History Film / TheInsider

Directed by Creator/MichaelMann. The AllStarCast has a raft of recognizeable actors in supporting roles, like Creator/GinaGershon as a weaselly network executive, Creator/MichaelGambon faking a Southern accent ([OohMeAccentsSlipping most of the time]]) as a weaselly tobacco executive, and Creator/BruceMcGill with a pretty spectacular OneSceneWonder appearance as a lawyer who calls Wigand to testify in a lawsuit.

Directed by Creator/MichaelMann. The AllStarCast has a raft of recognizeable actors in supporting roles, like Creator/GinaGershon as a weaselly network executive, Creator/MichaelGambon faking a Southern accent as a weaselly tobacco executive, and Creator/BruceMcGill with a pretty spectacular OneSceneWonder appearance as a lawyer who calls Weigand to testify in a lawsuit.

* ShownTheirWork: Towards the end of the film, Mike shows Lowell an unflattering article and editorial about CBS in the latest issue of ''The New York Times''. The article and editorial are in different sections of the paper. Usually their editoral/op-ed pieces usually appear in the back of the main news section. The real-life pieces to which this scene refers, were published on a Sunday (November 12, 1995) however, which means that the news and editorials do in fact appear in separate sections.

* SmugSmiler: The smug tobacco lawyer who tries to intimidate Weigand into shutting up when Weigand is on the stand in Mississippi. He smirks arrogantly when sparring with Ron Motley in the Mississippi court hearing, leading Motley to issue a deeply satisfying smackdown.

* BittersweetEnding: The interview is eventually aired in full version, but Lowell quits CBS, knowing that after what happend, he no longer can provide proper support to his sources, as the Wigand case showed that the network will cave-in with enough pressure. Wigand himself is still a broken man, that might saw justice and validation for his actions, but at massive personal costs.

Directed by Creator/MichaelMann. The AllStartCast has a raft of recognizeable actors in suporting roles, like Creator/GinaGershon as a weaselly network executive, Creator/MichaelGambon faking a Southern accent as a weaselly tobacco executive, and Creator/BruceMcGill with a pretty spectacular OneSceneWonder appearance as a lawyer who calls Weigand to testify in a lawsuit.

* DrivenToSuicide: It never happened, since the real Wigand is still alive in 2020, but it's heavily implied by the movie that Wigand's thoughts are turning to this towards the end as his life crashes around him.

Directed by Creator/MichaelMann. Nominated for seven [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscars]], but didn't win any.

* WhamLine: After Lowell delivers a long, winded speech about journalistic integrity and standing for truth with Mark, [[spoiler: Mark himself]] drops the following line, making Lowell do a DoubleTake:

* DrivenToSuicide: It never happened, since the real Wigand was still alive in 2017, but it's heavily implied by the movie that Wigand's thoughts are turning to this towards the end as his life crashes around him.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Brown & Williamson CEO Thomas Sandefur, played by Michael Gambon.

* DrivenToSuicide: It never happened, since the real Wigand is still alive in 2017, but it's heavily implied by the movie that Wigand's thoughts are turning to this towards the end as his life crashes around him.

** Particularly notable, as this is one of the last sensationalist cases of a whistleblower ''before'' the Whistleblower Protection Act in the US, which prevented retaliation from the company that's being called out. When Wigand points out that B&W is fucking with his life, ''they are legally entitled to do so''[[note]]Or at least, have zero reason not to, because they can do it with impunity so long as they're not breaking any other laws[[/note]].

* ShownTheirWork: Towards the end of the film, Mike shows Lowell an unflattering article and editorial about CBS in the latest issue of ''The New York Times''. The article and editorial are in different sections of the paper. Usually their editoral/op-ed pieces usually appear in the back of the main news section. The real-life pieces to which this scene refers, were published on a Sunday (November 12, 1995) however, which means that the news and editorials do in fact appear in separate sections.
** Also, the scenes that took place in Pascagoula were filmed at the actual home of Richard Scruggs and the courtroom where the deposition was held.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Cards explain what happened to Wigand and Bergman after the events of the scandal before the credits. They don't document that Wigand's boss Thomas Sandefur died of aplastic anemia on July 14, 1996. Justifiably, in 1999 the producers couldn't have known that;
** Richard Scruggs would be imprisoned for bribery from 2008 to 2014.
** Ron Motley, the lawyer in Mississippi at the deposition hearing, would die on August 22, 2013 of prolonged illness.

