Taglines: His future was uncertain. His every move was being watched.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind movie storyline. Young, energetic, and focused on a top career in the growing television industry, Chuck Barris finds himself being followed by a suspicious character who quickly lures him into a secretive and dangerous world: that of a CIA operative.
While Barris gains notoriety as a dynamic television producer creating such innovative and popular game shows as The Newlywed Game and the self-hosted The Gong Show he regularly executes assassinations for the United States government. As ratings rise, Barris incorporates his shows into his secret life: winning couples on The Dating Game find themselves shipped off to fabulous Helsinki and romantic West Berlin for their dream dates. It isn’t Paris, but it provides chaperone Barris a cover for his covert missions.
As Barris basks in the glamour of his two worlds – entertainment and espionage – his life begins to spiral out of control. He is torn between the woman who loves him and the mysterious woman of his fantasies. He receives mass criticism from the public who accuses him of contaminating the airwaves and he finds himself marked for death by a traitor operative. Barris must regain control of his life. Both of them.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a 2002 biographical spy comedy film depicting the life of popular game show host and producer Chuck Barris, who claimed to have also been an assassin for the CIA. The film was George Clooney’s directorial debut, was written by Charlie Kaufman, and starred Sam Rockwell, Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, and Clooney.
Columbia Pictures had planned to produce a film adaptation of Barris’s memoir of the same name in the late 1980s. When the film rights were purchased by producer Andrew Lazar, Kaufman was commissioned to write a new script, which attracted various A-list actors and filmmakers to the project. Bryan Singer at one point planned to direct the film with Johnny Depp in the lead role, but the production was canceled. The production resumed when Clooney took over directing duties.
To tie in with the release of the film, Miramax Books republished Barris’s 1984 book. The film premiered out-of-competition at the May 2002 Cannes Film Festival before Miramax Films gave it a limited release in the United States on December 31, 2002; the wide release came on January 23, 2003.
The film only barely recouped its production costs, grossing only $33.01 million, of which $16 million was domestic revenue and $17.01 million came from foreign markets. It also suffered poor sales in its September 2003 Region 1 DVD release. The DVD includes over 20 minutes of deleted scenes, Rockwell’s three screen tests, a short documentary titled The Real Chuck Barris, Clooney’s audio commentary, and a making-of featurette.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2003)
Directed by: George Clooney
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts, Sam Rockwell, Jennifer Hall, Rutger Hauer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, George Clooney, Ilona Elkin, Melissa Carter, Michelle Sweeney
Screenplay by: Charlie Kaufman
Production Design by: James D. Bissell
Cinematography by: Newton Thomas Sigel
Costume Design by: Renée April
Art Direction by: Isabelle Guay
Makeup Department: Steve E. Anderson, Julie Casault
Music by: Alex Wurman
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexual content and violence.
Distributed by: Miramax Films
Release Date: January 24, 2003
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