PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: WORLD PREMIERE: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: THE TRIALS OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented at The Paley Center for Media in New York. This evening features the world premiere of "American Experience: The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer," a documentary about "the father of the atomic bomb" which combines historic footage and photos with contemporary interviews and dramatic re-creations to help explain why Americans turned against him in the '50s.
Curator Ron Simon offers opening comments before introducing Mark Samels, executive producer of "American Experience." Samels talks about the production before introducing Doron Weber, vice president of programs at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, who discusses his company's interactions with "American Experience." Samels then brings David Grubin, the film's producer/director/writer, to the stage. Grubin introduces the film, which is screened in its entirety. (For episode synopsis and credits, see "American Experience: The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer," ACCNUM 100559.)
After the screening, the evening's moderator, Oppenheimer biographer Martin J. Sherwin, takes the stage with the panelists: Grubin; cast member David Strathairn; and Roy J. Glauber, Harvard University's 2005 Nobel Laureate winner for physics and a colleague of Oppenheimer.
The panelists touch on such topics as: what drew Grubin to the material; the difficulty in capturing a "remote" and "unlikable" figure such as Oppenheimer; what it was like for Strahairn to play Oppenheimer for a second time, having previously brought the scientist to life in the 1989 film, "Day One"; if Glauber's memories of working with Oppenheimer at Los Alamos are in sync with the film's presentation of him; and Grubin's difficulties in writing a script that centered around the trial's transcripts.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics: if Grubin's sympathies toward Oppenheimer changed during the course of filming; the decision-making process which led to an emphasis on the violations of Oppenheimer's security hearings; the manner in which Grubin created a "nightmare" scenario for the hearings; if Grubin's feelings about the future of the arms race played a part in his signing on to the project; why Grubin chose to intercut dramatic recreations with present-day interviews; and if Grubin had to delete significant aspects of Oppenheimer's life due to time restrictions.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: January 12, 2009 6:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:34:09
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:93819
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron Simon … Host
- Martin J. Sherwin … Moderator
- David Grubin … Panelist
- David Strathairn … Panelist
- Roy J. Glauber … Panelist
- Mark Samels … Guest
- Doron Weber … Guest
- J. Robert Oppenheimer