Frage: How would you say your movie is different to the original BBC series it is based on?

Kevin MacDonald: I wanted to make a film about journalism. The TV show State of Play wasn’t really about that, but about entertainment.

Frage: Were you a fan of that series?

Kevin MacDonald: I saw State of Play in 2001 and loved it. I don’t watch much TV drama, but in this case, I remember that somebody convinced me to see it. I never imagined I would direct the movie!

Frage: How did that happen?

Kevin MacDonald: A couple of years ago Universal sent me the script, and I asked myself, “Do I want to make a film based on a TV series I love?” It was a very entertaining script, but I didn’t feel it really worked because it was too long and too close to the series.

Frage: Did you feel at that point that the movie had to find its own life?

Kevin MacDonald: Yes, it had to exist independently. So, I started working on the script and looking for another screenwriter, which is when Tony Gilroy’s name came up. I was a great admirer of his writing and, recently, of his directing as well!

Frage: What was it like to collaborate with Gilroy?

Kevin MacDonald: I spent a very pleasant five or six weeks working with him in New York. He had just broken his leg and was in crutches, which led to a kind of funny scenario at his house that reminded me of Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW. Tony was annoyed at the fact that he couldn’t move much and would look through the window just like Jimmy Stewart.

Frage: How did Russell Crowe come on board to play the journalist Cal McAffrey?

Kevin MacDonald: When I first offered Russell the part, he told me he liked the script but wasn’t convinced about the heroic aspects of his character. So, I arranged to meet him and flew to Australia the next day. I spent 12 hours on his farm walking around, patting his cattle and talking about the film until I convinced him to do it.

Frage: What was he like to work with?

Kevin MacDonald: I think he is great in the movie, and what I like the most about him is that he is an actor and not a star because he doesn’t have any vanity and always puts his work first. Cal was envisioned as kind of a slob, as someone who had given up on his life a little bit and couldn’t get a relationship. Russell took the basics of that character and really ran with it, pushing it further than I had imagined. So, he plays a very complex and ambiguous man, but that’s what makes him interesting.

Frage: Did you have some of those great political and journalistic thrillers of the 70’s, like Alan J. Pakula’s ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, in the back of your mind when you shot this film?

Kevin MacDonald: Pakula’s cinema has influenced me in many ways, even in the music. And you can’t really make a film about journalism and politics in Washington, DC without being aware of those movies and especially of ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN. For me, STATE OF PLAY is about what has happened to journalism from then until now.

Frage: Your movie examines how journalism has evolved, especially after the information revolution of the new media, correct?

Kevin MacDonald: I was interested with the idea of taking that ideal 70’s journalistic world represented by The Washington Post and imagining what would happen if it started to crumble and fall into decay with the surge of the internet.

Frage: You dive into the debate of whether or not the new media has less integrity than the traditional one…

Kevin MacDonald: Yes, and I hope that debate really is going on.

Frage: Rachel McAdams represents a new generation of journalists as Della Frye, holding her ground very well opposite Russell Crowe…

Kevin MacDonald: Rachel is wonderful and was great with Russell. Their characters represent two extremes but get along. That happens in romantic comedies, though the twist here is that their relationship is not sexual.

Frage: And you have a great actress like Helen Mirren in the role of Cameron Lynne, the editor of a newspaper that is struggling in the midst of these changing times…

Kevin MacDonald: Cameron is an old-school editor that is under huge pressure because both she and her newspaper have to change in order to survive. In the original series, the editor was the best character, played by Bill Nighy, and I couldn’t get his performance out of my head. But then I came up with the idea of changing that part to a woman, and the best choice for that role was obvious: Helen Mirren. She is so powerful, sexy, appealing and funny. And I am very grateful to her for sticking with STATE OF PLAY because she was committed to appear in a film directed by her husband, but Helen held him off and did this one first.

Frage: Ben Affleck plays Congressman Stephen Collins, Cal’s longtime friend, correct?

Kevin MacDonald: After Russell was committed to the film, I had to find the right actor to play opposite him and give me the contrast I needed between those two characters and friends. And he had to be someone you could admire. I had already met Ben, who immediately came to my mind, so I called him and he came on board.

Frage: And then, you have Robin Wright Penn as his wife Anne…

Kevin MacDonald: Robin is wonderful! She is a great actress, and I kind of wish there was more of her in the film because there are certain things you just can’t have enough of.

Frage: Shooting in Washington, DC must have been a true luxury, adding valuable authenticity to the movie, right?

Kevin MacDonald: I come from documentaries, and my previous feature film, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, was made in Uganda where the events had taken place. So, it is always my impulse to shoot in the actual locations. We had to go to Washington, DC!

Frage: What was your main concern about working there?

Kevin MacDonald: My biggest concern was making it different from other films and avoiding that familiarity people have with Washington, DC. That is the reason why I show a grittier D.C. and places like the Metro, which had never appeared on screen before. And when I show familiar monuments, they are normally from an unfamiliar perspective.

Frage: Even though STATE OF PLAY is mainly a dramatic thriller, it also has some comedic relief that is channeled mostly through the character portrayed by Jason Bateman…

Kevin MacDonald: I wanted to have some humor throughout the movie, and Jason really helped. He was actually the first person I cast.

Frage: Humor is always important…

Kevin MacDonald: I believe you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously in life. You have to be totally focused when you direct a film, but it can’t be everything. So, it is also important to stay a little detached and keep your sense of humor, especially in a movie as big as this one. We had a great time making it, and I was lucky to work with an amazing crew.

Frage: But it also gets scary when Michael Berresse, who plays an assassin, is on screen…

Kevin MacDonald: Yes, his character is as scary as you can get because he looks like he’s not all there.

Frage: STATE OF PLAY is a very rich film with complex characters and an entertaining story, which is also quite easy to follow. How would you describe it?

Kevin MacDonald: I would describe it as a fun political and journalistic thriller. Hopefully, it is a film you can enjoy, but at the same time leaves you thinking at the end. And that’s the kind of movie I like to see because it is entertaining, smart and doesn’t look down on its audience.