An Associated Press story in the Scranton Times-Tribune, dated August 6, 1996, describes how Bryant explained to the news media that bombing fragments found in Jewells apartment were souvenirs. She said, "I'm very sorry it happened. He was 45 years old, with strong features and thinning hair, a southern preppy from a country-club family, it reads. This leaves little space for nuance, said Bert Roughton, who was Scruggs editor when the Jewell story broke, in a September AJC opinion piece. Rockwell, playing Jewells longtime friend and lawyer, is the most consistently entertaining performer in the film through his relaxed charm and quips. In real life, it took many more years and a good deal more police work to bring the real bomber to justice. Asked if Jewell should be named as a suspect, Bryant said, No but he should be along with everyone else that was in the area when the bomb exploded.. In addition, the fact that they use the real name of an honest reporter while the FBI agent is given a fake name is bizarre. WebThere was an ongoing concert, but suspecting the worst, Jewell and police began clearing the immediate area around the bag. With only days left before Richard Jewell hits theaters, lawyers for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and its parent company, Cox Enterprises, have demanded that Warner Bros. slap a disclaimer on the Clint Eastwood film. "[29], Jewell sued NBC News for this statement made by Tom Brokaw, "The speculation is that the FBI is close to making the case. He is currently serving four life sentences without possibility of parole. The source material for Richard Jewell is wonderfully rich. An article in the Great Falls Tribune on July 29, 1996 reported that the most important hero of the Atlanta Olympics is a man of modest height and stocky build. Jewell was described as the security guard who noticed the knapsack, sitting alone by a tower. [17], In 2006, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue honored Jewell for his rescue efforts during the attack, and publicly thanked him for saving people's lives. Richard Jewell died of a diabetes-related heart attack 11 years after the bombing, in August 2007. In an apartment complex overlooking his building, four stations ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC paid a tenant $1,000 a day to set up a command post in her unit. [10] On July30, 1997, Jewell testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives in which he called for an independent investigation into methods used by FBI agents during their investigation of him. While the newspaper did not cite its sources for this information, Eastwoods movie depicts a female reporter offering sex to an F.B.I. toxicological testing of chest fluid revealed a potentially lethal level of morphine. The movies account of the actual explosion, and Jewells role in discovering the suspicious knapsack containing the bomb closely follows real-life events. They probably have enough to arrest him right now, probably enough to prosecute him, but you always want to have enough to convict him as well. That, coupled with some dated representations, makes Richard Jewell a troubling experience. I am looking forward to seeing this movie although I am still saddened by the tragedy.. In real life, she was a lot more complex than that. Ron Leidelmeyer, an NBC technician, told AP at that time three days after the bombing that he saw Jewell before the bombing and believed it would have been difficult, if not impossible for Jewell to have time to both plant the bomb and make that call. Joining Bobi Jewell on "Fox and Friends" was lawyerWatson Bryant,who represented Jewell throughout the ordeal and even after his name was cleared by the FBI. She is 83 years old and still living in Georgia. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Cleere suggested that Jewell himself might have been the bomber, planting and then finding the explosive in a clumsy plot to achieve law-enforcement stardom. The marriage resulted in divorce. The young, jolly revelers, It reported that Scruggs had good contacts in the Atlanta police, and she was tough but one former staff member called her a police groupie to Vanity Fair, and an editor, while praising her talents, told Brenner: Kathy has a hard edge that some people find offensive. The story also describes the subsequent media frenzy, which extended far beyond AJC, and the FBIs initial pursuit of Jewell. The four were accused of poor judgment but not criminal wrongdoing. Sadly, Jewell died at age 44 of heart disease worsened by Diabetes. I cant imagine how many people are alive today and how many kids have been born just because Richard did his job.. [1] Richard's birth parents divorced when he was four. That article says that Jack Martin, a more experienced criminal defense attorney, had joined the team. Her second husband John Jewell