The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)

Director:

Niels Mueller

Writers:

Kevin Kennedy (written by)
Niels Mueller (written by)

Release Date:

22 October 2004 (Greece)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

The mad story of a true man.

Plot:

Based on real life events, Assassination is set in 1974 and centers on a businessman who decides to take extreme measures to achieve his American dream.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Richard Nixon | Assassination | Tire | Watergate

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Sean Penn	...	Samuel J. Bicke
Naomi Watts	...	Marie Andersen Bicke
Don Cheadle	...	Bonny Simmons
Jack Thompson	...	Jack Jones
Brad William Henke	...	Martin Jones (as Brad Henke)
Nick Searcy	...	Tom Ford
Michael Wincott	...	Julius Bicke
Mykelti Williamson	...	Harold Mann
April Grace	...	Mae Simmons
Lily Knight	...	Receptionist
Jared Dorrance	...	Sammy Jr.
Jenna Milton	...	Ellen
Mariah Massa	...	Julie
Eileen Ryan	...	Marie's Mother
Derek Greene	...	Joey Simmons
Joe Marinelli	...	Mel Samuels
Robert Kenneth Cooper	...	Irate Driver
Tracy Middendorf	...	Businesswoman (as Tracy Lynn Middendorf)
Kenneth White	...	Customer
Brett Rickaby	...	Customer
James Morrison Reese	...	Customer
Frank Brown Jr.	...	Customer
James Carraway	...	Customer (as James D. Carraway)
Jay Jacobus	...	Customer
J.C. MacKenzie	...	Co-Pilot
Kathryn Howell	...	Hostage
Denise Balthrop Cassidy	...	Bank Teller
Gary L. Mack	...	Security Man (as Gary Mack)
Melissa Saltzman	...	Boarding Agent
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ian Baptiste	...	Bus boy
Salvador Allende	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pete Boughn	...	Old Fisherman (uncredited)
Brandon Brizendine	...	Boy in Airport (uncredited)
Doug Campbell	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Cabran E. Chamberlain	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
James Cotner	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Johnny Drocco	...	Passenger on skyway (uncredited)
Ryan Else	...	Airplane Passanger (uncredited)
Sam Ervin	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tim Halpin	...	Co-Pilot (uncredited)
David Hilliard	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Donald Lett II	...	Airport Passenger (uncredited)
Janean Christine Mariani	...	Cocktail Waitress (uncredited)
Russell Means	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Augusto Pinochet	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tony Rocha	...	Airport Security (uncredited)
AnnieScott Rogers	...	Jack's Wife (uncredited)
John Patrick Shulak	...	Busboy (uncredited)
Teresa Anne Volgenau	...	Travel Agent (uncredited)
Cindy Warner	...	Dinner date (uncredited)
Sherrie La'Marr Wheeler	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Matthew Wood	...	Pedestrian outside Bank (uncredited)

Directed by
Niels Mueller

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kevin Kennedy		written by
Niels Mueller		written by

Produced by
Doug Bernheim	....	co-producer
Alfonso Cuarón	....	producer
Carlos Cuarón	....	associate producer
Leonardo DiCaprio	....	executive producer
Arnaud Duteil	....	executive producer
Debra Grieco	....	line producer
Avram 'Butch' Kaplan	....	executive producer
Kevin Kennedy	....	executive producer
Jason Kliot	....	executive producer
John Limotte	....	co-producer
Emmanuel Lubezki	....	associate producer
Kurt Mueller	....	associate producer
Alexander Payne	....	executive producer
Frida Torresblanco	....	executive producer
Jorge Vergara	....	producer
Joana Vicente	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Steven M. Stern

Cinematography by
Emmanuel Lubezki

Film Editing by
Jay Cassidy

Casting by
Mali Finn

Production Design by
Lester Cohen

Set Decoration by
Barbara Munch

Costume Design by
Aggie Guerard Rodgers

Makeup Department
Karen Bradley	....	key makeup artist
Martial Corneville	....	wig maker
Gretchen Davis	....	additional makeup artist (as Gretchen Davis-Motron)
Stephan Dupuis	....	additional makeup artist
Peggy Forcellini	....	assistant hair stylist
Rick Glassman	....	dental special effects: Sean Penn (as Dr. Rick Glassman)
Erwin H. Kupitz	....	wig maker (as Erwin Kupitz)
Robin Mathews	....	key hair stylist: Omaha
Yvette Rivas	....	additional hair stylist
Gail Rowell-Ryan	....	personal hair stylist: Naomi Watts, Sean Penn
Rick Stratton	....	makeup artist: Mr. Penn
Rick Stratton	....	makeup department head
Laurel Van Dyke	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Debra Grieco	....	unit production manager
Celeste Healy	....	production supervisor
Avram 'Butch' Kaplan	....	unit production manager
Carole Terranova	....	unit production manager: Los Angeles Crew

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nandi Bowe	....	additional second second assistant director
Stuart B. Hagen	....	second assistant director (as Stuart Hagen)
Van Hayden	....	first assistant director
Staci Lamkin	....	second second assistant director
Roland Manarin	....	assistant director: Omaha
Frank Simeone	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Sopher Allez	....	set dresser
Kelly Bagby	....	art department assistant
Nate Belove	....	on-set dresser
David Bjorngaard	....	set decoration buyer
Stephanie Cain	....	art department coordinator
Scott Cobb	....	assistant art director
Paul de Lumen	....	art department assistant
Dale Haugo	....	lead scenic artist
Mike Helbig	....	leadman
Lawrence Hornbeck	....	set dresser
Sean House	....	assistant property master
Geoffrey Lake	....	greensman
Patrick Ludden	....	property master
John Micheletos	....	set dresser
Ben Nichols	....	carpenter
Trish Place	....	painter
Tom Richardson	....	painter
Roel Robles	....	storyboard artist
Gretchen Scharfenberg	....	props
Louis Visco	....	set dresser
Tom Vukmanic	....	propmaker
Doug E. Williams	....	construction coordinator
Virginia Hopkins	....	painter (uncredited)
Gilbert Johnson	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Annie Mueller	....	props buyer (uncredited)
Mark Warren	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bob Bowman	....	first assistant sound editor
Robert Deschaine	....	adr mixer
Dino Dimuro	....	sound effects editor
Ezra Dweck	....	sound effects editor
Marc Fishman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Flinchbaugh	....	digital assistant sound editor
Jonathan Fuh	....	boom operator
José Antonio García	....	sound mixer
Don Givens	....	foley mixer
Tony Lamberti	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lee W. Lebaigue	....	digital assistant sound editor (as Lee Lebaigue)
Anna MacKenzie	....	supervising sound editor
Victoria Rose Sampson	....	dialogue editor (as Vickie Sampson)
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Tami Treadwell	....	adr recordist

Special Effects by
Frank Ceglia	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Erik Dehkhoda	....	digital compositor
Dennis Fitzsimmons	....	digital compositor
Adam Hawkey	....	lead compositor: iOFilm (as Adam S. Hawkey)
Michael John Koetter	....	digital compositor: iOFilm
Kevin Lin	....	quality control coordinator, digital intermediate: Efilm/Panavision
Diane Macke	....	visual effects coordinator
Christopher Dusendschon	....	I/O supervisor: iO FILM (uncredited)
Thomas Mathai	....	data manager (uncredited)

Stunts
Robin Lynn Bonaccorsi	....	stunt performer
Rocky Capella	....	stunt coordinator
Thomas M. Ficke	....	utility stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
James Beaumonte	....	dolly grip
Pete Bowman	....	grip
Phil Bray	....	still photographer
Dave Childers	....	key grip
Gregory Collis	....	rigging grip
Jonathan Doff	....	video assist operator
Patrick Figueroa	....	best boy grip
Sean Flood	....	electrician
Tim Guffin	....	camera loader
Brook Johnson	....	grip
Ngoc Lam	....	camera intern
Patrick Loungway	....	camera operator
Patrick McArdle	....	first assistant camera
Starrs McBurney	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Robert 'Boomer' McCann	....	grip (as Robert McCann)
Mark Nakahara	....	electrician
Oriana Newton-Leopold	....	camera intern
Dayton Nietert	....	gaffer
Bobby Powell	....	best boy electric
Robert Powers	....	rigging gaffer
Calvin Roberts	....	video playback operator
Duane Robinson	....	rigging grip
Mark Sheets	....	rigging crew
Terry Sullivan	....	electrician
Jerzy Zielinski	....	director of photography: second unit

Casting Department
Nina Henninger	....	local casting
Sarah Kliban	....	background casting
Jonathan Leeder	....	casting associate
David Rapaport	....	casting associate
Maureen Whalen	....	casting associate: San Francisco

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Becker	....	costumer
Judy Feil	....	costume supervisor
Tabitha Johnson	....	wardrobe intern
Mary Elizabeth Still	....	costumer
Valerie White	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Steve Bowen	....	digital color timer
Ben Estrada	....	digital colorist assistant
Joe Fineman	....	post-production consultant
Ian Kezsbom	....	post-production assistant: Mr. Mueller
Curtis Lindersmith	....	digital intermediate editor
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Dov Samuel	....	first assistant editor
Lorene Simpson	....	digital intermediate producer

Music Department
Bunny Andrews	....	music editor
Doug Bernheim	....	additional music supervisor
Lucinda Carmichael	....	additional music supervisor
James Fitzpatrick	....	music contractor
Liza Richardson	....	music supervisor
Jack Smalley	....	conductor
Jack Smalley	....	orchestrator
Michael Stern	....	scoring mixer
Steven M. Stern	....	music producer: classical music
Harold Cane	....	music coordinator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
John Bromstead	....	driver
Jaime Chapparo	....	driver
Mac Cook	....	driver
Diana Curtis	....	driver
David Joseph	....	driver
Leonard Lemas	....	driver
Dany Lenz	....	driver
John Levi	....	driver
John R. Lopez	....	driver: Sean Penn
Eli Lozano	....	driver
Sandra Ninham	....	transportation captain
Phil Payette	....	driver
Howard Richards	....	driver
Frank Rocha	....	driver
Marco Ruiz	....	driver
Nathan Strom	....	driver
Anne Valentine	....	driver
Bob Weaver	....	driver

Other crew
Deborah Alexander	....	photo double
Mira Bailey	....	location scout
Karen Baker	....	set production intern
Steve Bannatyne	....	assistant to writers
Kanta Barrios	....	assistant: Mr. Cuaron
Rich Bokides	....	production assistant
Mark Bosia	....	medic coordinator
Owen Carver	....	production office intern
James Chandler	....	craft service
Tora Chung	....	assistant production coordinator
Mary Clutts	....	location scout
Christa Collins	....	assistant: Mr. Penn
Sara Cortinas	....	assistant: Mr. Vergara
Lora Davis	....	production assistant
Sharlene Duale	....	production coordinator
Christine Dye	....	first assistant accountant
Linda Emmons-Cunningham	....	location manager: Sacramento
Sharonda Faison	....	location scout
Max Fink	....	set production assistant
Mandy Goldberg	....	assistant: Ms. Torresblanco
Dana Gong	....	location scout
Michael Greggans	....	stand-in
Mark E. Hough	....	location scout
Saisie M. Jang	....	assistant location manager
Yaron Kaplan	....	set production assistant
Dan Kemp	....	key assistant location manager
Julie Landholt	....	title designer (as J. Kathryn Landholt)
Rocky LaRochelle	....	stand-in
Ellen Lent	....	key location manager
Annaliese Levy	....	assistant: Ms. Watts
Sara Lichterman	....	assistant: Mr. Kliot/Ms. Vicente
Sato Masuzawa	....	assistant: Mr. Penn
Karla Moles	....	production coordinator: Mexico
Tim Monich	....	dialect coach
Dave Moorer	....	set medic
Kurt Mueller	....	archival footage coordinator
Paul Muldrow	....	key set production assistant
Patrick Musni	....	gun wrangler
Noah Newman	....	set production intern
Deborah Ricketts	....	archival footage researcher
Matthew Riutta	....	assistant location manager
Renee Rosenfeld	....	script supervisor
Brian Sampson	....	stand-in
Scott Sandine	....	set medic
Anna Shkolnikov	....	office production intern
Alex Stapleton	....	assistant: Mr. Mueller
Kana Takahashi	....	accounting clerk
Markandrew Terry	....	location assistant
Juan Tovar	....	development manager
Scott Trimble	....	location scout
Christine Wilcock	....	office production assistant
Stu Yoder	....	stand-in
Ami Zins	....	film commissioner
Chad Bishoff	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Cory Johnson	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Dennis Post	....	Production Assistant: Sacramento (uncredited)
Deacon Reed	....	production assistant: Sacramento (uncredited)
Nikolas Zasimczuk	....	set production intern (uncredited)

