After watching the Oscar Award-winning 1984 documentary Times of Harvey Milk, writer Black remembered Milk is giving a speech at the end of which he says, “Somewhere in Des Moines or San Antonio –’ which is where I’m from – ‘there’s a young gay person who might open a paper, and it says ‘Homosexual elected in San Francisco’ and know that there’s hope for a better world, there’s hope for a better tomorrow.”  Black observes:  “I just broke down crying because I was very much that kid and he was giving me hope. He was saying, not only are you okay but you can do great things. This was during a really difficult time for the gay community, with the AIDS crisis. And that’s the moment I thought, we have to get that story back out there, we’ve got to continue the message.”

David Fincher’s own experience of loss infused his fascination with the story: “My father died five years ago, and I remember the experience of being there when he breathed his last breath. It was an incredibly profound one.  When you lose someone who helped form you in a lot of ways, who is your ‘true north,’ you lose the barometer of your life.  You’re no longer trying to please someone, or you’re no longer reacting against something.  In many ways, you’re truly alone.”

 I hadn't planned on doing much more acting, really. But this film had a role that was my age, and the character seemed like it was tailored for me, even though it wasn't. And I liked the script. It has twists and turns, and also some good laughs–Director-Actor Clint Eastwood

Cannes Film Fest 2008--You depict a corrupt Italy in your latest film. Has the situation improved since the  Andreotti years
Paolo Sorrentino: Apparently not. But no one talks about corruption in Italy today, although it exists and proliferates. I think people don’t talk about it because Tangentopoli (Bribesville) was a shock for us. A revolution that did not limit itself to deciding who was honest or dishonest, but, consciously or not, changed politics and the previous political class, with endless polemics, backlashes and terrible personal tragedies.

Scribe Peter Morgan was keenly aware that, in shaping this story, TV as equalizer would be examined. As he documents, these two men rolled the dice, with promises of ruin or resurrection, and gave it everything. Nixon relied on his ample skills as a negotiator and statesman. Frost on his ability to have others open up and reveal to him what they weren't certain they wanted to share. That made for good TV.