The first drafts ofThe Special Relationship dealt with Blair'sspecial relationships withU.S. presidentsBill Clinton andGeorge W. Bush. However, Morgan excluded the Bush scenes from subsequent drafts (thus ending the narrative on 20 January 2001) because he found the Blair/Clinton dynamic more interesting. Morgan intended to make his directorial debut with the film but backed out a month before filming began and was replaced by Loncraine. The film was produced by Rainmark Films and backed byHBO Films andBBC Films.
The film starsMichael Sheen reprising his role as Blair,Dennis Quaid as Clinton,Hope Davis asHillary Clinton, andHelen McCrory asCherie Blair. Principal photography on locations in and around London, England ran from 20 July – 4 September 2009. The film was broadcast onHBO in the United States and Canada on 29 May 2010,[1] and onBBC Two andBBC HD in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2010.
The film is set between the years of 1997 and 2001 and depicts the UK–USSpecial Relationship betweenPrime MinisterTony Blair andPresidentBill Clinton. Executive producerChristine Langan said of the plot, "The film's time frame goes from 1994, when New Labour was taking lessons from Clinton's people, to 1998 and the end of theKosovo War. It focuses on the international activities of Blair as prime minister and what he learns from his American ally. They're brothers in arms, but Clinton is weakened by theLewinsky scandal in the middle of it all, while Blair strengthens his position, moving from being something of an acolyte to equal to moral superior, post-Kosovo."[2]
Michael Sheen asTony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Sheen previously played Blair inPeter Morgan'sThe Deal andThe Queen. Critics noted that his portrayal inThe Queen was much more sympathetic than inThe Deal, which Morgan attributed to Blair being in a "honeymoon" period after his appointment as prime minister in May 1997.[3] Sheen felt a greater scope to play Blair in this film compared to the previous two; "This was interesting because it covers a much bigger period of time for the character. It allowed me to explore things I wasn't able to explore in the other films and take things further. I just found it a very fascinating story how this man changed with time and how he developed and how he became the man making the choices he eventually made that turned a lot of people against him."[4]
Dennis Quaid asBill Clinton, President of the United States. To match Clinton's physique, Quaid gained 35 pounds (16 kg) in weight by eatingMcDonald's food every day—which he described as being like "a baby on a feeding schedule"[5]—and had his eyebrows trimmed and his hair grayed.[6] He worked on adopting Clinton's accent, and fell into character once he wore a suit and "Clinton wig".[7] 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 filmAmerican Dreamz, whom he based on George W. Bush.[6]Russell Crowe,Philip Seymour Hoffman,Alec Baldwin andTim Robbins were also considered to play the role.[8] Screenwriter Morgan thoughtVince Vaughn would have been a good choice if the film was being made ten years later.[9]
Hope Davis asHillary Clinton,First Lady of the United States. Davis began filming her scenes at the beginning of August.[10] She prepared for the role by listening to audio tapes of Clinton and reading books about her.[10] She also watched video clips of her onYouTube and tried to "get the flavor of her speech across" without directly imitating her accent. Davis toldThe 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."[11] To accurately portray Clinton's appearance, Davis was fitted with a wig, false teeth and wore specially tailored brightly coloredpantsuits.[11] 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".[12]Julianne Moore was originally cast in the role, but was forced to quit less than two weeks before principal photography began, due to commitments to the filmThe Kids Are All Right.[13][14]
Helen McCrory asCherie Blair. McCrory reprises her role as Blair's wife fromThe Queen. When playing Cherie inThe Queen, McCrory found there was little information about her because as Tony Blair was prime minister, Cherie did not give interviews or make herself public. Since 2006, Cherie's autobiography has been published, meaning McCrory did not have to rely on hearsay to learn about her.[15] McCrory had already briefly met Cherie. Her husbandDamian Lewis recommended that she should meet her again to research the role, but McCrory decided not to, tellingThe Sunday Times, "The problem is, if you've met somebody, you have a responsibility to them. I don't think it's fair to ask her about Stormont, orKosovo, orMatrix Chambers... then it not be in the film. At the end of the day, it's not my Cherie Blair, it's Peter Morgan's Cherie Blair."[16]
Peter Morgan's first production featuring Michael Sheen as Tony Blair was theChannel 4 single dramaThe Deal (2003), which dramatized the rise ofGordon Brown (David Morrissey) and Blair when they were newMembers of Parliament. The drama depicted their rise in theLabour Party culminating in the1994 leadership election.The Deal's critical success led to a theatrical film,The Queen (2006), about the impact of thedeath of Princess Diana on senior members of theRoyal 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 inThe Deal.[12][21] Before Morgan began writing the script forThe Special Relationship in late 2007, there was speculation that the film would be produced byLeft Bank Pictures andBBC Films, where theDeal andQueen producersAndy Harries andChristine Langan were based; Langan toldguardian.co.uk in October 2007 that Morgan had "promised" the script to her and Harries, though no contracts had been signed.[21][22]
