Just Announced, Filmmaker Scheduled to Appear
In 1974, a White House transcriber is thrust into the Watergate scandal when she obtains the only copy of the infamous 18 ½-minute gap in Nixon's tapes. Q&A with the filmmaker to follow.
There are many theories about the missing 18 ½ minutes of Richard Nixon’s White House recordings. At a time of heightened controversy—thanks to Watergate and the ensuing investigations—the gap in recordings created a convenient slot into which a person’s conspiracy theory of choice might fit. Dan Mirvish’s film 18 ½ explores a quaint, yet zany, moment of alternate history where the tape itself was taped and a young transcriptionist (Willa Fitzgerald, Reacher, The Fall of the House of Usher) secrets it away from the White House to listen to it with a journalist (John Magaro, Past Lives). Hilarity ensues when they check into a small-town motel to do just that. Co-starring Richard Kind, Jon Cryer, Ted Raimi, and Bruce Campbell. [88 min; comedy, thriller; English]
A Q&A with filmmaker and Slamdance Film Festival co-founder Dan Mirvish will follow the screening.
“Mirvish’s excellent cast approaches this sequence like a one-act play, swinging at every curveball their fellow actors throw.” – Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times
“[Dan Mirvish's] best-directed work and also his most Altman-like.” – Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
“This explosive, smart film is a must-see.” – Ann Brodie, What She Said
Any film screened at IU Cinema may contain content that viewers find sensitive or upsetting. Visit our Audience Advisories page to learn more.
