What Do The Critics Say?

"Estevez deftly weaves a stories of ordinary Americans into a glorious tapestry, activities and conversations occurring on the day Bobby Kennedy was assassinated." Harvey S Karten COMPUSERVE "One of the year's best pictures, an unforgettable motion picture experience with an outstanding cast that shines brightly right down to the smallest part." Pete Hammond MAXIM "Everyone in this film is powerful." Peter Rainer CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR "A very good film, a deeply felt film, and even in its occasional missteps is miles ahead of the simplemindedness of last year's Crash, to which it has been compared." Ken Hanke MOUNTAIN XPRESS "An astonishing array of acting talent delivers a fine tuned set of characters that engage and entertain us - and will haunt us. They are not at the centre of the drama, but on the periphery - where we average Joe Blows are. Emilio Esteves sees Bobby's death as "the death of decency". And that's what makes the film so engrossing and tangible. It's a moving and sobering achievement." Andrew L Urban URBANCINEFILE

"News footage of Kennedy in campaign mode is cleverly integrated and by the time the limousine draws up outside the Ambassador, our anticipation is at its peak. Tension mounts as angst and confusion are rife in the final climactic scenes as the inevitable crazed gunman makes his mark. It's credit to Estevez that we are drawn so deeply and care, not only for Kennedy and all the fictional characters, but revisit a monumental time in history when the quest for purpose and happiness was devastated." Louise Keller URBANCINEFILE "Brilliantly directed, superbly written and beautifully acted drama with an ensemble cast that would make even Robert Altman jealous." Matthew Turner VIEWLONDON "The characters are fictional but their hopes and dreams are real enough, and every role is well-acted, even by lightweights like Lohan and Kutcher." Eric D. Snider ERICDSNIDER.COM "With one film, Estevez has transformed himself from a middle-aged joke into a youthful auteur who has made something beautiful, something he can be proud of, one of the best films of 2006." Mick LaSalle SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE "Bobby is both a crowning achievement for Estevez and the years must see movie. Here's hoping Robert Altman got to see it." Clint Morris MOVIEHOLE

