Frost

Here's where you can save your ideas, paraphrases, summaries, and links in connection with assembling a Playgoer's Companion for Peter Morgan's //Frost / Nixon.//

Here's where the draft text for the Playgoer's Companion can be found

// [|Here's where the final Playgoer's Companion as a PDF can be found] //

// Ben Savoie Friggin' awesome US govn't developed website on the play. http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/pwtv/studyguides/frost_nixon.pdf//

Ben Savoie

**Peter Morgan** Peter Morgan was born on 10th April 1963, in Wimbledon, London, UK. His family fled Germany during the Second World War. His father was a German Jew and his mother a Pole, who had a similarly trying experience when Poland was occupied by the Soviets. Aged 9, Morgan lost his father and was sent to boarding school where he was to be brought up a Roman Catholic - his mother's religion. Morgan was primarily German-speaking as a youth and it took him a long time in boarding school to shake the accent, and the nickname Fritz. After his time was served at Downside School, Somerset, Morgan began to study English at Leeds University but quickly adjusted his degree to Fine Arts where he raved about the faculty staff, telling journalists he found his time in the tertiary system "inspirational" - a far cry from the boarding school of his boy-hood. He initially wished to be an actor, but found that he was terrified of performing in front of an audience. So instead Morgan found refuge in the writing department, scripting a few short stage pieces, some of which were presented at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. Source: (http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/biography_peter_morgan.php3)

Morgan wrote television scripts throughout the 1990s and had some success with the TV series // The Jury // (2002). He broke through with // The Deal //, a 2003 television drama about the power-sharing deal between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown that was struck in the Granita restaurant in London. He received an Academy Award-nomination for //The Deal//'s follow-up // The Queen // (2006) that showed how the death of Princess Diana impact senior members of the Royal Family and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. His work on the film earned him a Golden Globe from the Hollywood Foreign Press, and Helen Mirren won an Academy Award for Best Actress. Also in 2006, Morgan's first play, // Frost/Nixon //, was staged at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London. Starring Michael Sheen as David Frost and <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; text-decoration: none;">Frank Langella as <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; text-decoration: none;">Richard Nixon, the play concerns the series of televised interviews that the disgraced former president granted Frost in 1977. These ended with his tacit admission of guilt regarding his role in the <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; text-decoration: none;">Watergate scandal. The play was directed by <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; text-decoration: none;">Michael Grandage and opened to enthusiastic reviews. In May 2007, the 50th <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; text-decoration: none;">San Francisco International Film Festival honoured Morgan with the year's Kanbar Award for Excellence in Screenwriting. Source: (<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">[|__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Morgan__] )

__Notable Films:__ The Queen The Last King of Scotland The Other Boleyn Girl Frost/Nixon The Damned United State of Play The Special Relationship Hereafter Bond 23
 * Peter Morgan’s Work:**

__Plays:__ Pax Britannica Frost/Nixon

Tends to write screenplays about real-life characters and events. The only screenwriter in AMPAS history to have written the scenarios for both Best Actor & Best Actress in the same year in two (2) different films: Forest Whitaker for "The Last King of Scotland" Helen Mirren for "The Queen". Ranked #28 in the 2008 Telegraph's list "the 100 most powerful people in British culture".
 * Interesting Facts Found on IMBD.com:**


 * Award Wins and Academy Award Nominations:**

__**Frost/Nixon**__ • Win: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Best Adapted Screenplay__, <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Golden Satellites__
 * • Runner-up:** <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__**Best Adapted Screenplay**__ **,** <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__**Academy Awards**__

__**The Queen**__ • Win: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Best Original Screenplay__, <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Golden Satellites__ • Win: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Best Screenplay__, <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Golden Globes__ • Win: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Best Screenplay__, <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__National Society of Film Critics__ • Win: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Best Original Screenplay__, <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Chicago Film Critics__ • Win: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Best Screenplay__, <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__New York Film Critics__ • Win: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Best Screenplay__, <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__New York Film Critics__ • Win: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Best Screenplay__, <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Toronto Film Critics__ Win: <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Best Screenplay__, <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__Los Angeles Film Critics__
 * • Runner-Up:** <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__**Best Original Screenplay**__ **,** <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">__**Academy Awards**__


 * Laurie MacKenzie

The Watergate Scandal:**

- The Watergate scandal was not the first political scandal, but it was one of the first that the American public could watch as it unfolded. “Like everyone else, I had watched the Watergate drama play out in my living room,” Jim Reston.

