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34-464: Development for Hollywoodland began in 2001 when Focus Features purchased Bernbaum's script, titled Truth, Justice, and the American Way . Michael and Mark Polish were set to direct with Benicio del Toro in the lead role, but Focus Features placed the film in turnaround to Miramax Films the following year. Ultimately, Truth, Justice, and the American Way became a joint production between

68-594: A division of Universal Pictures , which is itself a division of its wholly owned subsidiary of NBCUniversal . Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in the United States and internationally. In November 2018, The Hollywood Reporter named Focus Features "Distributor of the Year" for its success behind the year's breakout documentary film Won't You Be My Neighbor? and Spike Lee 's BlacKkKlansman . The studio's most successful film to date

102-461: A genre label, which was once used by October Films in the late 1990s. Rogue Pictures would be led by the same team who led the standard Focus management. On October 2, 2013, James Schamus was fired from his position as CEO of Focus, with the New York offices being shut down in the process. He was succeeded by Peter Schlessel, whose company FilmDistrict would be merged into Focus and folded into

136-550: A guitar and singing " Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes) " in Spanish for his house guests. After each of the three imagined renditions, Reeves says good night to his guests, then retires to his bedroom upstairs, just before the gunshot. Reeves' quest for success and Simo's realization of parallels to his own existence cause the detective to reevaluate his life. Simo watches another home movie, this one of himself and Laurie and their son in happier days. He goes to Laurie's house wearing

170-424: A home movie that Reeves shot in order to promote some wrestling work. Reeves' sadness and disappointment with his life are evident in the footage. Simo's final imagined variation on Reeves' death concludes with the actor committing suicide. This is the most vivid of the three scenarios, and Simo imagines himself in the upstairs bedroom, watching it unfold. Each of the scenes imagined by Simo begins with Reeves playing

204-563: A label focusing on the video on demand market with initial plans to distribute 15 films per year, with one film being released per month. As a distributor, Focus' most successful release in North America to date is the 2019 film Downton Abbey , which earned $ 84.5 million during its first weekend at the box office and surpassing Brokeback Mountain , which earned $ 83 million at the North American box office. However, this

238-543: A movie star murder mystery, Hollywoodland takes it slow in order to reveal the intriguing details of the rise and fall of superstar fame." According to Metacritic , which assigned a weighted average score of 62 out of 100 based on 33 critics, the film received "generally favorable reviews". Ben Affleck earned the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for his portrayal of George Reeves. He

272-413: A new strategy to "align the acquisition and production of specialty films in the global market". Following this, along with several disappointing box office returns, Schlessel was let go from the company and replaced with Peter Kujawski . In April 2017, Vine Alternative Investments re-acquired the pre-2008 Rogue film library from Focus Features. In August 2011, Focus Features launched Focus World,

306-603: A suit and tie, greeting his son hopefully. Focus Features acquired a spec script written by Paul Bernbaum in December 2001 titled Truth, Justice, and the American Way . They courted Michael and Mark Polish to direct, with Diane Lane attached to costar, but Focus placed the film in turnaround in June 2002. Miramax Films picked up the rights and hoped for the Polish brothers to begin filming that year with Benicio del Toro as

340-452: Is Downton Abbey , which garnered $ 194.3 million at the worldwide box office. Focus Features' films have earned numerous awards nominations, including a total of 175 Academy Award nominations and 35 wins across various categories. However, they are also, infamously, the distributor with the most Best Picture losses, out of 16 nominations as of 2024. Focus Features was formed in 2002 by James Schamus and David Linde and formed from

374-634: Is a popular song , originally written in Spanish under the title "Aquellos Ojos Verdes" ("Those Green Eyes") by Adolfo Utrera and Nilo Menéndez in 1929. The English translation was made by Eddie Rivera and Eddie Woods in 1931. The song, a bolero , was written in 1929 and recorded in Cuba the same year. It was the only major hit, both originally in Cuba and then again in the Latin community in New York for Cuban pianist Nilo Menéndez. The lyrics were supplied by Cuban tenor Adolfo Utrera. The English version of