Nominated for seven [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscars]], but didn't win any.

[[BasedOnATrueStory It tells the true story]] of Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe), a senior researcher at Brown & Williamson tobacco company. After Wigand is fired from B&W he goes to ''Series/SixtyMinutes'' and producer Lowell Bergman (Pacino) to spill the secrets he knows about the tobacco industry. Wigand's and Bergman's attempts to reveal the truth about Big Tobacco lead to resistance from B&W – and, surprisingly, from [[UsefulNotes/{{CBS}} their own network]].

* ButNowIMustGo: In a sense. Lowell continues his career as an investigative journalist, but resigns from ''Series/SixtyMinutes'' because he won't be able to secure sources for Creator/CBS now that it is ''known'' that they'll betray those sources if enough pressure is applied.

* ButNowIMustGo: Lowell quits at the end, believing that what went wrong at UsefulNotes/{{CBS}} can't be fixed.

* DrivenToSuicide: It never happened, since the real Wigand is still alive in 2015, but it's heavily implied by the movie that Wigand's thoughts are turning to this towards the end as his life crashes around him.

-->'''Bergman:''' (''to hotel manager'') I want you to tell him, in this - in these words: "Get on the fucking phone!"
-->'''Hotel manager:''' I can't say that.
-->'''Bergman:''' No, you can. Tell him to get on the fucking phone!
-->'''Hotel manager:''' He told me to tell you to "Get on the...fucking phone!"
-->(''Wigand grabs the phone'')

-->'''John Harris:''' They don't need the right. They've got the money.
-->'''Mark Stern:''' The unlimited checkbook. That's how Big Tobacco wins every time. On everything. They ''spend you to death''. $600 million a year in outside legal: Chadbourne-Parke. Uh, Ken Starr's firm, Kirkland & Ellis. Listen. GM and Ford, they get ''nailed'' after 11 or 12 pick-ups blow up, right? These clowns have never...I mean ever...
-->'''John Harris:''' Not even once.
-->'''Mark Stern:''' ...not even with hundreds of thousands dying each year from an illness related to their product...have ''ever'' lost a personal-injury lawsuit. On this case, they'll issue gag orders, sue for breach, anticipatory breach, enjoin him, you, us, his pet dog, the dog's veterinarian - tie him up in litigation for 10 to 15 years. I'm telling you, they bat a thousand ''every time''. He knows that. That's why he's not gonna talk to you...

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Cards explain what happened to Wigand and Bergman after the events of the scandal before the credits. They don't document:
** That Wigand's boss Thomas Sandefur died in 1996 at the age of 56 from aplastic anemia.
** Richard Scruggs was imprisoned for bribery from 2008 to 2014.
** Ron Motley, the lawyer in Mississippi at the deposition hearing, died in August 2013 of prolonged illness.

* HeelFaceTurn: When Wigand and Bergman are getting ScrewedByTheNetwork, Mike Wallace is shown trying to take the high road and side with CBS. But then they starts manipulating ''his'' statements as well.

* {{Irony}}: A particularly [[KickTheDog cruel]] example; the hotel room Wigand is forced to live in as his life collapses all around him is located ''directly opposite'' the offices of the legal department of Brown and Williamson – the very people whose machinations forced him into that hotel room in the first place.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: The CBS higher-ups, when confronted with the mere shadow of a possibility of a lawsuit from Brown & Williamson, choose to kill the story, and only relent when it becomes impossible for B&W to bring a tort case against them.

** Bergman uses one to get Wigand on the phone during Wigand's HeroicBSOD:

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Wigand takes his confidentiality agreement seriously, and its all but stated that he only broke it because of his former employers' heavy-handed attempts at intimidating him. If they'd just left him alone, he might never have talked.

