Kate Beckinsale in Nothing but the Truth

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If a film festival’s opening night is all about setting the tone for the days to come, then we can expect lots of star power and serious cinema during SBIFF 2009. This evening, January 22, the fest kicks off with Nothing but the Truth, which stars Kate Beckinsale as a reporter who goes to jail rather than revealing her source. Directed by West Point educated film critic-turned-director Rod Lurie, the already acclaimed movie—which also stars Alan Alda, Matt Dillon, Noah Wyle, David Schwimmer, and Angela Bassett—pits journalistic principles against national security. With a surprise ending, it’s sure to get fest-goers talking. Lurie, who will be in attendance tonight, along with some stars from the film, recently chatted with The Independent about his new movie.

Rod Lurie

How’d you pick this festival? Roger [Durling] gave me a call and, I gotta say, it was pound for pound one of the nicest moments of the past 20 years for me. Our film was getting flying-high reviews … and then, in mid December, my [business] partner Marc Frydman gets a call from the Hollywood Reporter to comment on the Chapter 11 of our distributor. So the film was a victim of a drive-by shooting—it was happy-go-lucky, then it’s lying there with bullet holes in it. … There are, more or less, no ads, almost everybody in that company got fired, there was no publicity. … We were on a real down, but then Roger contacted me and said this movie should be the opening-night film. It made us feel real good. We all really love that festival—that’s a beautiful festival—so it couldn’t have come at a better time. It was a real sign of confidence.

Tell me a little about the movie. Was it inspired by the Valerie Plame affair? That’s really a jumping-off point. I put different human beings into the similar situation that Judith Miller and other journalists have faced in going to jail to protect a source. To be truthful, I knew very little about the Miller case. … Susan McDougal, who went to jail rather than testify against Bill Clinton, really was more of a model in terms of the kind of human being that she was.

FILM:

Nothing But the Truth

OPENING NIGHT Writer-director Rod Lurie’s new film is the story of Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale), a young reporter on the national desk of the Capitol Sun-Times, a major Washington, D.C. daily. Rachel writes an explosive story that reveals the identity of covert CIA agent Erica Van Doren (Vera Farmiga) that, once published, causes all hell to break loose and the government to demand the identity of Rachel’s source. With the support of her editor, Bonnie (Angela Bassett), her paper’s in-house attorney (Noah Wyle) and her husband, Ray (David Schwimmer), Rebecca defies the charismatic, career-minded special prosecutor, Patton Dubois (Matt Dillon). When Rachel also declines to reveal her source to U.S. District Court Judge Hall (Floyd Abrams), he cites her with contempt of court and throws her in jail, pointing out that Rachel alone holds the keys to her cell and that time in the D.C. Detention Center may help her come to realize this. The story follows the hardships Rachel experiences behind bars as well as the legal struggle played out by her attorney, Albert Burnside (Alan Alda), as he pleads her case on First Amendment grounds -- a case he argues all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court. Everyone is rabid to know: Who is the source and why is Rebecca so committed to sacrificing so much to protect it? As with Lurie’s filmmaking breakout THE CONTENDER, for which Joan Allen and Jeff Bridges were both nominated for Academy Awards®, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH is set in Washington, D.C., staged at the harrowing intersection of governmental power and personal integrity and told from a distinctly feminine perspective. While THE CONTENDER focused on one ground-breaking female Senator’s fight to maintain her dignity as she weathers a partisan dirty trick on her way to assume the office of Vice President, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH portrays two very different, very strong Washington women as they fight to protect what they hold most dear. TRUTH’s Rachel Armstrong fights to protect her source, her integrity and her career. And after being exposed as a covert CIA operative, Erica Van Doren fights to protect her reputation within the agency and the sanctity of her other life as a caring suburban mother. Written and directed by Rod Lurie, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH is a Yari Film Group release. The film is produced by Bob Yari, Marc Frydman and Lurie, with James Spies serving as executive producer. Alik Sakharov is the director of photography; Eloise Stammerjohn is production designer; Lynn Falconer is costume designer and Sarah Boyd is the editor. The film was shot on location in Memphis, Tennessee.

Showtimes and More

You were in the Army and spent a number of years as a journalist. How did those two backgrounds inform this film? I think that almost everything I’ve done is informed by something that has occurred to me in my life, or something that I can relate to. When people ask me what film school they should go to, my answer is always the same: It’s really much wiser to go to school and study what you want to make movies about. What you can learn about making a film, you can learn on the set and learn through experience. Become a student.

I went to West Point and studied political science, and political science of the Middle East, by the way, so the world has always really fascinated me. My dad was a journalist, a political cartoonist, so, yeah, all my movies are influenced by my experience. I think most filmmakers can say that, unless you’re Christopher Nolan.

Resurrecting the Champ was about journalism. This film is about journalism. The Contender is a political story. But most of my films deal with principles and people sticking by their principles—how far they’re willing to go and whether our principles can destroy us. So that is really the theme of this movie as well.

I’ve read that your film brings up a lot of ideas, but doesn’t necessarily give answers. The main reason is because I don’t know the answers. I seriously don’t. … The epidermic issue is national security versus freedom of speech. I don’t know the answer to that, Matt. All I can do is present the story and let the audience determine what the answer might be.

It’s one of those movies where, at the end, the very last two lines of the film are such that they change the entire viewing experience of the film. … I’ll say this: Some people abhor the ending and some people like it a lot. But when the lights come up in the theater and you get ready to leave, you’re not going to turn to the person you’re with and say, “Do you want to get dinner?” You’re going to talk about the movie.

How did you gather together such an all-star cast? I want to tell you a secret: Nobody is writing roles for women outside of romantic comedies. Really, very few people are. When an actress gets sort of beefy roles that aren’t the traditional female leads, then it becomes attractive. I give you Monster’s Ball, Monster, Erin Brockovich, Million Dollar Baby. So what I do is purposefully write for women knowing that the field is just not that crowded.

Are you looking forward to Santa Barbara? You know what? I am more than looking forward to it. It’s going to be the highlight of the year and it’s only the first couple weeks of the year! I love the theater, I love Santa Barbara, I love the festival, and it’s really a testament to what Roger has been able to do that he’s gotten so many great people to come up and be part of that festival.

Related Links

• More SBIFF coverage
• Complete SBIFF schedule
• Nothing but the Truth
• Map of SBIFF venues

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