East Oregonian : E.O., June 26, 2019, Page 2, Image 2

cover story
The architect
An unrecognizable Russell Crowe is ‘The Loudest Voice’
By Francis Babin
TV Media
E
very now and then, a sub-
ject becomes a hot topic in
Hollywood. For some reason,
multiple people sometimes have
the same idea around the same
time, resulting in television
series and films with very simi-
lar plots being released close
together. There are countless
examples of these twin projects
(see 1998’s “Deep Impact” and
“Armageddon”) with many
more on the way in the near
future.
The final years of former chair-
man and CEO of Fox News Roger
Ailes is the subject of dueling
2019 productions. Jay Roach’s
(“All the Way,” 2016) upcoming
film “Fair and Balanced” and
Showtime’s series “The Loudest
Voice” dig deep into the life of
the highly influential and contro-
versial figure. On Sunday, June
30, witness the rise and fall of
one of the most powerful men
in America with the premiere of
“The Loudest Voice.”
For decades, big-screen A-
listers did not cross over to the
small screen, and television stars
rarely made the leap to features.
A movie star working television
gigs was often a sign of the end
of a bankable career, but things
have changed a lot now that
we’ve entered the era of “peak
TV.” Nowadays, it’s a common
sight to see major film stars on
HBO, Netflix or even basic cable.
With that said, it’s still newswor-
thy when Academy Award win-
ners make the transition.
“The Loudest Voice” is head-
lined by an almost unrecogniz-
able Russell Crowe (“Gladiator,”
2000) as Roger Ailes, with
Sienna Miller (“The Lost City of
Z,” 2016) as Beth Ailes, ex-wife
of the media giant, and Naomi
Watts (“Gypsy”) as Gretchen
Carlson, a former Fox News an-
chor. Rounding out the cast are
Seth MacFarlane (“The Orville”),
Annabelle Wallis (“Peaky Blind-
ers”), Simon Burney (“Rev.”),
Josh Charles (“The Good Wife”)
and Aleksa Palladino (“Board-
walk Empire”).
2 | Screentime
Sienna Miller in a scene from “The Loudest Voice”
In 2016, multiple women
Based on the 2014 bestsell-
came forward claiming Ailes
ing book “The Loudest Voice
had sexually harassed them
in the Room: How the Brilliant,
after former “Fox & Friends”
Bombastic Roger Ailes Built
co-host and host of “The Real
Fox News — and Divided a
Story” Gretchen Carlson filed
Country” by Gabriel Sherman,
suit against her old boss. In
the seven-episode miniseries
the wake of these allegations,
focuses on the last decade of
many sordid details about Fox
Ailes’ life, but it includes flash-
News’s toxic corporate culture
backs to his earlier days as a
were released to a largely
television executive and media
unsurprised public. Under
consultant. To understand the
Ailes’ tyrannical leadership,
current political climate in the
Fox News became a television
United States, we must un-
powerhouse, but for many
derstand the man who helped
employees, working there was
shaped our present reality. The
Showtime bio outlines the gen- a nightmare.
The miniseries hails from
esis of Fox News — a fateful
Blumhouse productions, which
encounter with Richard Nixon
is responsible for the wildly
on the set of “The Mike Doug-
popular horror films “Get Out,”
las Show” — as well as the al-
(2017), “Insidious” (2010) and
legations of sexual misconduct
its sequels, the “Paranormal
and settlements that brought
Activity” franchise (2007 to
down Ailes.
June 26, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
2015) and many more hits. Re-
cently, the company has started
to branch out with non-horror
television projects like last year’s
lauded “Sharp Objects.” With
that said, the company’s cre-
ations still have a tinge of horror
to them, just not in what might
be considered the traditional
way. Co-president of Blumhouse
Television Marci Wiseman
stated at the ATX Television Fes-
tival in Austin earlier this year,
“It’s not just horror, but what’s
horrifying.”
“The Loudest Voice” takes
viewers behind the scenes into
a world where winning is every-
thing, and where horrifying acts
go unpunished. The spotlight
shines brightest on those in
power who acted with impunity
and those who helped cover up
everything.
The scenes between our two
leads are uncomfortable and
claustrophobic, but thankfully
the filming of them was any-
thing but. “The Loudest Voice”
marks a reunion between Crowe
and Watts, who worked together
all the way back in the early
1990s in the Australian minise-
ries “Brides of Christ.” Crowe
told Entertainment Weekly that
he had a fabulous time working
with his fellow Aussie and long-
time friend: “The last time I was
on a show with Naomi, it was
way back. We didn’t really do
that much work together on the
show, but we’ve known each
other for a long time.”
Next year marks a major
milestone in the history of televi-
sion. On June 1, 1980, the Cable
News Network (CNN) launched
and forever changed the way in
which we interact with the news.
In its wake, many 24-hour news
networks were launched, each
trying to replicate the success of
the Atlanta-based network.
Fox News took to the air-
waves in 1996, and the media
landscape has never been the
same. Since then, the reign-
ing king of cable news has
transformed itself into one of
the most powerful entities in
the world. Regardless of your
views of the network, its cultural
dominance is undeniable, and
this transformation would never
have been possible without
Roger Ailes’ leadership.
On Sunday, June 30, witness
the birth of Fox News, the ugly
accusations that brought down
Ailes and everything in between
in the premiere of “The Loudest
Voice,” on Showtime.