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408-661: Is not counting the domestic total of Traffic , which earned $ 124.1 million under the USA Films banner. The animated film Coraline was also highly profitable for the company. Although suffering its share of unsuccessful releases, Focus has been consistently profitable, and its international sales arm (unusual among studio specialty film divisions) allows it to receive the foreign as well as domestic revenues from its releases. Its DVD and movie rights revenues are boosted by cult classics including Wet Hot American Summer . Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes) " Green Eyes "

442-426: Is the parent company of both Warner Bros. and DC Comics and has the final say in the depiction of characters relating to their properties. The film's first title was Truth, Justice, and the American Way , Superman's well-known patriotic catchphrase , but Warner Bros. threatened legal action unless the film's title was changed so as not to associate the classic slogan with Reeves' death—especially since Warner Bros.

476-499: The United States and $ 2.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $ 16.8 million. The film grossed $ 6 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office. The film made $ 9.1 million in DVD rentals and a spot in the top ten DVD sales for its first three weeks of release. Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company , owned by Comcast as

510-547: The actor with contact lenses and subtle use of facial prosthesis. In addition he listened to hours of Reeves' voice on CD so he could get the same intonations and timbre. Filming began in Toronto, Canada in May 2005. During its production, Hollywoodland went through many rounds of getting clearance from Warner Bros. Pictures to use different aspects of Reeves' Superman persona to reflect the actual nature of his career. Time Warner

544-429: The case. This, and other evidence, leads Simo to suspect that Mannix was the one who had Reeves murdered. Simo also has a vision of how that killing would have occurred. Simo's original client, Sinclair, murders his wife, having grown impatient waiting for Simo's report. A guilt-plagued Simo gets drunk, then visits his son's school, where his inebriation scares the boy. Simo visits Reeves' manager, Arthur Weissman, who has

578-468: The divisional merger of USA Films, Universal Focus and Good Machine , as well as several assets of the Vivendi -affiliated film studio StudioCanal . USA Films was created by Barry Diller in 1999 when he purchased Interscope Communications , certain assets of the film division of Propaganda Films , October Films and Gramercy Pictures from Seagram and merged the three labels together; USA Films

612-493: The eye of a beautiful woman and they end the night in each other's arms. In the morning, a newspaper photo reveals to Reeves that the woman is Toni Mannix , the wife of Eddie Mannix , a fixer and the general manager of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . Frightened that an affair with a studio boss' wife will destroy what is left of his career, Reeves is angry that Toni did not tell him. She claims to have an open relationship with Mannix and soon reminds Reeves not to worry about it. She also buys

646-407: The impoverished Reeves a new house and car and lavishes him with jewelry and other luxuries. Reeves lands the starring role in the television series Adventures of Superman , based on the comic book superhero . The role makes Reeves famous and gives him a steady income, but he longs for more "serious" work and is uncomfortable with the public's stereotype of him as Superman. When a sneak preview of

680-514: The police do not want to touch. Sensing the potential for making a name for himself, Simo begins investigating and notes several apparent conflicts with the official version of Reeves' death. He also bickers with Laurie over his failures as a father, particularly now when his son seems so troubled. Eight-years earlier, Reeves, whose acting career has stalled since appearing in Gone with the Wind , catches

714-524: The potential lead, a role also considered for Joaquin Phoenix . Kyle MacLachlan was in the running to play George Reeves, after an audition and having worked with the Polish brothers on Northfork , while Hugh Jackman , Colin Firth and Mark Ruffalo were reportedly the top contenders. However, the Polish brothers were replaced with television director Allen Coulter over creative differences. Filming

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748-515: The program's cancellation in 1958. He also meets a young woman in New York City , actress Leonore Lemmon, and leaves Toni for her. Toni, brokenhearted and furious, seethes at her "mistreatment" by Reeves. Simo initially suspects that Leonore might have accidentally shot Reeves during an argument and imagines how the scenario might have played out. Simo is beaten at his home by thugs, apparently working for Mannix, who are trying to scare him off

782-452: The show. The film recreated the show's opening and substituted a re-recorded version of the opening theme. Hollywoodland takes liberties with events for dramatic purposes. Several events and places are condensed to fit into the film, including: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 68% based on 186 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "More than

