Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story
Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story is an American television film produced and broadcast in 2003 on the USA Network. The movie stars James Woods as former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and depicts the life of Giuliani, focusing primarily on his mayoral career and response to the September 11 attacks.[1]
Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story | |
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Genre | Biography Drama |
Written by | Wayne Barrett (book) Stanley Weiser |
Directed by | Robert Dornhelm |
Starring | James Woods Penelope Ann Miller Michelle Nolden Jack Langedijk |
Music by | Harald Kloser |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers | Michael Braham Jody Brockway Stephen Davis Jane Walmsley |
Producers | Mark Winemaker Gary Goldberger (co-producer) Linda S. Ross (co-producer) Callum Greene (line producer: New York) Anthony Katagas (line producer: New York) |
Cinematography | Serge Ladouceur |
Editor | Victor Du Bois |
Running time | 120 minutes |
Production companies | USA Network JAM Pictures Carlton America |
Distributor | USA Network |
Release | |
Original network | USA Network |
Original release |
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The film was based on the 2000 biography Rudy!: An Investigative Biography of Rudy Giuliani by Wayne Barrett. It has been broadcast in several countries.
Cast
Actor | Role |
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James Woods | Rudy Giuliani |
Penelope Ann Miller | Donna Hanover |
Michelle Nolden | Cristyne Lategano |
Philip Spensley | Howard Safer |
Jack Langedijk | William J. Bratton |
John Bourgeois | Peter Powers |
Kirsten Bishop | Judith Nathan |
Mark Camacho | Tony Carbonetti |
Maxim Roy | Beth Petrone |
- The real Rudy Giuliani makes a cameo in the film as a construction worker.
Reception
Audiences were generally underwhelmed by the film. It earned a 28% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes , and 4.6 out of 10 stars on IMDb.
In November 2020, thousands of social media users rediscovered the film and began mocking it, both for its poor quality and in light of Giuliani's career since its release.
At least one viewer, however, reportedly did enjoy the movie. In a 2006 interview with PARADE, Woods reported that Giuliani met with him after the network premiere and praised his performance in the film.
Awards and nominations
- 2003: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie" - James Woods
- 2003: Nominated, "Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Non-Prosthetic)" - Jocelyne Bellemare, Stephan Dupuis, Cécile Rigault, Matthew W. Mungle
- 2004: Won, "Best Motion Picture Made for Television"
- 2004: Won, "Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television" - James Woods
Writers Guild of America Award
- 2004: Nominated, "Adapted Long Form" - Stanley Weiser