adopted Richard. (Never mind the lack of evidence.). Perdue said Jewell "deserves to be remembered as a hero. Richard Jewell would have been excited but humbled at the Wednesday ceremony honoring him and members of law enforcement at Centennial Olympic Park, his widow said. Richard Jewell didnt do it. The young, jolly revelers, many waving cups of beer, didnt take directions very well, reported the 1996 TIME cover story on the bombing. [12][4][13], On October 26, 1996, the US Attorney in Atlanta, Kent Alexander, sent Jewell a letter saying "based on the evidence developed to date Richard Jewell is not considered a target of the federal criminal investigation into the bombing on July 27, 1996, at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta." It says that there was debate in the newsroom over the story and CNN had already decided to hold it. Richard Jewell will be released in theaters Friday. In the movie, Tom Shaw and Dan Bennett are the names given to the FBI agents relentlessly pursuing the former hero security guard turned suspect in the Atlanta bombing at the Olympics. In Clint Eastwoods Richard Jewell, righteousness is the name of the game. That article says the NBC settlement was over comments Tom Brokaw made on air. "The media just sensationalized the living hell out of it and it resulted in the avalanche of negative publicity about him and basically screwed up their lives forever. And Richard Jewell himself said some odd things - like, he asked if a tower would withstand a blast in the park - not the tower he was guarding, but another one. What makes you think you could f*ck it out of me? Theres no evidence that ever occurred, and Scruggs supporters say it didnt. She was also a woman working in the news in 1996; yeah, she had relationships with people she worked with. But the F.B.I. The police chief told the AP that Jewell was well qualified. Within two days of the bombing, the media was labeling Jewell a hero. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. By July 30, 1996, news organizations were reporting that Jewell had emerged, in the words of an Associated Press story, as the prime target of the FBI investigation. That version of events has garnered controversy leading up to the films release, especially from Scruggs former employer, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. READ NEXT: Richard Jewells Cause of Death: How Did He Die? If my mom and I had something we wanted to talk about that we didnt want anyone to hear, we wrote it on pieces of paper. Everyone settled except for the AJC, which held its ground. He is today 53 years old. The story would change everything for Richard A. Jewell, the security guard in question even long after his name was cleared. A woman he took on a date published a written account of the evening in a city magazine. Those arent the names of the real FBI case agents who pursued Jewell, Diader Rosario and Don Johnson. Unfortunately, director Clint Eastwoods Richard Jewell is not that film. They would yell, Did he do it? This page was last edited on 19 April 2023, at 15:34. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. He had a cameo in the September27, 1997, episode of Saturday Night Live, in which he jokingly fended off suggestions that he was responsible for the deaths of Mother Teresa and Diana, Princess of Wales. In the frenzy to find the perpetrator, an innocent man became a suspect. [4] In 2005, Eric Rudolph confessed and pleaded guilty to that bombing and other attacks. [37][38][39][40][41] Jewell is played by Paul Walter Hauser[42] while Kathy Bates played mother Bobi (for which she earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination). The culprit, Eric Robert Rudolph, wasnt captured until 2003, after evading the FBI for five years and perpetrating three other bombings. Eventually, domestic terrorist Eric Rudolph was identified by the FBI as the attacker. As the paper wrote: Richard Jewell, 33, a former law enforcement officer, fits the profile of the lone bomber. CNN quickly broadcast the story, and other news organizations followed suit. It had been nine months since the Justice Department cleared Jewell of any involvement. Jewell, then 33, had noticed an abandoned backpack under a bench near the tower and alerted an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Jewell wrongly came under suspicion after he spotted and reported a pipe bomb that had been left in a bag in the crowded park. What's the real story behind Richard Jewell, the new Clint Eastwood movie? In a December 9 letter to the filmmaker, lawyers for the Journal-Constitution wrote that Richard Jewells depiction of Scruggs, who died in 2001 at 42, makes it appear that the AJC sexually exploited its staff and/or that it facilitated or condoned offering sexual gratification to sources in exchange for stories. That implication, they wrote, is entirely