Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Media Create Martyr

TEASER-TRAILER.COM Jeremy Renner, who stars as Gary Webb in new thriller, "Kill the Messenger," was on campus recently along with director Michael Cuesta to discuss the true story behind the film.
TEASER-TRAILER.COM
Jeremy Renner, who stars as Gary Webb in new thriller, “Kill the Messenger,” was on campus recently along with director Michael Cuesta to discuss the true story behind the film.

As racial tensions in Ferguson, Mo., come to a boil, many topics regarding the events of the Michael Brown incident are being examined and scrutinized. Some scholars, such as professor Michael Eric Dyson, believe the underlying cause of the conditions in Ferguson and the militarization of the police force to be the war on drugs. There is no doubt that the war on drugs has had disparaging effects on the black community and the motives provided by the government for this war have been hotly debated.

In August 1996, a small-town journalist named Gary Webb, who wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, posted a groundbreaking three-part series online called “Dark Alliance.” In this series, he accused the CIA of allowing Nicaraguans to smuggle crack cocaine into the country in order to use the profits to back the Contras, a rebel political group of Nicaragua. His claims were especially astounding after he posted the government files associated with his accusations onto his website. The website was said to have received over 1.3 million hits per day and news media around the country began to broadcast his story.

However, the CIA was one not to be reckoned with, and as result, he and his family received death threats. Furthermore, although Webb provided decent evidence to support his claims, news sources such as The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune felt slighted due to the fact that they did not break such a large story themselves. In retribution, many large news sources discredited Webb. The accrual of bad publicity forced his local newspaper to remove support from his project. They also desired a retraction of his accusations. Webb refused, resigned and never wrote for another news source again. A mere six years after his resignation, he committed suicide. A few years later, the CIA admitted to the allowance of crack cocaine into the inner city of Los Angeles.

“Kill the Messenger,” the film starring two-time Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner as Webb, explores the complete persona of Webb. Out in theaters in the beginning of October, this small film is already receiving rave reviews. The film as a whole is less about the tragic events that occurred to Webb and more about the contrasting nature of a brilliant, yet sometimes self-destructive human spirit.

In a roundtable interview, Michael Cuesta, the film director, and Renner unfolded the secrets to his successful portrayal of Webb. Cuesta first explained his reasons for choosing to direct the film.

“It was because of Gary. I relate to the guy. I really believed in his passion,” Cuesta said.

Instead of creating a simple tragedy, Cuesta emphasized the importance of conveying the personality of Webb and his relationship with his family.

“This was more of a personal story, not about this man’s death, but about his journey as a father,” Cuesta said.

This was readily apparent in the film. Though the dilapidation of his work life was certainly devastating, the loss of trust from his family, specifically his wife and oldest son, became overwhelming.

Renner’s portrayal of Webb’s intricate character highlighted the love for his family, his strengths and weaknesses, in a way that made Webb distinctly human.

“It was the flaws of Gary Webb that made him heroic in my mind,” Renner elucidated. “A lot of his strengths were his ultimate weakness: his pigheadedness, stubbornness0 and self-righteousness. All of these things made him great and also sort of crippled him. To accept all those things is quite heroic.”

“He was an easy target for those specific reasons,” Cuesta replied.

Webb’s martyrdom was not a result of the validity of the story that he told, but the bravery of even finding and releasing such a story. As a result, his death was less of a tragedy and instead became the story of a martyr for truth.

“He carried the burden of knowledge and truth. His death highlights his credibility. His death was symbolic. It became almost a Christ-like death. His death meant something,” Cuesta explained.

Even his resignation from the newspaper, which was one of the last scenes in the film, only added to the dignity and sincerity of his character.

“He did it with great nobility. Jeremy did a great job with that,” Cuesta said.

“There is a great responsibility because you are playing someone that was in fact alive. The challenge to playing him is there is information that you are limited to. The picture is sort of half painted and I just have to fill in the details. I can’t veer too far from the truth. My job as an actor is to be mindful of human condition and seek to find the truth in human behavior,” Renner said.

Renner’s depiction of Webb in “Kill the Messenger” certainly achieved this.

View Comments (1)
Donate to The Hoya

Your donation will support the student journalists of Georgetown University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Hoya

Comments (1)

All The Hoya Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *