Long Synopsis

FROST
Except that only one of us can win.

NIXON
And I shall be your fiercest adversary.  I shall come at you with everything I got.  Because the limelight can only shine on one of us.  And for the other, it’ll be the wilderness…with nothing, and no one for company but those voices ringing in our head. 

In summer 1977, the televised David Frost/Richard Nixon interviews attracted the largest audience for a news program in the history of American TV.  More than 45 million viewers—hungry for a glimpse into the mind of their disgraced former commander in chief and anxious for him to acknowledge the abuses of power that led to his resignation—sat transfixed as Nixon and Frost sparred in a riveting verbal boxing match over the course of four evenings.  Two men with everything to prove knew only one could come out a winner.  Their legendary confrontation would revolutionize the art of the confessional interview, change the face of politics and capture an admission from the former president that startled people all over the world…possibly even including Nixon himself.

Now, Academy Award®-winning director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, Apollo 13) brings to the screen playwright and screenwriter Peter Morgan’s (The Queen, The Last King of Scotland) electrifying dramatization of the battle between Richard Nixon (FRANK Langella, Good Night, and Good Luck.), the disgraced president with a legacy to save, and David Frost (MICHAEL SHEEN, The Queen), a jet-setting featherweight television personality with a name to make, in the untold story of the historic encounter that changed both: Frost/Nixon.  Re-creating not only the on-air interviews that captivated the nation, but weeks of around-the-world, behind-the-scenes maneuvering and negotiations between the men and their opposing camps, the film explores the long-untold story that led to the ultimate face-off in the court of public opinion.

For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent.  But, in 1977, the steely, cunning former commander in chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the unanswered questions of his time in office and of the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency.  Nixon surprised everyone by selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and reclaim his status as a supreme statesman in the hearts and minds of Americans. 

Likewise, Frost’s team harbored doubts about his ability to hold his own against Nixon.  As cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits ensued.  Would Nixon evade questions of his role in one of the nation’s greatest disgraces?  Or would Frost confound critics and bravely demand accountability from the most skilled politician of his generation?  The encounter would reveal each man’s insecurities, ego and reserves of dignity—as both ultimately set aside posturing in a stunning display of unvarnished truth.

Playing a key role on Nixon’s team is KEVIN BACON (The Woodsman, Mystic River) as his chief of staff, Colonel Jack Brennan, the fierce guardian who guides Nixon through the strategy of the interviews.  Two brilliant consultants would handle Frost’s education on the 37th American president.  OLIVER PLATT (Casanova, Kinsey) stars as Frost strategist (and executive editor of the interviews), veteran reporter Bob Zelnick, and SAM ROCKWELL (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Matchstick Men) plays Frost’s acerbic writer and Nixon critic, author and university lecturer James Reston, Jr.  Both were motivated to expose the “real” Nixon and operated as the architects of Frost’s strategy, while Frost took on the tasks of selling rights to the interviews, securing a broadcaster and studying his adversary.

Supporting players in the cast are a winning assemblage that includes Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) as Frost’s girlfriend, Caroline Cushing; Toby Jones (Infamous, The Painted Veil) as Nixon’s agent, Irving “Swifty” Lazar; and Matthew MAcFadyen (Pride & Prejudice, Death at a Funeral) as Frost’s British producer, John Birt.

A Universal Pictures release, Frost/Nixon is the creative collaboration between Working Title Films and Imagine Entertainment, with BAFTA winners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (Atonement, United 93) joining Academy Award® winners Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind, American Gangster) and Howard as producers of the drama. 

On the technical side, the director has gathered a top-notch crew that reunites many Howard film regulars—including cinematographer Salvatore Totino (Cinderella Man, The Da Vinci Code, The Missing); Oscar®-nominated production designer Michael Corenblith (Apollo 13, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas); Emmy Award-winning costume designer Daniel Orlandi (Cinderella Man, The Da Vinci Code);Academy Award®-winning editing team Mike Hill and Dan Hanley (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man); and Oscar®-winning composer Hans Zimmer (Backdraft, The Da Vinci Code).

The executive producers of the film are Peter Morgan, MATTHEW BYAM SHAW (Broadway’s and the West End’s Frost/Nixon), Working Title’s DEBRA HAYWARD and LIZA CHASIN (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Pride & Prejudice), KAREN KEHELA SHERWOOD (Inside Man), DAVID BERNARDI (Friday Night Lights) and TODD HALLOWELL (A Beautiful Mind).