false and malicious, and it is extremely defamatory and damaging. They asked that the film include a prominent disclaimer saying that it took dramatic license in portraying some of its events and characters. Scruggs has her defenders who are criticizing the Eastwood movie for falsely making it appear that Scruggs offered to have a sexual relationship with the FBI agent who tipped her off. With Bobi, our commonality was telling the story of this tragedy. His honors are cut short when he is accused as the primary suspect in the FBIs investigation into the bombing. An autopsy was performed in September 3, 2001. Legal Statement. Kathy Scruggs life is portrayed falsely, her supporters say in the movie. WebJewell trabalha como um guarda de segurana para a AT&T, quando ele descobre a conspirao que resultou no Atentado ao Parque Olmpico Centenrio. [21] In 2001, Jewell was honored as the Grand Marshal of Carmel, Indiana's Independence Day Parade. While the film does allow its actors to shine, its understated nature also leads to a film that struggles to keep viewers attentive. Though never charged, Jewell underwent what was described as a "trial by media", which took a toll on his personal and professional life. WebJewell is slow to realize the FBIs increasingly serious inquiry, but Hauser captures Jewells growing disillusionment with subtlety. While Scruggs did break that story based on an FBI tip, theres no evidence she ever traded sex for stories. He was 44. Richard Jewell is portrayed by Cameron Britton.[44]. You can learn more about her cause of death here. She died knowing that what she wrote was accurate, and I think that was really important to her. Did he blow those people up? They would yell, You should both die. All she was trying to do was walk her dog.. Actress Kathy Bates earned a Golden Globes best-supporting actress nomination for her depiction of Bobi Jewell in the Clint Eastwood movie, "Richard Jewell." "She had very good contacts with the police department. [4] He appeared in Michael Moore's 1997 film The Big One. Kathy Scruggs was born on September 26, 1958 and died September 2, 2001, age 42, in Cherokee County, Georgia. [30] Jewell's attorneys contended that Cleere called the FBI and spoke to the Atlanta newspapers, providing them with false information on Jewell and his employment there as a security guard. He wasnt cleared by the Justice Department until October 1996. Richard Jewell focuses on the real victim, seeks to tell his story, confirm his innocence and restore his name, the studio said. To watch all of"Hero for a Moment: The Richard Jewell Story"go to Fox Nation and sign up today. She had been there a few years and she had contacts with the FBI. WebRichard Jewells Heroism Was Real & a Witness Said Immediately That He Didnt Think Jewell Had Time to Perpetrate the Bombing & Make the Phone Call Attributed to the [33], Jewell filed suit against his former employer Piedmont College, its president Raymond Cleere, and college spokesman Scott Rawles. The new Richard Jewell movie gets the broad outline of what happened to Jewell right the FBIs relentless pursuit of the hero security guard and the leak to a newspaper reporter that started a media frenzy but some elements of the movie are fictionalized. She dated an editor who allegedly beat her with a telephone. Ron Martz, a former AJC reporter who worked with Scruggs on much of the 1996 bombing coverage, told the Journal-Constitution that she was one of the better reporters I ever worked with. They even took a Mary Poppins video. [3] For months afterward he was suspected of planting the bomb, leading to adverse publicity that "came to symbolize the excesses of law enforcement and the news media. And while Jewells good name was eventually cleared, he and his family suffered tremendously as a result of this ordeal. I did not do this Mom.'" Here is a man whose valor and quick thinking catapulted This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Thats pretty common in any industry., Wilde later elaborated on Twitter, saying that she has deep respect for the essential work of journalists, and that she understood her character and Hamms to be in a pre-existing romantic relationship, not a transactional exchange of sex for information. She added: I do not believe sex-positivity and professionalism are mutually exclusive. He had no legal staff except for his assistant, Nadya Light, no contacts in the press, and no history in Washington. The Nasca family decided to sue TikTok after talking to the Social Media Victims Law Center. The 1997 Vanity Fair article on which the movie is partly based described how Bryant, in real life, did have to navigate through a phalanx of reporters to get into Jewells apartment. At issue is the films portrayal of the late reporter Kathy Scruggs. WebHe is known for his supporting roles in the films Cruella, I, Tonya, Late