-What was the Watergate Scandal? "A series of scandals occurring during the Nixon administration in which members of the executive branch organized illegal political espionage against their perceived opponents and were charged with violation of the public trust, bribery, contempt of Congress, and attempted obstruction of justice." ([])

- Ordered the secret bombings in Cambodia (1969) in an attempt to destroy the supposed headquarters of the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam, even though Nixon knew that he would be prolonging the war and breaching Cambodia’s stated neutrality. This was seen as an unorthodox use of executive power, and was brought up during the Watergate investigation. ([])

- Early in the morning of June 17, 1972 police discovered five men inside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel. It transpired that the intruders were there to adjust bugging equipment they had installed during an earlier break-in in May and to photograph documents. One of the five, James W. McCord Jr., was Chief of Security at the Committee to Reelect the President (CRP) suggesting a link with the White House. However, Nixon’s Press Secretary Ron Ziegler dismissed the incident as a “third-rate burglary”. ([])

-On January 8, 1973 the five intruders went to trial. They had been paid by the CRP to plead guilty and say nothing and were convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping. The connection between the Watergate break-in and the President’s re-election campaign dramatically raised the political stakes. Instead of ending with the trial and conviction of the five men, the investigation broadened and a Senate Committee was established to examine Watergate, subpoenaing members of Nixon’s own staff. ([])

- The story was picked up by two young reporters on the Washington Post’s staff – Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. Suspicious details, like the amount of cash carried by the burglars, began to pile up. ([])

- “ A few weeks, Woodward and Bernstein reported that the grand jury investigating the burglary had sought testimony from two men who had worked in the Nixon White House, former CIA officer **E. Howard Hunt** and former FBI agent **G. Gordon Liddy**. Both men would ultimately be indicted for guiding the burglars, via walkie-talkies, from a hotel room opposite the Watergate building.” ([])

-"A s the two reporters pursued the story, Woodward relied on **Mark Felt**, a high ranking official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as a confidential source. With access to FBI reports on the burglary investigation, Felt could confirm or deny what other sources were telling The Post reporters. He also could tell them what leads to pursue. Woodward agreed to keep his identity secret, referring to him in conversations with colleagues only as "Deep Throat." His identity would not become public until 2005, 33 years later." ([])



What were the infamous Tapes?

-The tapes were essentially the smoking gun of the Watergate investigation that ultimately lead to the resignation of the president.

- " On July 16, 1973, Alexander Butterfield, a former White House official, testified to the Ervin Committee that Nixon had taped his own conversations in the White House for a period of time that included the alleged Watergate cover-up. Cox subpoenaed a number of tapes that he felt were essential to the investigation. Nixon refused to release them. Judge Sirica directed Nixon to let him hear the tapes. Nixon appealed the order, arguing that a president was immune from judicial orders enforcing subpoenas and that under the concept of executive privilege only he could decide which communications could be disclosed." ([])

- Recorded on June 23, 1972, it documented Nixon and Bob Haldeman formulating a plan to block the FBI investigations by getting the CIA to falsely claim that it would compromise national security. ([])

- "Nixon at last agreed to give the tapes to Sirica, and he appointed Leon Jaworski, a Texas attorney, to succeed Cox. Nixon guaranteed that Jaworski would be free of White House control. However, problems with the tapes got worse. According to the White House, two subpoenaed conversations had never been taped and another contained an 18-minute gap. On December 7, 1973, Rose Mary Woods, Nixon's loyal secretary, claimed it was an accident. Six court-appointed electronics experts said that at least five separate erasures had caused the gap. Suspicions grew that evidence had been deliberately destroyed." ([])

