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Shattered Glass
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Shattered Glass (2003) -- The true story of a young journalist who fell from grace when it was found he had fabricated over half of his articles.
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Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   13,643 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 23% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Buzz Bissinger (article)
Billy Ray (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Shattered Glass on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 December 2003 (Greece) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Read between the lies. more
Plot:
The true story of a young journalist who fell from grace when it was found he had fabricated over half of his articles. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 17 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(52 articles)
User Reviews:
When "Glass" shatters... more (156 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for language, sexual references and brief drug use.
Runtime:
94 min | Canada:99 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Australia:89 min
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
When the original cut was screened before a test audience, many in the audience insisted that the movie couldn't be a true story because no real life magazine would have nearly all of its journalists in their early to mid twenties (when in fact this really was the case). This resulted in place cards added to the opening of the film which stated that the median age of journalists working for the New Republic was 26. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: When Stephen Glass and Mike Kelly talked about Glass's predicament, and Kelly asked Glass if he ever cooked a story when he was the New Republic's editor-in-chief, the scene occurred at Kelly's current place of work. In the DVD commentary, director Billy Ray said although such a conversation did occur between both Glass and Kelly, it was not at Kelly's place of work, but in fact at Mike Kelly's house. Ray went on to say that Glass's real life girlfriend was present during the actual discussion, but she was not even depicted in the film version of the discussion. more
Quotes:
Chuck Lane: You're fired, Steve.
Stephen Glass: What?
Chuck Lane: You're fired, Steve. You've lost your job.
Stephen Glass: But you can't do that.
more
Soundtrack:
New Sensation more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
48 out of 66 people found the following review useful.
When "Glass" shatters..., 10 October 2004
10/10
Author: dee.reid from United States

...Justice will be done. As an aspiring writer, one of the biggest problems for me (as with all authors, I'm sure) is setting up a believable story with realistic characters and motivations, but the trick is being able to do so within the more realistic realm of fiction.

With that in mind, then think about this for a moment: A story about a 15 year-old computer hacker who brings a major software company to its knees would make for great entertainment at office meetings or parties. It has a realistic setting and a believable plot, with a kid who hacks into a company's database, and offers his services in preventing others from doing so, but first wants "X-Men" #1, a new car, and subscriptions to Playboy and Penthouse. This kid is then hailed as a hero within the hacker community, and he gets to sit back and revel in his newfound fame.

Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen) had this story nailed down pat - characters and everything, but his problem was that he was not a fiction author, he was the premiere writer for an important technological magazine and nearly ran it into ground when it was discovered that he had fabricated more than half of his articles.

Make no mistake though, "Shattered Glass," which details Stephen Glass' devastating fall from grace when his deception is unearthed by the staffers of a rival magazine, is not at all a pleasant experience. I sometimes had to remember that this was based on a true story, and that a man lied to earn his fame.

I have to admit that by the time the credits began to roll, I was almost on the verge of tears, because I was so saddened and angry - saddened because Glass was on the surface, basically a good and well-liked person. I was angry because this well-liked man was also a fraud, and he deservedly got caught when he became trapped by his own elaborate deceptions.

The final 20 minutes are the most achingly difficult moments to sit through, as Glass' plans come apart at the seams, and we the audience are given front-row seats to his destruction. And we watch as Charles "Chuck" Lane (Peter Sarsgaard) sits back and (unsympathetically) bears witness to all of it. He is totally unflinching to Glass' pleas to drive him somewhere before he does something terrible to himself, like suicide.

It would also help to imagine yourself in Lane's position as an editor, to finally hear that you have been deceived by a kid, a bright kid nonetheless, and then find yourself faced with the difficult task of cleaning up the devastation. You then have to print a formal apology in the next issue of your magazine saying to your readers that they've been lied to.

An effective, powerful film - "Shattered Glass" - and I'm not sure that I could ever sit through it again.

10/10

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Shattered Glass (2003)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Way to reward a lying journalist daveduckman
OT. Lying reniand
How did this guy write for Rolling Stone.... JasperCohen
Wow Sarsgaard d_moz
The clapping Scene? MLBNHL44
Some type of pattern with Glass mill228
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