Night, BlacKkKlansman, and Da 5 Bloods. I didnt do it. He lived in an apartment with his mother and their two dogs. Jewell. Scruggs died five years after the controversy. Getty/FindaGraveKathy Scruggs cause of death is a sad one. A Turkish cameraman also died from a heart attack while rushing to the scene. [43], The 2020 season two of the crime drama anthology series Manhunt, also called Manhunt: Deadly Games, centers on the story of the Centennial Park bombing and the other bombs planted by Eric Robert Rudolph. Also, Richard Jewell rarely features a musical score in the background. He discovered the bag and alerted Georgia Bureau of Investigation officers. Wilde has come out and defended the character on Twitter amid the backlash, but several real-life figures involved with Jewells case slammed the films portrayal of Scruggs. Write to Alejandro de la Garza at alejandro.delagarza@time.com. All three cases were settled out of court. And he certainly wasn't convicted. The movie makes journalist Kathy Scruggs into a pretty one-note villain. There was an ongoing concert, but suspecting the worst, Jewell and police began clearing the immediate area around the bag. "[34] The college settled for an undisclosed amount. Tom Shaw and Dan Bennett are not real. Jewell died of complications of diabetes in 2007, at age 44. Hes physically huge, yet somehow he shrinks; his Southern accent is rich and slow, Richard Jewell is an accomplishment in reminding us that the man was, after all, a hero. The lack of music makes the lengthy scenes feel even more dry and elongated. I worry about Eastwoods version of Kathy. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. Roughton said he had read Rays 2015 screenplay and it gave [him] pause both the scene implying a sex-for-information scenario and the scripts flattening of some people into stereotypes. The movie unfurls a stark morality tale about what happens when the powers that belaw enforcement, the media, the entire world, it seemsgang up on a couple of lionhearted little guys. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Ive just thought, Im glad I was there.. It was written by Billy Ray, based on the 1997 article "American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell," by Marie Brenner, and the book The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle (2019) by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen. Jewell's name was leaked early in the investigation and law enforcement and media became suspicious of him. Hauser says Bobi told him, You look just like Richard. He asked the first questions about it, raised the first hue and cry to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation officer.. One controversial line reported by AJC: Richard Jewell . The Vanity Fair article on the case documents the FBIs aggressive pursuit of Jewell. Market data provided by Factset. The letter, sent Monday from L.A.s Lavely & Singer law firm, maintains that the organization acted responsibly.. These said conversations are shot with little flair or style due to the basic shot-reverse-shot manner, a film technique in which one character is shown looking at another character during a conversation and then vice versa. Jewells moms Tupperware really was confiscated by the FBI, for example, and he really did land a job at a local police department after being cleared. Clint Eastwood has spent the majority of his life in the public eye dealing with media coverage. In Clint Eastwoods Richard Jewell, righteousness is the name of the game. A 2003 article in the New York Daily News reported that Jewell later worked for other departments in Georgia towns and got married. However, Eastwoods straightforward storytelling methods in Richard Jewell are both the films greatest assets and weaknesses. Abortion is murder. And I dont think Im as outgoing as I used to be.. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. He discovered a backpack containing three pipe bombs on the park grounds[1] and helped evacuate the area before the bomb exploded, saving many people from injury or death. In real life, though, Bryant didnt work alone for long. Scruggs newspaper has defended its reporting as accurately reflecting the state of the FBIs investigation at the time; the FBI was investigating Jewell in the bombing, although he was completely exonerated. Eric Rudolph did, as the movie shows. Rudolph began his violent attacks on July 27, 1996, when he planted a backpack containing a bomb in crowded Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia., According to the FBI, a woman who traveled with her daughter to watch the 1996 Summer Olympics was killed and more than 100 others were injured in the blast. In real life, Louis Freeh, the former FBI Director, ordered the agents to read Jewell his rights, which ended the training video conversation. The Justice Department