Brief Timeline of the Watergate Scandal:
 * 1973**

**(**[|**http://watergate.info/chronology/brief.shtml**]**)**
 * **January 30, 1973:** Former Nixon aides G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord Jr. are convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping in the Watergate incident. Five other men plead guilty, but mysteries remain.
 * **April 30, 1973:** Nixon's top White House staffers, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, and Attorney General Richard Kleindienst resign over the scandal. White House counsel John Dean is fired.
 * **May 18, 1973:** The Senate Watergate committee begins its nationally televised hearings. Attorney General-designate Elliot Richardson taps former solicitor general Archibald Cox as the Justice Department's special prosecutor for Watergate.
 * **June 3, 1973:** John Dean has told Watergate investigators that he discussed the Watergate cover-up with President Nixon at least 35 times, The Post reports.
 * **June 13, 1973:** Watergate prosecutors find a memo addressed to John Ehrlichman describing in detail the plans to burglarize the office of Pentagon Papers defendant Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, The Post reports.
 * **July 13, 1973:** Alexander Butterfield, former presidential appointments secretary, reveals in congressional testimony that since 1971 Nixon had recorded all conversations and telephone calls in his offices.
 * **July 18, 1973:** Nixon reportedly orders the White House taping system disconnected.
 * **July 23, 1973:** Nixon refuses to turn over the presidential tape recordings to the Senate Watergate committee or the special prosecutor.
 * **October 20, 1973:** Saturday Night Massacre: Nixon fires Archibald Cox and abolishes the office of the special prosecutor. Attorney General Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus resign. Pressure for impeachment mounts in Congress.
 * **November 17, 1973:** Nixon declares, "I'm not a crook," maintaining his innocence in the Watergate case.
 * **December 7, 1973:** The White House can't explain an 18 1/2 -minute gap in one of the subpoenaed tapes. Chief of staff Alexander Haig says one theory is that "some sinister force" erased the segment.
 * 1974**
 * **April 30, 1974:** The White House releases more than 1,200 pages of edited transcripts of the Nixon tapes to the House Judiciary Committee, but the committee insists that the tapes themselves must be turned over.
 * **July 24, 1974:** The Supreme Court rules unanimously that Nixon must turn over the tape recordings of 64 White House conversations, rejecting the president's claims of executive privilege.
 * **July 27, 1974:** House Judiciary Committee passes the first of three articles of impeachment, charging obstruction of justice.
 * **August 8, 1974:** Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. president to resign. Vice President Gerald R. Ford assumes the country's highest office. He will later pardon Nixon of all charges related to the Watergate case.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">This collection of information of the history behind the scandal is really great and useful, but how can it feasibly be condensed into something effective for the Playgoer's Companion? Is it worthwhile to clearly outline the scandal and how would that add to the viewer's experience of the play? -- Meghan Jagoe

I agree with Meghan. The information is really useful to have, and is organized very well, but condensing it seems like it would be difficult. I definitely learned a lot from this section, though, and it's clearly necessary to have something like this in the Playgoers Companion, especially if there are younger audience members who did not, as it's said, 'watch this play out in their living rooms'. -Kendra Murray

Kylee French


 * Richard Nixon Bio**

Reconciliation was the first goal set by President Richard M. Nixon. The Nation was painfully divided, with turbulence in the cities and war overseas. During his Presidency, Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Viet Nam and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. But the Watergate scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation. His election in 1968 had climaxed a career unusual on two counts: his early success and his comeback after being defeated for President in 1960 and for Governor of California in 1962. Born in California in 1913, Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law. In 1940, he married Patricia Ryan; they had two daughters, Patricia (Tricia) and Julie. During World War II, Nixon served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific. On leaving the service, he was elected to Congress from his California district. In 1950, he won a Senate seat. Two years later, General Eisenhower selected Nixon, age 39, to be his running mate. As Vice President, Nixon took on major duties in the Eisenhower Administration. Nominated for President by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1968, he again won his party's nomination, and went on to defeat Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace. His accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. As he had promised, he appointed Justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing. Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stability. During visits in 1972 to Beijing and Moscow, he reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. His summit meetings with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev produced a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. In January 1973, he announced an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina. In 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria. In his 1972 bid for office, Nixon defeated Democratic candidate George McGovern by one of the widest margins on record. Within a few months, his administration was embattled over the so-called "Watergate" scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee during the 1972 campaign. The break-in was traced to officials of the Committee to Re-elect the President. A number of administration officials resigned; some were later convicted of offenses connected with efforts to cover up the affair. Nixon denied any personal involvement, but the courts forced him to yield tape recordings which indicated that he had, in fact, tried to divert the investigation. As a result of unrelated scandals in Maryland, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in 1973. Nixon nominated, and Congress approved, House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford as Vice President. Faced with what seemed almost certain impeachment, Nixon announced on August 8, 1974, that he would resign the next day to begin "that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America." In his last years, Nixon gained praise as an elder statesman. By the time of his death on April 22, 1994, he had written numerous books on his experiences in public life and on foreign policy. ([])

