Barbarians at the Gate is a 1993 American biographical comedy-drama television film directed by Glenn Jordan and written by Larry Gelbart, based on the 1989 book of the same name by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. The film stars James Garner, Jonathan Pryce, and Peter Riegert. It tells the true story of F. Ross Johnson, who was the president and CEO of RJR Nabisco.
Barbarians at the Gate | |
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Based on | Barbarians at the Gate by |
Written by | Larry Gelbart |
Directed by | Glenn Jordan |
Starring | |
Composer | Richard Gibbs |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Ray Stark |
Cinematography |
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Editor | Patrick Kennedy |
Production companies |
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Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | HBO |
Original release |
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Barbarians at the Gate received generally positive reviews from critics. The film earned nine nominations at the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one for Outstanding Made for Television Movie. It also won Best Miniseries or Television Film and Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for Garner at the 51st Golden Globe Awards.
Self-made multimillionaire F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR Nabisco, decides to take the tobacco and food conglomerate company private in 1988 after receiving advance news of the likely market failure of the company's smokeless cigarette called Premier, the development of which had been intended to finally boost the company's stock price.[1]
The free-spending Johnson's bid for the company is opposed by two of the pioneers of the leveraged buyout, Henry Kravis and his cousin. Kravis feels betrayed when, after Johnson initially discusses doing the LBO with Kravis, he takes the potentially enormous deal to another firm, the Shearson Lehman Hutton division of American Express.
Other bidders emerge, including Ted Forstmann and his company, Forstmann Little, after Kravis and Johnson are unable to reconcile their differences. The bidding goes to unprecedented heights, and when executive Charles Hugel becomes aware of how much Johnson stands to profit in a transaction that will put thousands of Nabisco employees out of work, he quips, "Now I know what the 'F' in F. Ross Johnson stands for." The greed is so evident, Kravis's final bid is declared the winner, even though Johnson's was higher.
The title of the book and movie comes from a statement by Forstmann in which he calls Kravis' money "phoney junk bond crap" and how he and his brother are "real people with real money," and that to stop raiders like Kravis: "We need to push the barbarians back from the city gates."
Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
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1993 | 9th TCA Awards | Program of the Year | Barbarians at the Gate | Won |
Outstanding Achievement in Drama | Nominated | |||
45th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Made for Television Movie | Thomas M. Hammel Glenn Jordan Marykay Powell Ray Stark |
Won | |
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special | James Garner | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special | Jonathan Pryce | Nominated | ||
Peter Riegert | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or a Special | Glenn Jordan | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Miniseries or a Special | Larry Gelbart | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special | Michael Armani Jan K. Bergstrom Karen O'Hara Linda Pearl |
Nominated | ||
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Special | Patrick Kennedy | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special | Jacob Goldstein Tim Philben Ken S. Polk James A. Williams |
Nominated | ||
9th Artios Awards | Best Casting for Movie of the Week | Marsha Kleinman | Nominated | |
1994 | 16th CableACE Awards | Best Movie or Miniseries | Larry Gelbart Thomas M. Hammel Glenn Jordan Marykay Powell Ray Stark |
Nominated |
Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries | Jonathan Pryce | Nominated | ||
Best Directing for a Movie or Miniseries | Glenn Jordan | Nominated | ||
Best Writing for a Movie or Miniseries | Larry Gelbart | Won | ||
Best Art Direction in a Dramatic Special or Series/Theatrical Special/Movie or Miniseries | Linda Pearl | Won | ||
51st Golden Globe Awards | Best Miniseries or Television Film | Barbarians at the Gate | Won | |
Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film | James Garner | Won | ||
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Jonathan Pryce | Nominated | ||
46th Writers Guild of America Awards | Adapted Long Form (Television) | Larry Gelbart | Won | |
44th ACE Eddie Awards | Best Edited Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television | Patrick Kennedy | Nominated | |
Films directed by Glenn Jordan | |
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