Three films about Blair had been planned sinceThe Deal.[23] Morgan had considered writing a film about Blair during the run-up to the2003 invasion of Iraq as the subject matter for both the second and third film.[23] He eventually decided to do a film about thespecial relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, specifically Blair's differing relationship with Clinton andGeorge W. Bush.[12] Harries said that Morgan believed the transition from Clinton's to Bush's presidency was a "pivotal moment" in the special relationship.[23] Morgan decided to narrow down the scope of the film to just Blair and Clinton, since he believed people tended to have forgotten about the state of politics prior to theSeptember 11 attacks, a time that was "really, really interesting".[9] 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.[19] Morgan began his research into the Blair/Clinton relationship after learning that the two had been alone together whenAl Gore conceded defeat after the2000 presidential election. His research took him toWashington, D.C., where he interviewed members of Clinton's cabinet, and Clinton's hometown ofLittle Rock, Arkansas.[3]
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.[13][24] Morgan signed on to direct the film—making his directorial debut—as the director ofThe Deal andThe QueenStephen Frears was "Blaired out".[8][9][23] In June 2009, shortly before filming began, Morgan pulled out of directing the film.[24] Morgan's agent told aDaily Telegraph diary that Morgan wanted to concentrate on writing and producing, but did not rule out directing in future.[25] Costumes were designed by Consolata Boyle, whose work onThe Queen won acclaim and awards.[26] After a week of read-throughs and rehearsals, filming began on 20 July 2009[10][24] and ran until 4 September.[27] Filming locations includedLangley Park, theEmirates Stadium and theWestminster Central Hall.Brocket Hall and theLoseley Park mansion doubled asChequers, the Prime Minister's country retreat.[28] Scenes set in theOval Office were filmed on a set built on E Stage atPinewood Studios. E Stage also housed a recreation of the White House gardens and colonnade outside the Oval Office.[28][29] Several other locations were used, in conjunction with theUK Film Council's regional agencies Film London, Screen East, and Screen South.[30]
Loncraine continued directingpick-ups into October; background scenes were shot in Washington, D.C., on locations includingPennsylvania Avenue andConstitution Avenue.[31] During post-production, cinematographerBarry Ackroyd created two versions of the film with differentaspect ratios; one has a 16:9 aspect for broadcast on HBO in the United States, and the other has a 1: 2.35 aspect for worldwide theatrical release. After filming the cinema version in the larger format, Ackroyd trimmed the picture for the television version using apan and scan technique.[28] The film's score was composed byAlexandre Desplat, who also worked on the music forThe Queen.[2] Final post-production mixing was carried out atTwickenham Film Studios, and was scheduled for completion in the second week of March 2010.[32]
In the United States and Canada, HBO first broadcast the film on 29 May 2010.[1][33]Roadshow Films released the film theatrically in Australia on 5 August 2010 after acquiring the rights at the2009 Cannes Film Festival.[34][35] The film debuted at eighth position at the box office in its opening weekend, taking $169,214.[36]
BBC Two broadcast the film in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2010, as part of a drive to screen more BBC Films productions on the station.[37][38] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on 20 September 2010.[39]
The film received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reports that 86% out of 21 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.8/10.[40]Metacritic gave it a rating of 67 and stated it has received "generally favorable reviews".[41]
^abIztkoff, Dave (27 August 2009). "Being Hillary Rodham Clinton". ArtsBeat (The New York Times Company). Retrieved on 27 August 2009.
^abcThompson, Anne (15 December 2008). "Peter Morgan retackles Tony Blair" (subscription access). Variety.com (Reed Business Information). Retrieved on 25 March 2009.
^abAndreeva, Nellie (24 March 2009). "HBO movie taking on Clintons, Blair".The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media). Retrieved on 25 March 2009.
^Andreeva, Nellie (8 July 2009). "Hope Davis to play Hillary Clinton" (subscription access).The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media). Retrieved on 8 July 2009.
^Dowell, Ben (2 October 2007). "BBC Films to be restructured". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved on 16 December 2008.
^abcdDawtrey, Adam (1 October 2007). "Morgan prepares 'Queen' sequel" (subscription access). Variety.com (Reed Business Information). Retrieved on 25 March 2009.
^abcAndreeva, Nellie (23 June 2009). "Peter Morgan leaves 'Relationship'" (subscription access).The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media). Retrieved on 23 June 2009.
^Staff (3 March 2010). "The Special Relationship[permanent dead link]". Twickenham Film Studios. Retrieved on 10 March 2010. "Final mixing in Dubbing Theatre 1 on "The Special Relationship" directed by Richard Loncraine for Rainmark Films / HBO Films / BBC Films, due to complete next week."
^Levine, Stuart (24 March 2010). "'Relationship' set for May 29 debut" (subscription access). Variety.com (Reed Business Information). Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
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