<span style="color: #464646; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> The 70-year-old is a broadcasting phenomenon - the son of a Methodist minister who became a household name on both sides of the Atlantic, a multi-millionaire and a friend of the great and the good. After studying at Cambridge University, he came to television in the early 1960s, presenting the mould-breaking BBC satirical show That Was the Week That Was. With his mocking delivery and use of headline language, he became a national figure and before long he found fame in the US, commuting regularly across the Atlantic. His catchphrase, "hello, good evening and welcome", was to become much-mimicked. Sir David mixed pure entertainment - with shows like The Frost Report, which brought together Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett - with serious political interviews with the likes of US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and British Prime Minister Harold Wilson. In 1969, he also introduced the much-criticised trial by television, notably of Emil Savundra - head of a cut-price car insurance company which swindled thousands of motorists.The presenter was visibly angry at Savundra's evasions. In 1977, he used the format to take US President Richard Nixon to task over the Watergate political scandal. In the interviews, watched by 45 million people, Nixon ultimately admitted his part in the scandal which led to his resignation two years earlier. The story of their verbal battle was brought to a new generation with the 2008 release of Frost/Nixon - a film based on those interviews, starring Michael Sheen as the British contender and an Oscar-nominated Frank Langella as the disgraced politician. David Parradine Frost was born in Tenterden, Kent, though the family later moved to Suffolk. After a grammar school education, he went to Cambridge, where he was editor of student publication Granta and active in the Footlights theatre company. He presented three programmes on ITV before That Was the Week that Was.The list of Sir David's television programmes is a long one - The Frost Programme, Frost on Friday, A Degree of Frost, Not So Much A Programme, More a Way of Life to name but a few. There was also the Frost Over series. Frost Over England in 1967 won an award at Montreux. Others were about America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The Frost Programme was the first current affairs programme to use a participating audience. A variety of interview-based programmes followed. Recorded primarily in the UK and America, they were broadcast all over the world. Interviewees from the world of showbiz included The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Orson Welles, Tennessee Williams and Noel Coward. Prince Charles was interviewed on the eve of his investiture as Prince of Wales. Muhammad Ali was interviewed in New York and later in Zaire. Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Heenan came into his studio and US political activist Abbie Hoffman and his Youth International party, aka the "Yippies", took over during a live show. Sir David was a joint founder of London Weekend Television and one of the famous five presenters-cum-shareholders behind breakfast television station TV-am, which launched in 1983. His Frost on Sunday programme began on the station in 1984, running until 1992. In 1993, he began presenting Breakfast with Frost on the BBC - his first regular weekly show for the corporation since That Was The Week That Was. His new show - also on a Sunday morning - ran for 500 editions, ending in May 2005. Since 2006, Sir David has presented weekly current affairs programme Frost All Over The World on the Al Jazeera English Channel. Recent interviewees have included Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former US Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Sir David has written a number of books, produced eight films and has received many major TV awards, in the UK and internationally. In the early 1980s, he was briefly married to Peter Sellers' widow, Lynne Frederick. In 1983, he married Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, a daughter of the Duke of Norfolk. ([])
 * David Frost Bio**

Mare Spence

__The Frost/Nixon Interviews__

“He wasn't quite a tragic man, because there wasn't quite that nobility about it all, but you felt he was a sad man at the end. But at the same time, at that time one was particularly aware that there were people in prison because of his actions. And so that took away a little of the sympathy.” //- David Frost on Richard Nixon// http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947900-7,00.html#ixzz0gJ5zLRdZ

The Frost/Nixon interviews took place in 1977, three years after Richard Nixon became the only President of the United States thus far to resign his office. They were negotiated woth Nixon’s agent, Irving "Swifty" Lazar, following the 2.3 million dollar sale of Nixon’s memoirs to Warner Books. The negotiations were headed by the 38-year-old David Frost, a British talk show host better known for his celebrity interviews and satirical television programmes than for any capabilities as a journalist. He called with an offer to interview from his residence in Australia; a call Nixon would not respond to for a year. Frost managed to outbid CBS’ 60 Minutes and several other journalists, finally paying Nixon $600,000 as well as promising him a share of the broadcast profits. This payment was made without a network secured to buy the interviews.