The Inside Story Writer/director Emilio Estevez was just six years old when Robert F Kennedy died. He still remembers that night when the Kennedy's assassination was announced on television. Estevez remembers rushing to awaken his father, actor Martin Sheen, a long-time Kennedy supporter, with the shocking news. Later his father would take him to the Ambassador Hotel. "I remember my dad holding my hand as we wandered through those grand halls and I remembered my father talking about what we had lost," recalls Estevez. Years later, like many Americans, he began to see Robert Francis 'Bobby' Kennedy assassination as the shot that had stopped in its tracks the idealism and optimism of an earlier generation of Americans, and ushered in today’s much harsher world of cynicism, apathy and disenfranchisement. Kennedy’s legacy of refusing to be silent in the face of injustice, of advocacy for the downtrodden and of speaking plainly about what he believed was wrong in America seemed to have far too few successors. "From that moment of June 5th 1968 on, it seemed we became more and more cynical and resigned, and I think it’s a big part of why we are where we are at culturally today," says Estevez. "It's heartbreaking." Years after his father had taken the young boy to the Ambassador Hotel, Estevez was back their again. This time it was for a photo shoot. He remembers his head reeling with memories and suddenly being inspired by the thought of writing the story of the night RFK was assassinated. "All I knew in the beginning is that I wanted to tell a story that would celebrate the spirit of Bobby," he recalls. Rather than go down the road of tracking down those who were there on the night and gain their permission to be included in his story, Ezrevez chose a different road to travel. He would create fictional characters, a widely varied group of ordinary people whose lives were profoundly changed in those few terrible moments. Full of enthusiasm and vision he didn't know that the journey to bring his film to the bigscreen would be a long one. "So much of what happened in the making of this film was random, so much was coincidence and accidental, and yet nothing was random and nothing was coincidental," he remarks. A bout of paralyzing writers block would result in Estevez re-tackling the screenplay in a remote hotel on the Central California Coast, near Pismo Beach. When he checked in, the woman at the desk recognized him and asked what he was doing there. "I’m writing a script about the night Bobby Kennedy was killed," he told her. Tears instantly welled in her eyes. "I was there," she replied. The 1968 Kennedy volunteers story of marrying a young man to keep him from going to Vietnam would become a part of the film. "She really helped me crack the spine of the story and give it a beating heart," he says. "After that, it just started to flow." Estevez finished his screenplay one week before 09/11 2001. His plans were put on hold for six months and before he started show it to friends and family. The response was enthusiastic. "I had this script that was very large in scope and would obviously be dependent on performances and execution and I hadn't really proven myself to be that kind of director," he says. "There wasn’t that kind of trust that I could pull this off." Producer Michel Litvak thought otherwise. "When I read the script, I knew it was a film we had to make. I believe that the story of Bobby Kennedy belongs not only to the American people, but is an inspiration to all the people of the world," he said. "His message and his dream live on." Shooting the film was 'different' to say the least. "It was madness on the set," Estevez laughs. "But we made the movie in a real, shoot from the hip, fast-paced, guerilla style that I think suits the subject matter." And what was it that sustained his drive over the years? He says it was never running out of inspiration. "Everyone got involved in this film, because we all really care about the things Bobby Kennedy was talking about, and what’s really clear is that the issues he was addressing back then are the same issues we’re facing today. I hope this movie raises the question of why haven’t we moved forward from those times and reveals how relevant Bobby’s ideas still are to us right now." One of the big joys in watching the twenty two main characters who feature in "Bobby". The cast is exceptional. "It’s rare that you find a script that has so many incredibly meaty roles in it. Actors were attracted not only by the opportunity to tackle great characters, but to work with their peers on a project that felt so meaningful to all of us," says producer Lisa Niedenthal. In a show of loyalty, all of the film's actors agreed to work for scale. Academy Award ® winner Anthony Hopkins was the first actor cast for the film. Hopkins still has a profoundly strong memory of RFK’s death decades later. "I remember exactly where I was," he recalls. "I was sitting in a makeup chair in a London studio when the news came through. I said: 'They’ve gone insane. The world’s gone mad.' We had JFK, Malcolm X, Dr King and now Robert Kennedy. I thought it’s coming apart at the seams. And it was." Legendary performer Harry Belafonte was due to meet with RFK, but never did. "I had worked for him, and I had known him for a good spell," says Belafonte. "Our lives had come together in very unusual and impactful ways." Hopkins it seems was the catalyst for many of the cast signing on, including "Wild Hogs" star and two time EMMY Award winner, William H Macey. "He was one of the reasons I took this role. I’d act the Yellow Pages with Anthony Hopkins." Sharon Stone portrays Ebbers hairdresser wife Miriam, who he is cheating on. "I liked the part because I think the beauty salon was really the psychiatrist’s office in the 1960s. Everyone comes in to tell her their personal story," she observes. "I also like the way the script deals with how Miriam is betrayed by her unfaithful husband in a way that feels so true to the times." Estevez's father, who played RFK in the 1974 film, "The Missiles of October" and who has a role in the film notes, "Robert Kennedy was a very great personal hero of mine. He continues to be a great source of inspiration to me personally." What They Had To Say. "Even though he’s also the writer, he didn’t hold anything as precious," Moore comments. "He’s giving but not controlling. He's especially open to improvisation on the part of actors because he really trusts them. He allowed us to create and share, and at the same time he guided us too."
"Some look for scapegoats, others look for conspiracies, but this much is clear: violence breeds violence, repression brings retaliation, and only a cleansing of our whole society can remove this sickness from our soul." Robert F Kennedy, Ohio, April 1968
"It was so wonderful to work with such a distinguished figure from Hollywood history. Harry is a dynamic force of nature, a revolutionary force. And the fact that he was so personally close to Bobby Kennedy brought so much more meaning to me," says Sir Anthony Hopkins.
"There is still a real need to bring people together," says Demi Moore. "After Bobby Kennedy was shot there seemed to be a great loss of innocence, and with it came an unfortunate loss of passion and a feeling of helplessness that has endured."
"There was not a moment in his presence where I wasn’t being challenged and awakened to great opportunities with just his slightest nuances," Belafonte says of Hopkins, who plays retired staff member and Front Doorman John Casey.
"It was a poetic feeling. To be in the Ambassador and touch those powerful moments and be educated by that time again," says Stone."
"I think he just comes from a really old school way of thinking, and quite honestly, he’s a bit of a racist." says Slater of his character Timmons.
"Kennedy’s words are incredibly powerful and really resonated with me," Lord Of The Rings star Elijah Wood says, "especially seeing what we are lacking in our world today. Since his death we really haven’t had a political leader that has spoken to so many people, and has provided people with a sense that our country really could turn things around. It’s incredibly sad, actually, when you realize that in a way, when Bobby was shot, the hope of the country was shot, too."
"I’m privileged to work for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation," says Martin Sheen. "Each of the last few years I’ve narrated a film that explores the foundation’s involvement in social justice and furthers the work of Robert Kennedy."
"It’s exhausting and exhilarating at the same time because you can let go about caring how you look because it’s irrelevant," says Demi Moore. "There’s something very raw about going to a core place and giving your body permission to do anything. There’s no censorship necessary; you can be and say whatever you want."
"To me, this movie is about more than just a single person," says Russian actress Svetlana Metkina. "It’s about all of us back then and today. Bobby Kennedy knew how important freedom is for everybody in the world, which meant a lot to someone who grew up in a Communist country."
Synopsis