816-515: The song was written in 1931 but did not become a major hit till ten years later when recorded by the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra . The recording was made on March 19, 1941 with vocals by Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly and released by Decca Records as catalog number 3698. The flip side was " Maria Elena ." The record first reached the Billboard charts on May 9, 1941 and lasted 21 weeks on

850-539: The trade name High Top Releasing. This became effective in January 2014, and several titles developed under FilmDistrict would be released under Focus. Under Schlessel, the company began to acquire films with a wider commercial appeal, much like his previous company. In May 2015, Gramercy Pictures was revived by Focus as a genre label, that was on action, sci-fi, and horror films. In February 2016, Focus merged with Universal Pictures International Productions as part of

884-408: The two studios and filming commenced in May 2005, with veteran television director Coulter making his feature film directorial debut . Due to copyright issues with Warner Bros. and DC Comics , the film was retitled Hollywoodland and released to generally positive reviews with high praise for Affleck's performance. In June 1959, Louis Simo, a sleazy Los Angeles private investigator, is spying on

918-402: The war film From Here to Eternity results in snickers from the audience when Reeves is seen on screen, film executives attending the preview decide to drastically reduce his formerly prominent role. As the years pass, Reeves also becomes embittered at being Toni's kept man and blames her for not using Mannix's influence to get him better roles. He barbecues his Superman costume to "celebrate"

952-464: The wife of a man named Chester Sinclair to learn if she is having an affair. On a visit to his own ex-wife Laurie, Simo learns that his son is upset over the recent death of actor George Reeves , having been found dead inside his Beverly Hills home with a gunshot wound to the head, which the police ruled as a suicide . Simo learns from a former police colleague that the Reeves suicide has aspects that

986-550: Was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture , but lost to Eddie Murphy for his performance in Dreamgirls . Hoskins and Lane were also applauded for their performances. Critics at The Wall Street Journal and Vanity Fair called Hollywoodland a possible Academy Award contender, but the film received no Oscar nominations. Hollywoodland grossed $ 14.4 million in

1020-480: Was banking the film Superman Returns , which was released a few months earlier in June 2006. The filmmakers changed the title to Hollywoodland , not as a reflection of the ailing Hollywood Sign , but in reference to the milieu of "movieland". The film makers wished to use the familiar filmed opening of Adventures of Superman in context within Hollywoodland , but Warner Bros. refused to license clips from

1054-588: Was broken, but he’s also the archetype of all those kinds of guys I had played — the actual, real version, which is damaged and somehow unhappy and trying to be something other than what he is. And to me that made it infinitely more interesting." Affleck watched all 108 episodes of the Adventures of Superman , met with Jack Larson , the actor who portrayed Jimmy Olsen in the TV show, read various books about Reeves' life and death, and gained 20 pounds to closely resemble

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1088-430: Was cast as Louis Simo and Affleck eventually won the supporting role of Reeves. He saw Truth, Justice, and the American Way as an opportunity to disassociate himself from the many big budget action films he had been starring in. It marked his first leading or supporting role in a film in two years. "I was really unhappy finding myself perpetually in the sights of paparazzi cameras and in the gossip magazines. This character

1122-475: Was delayed to April 2004, and Del Toro was still attached to the lead role, pending script revisions. Ben Affleck , Dennis Quaid and Viggo Mortensen were added to the list of actors under consideration for George Reeves, alongside Sharon Stone and Annette Bening for Toni Mannix. The film was finally greenlit when the project moved back to Focus Features in 2005, and Howard Korder was brought on to do an uncredited rewrite of Bernbaum's script. Adrien Brody

1156-638: Was led by Scott Greenstein . Universal Focus was the specialty film arm of Universal Pictures that was created in 1999 as Universal Classics, which was led by Paul Hardart and Claudia Gray, to replace the October Films label in order to get a group of titles to be distributed by USA Films, focused on the marketing of niche-based acquisitions by Universal Pictures International , Working Title , WT2 Productions, Revolution Films and DNA Films , and eventually rebranded into Universal Focus by 2000. In March 2004, Focus Features revived Rogue Pictures as

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