Nixon agreed to the interviews in the hope that he could apologize to the American public, and possibly resume a position in the political arena. Frost’s bid was chosen due to his reputation as a “soft interviewer;” it was believed that he would be no match for the former President’s skill in debate. Frost, meanwhile, was hoping to gain a foothold in the American media following the cancellation of his talk show.

“[Frost] hired Robert Zelnick, 36, a Washington journalist and lawyer, to head the team. James Reston Jr., 36, co-author with Frank Mankiewicz of Perfectly Clear: Nixon from Whittier to Watergate and son of the New York Times editor, was assigned to concentrate on Watergate, and Washington Freelance Writer Phil Stanford to focus on abuses of power. John Birt, 32, a London TV news executive, produced and directed the overall production.” http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947900-7,00.html#ixzz0gJ5zLRdZ

Zelnick acted as Nixon in practice interview sessions.

Nixon’s entourage consisted of his Chief of Staff, Jack Brennan, “Chief Researcher Ken Khachigian; former Speechwriter Ray Price; former Press Assistant Diane Sawyer; and Richard Moore, the former White House aide.” http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947900-7,00.html#ixzz0gJ66kxwO

The interviews were held in the coastal California home of Nixon supporters Mr. and Mrs Harold H Smith. The house was rented for $6000 for one month. Originally, they had planned to hold the interviews in the study of Nixon’s San Clemente house, but radio signals from the nearby Coast Guard’s navigational-aid transmitters caused problems with the equipment. The house was checked by Secret Service agents for hidden recording equipment and loaded guns.

The sessions were held three times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, beginning March 23rd, 1977. The final two sessions were held on the 13th and 16th of April.

Monitors were set up in spare bedrooms for the support members of each side, although neither staff were allowed contact with Frost or Nixon until the taping was finished.

Nixon was told what topics would be covered, but he was not given the questions prior to taping.

Nixon appeared to have the upper hand in the interviews until a week-long break over the Easter holidays.

“I let the American people down. And I have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life. My political life is over. I will never yet, and never again, have an opportunity to serve in any official position. Maybe I can give a little advice from time to time.” //- Richard Nixon, The Nixon Inteviews//

In the final two sessions of the interviews, Frost famously played two previously unpublished Oval Office tapes, from February 13th and 14th, 1973. The tapes recorded a conversation between Nixon and his aide, Charles Colson, that clearly indicated that Nixon knew of the cover-up of the Watergate break-in at that time. This contradicted Nixon’s previous claim that he had no knowledge of the cover-up before March 21st.

"An obstruction of justice is an obstruction of justice if it's for a minute or five minutes, much less the period June 23 to July the fifth." //- David Frost, The Nixon Interviews//

The Nixon Interviews were broadcast in four parts: Watergate, Nixon and the World, War at Home and Abroad, and Nixon, the Man, on May 4th, 12th, 19th, 26th, 1977. The first episode drew a record 45 million viewers. [|Video]

"I'm saying, when the President does it, it's not illegal." //- Richard Nixon, The Nixon Interviews//

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nixon_Interviews http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0206/10/lkl.00.html http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947900-1,00.html

Michelle Chisholm __Background on Frost/Nixon the play:__ Frost/Nixon is a play by the British screenwriter and dramatist Peter Morgan. Its subject is the series of televised Frost/Nixon Interviews that former US President Richard Nixon granted David Frost in 1977 and that ended with a tacit admission of guilt regarding his role in the Watergate scandal.

Performance history The play premiered at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London in August 2006. Directed by Michael Grandage, and starring Michael Sheen as the talk-show host and Frank Langella as the former president, Frost/Nixon received enthusiastic reviews in the British press. It then played at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End, also starring Langella and Sheen as Nixon and Frost. On March 31, 2007, the play began previews on Broadway. It officially opened as a limited engagement at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on April 22, 2007 and closed on August 19, 2007, after 137 performances. The cast included Langella, Sheen, Rene Auberjonois (John Birt), Shira Gregory (Evonne Goolagong), Corey Johnson (Jack Brennan), Stephen Kunken (James Reston Jr.), Stephen Rowe (Swifty Lazar/Mike Wallace), Triney Sandoval (Manolo Sanchez), Armand Schultz (Bob Zelnick) and Sonya Walger (Caroline Cushing).