admitted some fault in how federal agents handled the investigation into Jewell specifically an early interview in which officials intentionally misled Jewell to ask him questions about the bombing. Check out the performances that shook the campus. . Such moments bloat the first two thirds of the film, tiring the viewers by the more emotional third act. GettyBarbara Bobi Jewell and Paul Walter Hauser attend the Richard Jewell screening at Rialto Center of the Arts on December 10, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. I think we owe him an apology. My apartment was bugged," Bobi Jewell said on Fox and Friends. "[22] On each anniversary of the bombing until his illness and eventual death, he privately placed a rose at the Centennial Olympic Park scene where spectator Alice Hawthorne died. He couldnt go outside not without setting off a high-speed car chase of government vehicles and media vans, anyway. And I believe the name came to her through somebody from the FBI.". It would take time for officials to track down the right one: Eric Robert Rudolph, an anti-abortion militant who, in 1998, was linked to other bombings, but evaded police for years. It says that the FBI searched Bobis underwear and her Tupperware containers. Scruggs died of a drug overdose, specifically, acute morphine toxicity. Contrary to some other news reports, the coroner could not determine whether it was an accidental one or suicide. [36] The film was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. WebThe attorney for Richard Jewell, who came under suspicion in the 1996 Olympic Park bombing before he was exonerated, criticized the movie "Richard Jewell" on Thursday the day of the explosion with concerns that Jewell was overly zealous., If The Timess reporting showed restraint, focusing more on the local frenzy than the man himself, it was thanks to hard-won lessons in sourcing, Max Frankel wrote in the papers magazine. Within minutes, the bags contents, a pipe bomb loaded with nails, exploded, killing one person and injuring more than 100 others. She dated cops, including one who was accused of stealing money from the pockets of the dead.. He is still working as a lawyer in the Greater Atlanta area. Leading up to Richard Jewells release, controversy has erupted over perspectives seemingly deprioritized in the films telling, especially in its portrayal of real-life journalist Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde) as a man-eating, less-than-ethical scoop artist. "[28], Although CNN settled Jewell's libel suit for an undisclosed monetary amount, CNN maintained that its coverage had been "fair and accurate. Jewell's lawsuit accused Cleere of describing Jewell as a "badge-wearing zealot" who "would write epic police reports for minor infractions. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The items present with the body were a television remote control, a sheet, a blanket and a comforter. Despite the portrayal of Scruggs, Richard Jewell is a serviceable yet unspectacular film. [26][27], The newspaper was the only defendant that did not settle with Jewell. Rosario, the article says, was known for his skills as a negotiator and once helped calm a riot of Cuban prisoners in Atlanta. But Johnson had a reputation for overreaching because of a 1987 Albany New York investigation of that communitys then mayor. He has training. Before the report came out in the paper, now named The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, officials had used eyewitness accounts to compile a sketch of a man believed to have planted the pipe bomb in the park. The 1997 article in Vanity Fair on the Richard Jewell case gives extensive details on the effect on Bobi at the time. Getty Former FBI executive Chris Swecker explained on an FBI website devoted to Rudolphs capture: He had borrowed ideas from a lot of different places and formed his own personal ideology. American law-enforcement officer (19622007), Subsequent life, career and public appearances, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, "American Nightmare: The Ballad of Rick Jewell", "Richard Jewell's widow: 1996 Olympics hero 'scarred' by FBI accusation and media smears", "Richard Jewell, 44, Hero of Atlanta Attack, Dies", "Jewell wants probe of FBI investigation", "Anthrax Investigation (online chat with Marilyn Thompson, Assistant Managing Editor, Investigative)", "Anthrax: FBI Denies Smearing Former US Army Biologist", "See another take on the Richard Jewell story in clips from Manhunt: Deadly Games", "BOMB AT THE OLYMPICS;Heart Ailment Kills War Survivor in Altanta [sic]", "Prosecutors Declare Guard Isn't Suspect In Atlanta Bombing", "U.S. Says F.B.I. Its indefensible. WebNearly 25 years after she lived through "88 days of hell," Bobi Jewell's emotions seem just as raw as they were when her son, Richard Jewell, was first identified as the main