Synopsis

After television Superman star George Reeves is found dead in his Hollywood Hills home, private investigator Louis Simo is hired to examine the case. Moving between Reeves' troubled career and Simo's increasingly personal investigation, the film explores conflicting theories involving an affair, Hollywood power brokers, and the possibility that the official suicide ruling may not tell the whole story.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is a fictionalized account of the unresolved circumstances surrounding George Reeves' death on June 16, 1959. Louis Simo, the investigator at the center of the story, is a fictional character.

• The screenplay began circulating in 2001. The project passed through several companies before becoming a joint production associated with Focus Features and Miramax.

• The production filmed in Ontario, Canada, including Oakville, while recreating 1950s Los Angeles.

• The movie was shot in 40 days, an unusually tight schedule for a period production with elaborate recreations of television studios, Hollywood locations, and mid-century interiors.

• The production could not use the original opening credits from *Adventures of Superman* because Warner Bros. did not grant permission. The sequence was recreated for the film instead.

• The project was originally known as *Truth, Justice, and the American Way*. It was retitled *Hollywoodland* before release.

• Ben Affleck won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 2006 Venice Film Festival for his portrayal of Reeves. The performance also brought him a Golden Globe nomination and a Saturn Award.

• The film marked Allen Coulter's feature-film debut after his extensive television work. It was released in the United States on September 8, 2006.