Awards and nominations Tony Awards " Best Play (Peter Morgan) (nominated) " Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play (Frank Langella) Winner " Best Direction of a Play (Michael Grandage) (nominated) Drama Desk Awards " Outstanding New Play (Peter Morgan) (nominated) " Outstanding Actor in a Play (Frank Langella) Winner " Outstanding Director of a Play (Michael Grandage) (nominated) " Outstanding Music (Adam Cork) (nominated) Drama League Awards " Distinguished Production of a Play (nominated) " Distinguished Performance (Stephen Kunken) (nominated) " Distinguished Performance (Michael Sheen) (nominated) Outer Critics Circle Award " Outstanding Broadway Play (nominated) " Outstanding Actor in a Play (Frank Langella) Winner " Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Stephen Kunken) (nominated) " Outstanding Direction of a Play (Michael Grandage) (nominated) " Outstanding Lighting Design (Neil Austin) (nominated)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost/Nixon_%28play%29

__Background for Frost/Nixon movie:__ Frost/Nixon is a 2008 historical drama film based on the play of the same name by Peter Morgan which dramatizes the Frost/Nixon interviews of 1977. The film version was directed by Ron Howard and produced by Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment and Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title Films for Universal Pictures. The film reunites its original two stars from the West End and Broadway productions of the play, Michael Sheen as British television broadcaster David Frost and Frank Langella as former United States President Richard Nixon.

Cast " Frank Langella as Richard Nixon " Michael Sheen as David Frost " Kevin Bacon as Jack Brennan " Oliver Platt as Bob Zelnick " Sam Rockwell as James Reston Jr. " Matthew Macfadyen as John Birt " Rebecca Hall as Caroline Cushing " Patty McCormack as Pat Nixon " Toby Jones as Swifty Lazar " Andy Milder as Frank Gannon " Keith MacKechnie as Marvin Minoff Other real-life figures and personalities depicted in the film include Diane Sawyer, Tricia Nixon Cox, Michael York, Hugh Hefner, Gene Boyer (helicopter pilot, as himself), Raymond Price, Ken Khachigian, Sue Mengers and Neil Diamond. To prepare for his role as Richard Nixon, Frank Langella visited the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California, and interviewed many people who had known the former president.

Release The film had its world premiere on October 15, 2008 as the opening film of the 52nd annual London Film Festival. It was released in three theaters in the United States on December 5, 2008 before expanding several times over the following weeks. It was released in the United Kingdom and expanded into wide status in the United States on January 23, 2009. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 21, 2009. Special features include deleted scenes, the making of the film, the real interviews between Frost and Nixon, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, and a feature commentary with Ron Howard.

Box Office The film had a limited release at three theaters on December 5, 2008 and grossed $180,708 on its opening weekend, ranking number 22. Opening wide at 1,099 theaters on January 23, 2009, the film grossed $3,022,250 at the box office in the United States and Canada, ranking number 16. The total gross at the American and Canadian box office is $12,231,106, including the international box office the total gross is $14,596,107. The film grossed estimated $420,000 on January 31, 2009. As of February 2, 2009, the film grossed estimated $14,311,000 at the box office and $16,676,001 worldwide. The film grossed an estimated $18,622,031 in the United States and Canada and $8,393,048 in other territories for a total of $27,015,079 worldwide.

