When thinking of films that live and breathe the newspaper world, what comes to mind? Alan J. Pakula’s “All the President’s Men”, Howard Hawks’ “His Girl Friday” (aka “The Front Page”), and Sydney Pollack’s “Absence of Malice”. One of the most overlooked of the genre is the Ron Howard directed “The Paper” which stars a phenomenal all-star cast; Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Marisa Tomei, Randy Quaid, Jason Alexander, Spalding Gray, and Jason Robards. The original screenplay was co-written by David Koepp, writer of “Jurassic Park”, “Mission: Impossible”, and “Spider-Man”. On the surface, this may seem like a clear change of pace for Koepp from blockbuster action films yet “The Paper” moves at just as fast of a pace as any one of those above mentioned “action” films.
“The Paper” is a fast paced, exquisitely performed story set in the Manhattan newspaper world with the action occurring during one chaotic 24 hour period. The film follows an editor at a struggling New York City tabloid, Michael Keaton, who is faced with staying at the current struggling tabloid or entering into the glitzy and higher paid world of the prestigious “Times” newspaper. Meanwhile, two black teenagers are wrongfully accused of killing a businessman. The great Randy Quaid steals every scene as a drunken, surly down-on-his-luck journalist trying to delve deeper into the death of the businessman and clear the names of the wrongfully accused teens. Michael Keaton is also torn between his “family man” life, with pregnant wife and former journalist Marisa Tomei, and his steadfast dedication to the paper and his own journalistic ethos. At the other end of the spectrum, Robert Duvall and Glenn Close are two people with absolutely no sense of home life. They have surrendered their personal lives to be titans of the newspaper business. We later learn what they may have sacrificed and the harm it may have caused their loved ones in the periphery.
Here is an R-rated character driven satirical adult “dramedy” financed and distributed by a major studio, Universal Pictures, under the production company auspices of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment. No pun intended, today it is almost unimaginable that a purely original adult drama screenplay would be made at a major studio. Even Ron Howard’s latest action race car pic “Rush” starring a major movie star Chris Hemsworth, “Thor” and “The Avengers”, was financed independently then later acquired for distribution by Universal Pictures. The studio system has certainly changed in just 20 short years.
Howard Hawks has directed an eclectic group of films from the screwball “Bringing Up Baby”, the raucous romantic newspaper satire “His Girl Friday”, countless westerns including “Rio Bravo” and “Red River”, as well as action dramas like the original “Scarface”. Director Ron Howard has also developed a career of effortlessly moving from one genre to another while redifining those films in his own unique style. The dark, western thriller “The Missing”, the Christmas family classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, the Oscar winning drama of paranoia and brilliance “A Beautiful Mind”, the Tom Hanks romantic comedy “Splash”, the tense, space thriller “Apollo 13”, and the family dramedy “Parenthood”.
Check out the trailer below. “The Paper” is a gem of a film that is Ron Howard’s best constructed work in every aspect of the craft; tautly written, masterfully directed, energetically photographed by cinematographer John Seale with nuanced performances, and a memorable score by Oscar nominee Randy Newman. “The Paper” brings together a synergy of talents all working in harmony which every great film seems to encompass.