As mentioned earlier, Alisyn Camerota's Vanity Fair article was extremely informative. It features a brief clip of one of Kellys more infamous on-air moments: her glib insistence that Santa just is white. The film also features, along the way, assorted acknowledgments of the Fox News complicity machinechief among them, representations of the many women at the network who had succeeded within its rigged system and who therefore had a vested interest in maintaining that system as it was. Megyn Kelly (Theron) acts as the primary narrator of the film that kicks off with Gretchen Carlson's (Kidman) initial allegations against Ailes. The film was directed by Jay Roach ("Trumbo") and written by Charles Randolph ("The Big Short"), who breaks down what's fact, fiction and somewhere in between. By joseph / June 19, 2022 Kayla Pospisil is a fictitious news network staffer who is played by Margot Robbie with Fox's distinctive bleached-blonde hairstyle. Roy Wood Jr.s Best Jokes at the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner. The end! For Bombshell, a trio of A-listersNicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, and Margot Robbiewere Fox-ified. The long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, President Obama said in his farewell speech three years ago. It is to have a tale told by a narrator who is, if not fully unreliable, then deeply fraught. In the growing list of Academy Award contenders, Bombshell is one film that has been buzzing for a long time. So it is notable, in that regard, that the woman in the scene is one of the characters in Bombshell who is not based on a specific person. But Bombshells message, for all that, is straightforward: All women, no matter their politics, deserve to work in environments that are respectful and safe. The scene mostly works because who is not going to love pillow talk between a closeted lesbian played by Margot Robbie and a closeted Democrat played by Kate McKinnon (also, its impossible not to think of Bari Weiss at this moment). " She is real to me but in this particular case she is an amalgamation of a number of women's stories and she's even more real because of that, " Robbie said. "Bombshell" is a who's who of famous faces, including Malcolm McDowell ("A Clockwork Orange")as Rupert Murdoch, Allison Janney asAiles' legal counsel Susan Estrich, and Connie Britton ("Nashville") as Ailes'wife, Beth. Do we need to see another actor (John Lithgow in this case) creep on another actress (Margot Robbie here)? Rupert Murdoch, and Malcolm McDowell as Rupert Murdoch. Is The Diplomat Returning for a Season 2? Left: Sean Hannity. " Randolph says. Although there were eventually 23 victims who gave their names and stories to construct a . You know that this is very important to this experience that the audience goes through it being as gut-wrenching as it was., Theron personally enlisted Roach for the job, after he provided the Oscar-winning actress a detailed critique of an early version of the Bombshell script (which was initially set up at Megan Ellisons Annapurna Pictures). Left: Lachlan Murdoch. I did say to Charlize, Are you sure you dont want a woman to direct this? For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for theMarie Clairenewsletter. .css-gk9meg{display:block;font-family:Lausanne,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.25rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-gk9meg:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.15;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}The Best, Craziest, Weirdest Moments From Cannes, Celebrities Who've Shaved Their Heads for Roles, 'Avatar: The Way of Water' Is Finally Streaming, 'Guardians of the Galaxy 3' Sticks the Landing, Damon Lindelof Was 'Asked to Leave' Star Wars, Christopher Nolan Is Hyping Up 'Oppenheimer', Pedro Pascal, Ethan Hawke Are a Great Cowboy Match, Seeing Hugh Grant's Oompa Loompa Will Break Me, 'The Flash' Just Debuted Another Massive Trailer, 13 Great Movies That Were Booed at Cannes. Margot, who plays Kayla Pospisil in the film that dramatizes the . When other victims come forward against Ailes, the movie portrays Kelly as keeping herself separate from them. Kayla Pospisil is a fictional employee at the news network, portrayed by Margot Robbie in Fox's signature bleached-blonde style. Kelly may be the star of the show; Kayla, however, is its moral center. In a Vanity Fair article by ex-staff member Alisyn Camerota, she describes a conversation she had with Ailes wherein he had allegedly threatened the safety of Carlson. Margot Robbie also stars as a fictional Fox News producer named Kayla Pospisil, who appears in the trailer with Kelly and Carlson as they head to the network's executive suite on the second floor. She is basically an attractive, conservative, Jesus-loving Instagram influencer turned research assistant for Gretchen Carlson and later Bill OReilly. Bombshell shows Carlson planning her lawsuit against Roger Ailes diligently, as Carlson apparently did in real life too. Its understandable, in some ways, that the character doing that work in the film would be fictional. That is an important argument, and Kayla, ambitious and vulnerable and fictional, expresses it well. Maybe? Female Fox personalities like Jeanine Pirro and Greta Van Susteren also spoke up for Ailes eagerly. There is a considerable amount of emphasis placed on the appearances of