Critical reception Reviews of the film were largely positive. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 92% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 203 reviews, with a weighted average score of 7.8 out of a possible 10. Among Rotten Tomatoes's Top Critics which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall high approval rating of 89%. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 80 out of 100. Critic Roger Ebert gave the film four stars, commenting that Langella and Sheen "do not attempt to mimic their characters, but to embody them" while Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3 1/2 stars, saying that Ron Howard "turned Peter Morgan's stage success into a grabber of a movie laced with tension, stinging wit and potent human drama." Writing for Variety, Todd McCarthy praised Langella's performance in particular, stating "by the final scenes, Langella has all but disappeared so as to deliver Nixon himself." Rene Rodriguez of The Miami Herald, however, gave the film two stars and commented that the picture "pales in comparison to Oliver Stone's Nixon when it comes to humanizing the infamous leader" despite writing that the film "faithfully reenacts the events leading up to the historic 1977 interviews." Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, "stories of lost crowns lend themselves to drama, but not necessarily audience-pleasing entertainments, which may explain why Frost/Nixon registers as such a soothing, agreeably amusing experience, more palliative than purgative." Top ten lists The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008. Movie City News shows that the film appeared in 72 different top ten lists, out of 286 different critics lists surveyed, the 10th most mentions on a top ten list of the films released in 2008. In addition, the film was selected by the American Film Institute as one of the best ten movies of 2008. " 2nd - Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies " 3rd - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times " 4th - David Ansen, Newsweek " 4th - Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter " 4th - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone " 5th - Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle " 6th - Lawrence Toppman, The Charlotte Observer " 6th - Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle " 6th - Shawn Levy, The Oregonian " 6th - Ben Lyons, At the Movies " 7th - Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter " 10th - James Berardinelli, ReelViews " 10th - Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter " Listed - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Time (Ebert gave a top 20 list in alphabetical order without ranking)

Awards and nominations Best Motion Picture Nominated Best Actor (Langella) Nominated Best Director (Howard) Nominated Best Original Score (Zimmer) Nominated Best Screenplay (Morgan) Nominated Best Actor (Langella) Won Best Director Won Best Editing Won Best Film Won Best Screenplay Won Best Actor (Langella) Nominated Best Cast (A.K.A. Best Picture) Nominated Best Picture Nominated Best Actor (Langella) Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated Best Director (Howard) Nominated Best Editing Nominated Best Film Nominated Best Director Nominated Best Actor Nominated Best Screenplay-Adapted Nominated Best Editing Nominated Best Make up and Hair Nominated __http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost/Nixon_%28film%29__
 * Golden Globes**
 * Vegas Film Society**
 * Screen Actors Guild**
 * Academy Awards**
 * BAFTA Awards**


 * Note** for more information about the plot of the movie, and Noted fiction and inaccuracies about the movie visit the link above. Noted fiction is quite interesting, but I am unsure about how valuable it is to a playgoer's guide.

Ang Moore I was wondering how Frost felt about how he is protrayed in this play. We have been looking alot at how the writer is connected to this project, but how is Frost connected? I am also wondering if considering the play with/in comparison to the movie is necessary as I see them as two different forms of media. You can do things in the movies that you cannot do on Theatre. I am fasinated with my preoccupation with the characters that surround the event. Though the event is crucial, the characters that are involved are very interesting. I think that is what makes this story interesting. When I looked over the ideas for the playgoers companion I am drawn to the people that are the main players. The political, not so much, with the exception of the events that surround the erasing of the tapes. The question is how much of the political information is necessary to add for the audience to know. It is a matter of giving enough to "guide" the audience but not too much so that they are not interested in reading. How does those in government respond to these types of "tell-alls" with scandels that have happened within the walls of the white house?

I had been wondering what director/writer Peter Morgan's connections were to Frost as well as his motivation for submerging himself in this story of foreign political relations? Was it the attention Frost brought to Britain? At first Frost had not been taken seriously as an interviewer, but this fame finally proved his seriousness and ability to draw out truths? Does Peter Morgan compare himself to Frost as a person who represents the truth?

Jessica Davidson

I would like to hear more about the writer as well, but rather- if you could find some quotes from him about what he thought about writing it- straight from him, if in writing this he was influenced by film techniques (especially since there is a part where the audience becomes a television audience, as Nixon is filmed himself). It just seems that you were extremely comprehensive about what the crisis was- but I'm interested also in what he himself has said about the process.

One more thing- you have extensive information about film reviews, but how about a review of the play? Someone must have written on what they thought, expectations, etc.

~Ryan Hebert --- I agree with both of you. I am also wondering your thoughts on how someone with no background in this scandal whatsoever will view the play as opposed to those who have seen the movie, read about it, or who were alive and experiencing it. How much a difference will it be?

Lieneke ___

My Question.

There isn’t really any info about his other play “Pax Britinnica”, I remember you saying there wasn’t really much to be found but there must be something somewhere. Even if it’s just a plot summary, I mean is it a play that fallows the same themes as his other works, or is it about something completely different for his usual stuff, I’m just left curious about it. Tyler