Among Disney's best mature works under the Touchstone brand is Michael Mann's 1999 film The Insider, starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe and Christopher Plummer.
The movie, for those who don't know, is a dramatization of the imbroglio at CBS over the scoop and revelations of Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, former R&D head for tobacco company Brown & Williamson, who came out to reveal definite proof that the company knew nicotine is addictive and were personally implementing additions and changes to cigarettes to "boost" the effect of nicotine on smokers. 60 Minutes, led by legendary anchor talent Mike Wallace and producer Lowell Bergman, chose to pursue the story and interview Wigand, but CBS lawyers moved to quash the story over worries that B&W would sue for "tortious interference." Bergman moved to try and convince CBS to stay the course, but found himself caught in all sorts of corporate intrigue regarding the story, while Wigand himself faced very worrying and trying circumstances for his decision to be a whistleblower, including a smear campaign by B&W.
The movie is one of Mann's best, with incendiary performances by Pacino and Crowe, in particular. One may certainly complain about the standard Hollywood rewrites done to dramatize the story, but as a film, it is heavy with impart and bursting with righteous indignation at both the tactics of Big Tobacco and the craven attitude of CBS. (Part of what constitutes potential bashing of the film's liberties with truth is the fact that right before CBS's actions, ABC, right before the Disney purchase was finalized, came out with a blistering story against R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris for "spiking" (artificially increasing levels of) nicotine in their cigarettes, and Philip Morris sued ABC for libel. Three weeks after the Disney purchase was announced, ABC submitted an apology and settled with Philip Morris, an act many observers found just as cowardly as CBS' moves. So naturally, some cynics think that Disney personally intervened to scrub mention of the ABC/Philip Morris story from the script, though Mann and co-writer Eric Roth denied this.)
I hope this movie will be placed on Hulu and Disney+ Star in the future, so more people who haven't seen the movie or own the DVD can experience it.
The movie, for those who don't know, is a dramatization of the imbroglio at CBS over the scoop and revelations of Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, former R&D head for tobacco company Brown & Williamson, who came out to reveal definite proof that the company knew nicotine is addictive and were personally implementing additions and changes to cigarettes to "boost" the effect of nicotine on smokers. 60 Minutes, led by legendary anchor talent Mike Wallace and producer Lowell Bergman, chose to pursue the story and interview Wigand, but CBS lawyers moved to quash the story over worries that B&W would sue for "tortious interference." Bergman moved to try and convince CBS to stay the course, but found himself caught in all sorts of corporate intrigue regarding the story, while Wigand himself faced very worrying and trying circumstances for his decision to be a whistleblower, including a smear campaign by B&W.
The movie is one of Mann's best, with incendiary performances by Pacino and Crowe, in particular. One may certainly complain about the standard Hollywood rewrites done to dramatize the story, but as a film, it is heavy with impart and bursting with righteous indignation at both the tactics of Big Tobacco and the craven attitude of CBS. (Part of what constitutes potential bashing of the film's liberties with truth is the fact that right before CBS's actions, ABC, right before the Disney purchase was finalized, came out with a blistering story against R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris for "spiking" (artificially increasing levels of) nicotine in their cigarettes, and Philip Morris sued ABC for libel. Three weeks after the Disney purchase was announced, ABC submitted an apology and settled with Philip Morris, an act many observers found just as cowardly as CBS' moves. So naturally, some cynics think that Disney personally intervened to scrub mention of the ABC/Philip Morris story from the script, though Mann and co-writer Eric Roth denied this.)
I hope this movie will be placed on Hulu and Disney+ Star in the future, so more people who haven't seen the movie or own the DVD can experience it.
