The Special Relationship is an American political television movie directed by Richard Loncraine from a screenplay by Peter Morgan. It is the third film in Morgan's informal "Blair trilogy", which dramatizes the political career of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair (1997–2007), following The Deal (2003) and The Queen (2006), both directed by Stephen Frears. The first drafts of The Special Relationship dealt with Blair's working relationships with Presidents of the United States Bill Clinton (1993–2001) and George W. Bush (2001–2009). Morgan excised the Bush scenes from subsequent drafts because he believed the Blair/Clinton dynamic more interesting. He intended to make his directorial debut with the film but backed out a month before filming began and was replaced by Loncraine. The film is produced by HBO Films and Rainmark Films in association with BBC Films.

The film stars Michael Sheen as Blair, Dennis Quaid as Clinton, Hope Davis as Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair. Principal photography on locations in and around London, England ran from July 20 to September 4, 2009.

Premise

The film is set between 1997 and 2000 and depicts the UK–US Special Relationship between Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair and President of the United States Bill Clinton.

Cast

Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Sheen previously played Blair in Peter Morgan's The Deal and The Queen. Critics noted that his portrayal in The Queen was much more sympathetic than in The Deal, which Morgan attributed to Blair being in a "honeymoon" period after his appointment as Prime Minister in May 1997.

Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton, President of the United States. To match Clinton's physique, Quaid "gorged" on hamburgers and soft drinks to gain in weight and had his eyebrows trimmed and his hair grayed. He worked on adopting Clinton's accent, and fell into character once he wore a suit and "Clinton wig". Quaid met Clinton in the late 1990s when he spent a weekend at the White House. He previously played a President of the United States (albeit fictional) in the film American Dreamz, who he based on George W. Bush. Russell Crowe, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin and Tim Robbins were also considered to play the role. Morgan thought Vince Vaughn would have been a good choice if the film was being made ten years later.

Hope Davis as Hillary Rodham Clinton, First Lady of the United States. Julianne Moore was originally cast in the role, but was forced to quit less than two weeks before principal photography, due to commitments to the film The Kids Are All Right. Davis began filming her scenes at the beginning of August. She prepared for the role by listening to audio tapes of Clinton and reading books about her. She also watched video clips of her on YouTube and tried to "get the flavor of her speech across" without directly imitating her accent. Davis told The New York Times, "...she's hard to imitate. Her accent has changed a bit over the years. In 1992, when she became first lady, she had quite a bit of Arkansas still in her speech from her 13 years there. That's really gone now. So her accent has kind of shifted over time but she's lived in very different places." To accurately portray Clinton's appearance, Davis was fitted with a wig, false teeth and wore specially tailored brightly-colored pantsuits. Quaid predicted that Davis would receive a lot of attention for her portrayal: "She really looks like Hillary with the puffed up hair and some hip additives".

Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair. McCrory reprises her role as Blair's wife from The Queen. When playing Cherie in The Queen, McCrory found there was little information about her "because Blair was still Prime Minister and she was very, very discreet, in the background, not being interviewed." Since 2006, Cherie's autobiography has been released, meaning McCrory did not have to rely on hearsay to learn about her.

Adam Godley as Jonathan Powell, Blair's chief of staff, who plays a role in the Northern Ireland peace process endorsed by Blair and Clinton.

Ten-year-old actor Max Cottage portrays the Blairs' eldest son Euan. Cottage began filming his scenes on 5 August. President of France Jacques Chirac (1995–2007) is portrayed by Marc Rioufol. The producers were having difficulty casting the part in March. The film will portray Monica Lewinsky through archive footage instead of casting an actress. Background actor Chris Wilson portrays Blair's Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.

Production

Peter Morgan's first production featuring Michael Sheen as Tony Blair was the Channel 4 single drama The Deal (2003), which dramatized the rise of then-new Members of Parliament Gordon Brown (David Morrissey) and Blair. The drama depicted Brown's rise in the Labour Party and Blair's subsequent betrayal of him in the 1994 leadership election. The Deal s critical success lead to a theatrical film, The Queen (2006), about the impact of the death of Princess Diana on senior members of the Royal Family and Prime Minister Tony Blair. The film featured Sheen as Blair in a supporting role, in what critics noted was a more subdued portrayal than in The Deal. Prior to Morgan beginning the script for The Special Relationship in late 2007, there was speculation that the film would be produced by Left Bank Pictures and BBC Films, where the Deal and Queen producers Andy Harries and Christine Langan were based; Langan told The Guardian in October 2007 that Morgan had "promised" the script to her and Harries, though no contracts had been signed.

Three films about Blair had been planned since The Deal. Morgan had considered writing a film about Blair during the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq as the subject matter for both the second and third film. He eventually decided to do a film about the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, specifically Blair's differing relationship with Clinton and George W. Bush. Harries said that Morgan believed the transition from Clinton's to Bush's presidency was a "pivotal moment" in the special relationship. Morgan decided to narrow down the scope of the film to just Blair and Clinton between 1997 and 2000 as people tended to forget about the state of politics before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a time that was "really, really interesting". Langan believed that Morgan found Clinton to be "a more interesting study than Bush" and that New Labour aped the Clinton administration at its inception. Morgan began his research into the Blair/Clinton relationship after learning that the two had been alone together when Al Gore had conceded defeat on the night of the 2000 presidential election. His research took him to Washington D.C., where he interviewed members of Clinton's cabinet, and Clinton's hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.

