Shattered Glass (2003)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Billy Ray

Writers (WGA):

Buzz Bissinger (article)
Billy Ray (written by)

Release Date:

26 December 2003 (Greece)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Read between the lies.

Plot:

The true story of a young journalist who fell from grace when it was found he had fabricated over half of his articles.

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Journalist | The New Republic | Washington D.C. | Stephen Glass

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

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-Elise 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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

94 min | Canada:99 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Australia:89 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | France:U | Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39469) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:S | Norway:A | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Company:

Lions Gate Films

Trivia:

The real Stephen Glass was offered to work on the film, but he declined.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Stephen Glass and Mike Kelly talked about Glass's predicament, and Kelly asked Glass if he ever cooked a story when he was the New Republic's editor-in-chief, the scene occurred at Kelly's current place of work. In the DVD commentary, director Billy Ray said although such a conversation did occur between both Glass and Kelly, it was not at Kelly's place of work, but in fact at Mike Kelly's house. Ray went on to say that Glass's real life girlfriend was present during the actual discussion, but she was not even depicted in the film version of the discussion.

Quotes:

Chuck Lane: You're fired, Steve.
Stephen Glass: What?
Chuck Lane: You're fired, Steve. You've lost your job.
Stephen Glass: But you can't do that.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Chance for Love

Walking On, Walking On Broken Glass.

A young D.C. journalist (new "Star Wars" trilogy star Hayden Christensen) for The New Republic political magazine falsifies data and produces fraudulent stories. Slowly but surely his would-be meteoric rise turns into a dizzying downfall. "Boys Don't Cry" alums Peter Saarsgard and Chloe Sevigny are out of this world as Christensen's editor and supportive co-worker. Based on a true story, the picture has a tense documentary feel to it that makes it highly engrossing and fascinating early. The production does begin to tire late though as Christensen's crazed personality starts to come shining through with dementedly over-the-top results. Still a well-paced and intelligent take on American journalism and the pressures associated with the field. Worth a legitimate chance. 4 stars out of 5.