Kill the Messenger (2014 film)

Plot

Based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb, the film takes place in the mid-1990s. Webb uncovered the CIA's alleged role in importing cocaine into the U.S. to secretly fund the Nicaraguan Contra rebels through the manufacture and sale of crack. Despite enormous pressure to stay away, Webb chose to pursue the story and went public with his evidence, publishing the series called "Dark Alliance". He then experienced a vicious smear campaign fueled by the CIA, during which he found himself defending his integrity, his family, and his life.

Production

On March 5, 2014, Focus Features announced that the film would be released on October 10, 2014.

Filming

Principal photography began on July 16, 2013 in several Georgia locations, including Atlanta, Cobb County and Decatur.

Music

Nathan Johnson composed the score for the film, and Back Lot Music release a soundtrack album on October 7, 2014.

Release

Kill the Messenger received a regional theatrical release on October 10, 2014.

Critical reception

The film has received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a "Certified Fresh" rating of 77%, based on 118 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's consensus reads, "Kill the Messenger's potent fury over the tale of its real-life subject overrides its factual inaccuracies and occasional narrative stumbles." On Metacritic, the film currently has a rating of 60 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Controversy over film distribution

Several weeks after the Kill the Messenger premiere, the significant lack of advertising for the film and its rapid retraction from theaters led to the creation of a petition to re-release the film in theaters on November 24, 2014 through Change.org, entitled "Focus Features: Support Gary Webb and Re-Release Kill the Messenger in Theaters." This petition was also spurred on after Focus Features failed to attend a private screening for the film hosted by the Writers Guild of America in mid-November, despite positive reviews for the film. Through the petition and direct appeals to Focus Features, attention was drawn to the fact that the film distribution company aired more national television commercials for Kill the Messenger six weeks after the premiere date than they did before the film was released in theaters, and almost exclusively outside of primetime hours and off of major broadcasting companies. As a result of this marketing campaign, the highest domestic television coverage for Kill the Messenger occurred when it had been retracted from all but 18 theaters in the United States and three weeks before its theatrical run was ended. Attention was also drawn to the large discrepancy in the amount of television advertising that Focus Features gave to each of its fall releases, specifically between Kill the Messenger, which was given a total of 448 national advertisements, to Theory of Everything which was nationally aired 3,046 times and largely on major television networks (i.e., ABC, NBC, CBS, MTV).

The petition picked up a strong momentum through social media, accruing over 2,000 signatures in less than two weeks. The weekend of December 5, Focus Features expanded Kill the Messenger to 19 additional theaters, for a sum of 27 theaters overall. On December 11, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment announced the DVD release date for Kill the Messenger, several days before the petition reached 2,500 signatures. In early February, Kill the Messenger was leaked online, and was reportedly among the top ten films with the most unauthorized downloads for several weeks.