Good Night, and Good Luck.: The Screenplay and History Behind the Landmark Movie

The only official companion book to the award-winning new film, complete with the original shooting script, extensive historical material and commentaries.

Good Night, and Good Luck. takes place during the early days of broadcast journalism in 1950s America. It chronicles the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) and Senator Joseph McCarthy. With a desire to report the facts and enlighten the public, Murrow and his dedicated staff—headed by his producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) and Joe Wershba (Robert Downey Jr.) in the CBS newsroom—defy corporate and sponsorship pressures and examine the lies and scare-mongering tactics perpetrated by McCarthy during his communist "witch hunts." A very public feud develops when the Senator responds by accusing the anchor of being a communist. Despite the climate of fear and reprisal, the CBS crew carries on, and their tenacity eventually pays off when McCarthy is brought before the Senate and his lies and bullying tactics are finally uncovered.

In a format similar to the Newmarket Press books on Hotel Rwanda and Kinsey, this in-depth companion delves into the history behind the acclaimed film. In addition to the complete screenplay by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, this informative volume features historical materials and articles, original contributions from the actual figures featured in the film (Joe and Shirley Wershba, Milo Radulovich and others), and an exclusive Q&A with the screenwriters Clooney and Heslov. 40 b/w photos.

George Clooney won the Special Achievement in Film award from the National Board of Review for his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. His acting credits include the blockbuster hits Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Eleven, the critically acclaimed Three Kings, the Oscar®-nominated Out of Sight and the Coen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou?, for which he won the Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) Golden Globe. Grant Heslov served as the director and producer of the critically acclaimed series Unscripted, and co-executive producer of K Street, both for HBO. In his long career as an actor, he has had roles in the TV shows CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The X-Files, and the feature films The Scorpion King, Enemy of the State, Dante's Peak, The Birdcage, Congo and True Lies.