In late 2008, Kathleen Kennedy signed on as an executive producer. Ann Wingate, Frank Doelger and Tracey Scoffield are producers, and Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Kennedy are executive producers. HBO Films is producing, with co-production funding coming from BBC Films. Morgan signed on to direct the film—making his directorial debut—as the director of The Deal and The Queen Stephen Frears was "Blaired out". In June 2009, shortly before filming began, Morgan pulled out of directing the film. Morgan's agent told a Daily Telegraph diary that Morgan wanted to concentrate on writing and producing, but did not rule out directing in future. Costumes were designed by Consolata Boyle, whose work on The Queen won acclaim and awards. After a week of read-throughs and rehearsals, filming began on July 20, 2009. It concluded on September 4. Scenes set in the Oval Office were filmed on a set at Pinewood Studios.

Loncraine continued directing pick-ups into October; background scenes were shot in Washington, D.C. on locations including Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution Avenue.

Release

At the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Roadshow Films acquired the rights to distribute the film theatrically in Australia. The film will be released in Canada in May 2010.

References

1. Walker, Tim (June 15, 2009). " Mandrake: Dennis Quaid struggles with heavyweight role as Bill Clinton". The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group).
2. Thompson, Bob (September 23, 2009). " Dennis Quaid's new film is out of this world". Canwest News Service (published on Canada.com). Retrieved on September 24, 2009.
3. Tschiedert, Markus (September 11, 2009). " Dennis Quaid (55): "Ich bin so dankbar, heute noch im Geschäft zu sein"" (in German). Presse Portal. Retrieved on September 12, 2009.
4. Andreeva, Nellie (July 8, 2009). " Hope Davis to play Hillary Clinton". The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media).
5. Sperling, Nicole (July 9, 2009). " Hope Davis talks about gearing up to play Hillary Clinton". EW.com. Retrieved on July 14, 2009.
6. Iztkoff, Dave (August 27, 2009). " Being Hillary Rodham Clinton". ArtsBeat (The New York Times Company). Retrieved on August 27, 2009.
7. Randall, Lee (July 11, 2009). " The Lee Randall Interview: Helen McCrory, actress". The Scotsman (The Scotsman Publications).
8. Bamigboye, Baz (April 30, 2009). " Baz Bamigboye: Could Anna Friel make bed and breakfast at a sexier Tiffany's?". Daily Mail (Associated Newspapers).
9. Staff (3 August 2009). " Ten-year-old cast as Tony Blair’s son in new film". Echo (Essex: Newsquest).
10. Douguet, Gwen (September 3, 2009). " Exclu : Chirac trouve son double" (in French). Toulecine.com. Retrieved on September 7, 2009.
11. Thompson, Anne (December 15, 2008). " Peter Morgan retackles Tony Blair". Variety (Reed Business Information).
12. Harries, Andy. Interview with John Mair (April 25, 2007). Coventry Conversations. Coventry University Podcasting Service. Retrieved on March 2, 2008.
13. Dowell, Ben (October 2, 2007). " BBC Films to be restructured". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved on December 16, 2008.
14. Dawtrey, Adam (October 1, 2007). " Morgan prepares 'Queen' sequel". Variety (Reed Business Information).
15. Fitzherbert, Henry (March 22, 2009). " I captured Clough's soul...". Scottish Sunday Express (Express Newspapers).
16. Jones, Sam (March 26, 2009). " Tony Blair biopic: Screenwriter of The Deal and The Queen lines up final instalment". The Guardian (Guardian News & Media).
17. Goldstein, Patrick (July 25, 2008). " Peter Morgan has a bigger deal in mind". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company).
18. Andreeva, Nellie (March 24, 2009). " HBO movie taking on Clintons, Blair". The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media).
19. Shoard, Catherine (March 25, 2009). " Peter Morgan returns to Tony Blair for The Special Relationship". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved on March 25, 2009.
20. Andreeva, Nellie (June 23, 2009). " Peter Morgan leaves 'Relationship'". The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media).
21. Walker, Tim (June 24, 2009). " Mandrake: Relationship counselling not required on Peter Morgan's new film Special Relationship". The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group).
22. Staff (July 20, 2009). " Boyle Working on 'The Special Relationship'". Irish Film & Television Network. Retrieved on July 20, 2009.
23. Staff (August 17, 2009). " Production: The Special Relationship". ScreenDaily.com (Emap Media). Retrieved on August 30, 2009.
24. " Staging 'The Special Relationship'". Pinewood Studios. Retrieved on September 1, 2009.
25. Godbee, Eden (October 2, 2009). " Film Crew Pops Up on Constitution Ave.". NBCWashington.com. Retrieved on October 4, 2009.
26. Bodey, Michael (June 24, 2009). " Saharan doco whips up a storm". The Australian (News Ltd).

External links

• Cast photo of Dennis Quaid as Clinton, Marc Rioufol as Jacques Chirac, Michael Sheen as Blair on Toutlecine.com