Thanks
Walter Cronkite	....	special thanks
Werner Herzog	....	special thanks
Kurt Mueller	....	acknowledgment: archival footage provided by
Gary Winick	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Anhelo Productions (presents)
• Appian Way (in association with)
• Esperanto Filmoj

Distributors

• Senator International (2004-2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Audiovisual (2004) (Greece) (theatrical)
• UGC-Fox Distribution (UFD) (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Art Port (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Cinema Parisien (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Independent Films (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Lucky Red (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Monolith (2005) (Poland) (theatrical)
• Noah Films (2005) (Israel) (theatrical)
• Wise Policy (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Arn Productions LLC
• Group Power (2006) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Gulf Films (Middle East)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Movie Plus (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• New Line Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Pony Canyon (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• iO Films (digital visual effects)

Other Companies

• Clearance Domain  clearances
• Corbis  special thanks
• DJ Audio  optical soundtrack
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color timing (as Deluxe)
• EFilm  digital intermediate
• Jeremy Walker + Associates  publicity
• Laser Pacific Media  electronic laboratory (as Laser Pacific)
• Magic Film and Video Works  negative conforming
• Paskal Lighting  lighting equipment
• Soundelux  sound editing
• Soundfirm  adr
• Suave Records  soundtrack released by
• The Studio Symphony Orchestra Prague  music performed by
• Title House Digital  end title crawl
• Todd-AO Hollywood  adr
• Todd-AO Studios  sound re-recording services
• Wilder Brothers Recording Studio  special thanks
• Wilshire Stages, The  adr

MPAA:

Rated R for language and a scene of graphic violence. (also edited version)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Mexico

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Brazil:14 | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut) | Germany:12 | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:15A | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #40689) | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Alameda, California, USA

Company:

Anhelo Productions

Trivia:

Sean Penn was attached to this project for six years before they found the financing for it.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: As Sam is walking to his boarding gate, both a Southwest Airlines and an America West Airlines aircraft can be seen in the background. America West Airlines did not exist until 1983, and Southwest Airlines did not begin service to BWI until 1993.

Quotes:

Samuel Bicke: [softly] It's about money
[loudly]
Samuel Bicke: It's about money! It's about money, Dick! It's about mon-ey, Dick! It's about money.

Movie Connections:

Features "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" (1962)

Soundtrack:

Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24

outstanding

I was lucky enough to find myself at a small screening of this picture and having no expectations, was blown away by what I saw. I felt a knot growing in my chest with every passing minute and it didn't let go until the credits rolled, when I had to take a couple deep breaths and heard the girl next to me doing the same.

What first struck me was the fragility Penn brings to his character. He's a man I'm used to seeing as well, a man's man, and to see him timid and frustrated, swallowing so much emotion in ever bigger chunks...it was remarkable to watch, his performance a credit to director Niels Mueller as well. Penn deserves another award, Noami Watts and Don Cheadle are also excellent, and Michael Wincott, as Penn's brother, makes his one scene memorable.

Niels and Kevin Kennedy have done a truly masterful job with the script, bringing unique voices and characters to life such as I rarely see on screen. Neils certainly doesn't look like a first timer behind the camera. Much of his framing feels emotionally

claustrophobic, while a few hand-held sequences made me think I was an unwilling, unwitting voyeur.

All in all this is a delicately crafted yet weighty and powerful film. I believe it gets released soon in New York and LA, but as Penn's Sam Bicke character might say "The system is unfair and everyone has a right to see this movie" so email ThinkFilm and tell them you want it in your city, too. Kudos to ThinkFIlm for getting behind this movie, they have another festival favorite of mine, "Kontroll" coming out in the spring.

I take my hat off to these filmmakers for their outstanding work.