[[BasedOnATrueStory It tells the true story]] of Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe), a senior researcher at Brown & Williamson tobacco company. After Wigand is fired from B&W he goes to ''Series/SixtyMinutes'' and producer Lowell Bergman (Pacino) to spill the secrets he knows about the tobacco industry. Wigand's and Bergman's attempts to reveal the truth about Big Tobacco lead to resistance from B&W--and, surprisingly, from [[{{CBS}} their own network]].

Nominated for seven [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscars]] but didn't win any.

!!This film contains examples of:

* ButNowIMustGo: Bergman quits at the end, believing that what went wrong at {{CBS}} can't be fixed.

* ExecutiveMeddling: In-universe. One of the main themes of the movie is how censorship and the tobacco industry's unlimited checkbook. Bergman can't get Wigand's interview aired because of CBS meddling.

* HeelFaceTurn: When Wigand and Bergman are both getting ScrewedByTheNetwork, Mike Wallace is shown trying to take the high road and side with CBS. But then CBS starts manipulating ''his'' statements...
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Wigand takes his confidentiality agreement seriously, and it's implied that he only broke it because of his former employers' heavy-handed attempts at intimidation. If they'd just left him alone he might never have talked.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Gambon, playing Brown & Williamson CEO Thomas Sandefur, has a small slip during the delivery of one line: "It's spooky how he can concentrate!" He sounds English on "spooky" especially, but otherwise maintains a Southern accent, as Sandefur was from Georgia.

-->'''Mark Stern:''' The unlimited checkbook. That's how Big Tobacco wins every time. On everything. They ''spend you to death''. $600 million a year in outside legal: Chadbourne-Parke. Uh, Ken Starr's firm, Kirkland and Ellis. Listen. GM and Ford, they get ''nailed'' after 11 or 12 pick-ups blow up. Right? These clowns have never...I mean ever...

-->'''Mark Stern:''' ...not even with hundreds of thousands dying each year from an illness related to their product...have ''ever'' lost a personal-injury lawsuit. On this case, they'll issue gag orders, sue for breach, anticipatory breach, enjoin him, you, us, his pet dog, the dog's veterinarian - tie him up in litigation for ten to fifteen years. I'm telling you, they bat a thousand ''every time''. He knows that. That's why he's not gonna talk to you...

** Particularly notable, as this is one of the last sensationalist cases of a whistleblower ''before'' the Whistleblower Protection act in the US, which prevented retaliation from the company that's being called out. When Wigand points out that B&W is fucking with his life, ''they are legally entitled to do so''[[note]]Or at least, have zero reason not to, because they can do it with impunity as long as they're not breaking any other laws[[/note]].

* [[PoorCommunicationKills PoorCommunicationSkills]]: Brown & Williamson's official excuse for firing Wigand.

* PoorCommunicationKills: Brown & Williamson's official excuse for firing Wigand.

* HeelFaceTurn: When Wigand and Bergman are both getting ScrewedByTheNetwork, Mike Wallace is shown trying to take the high road and side with CBS. But then CBS starts manipulating Wallace's statements in ways ''he'' doesn't like...

* {{Irony}}: A particularly cruel example; the hotel room Wigand is forced to live in as his life collapses all around him is located directly opposite the offices of the legal department of Brown and Williamson -- the very people whose machinations forced him into that hotel room in the first place.

* DrivenToSuicide: It never happened, since the real Wigand is still alive in 2014, but it's heavily implied by the movie that Wigand's thoughts are turning to this towards the end as his life crashes around him.

''The Insider'' is a 1999 film from Creator/TouchstonePictures starring Creator/RussellCrowe, Creator/AlPacino and Creator/ChristopherPlummer. [[BasedOnATrueStory It tells the true story]] of Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe), a senior researcher at Brown & Williamson tobacco company. After Wigand is fired from B&W he goes to ''Series/SixtyMinutes'' and producer Lowell Bergman (Pacino) to spill the secrets he knows about the tobacco industry. Wigand's and Bergman's attempts to reveal the truth about Big Tobacco lead to resistance from B&W--and, surprisingly, from [[{{CBS}} their own network]].