Line #2 Trivia/AllThePresidentsMen


1	* ActorInspiredElement: While meeting with Carl Bernstein, Creator/DustinHoffman noticed that Bernstein smoked so much that there were traces of cigarette ash on all of his shirts and ties, so he made sure that was included in the movie, as well as the line directed at Bernstein, "Is there any place you don't smoke?"
2	* ApprovalOfGod: In a bizarre example, Nixon's chief of staff H.R. Haldeman saw the movie in theaters shortly before reporting to prison for Watergate-related crimes. According to his wife Jo, Haldeman enjoyed the movie and [[ActuallyPrettyFunny laughed uproariously]] at the line where Deep Throat chastises Woodward that "you've got people feeling sorry for Haldeman. I didn't think that was possible." Though he told her afterwards that he was grateful that no one in the theater recognized him.
3	* BeamMeUpScotty: The famous "Follow the money" line doesn't appear in either the book nor any documentations of Watergate.
4	* CastTheExpert: Frank Wills, the security guard who discovered the break-in at the Watergate complex, plays... Frank Wills, the security guard who discovered the break-in at the Watergate complex.
5	* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/HalHolbrook was considered for Ben Bradlee before being cast as Deep Throat.[[note]] He was cast in the latter role at the insistence of Bob Woodward, who noticed (but did not reveal until thirty years later) that Holbrook bore a strong physical resemblance to W. Mark Felt (the real Deep Throat).[[/note]]
6	* CreatorBacklash: According to Ben Bradlee, the real Howard Simons felt that he and his role were fatally shortchanged in the script and that he never got over his resentment.
7	* DawsonCasting: Creator/RobertRedford and Creator/DustinHoffman are seven years older than Creator/BobWoodward and Creator/CarlBernstein.
8	* DeletedRole: The ''Washington Post'' publisher Katharine Graham was in a scene in the Woodward and Bernstein book, and when that part was being cast, Geraldine Page was selected, but the scene was cut from the script because the real Graham didn't want to be included in the film.
9	* FromEntertainmentToEducation: The film is still shown to aspiring students of journalism.
10	* MethodActing: In a way. Creator/RobertRedford and Creator/DustinHoffman memorized each other's lines so they could interrupt each other and step on each other's lines, making the dialogue sound more natural. Several of their scenes together are also fully or partially ad-libbed.
11	* OvertookTheManga: The full story of Watergate was still on-going when the book was published on June 1974, so the Watergate hearings and Nixon's resignation, which happened on July and August respectively, are only related in the movie by teletyped headlines before the end credits.
12	* PlayingAgainstType: At the time, Creator/JasonRobards was best known for playing flawed, weak-willed characters in the plays of Creator/EugeneONeill. Here, he plays DaEditor Ben Bradlee.
13	* SeparatedAtBirthCasting: During pre-production of the casting process, Bob Woodward, while looking at various actors' head shots and resumes, but not revealing Deep Throat's true identity (being the former Deputy Director of the FBI, Mark Felt), insisted to Alan J. Pakula that Creator/HalHolbrook was the best choice to play Deep Throat.
14	* ThrowItIn: One scene involving Creator/RobertRedford on the phone is a continuous six-minute single take with the camera tracking in slowly. Towards the end, Redford calls the phone caller by the wrong name, but as he stays in character. It appears genuine, and the take was used in the final cut.
15	** Since he was playing Executive Editor Ben Bradlee, Creator/JasonRobards felt that Bradlee should always have a presence in the newsroom, and as Executive Editor, Bradlee ''would'' need to be present daily, so on days when he wasn't filming scenes with other actors, he made the choice to come in and stay in the Bradlee office set so when the scenes are taking place between Woodward, Bernstein, and other reporters, Bradlee can often be glimpsed in the background seated at his desk. Sometimes Robards would bring a book to read.
16	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
17	** Creator/RobertRedford was involved in the project even before it became a movie (he befriended Woodward while he and Bernstein were preparing the book) and originally planned to produce it without appearing in it himself. Creator/WarnerBros, however, made it clear that they would only fund the movie if Redford starred as well as produced. It was originally going to star Creator/RobertDeNiro and Creator/MichaelMoriarty.
18	** Creator/JohnSchlesinger declined an offer to direct. He felt the story of Watergate should be told by an American. Creator/MikeNichols and Creator/SydneyPollack were also considered to direct before Alan J. Pakula signed on.
19	** Redford first selected Creator/AlPacino to play Bernstein, but after some thought, he decided that Creator/DustinHoffman was a better fit for the role.
20	** The real Ben Bradlee initially recommended Creator/GeorgeCScott to play him. Creator/HenryFonda, Creator/GeneHackman, Creator/BurtLancaster, Creator/RobertMitchum, Creator/LeslieNielsen, Creator/ChristopherPlummer, Creator/AnthonyQuinn, Creator/TellySavalas and Creator/RobertStack were also considered.
21	** Creator/LaurenBacall, Creator/KatharineHepburn and Creator/PatriciaNeal were considered for Katherine Graham before the character was dropped from the script.
22	** Bernstein and his then-wife Creator/NoraEphron wrote an unsolicited version of the script, which Bernstein brought to the film producers. It managed to anger just about everyone involved in the project, particularly Woodward who [[https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/04/03/all-the-presidents-men-movie-oral-history/ objected]] that their screenplay "made Bernstein the center of the Universe." William Goldman, the contracted screenwriter, considered the alternate script unusable and scrapped it all save for a scene where Bernstein sneaks into the D.A.'s office by placing a fake phone call to his secretary. Ephron was just starting her career at the time and didn't realize how badly the unsolicited alternate script breached Hollywood industry norms. She apologized to Goldman years later.

Context Trivia / AllThePresidentsMen