Deftly combining fact, fiction and fate, the interwoven human stories of "Bobby" unfold on June 4th, 1968. The film begins with an imaginative and stirring re-creation of that catalytic day just a few hours before Kennedy’s assassination, as party-goers, performers, hotel employees and campaigners all descend on the hotel in preparation for the big night. amongst them are the Ambassador’s retired doorman and fellow retiree Nelson; the hotel’s current manager, Paul Ebbers and his wife Miriam; the stifled hotel switchboard operator Angela who hopes her affair with Ebbers will lead to a promotion; the bigoted kitchen boss Timmons; sous chef Edward Robinson; Latino workers Jose and Miguel; coffee shop waitress Susan; the alcoholic singer Virginia Fallon, who is scheduled to introduce the Senator at his California Primary party; her frustrated husband Tim; a young bride-to-be) who is about to marry a young man to save him from going to Vietnam and, a depressed East Coast socialite and his younger wife who are in California on a strained second honeymoon. Also gathered in the Ambassador are Kennedy campaign followers including devoted young aides Wade and Dwayne; persistent Czech journalist Lenka; novice volunteers Jimmy and Cooper. That night, they will all converge on the ballroom to hear Bobby's speech. What happens will ensure their lives are never the same again.

The Verdict "A film that deserves every accolade one could throw at it. Emilio Estevez has blended the charasmatic appeal of Bobby Kennedy and his untimely death into a story that appears so believable, so pertinent even for todays troubled times. It's hard to believe thatt his is only a fictionalized account of events which preceeded his tragic death at the age of fourty two. What's even more disturbing is the realization of how different the political face of the U.S.A might have been had RFK not been assassinated by Sirhan B Sirhan (a 24-year-old Palestinian) in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel Los Angeles in 1968. The films stella, star-studded cast are a joy to watch. Insulated from the event by distance, Australian cinemagoers will at least get a sense of how dumbstruck and shocked into disbelief Americans were by the loss of a second Kennedy brother thanks to Estevez's powerful screenplay and his skilful direction. Not to be missed. 4 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "BOBBY" stars .......
William H Macy ["Welcome To Collinwood", "The Cooler", "Sea Biscuit" and "Thank You for Smoking"]; Christian Slater ["3000 Miles To Graceland", "Who Is Cletis Tout?", "Windtalkers" and "The Good Shepherd"]; Freddy Rodríguez ["The Undertaker", "My Brother Jack", "Poseidon" and "Lady in the Water"]; Harry Belafonte ["Bright Road", "Carmen", "Island in the Sun" and "Odds Against Tomorrow"]; Laurence Fishburne ["The Matrix", "Assault On Precinct 13", "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "Mission: Impossible III"]; Helen Hunt ["As Good as It Gets", "Pay It Forward", "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" and "A Good Woman"]; Ashton Kutcher ["Just Married", "The Butterfly Effect", "Guess Who" and "The Guardian"]; Demi Moore ["A Few Good Men", "G.I Jane", "Striptease" and "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle"]; Sharon Stone ["Intersection", "Catwoman", "Broken Flowers" and "Basic Instinct 2"]; Mary Elizabeth Winstead ["The Long Road Home", "The Ring 2", "Final Destination 3" and "Black Christmas"] and Anthony Hopkins ["Hearts In Atlantis", "Hannibal", "Red Dragon" and "The World's Fastest Indian"] as John Casey.
"BOBBY" was .......
directed by Emilio Estevez ["Wisdom", "Men at Work" and "The War at Home"]; screenplay by Emilio Estevez ["That Was Then... This Is Now", "Wisdom", "Men at Work" and "Bobby"]; art direction by Colin De Rouin ["Friday After Next"]; costume design by Julie Weiss ["American Beauty", "Auto Focus", "The Missing" and "Fun with Dick and Jane"]; production design by Patti Podesta ["Nowhere", "Splendor" and "The Chumscrubber"]; edited by Richard Chew ["Risky Business", "That Thing You Do!", "Shanghai Noon" and "I Am Sam"]; cinematography by Michael Barrett ["Cookin'", "Lone Star State of Mind", "Kiss kiss Bang Bang" and "Goal!"]; original music by Mark Isham ["Life As A House", "Racing Stripes", "In Her Shoes", "Eight Below" and "The Black Dahlia"] produced by Edward Bass ["Slingshot", "Come Early Morning" and "Mini's First Time"], Michel Litvak ["Slingshot", "The Second Front", "Come Early Morning" and "Mini's First Time"] and Holly Wiersma ["Rent Control", "Wonderland", "Happy Endings", "Come Early Morning" and "Lonely Hearts"]. Who's Who?

William H Macy Christian Slater Anthony Hopkins Harry Belafonte Freddy Rodríguez Joy Bryant Nick Cannon Emilio Estevez Laurence Fishburne Brian Geraghty Heather Graham Helen Hunt Joshua Jackson Ashton Kutcher Shia LaBeouf Lindsay Lohan Svetlana Metkina Demi Moore Martin Sheen Sharon Stone Jacob Vargas Mary Elizabeth Winstead Elijah Wood

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Paul Timmons John Casey Nelson José Patricia Dwayne Tim Fallon Edward Robinson Jimmy Angela Samantha Wade Fisher Cooper Diane Lenka Janacek Virginia Fallon Jack Miriam Miguel Susan Taylor William

Run Time 117 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - Weinstein Company - All Rights Reserved ENDURING © - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved