Hollywoodland is a 2006 American
period detective film directed by
Allen Coulter in his feature
directorial debut. The story presents a fictionalized account of the circumstances surrounding the death of actor
George Reeves (played by
Ben Affleck), the star of the 1950s television series
Adventures of Superman.
Adrien Brody co-stars as a fictional character, Louis Simo, a private detective investigating
Toni Mannix (
Diane Lane), who was involved in a long romantic relationship with Reeves and was the common-law wife of
MGM studio executive
Eddie Mannix (
Bob Hoskins). Reeves had ended the affair and had become engaged to a younger woman, aspiring actress
Leonore Lemmon (
Robin Tunney). Development for
Hollywoodland began in 2001 when Focus Features purchased Paul Bernbaum's script titled
Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
Michael and Mark Polish were set to direct in with an aiming to cast
Benicio del Toro in the lead role, but Focus Features placed the film in turnaround to Miramax Films the following year. Ultimately
Truth, Justice, and the American Way became a joint production between the two studios and filming commenced in May 2005 with Coulter as director. Due to copyright issues with
DC Comics, the film was retitled
Hollywoodland, released to generally positive reviews.