Truth

[projekktor id=’21631′]

Truth, the directorial debut of screenwriter James Vanderbilt, is a newsroom drama based on the memoir Truth and Duty by former CBS producer Mary Mapes. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this year and stars Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett, Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid, and Elisabeth Moss.

On the morning of September 9, 2004, veteran CBS News producer MARY MAPES (Cate Blanchett) believed she had every reason to feel proud of a broadcast journalism job well done. By the end of the day, Mapes, CBS News, and the venerable CBS News anchor DAN RATHER (Robert Redford) would be under harsh scrutiny.

Vanderbilt has always been fascinated with journalism, which has been the basis for his previous work. “Movie making and journalism are different ways of telling a story. I grew up with All the President’s Men and wrote and co-produced Zodiac, about the San Francisco Chronicle, and I’ve always been intrigued with what goes on in newsrooms. When a big story breaks on 60 Minutes, how does that happen? How does the sausage get made? I was about as aware as anybody else of the CBS scandal, but when I read the piece, I saw I clearly didn’t know a lot about what actually happened behind the scenes.”

Truth is rated 14A.