women at Fox News. Kayla ends up having a one-on-one with Ailes (John Lithgow) to discuss her career path at Fox. Bombshell nods to that tension. Much of what the movie tells us about him is backed up by accounts of the scandal. Kayla Pospisil, the ambitious young evangelical millennial producer (played by Margot Robbie) who works for Carlsons show when she is introduced, is a composite character invented for the movie. The writer Jill Filipovic explained the scenes power like this: Reading about sexual harassment dulls it. But she does as shes asked. Huddy toldThe Hollywood Reporterthat although her discussions with Randolphviolated her nondisclosure agreement with Fox, she felt like she had nothing left to lose: "I lost my house. The other women expressed anger at a scene they said was fictional, where the aspiring anchor Kayla Pospisil, portrayed by Robbie, scolds Kelly's character, played by Charlize Theron. Right: Ashley Greene. Cookies help us deliver our Services. She left the network last year and reportedly pressured women at work to support Roger Ailes amidst sexual harassment allegations, according to Vox. Megyn Kelly approves of Charlize Theron's 'Bombshell' casting. Veteran actor Malcolm McDowell portrays Rupert Murdoch, the media tycoon at the top of a worldwide empire. Probably. Robbies performance is masterful, and Kaylas lack of specificity makes her an apt stand-in for the many people at Fox News who are not part of the story Bombshell is telling. Malcolm McDowell portrays Rupert Murdoch, media mogul and owner of News Corp., whose many properties include Fox News. Get ready to turn that frown upside down. Starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie, the film chronicles the sexual misconduct allegations and subsequent downfall of Fox News CEO, Roger Ailes. It was two years later that Carlson made her first statement against Ailes and the scandal spilled out into the public eye, leading to much more extensive coverage. ", She mentions how the casting of Theron, Kidman and Robbie was clever; viewers will see faces they know and love, and not dig into the potentially problematic nature of the real-life views of Kelly or Carlson. Theron's resemblance to Kelly is especially shocking. By the end of the movie, it appears that the resignation of Roger Ailes completely fixes all of the sexual misconduct problems on Fox News. "What happens inside of Roger's office is based on the stories of three women we had access to," Randolph says. In "Bombshell," Robbie's Kayla Pospisil sleeps with Kate McKinnon 's closeted lesbian character Jess Carr after a drunken night at the bar. The new movie Bombshell tells the story of how the women of Fox News brought down the networks infamous CEO, Roger Ailes, but it does so by filling the film with a mix of characters who are based on real figures and others who have no one real-life counterpart. Bombshell portrays him as a complex character: a Machiavellian, tantrum-prone blob with a quiet but pronounced paternal streak that he could weaponize to sexually exploit female employees. While we represen, Major spoilers ahead. She tells Ailes about her career. It was about taking something from her, taking her dignity, and then having her feel ashamed enough that she doesnt want anybody to ever know about this, Bombshells director Jay Roach tells Vulture of the scene. There isn't an Oscars category for casting directors, but whoever was in charge of assembling the cast of Bombshell deserves some type of award. She pulls up the hem of her dress. 21/04/2023 However, the right-wing news company continued to weather allegations against Fox News journalists following the settling of Gretchen Carlson's lawsuit. Good for them (and us!). Kelly reported in real life that Ailes was furious over her line of questioning, telling her that there was to be "no more female empowerment stuff." For example, Anne Ramsay (Mad About You) plays news anchor Greta Van Susteren. She also begins a sexual relationship with another woman (Kate McKinnon) on O'Reilly's staff. In an interview with Roach, Randolph, and producer Michelle Graham, Graham highlighted that Ailes would isolate the women from one another and pit them against each other. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Megyn Kelly's Most Controversial Moments Ever (opens in new tab), Margot Robbie Wore Sharon Tate's Jewelry in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' (opens in new tab). Everything Bombshell Doesn't Tell You About The True Story. "Were not revealing the people we talk to. But Kayla Pospisil is not. Director Jay Roachtold IndieWire (opens in new tab)that Pospisil is based on a number of women who spoke to filmmakers about Ailes' harassment. Slate is published by The Slate Sure. The 20 women or so who spoke to the filmmakers via anonymity did break their NDAs, but the filmmakers and those involved in the film have also agreed to protect their sources. She is almost indifferent to the other women and appears to prioritize herself and her career. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Kellys decision to come forward about the harassment she faced toward the beginning of her time at the company was similarly complicated and perhaps not as heroic as Bombshell makes it out to be: As Ailes biographer and former New York magazine reporter Gabriel Sherman wrote: Carlsons lawsuit presented an opportunity.