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Must Watch: First Trailer for Russell Crowe's State of Play

by Alex Billington
December 23, 2008
Source: Yahoo

Universal has debuted the trailer for State of Play, a crime thriller about an investigation surrounding the murder of a congressman's mistress. This trailer has been playing in front of Frost/Nixon, so some might have already seen it already. If you weren't too fond of Russell Crowe's last few movies (American Gangster, Body of Lies), then State of Play may be for you. Crowe is joined by one hell of a supporting cast, including Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Helen Mirren, and even Jeff Daniels. I really think this looks fantastic - a smart intellectual thriller lead by a very strong cast.

Watch the first trailer for State of Play:

You can also watch the State of Play trailer in High Definition on Yahoo

State of Play is directed by Kevin Macdonald, of the Oscar winning documentary One Day in September as well as Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland. The screenplay was co-written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom, Lions for Lambs), Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Ultimatum, Michael Clayton, upcoming Duplicity), and Billy Ray (Flightplan, Breach). The film is based on Paul Abbott's BBC mini-series of the same title. Universal will be premiering State of Play in theaters on April 17th.

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Andrew

I was impressed by that trailer. Looks good, has quite an impressive cast, just hope the story is as interesting as it looks.
The Don

Anybody else think Ben Affleck as a Congressmen doesn't seem -quite- right? I mean, he may be able to pull it off, but there just had to be somebody better out there...
JD

How the hell could anyone not like Gangster and Body of Lies? This movie looks, badass! Could anyone tell me who is playing the hitman?
LeeMan

wow ism it just me or is april kind of starting the summer early this year. we already got fast and furious for the guys, dragonaball for die-hard fans, hannah montana for girls, observe and report for the comedy lovers, and now this. what a great year this is gonna be, even tho the summer, as of right now, is bare
T

does anyone know the song that plays in it? its in a bunch of trailers lately and its killin me not to kno what it is
Mike

Watch the original mini-series from BBC that is remade from. It's pretty damn good.
http://google xerxerxex

with this trailer they better deliver in the plot, other than that nit puck I'm interested! #5 The song is called "Dead Reckoning" by Clint Mansell from "Smokin Aces" and its can be found on the "Smokin Aces" soundtrack.
Kellie

If you haven't already, or don't want the ending spoiled for you, you should watch the BBC miniseries. It's absolutely fantastic and also has an amazing cast with David Morrissey, Bill Nighy, James McAvoy, and Kelly Macdonald. A really great TV show. This also looks pretty good. I heard awhile back there were making a remake of the show, so this trailer looks pretty faithful.
http://www.theaterhopper.com Tom Brazelton

Interesting that both Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams have resurfaced at the same time in a picture with this large of an acting pedigree. There must be something to it.
Scott McHenry

I love Jeff Daniels, he's way underrated
theotherbluth

I didn't see Jason Bateman in the trailer. Does that mean he is the hitman??
nick82

Jason isn't the hitman. You actually see his character getting punched by Ben Affleck at about the 2:08 mark in the trailer. The hitman is played by Michael Berresse.
jeffG

looks generic considering the talent involved
Jaf

Looks good Why are the time frames always so ridiculously short? Like, why 8 hours to do this or that? Besides the fact that it's a thriller
nem

Clint Mansell is a god when it comes to making music, if you think that was good then you should check out "Death Is The Road To Awe."
jackson stone

am i the only one that thinks this movie would've been MUCH better off if it hadn't lost is original cast of Pitt and Norton???
darrin

russel crowe looks mis-cast. he doesn't look like he fits this role.
The Don

@15 Greatest. Theme Music. Ever.
dan

meh.......i agree with #17; crowe doesn't seem right for this role. ed norton would have been a better choice.
BahHumbug

Once again like with Terminator: Salvation (where you keep forgetting to mention Paul Haggis and Shawn Ryan) you forgot another member of the screenwriters who are credited... The official group of writers are Matthew Michael Carahan, Tony Gilroy, Billy Ray, and Peter Morgan
Bry from Chi

Interesting..I'll try it.
BONO

Glad I finally know Clint... just watched Smokin Aces again and still think it's a mess... but love "Dead Reckoning"
burak

looks promising loved the soundtrack so energising definetely will see this when released here
RandyG

This is going to be another big 'who cares'. The indefatigable, virtuous reporter digging through the government dirt has had its day and most people are aware reporters are bigger scumbags than the politicians they investigate (which explains the casting of Crowe in full-on homeless person mode). When this comes out America will still be in the afterglow of the Obama mindfuck and there's going to be very little appetite for movies about big government corruption.
tzarinna

That did nothing for me, and I loves me some Russell.
Eric

Hmm, the beginning didnt really attract me but the ending kinda shows promise. I'm not too big a fan of Russel Crow, and Ben Affleck is only good behind a camera but maybe this will show otherwise.
neonblue

american gangster was good f-u and this looks good as well....
s

i was wondering if anyone knew the name of the song the trailer ends with? thanks
Damon

#5 and #7 It is indeed Clint Mansell's music, but to be fair I was kind of disappointed to hear it in this trailer. I hate it when a wonderful piece of music is over-used time and time again as I think it cheapens the impact. Adagio for Strings is such a great piece (and fitted Platoon perfectly) that I wanted to kill the person who made it into a dance tune... Anyway, the piece on this trailer, 'Dead Reckoning', is actually a re-working of some of Clint's earlier work; namely 'Lux Aeterna' and 'Requiem for a Tower'. #15 I'm off to check that out now...
http://movieguyreviews4u.blogspot.com Ryan

Awesome cast.
SuicidalOptimist

This trailer didn't look too bad. Even tho I have a slight aversion for Ben Affleck, probably since Daredevil where his performance made me wanna punch a panda, or club a baby seal into a bloody pulp. And I LOVE animals! But I will watch every movie that features Jason Bateman, because I think he is brilliant and deserves to get more spotlight. On the music... Clint Mansell if fantastic. (Requiem for a Dream, anyone?) People who like this music should check out the band "Godspeed You Black Emperor", too. Amazing instrumental music, starts of really slow and then blows your brains out towards the end. =P I recommend "Storms" and/or "Moya" to start with.
DCompose

There was nothing wrong with Ben Affleck in Daredevil. I think he did a good job considering how retarded the movie was. Everyone gives this guy so much shit and I don't understand why.
http://displacedbrett.wordpress.com brett

This movie looks great. Though I haven't gone to see it yet, if it's even half as good as the UK mini-series, audiences should be flocking to it. I mean Russell Crowe almost always delivers. The TV trailer (http://displacedbrett.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/state-of-play) shows Crowe looking commanding as always, and now that I see him in action, I can live with Ben Affleck playing this role. Also, it features a great song, "Unstoppable" by Minutes Til Midnight that does a great job of setting the mood. Anyway, I'm way excited for this film - it looks to be the last of a dying breed, the high-budget, adult drama/thriller.