2011 - Knife Fight

Knife Fight is sex, drugs and money; it's about how politics is really played-a knife fight in a telephone booth, where blood is spilled, low blows are common and the best candidate is not always the best person. It's a world where the noblest ends are used to justify the darkest means.

Political consultant Paul Turner (Rob Lowe) is a wheeling, dealing tactical genius who is called in when the ranking politicians of the day are caught, sometimes quite literally, with their pants down. But although Paul's dealings may be cutthroat, his motivations are surprisingly pure. In fact, he feels a moral imperative to put and keep the best person in office - but sometimes, considering the boneheaded and scandalous shenanigans of his high profile clients, that's not such an easy thing. Jamie Chung will play his assistant, who already has a savvy sense of how to spin a negative story. Julie Bowen will play an ambitious TV reporter who has no problem sleeping with Lowe's character for scoops. Connie Britton will play an earthy-crunchy liberal who runs a free clinic and is looking to run for public office. Titus Welliver will play a private investigator on Lowe's payroll. Rebecca Mader will play a masseuse and sometime prostitute who's trying to blackmail a Senator, while Jennifer Morrison will play one of her classmates.

About Knife Fight

If a political candidate is personally flawed, but stands to make a positive difference in millions of lives, would you help him win? That question looms over the life of “true believer” Paul Turner (Rob Lowe), a savvy strategist sharply maneuvering politicians out of scandal and into public office. With the help of a bright young assistant (Jamie Chung) and a seedy operative (Richard Schiff), Turner spins every news cycle and a shrewd reporter (Julie Bowen) on behalf of his clients: a philandering Kentucky governor (Eric McCormick), a blackmailed California senator (David Harbour), and an idealistic doctor turned gubernatorial candidate (Carrie-Anne Moss). When the ugly side of Turner’s work begins to haunt him, he learns that even in the bloodiest of battles, sometimes you have to fight clean.

KNIFE FIGHT is a smart, crackling, comedic “inside look” at what happens behind closed doors in modern American politics. Two-time Academy Award-winning director Bill Guttentag teamed with renowned political consultant Chris Lehane to create this political story for the new century. As the November election approaches, KNIFE FIGHT pulls back the curtain on the “real truth” of the political process.

And the performances crackle too. Lowe, as rakish and charming as ever, is adept at tough but good-natured characters — slipping a knife into someone’s ribs with a smile. He has a surprisingly engaging rapport with Chung, who is also quite good, and it’s surely a credit to Guttentag — a winner of two Academy Awards for his documentary work — that actresses like Crew and Jennifer Morrison shine in their small roles. Well put together and dinged only a smidge by an ending that could have used a few more smudges, “Knife Fight” puts a lively face on contemporary politicking. That KT Tunstall’s cover version of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” ends things is yet another reminder that certain core American traditions endure, but also always serve themselves up for changes.