bernstein. He was amazing.”
And Robards’ capacity struck a chord pinch Bradlee, Downie recalls. “He’s either talked to Bob and Carl astir a communicative not being fresh precocious astatine nighttime and past he goes disconnected towards nan elevators, and arsenic he’s moving done nan newsroom, he benignant of reaches retired and taps nan desk. We ne'er saw Ben do that until nan movie and we ever saw Ben doing that aft nan movie.”
Downie worked arsenic a book arsenic a advisor for Steven Spielberg’s 2017 movie The Post, which was a prequel of sorts, dramatising nan Washington Post’s publication of nan 1971 Pentagon papers and, dissimilar All nan President’s Men, includes patient Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) among its characters.
In Pakula’s film, Graham only appears by sanction erstwhile nan lawyer general, John Mitchell, threatens complete nan phone: “You show your publisher, show Katie Graham she’s gonna get her tit caught successful a large wringer if that’s published.” Goldman’s screenplay did successful truth see a four-page segment successful which Graham, to beryllium played by Geraldine Page, questions Redford astir Deep Throat but it did not make nan last cut.
Graham had initially been sceptical astir nan task and Redford’s determination to usage nan Washington Post’s name. Woodward says: “She initially was, ‘Oh great, I’m gladsome I’m not successful it, ‘and past erstwhile she saw nan movie she did an astir look and said, ‘Why americium I not successful nan movie?”
Graham’s family still regret nan omission. Her boy Don Graham, who joined nan Post successful 1971 and later became patient himself, says by telephone from his location successful Washington: “The 1 missing characteristic successful All nan President’s Men is Katharine Graham. That newspaper does not person a patient and that was an outrage, righted later by Steven Spielberg and Meryl Streep.”
Graham, who is now 80 and runs a danasiwa fund for undocumented migrant students, adds: “She told maine Redford came to her and told her she would not beryllium successful nan movie. She said, I’m really wounded by that. She is simply a beautiful meaningful characteristic successful nan book: Bob and Carl are not blameworthy of failing to understand Katherine Graham’s value successful this but movies are movies and they aren’t documentaries and they don’t picture everything.”
Still, Katherine Graham and Pakula became accelerated friends, and Don Graham hugely admired nan movie erstwhile he first saw it astatine nan Kennedy Center connected 4 April 1976. He says: “I thought, this is an unbelievably meticulous explanation of really overmuch of nan reporting worked. I thought, I’m not judge it isn’t excessively accurate, I deliberation that astir viewers will find this excessively slow. But that wasn’t nan guidance of astir viewers. The hostility built up.
“I admired really Pakula stayed existent to really nan reporting went, nan calling group astatine night, nan checks that don’t activity out, nan correction they made, nan slow step-by-step, story-by story, interview-by question and reply gait of it. That was awesome to maine and I came distant emotion yeah, they sewage it right.”
Woodward’s past six year-old girl was little awed, however. He says: “I said, what did you think, Diana? She said, ‘Boring, boring, boring.’ Redford came for meal 1 night. He came successful nan hallway and Diana was location and I introduced her to Redford. He looked down and she said, ‘I cognize who you are. I saw you connected tv pretending to beryllium my dad.’”
The timing of Saturday’s day is acute. Redford died past twelvemonth aged 89. Donald Trump has added his sanction to nan Kennedy Center and announced it will adjacent for 2 years. The media is nether onslaught and nan Washington Post, sold by nan Graham family aft 80 years to nan tech billionaire Jeff Bezos, precocious slashed a 3rd of its staff. Woodward remains an subordinate editor.
Bradlee’s speech astatine nan extremity of All nan President’s Men resonates anew: “You cognize nan results of nan latest Gallup poll? Half nan state ne'er moreover heard of nan connection Watergate. Nobody gives a shit. You guys are astir apt beautiful tired, right? Well, you should be. Go connected home, get a bully basking bath. Rest up … 15 minutes. Then get your asses backmost successful gear.
“We’re nether a batch of pressure, you know, and you put america there. Nothing’s riding connected this isolated from the, uh, first amendment to nan constitution, state of nan press, and possibly nan early of nan country. Not that immoderate of that matters, but if you guys fuck up again, I’m going to get mad. Goodnight.”
