| Run This Town | |
| Director: | Ricky Tollman |
| Producer: | Jonathan Bronfman Randy Manis |
| Screenplay: | Ricky Tollman |
| Starring: | Ben Platt Mena Massoud Nina Dobrev Scott Speedman Gil Bellows Jennifer Ehle Damian Lewis |
| Music: | Ali Shaheed Muhammad Adrian Younge |
| Cinematography: | Nick Haight |
| Editing: | Sandy Pereira |
| Studio: | CounterNarrative Films JoBro Productions & Film Finance Manis Film |
| Runtime: | 99 minutes[1] |
| Country: | Canada United States |
| Language: | English |
Run This Town is a 2019 drama film about Rob Ford's personal and work-related controversies during his final year as Toronto's mayor, written and directed by Ricky Tollman. It stars Ben Platt, Mena Massoud, Nina Dobrev, Scott Speedman, Gil Bellows, Jennifer Ehle, and Damian Lewis.
It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 9, 2019. It was released in the United States and Canada on March 6, 2020, by Oscilloscope and Elevation Pictures.
The film details the turbulent final year of Rob Ford's tenure as the mayor of Toronto.
It was announced in March 2018 that Ben Platt, Nina Dobrev, Mena Massoud and Damian Lewis were cast in the film.[2] Filming began the next month in Toronto, along with the additions of Jennifer Ehle, Scott Speedman and Gil Bellows to the cast. Lewis, playing the role of Ford, was spotted on set in extensive makeup and donning a body suit.[3] [4]
The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 9, 2019.[5] It was released commercially in the United States and Canada on March 6, 2020.[6] [7]
The film faced some criticism for excising the role of investigative journalists Robyn Doolittle and Kevin Donovan in exposing the scandal, instead replacing them with a fictional novice male journalist.[8] [9] Donovan was critical of the film's portrayal of the media, particularly scenes depicting a reporter paying for the Rob Ford video. Allison Smith stated that Doolittle's replacement with a male journalist was problematic, and the film "would have been more interesting if it had followed Doolittle". She stated that Doolittle may have been replaced because her book had been optioned for a film or television production.
Joe Mihevc, formerly a councillor on Toronto City Council, stated that the film misrepresents Ford's character, portraying him as a mean-spirited individual and omitting the "humanness of Rob" and the traits that attracted those who voted for him.
The film was also praised by Donovan for its correct portrayal of the backroom politics, and by Smith for the depiction of reporters reconstructing a timeline of Rob Ford's activities based on postings to his social media accounts.
The film received three Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards, for Best Art Direction/Production Design (Chris Crane), Best Sound Editing (Nelson Ferreira, Dashen Naidoo, J.R. Fountain and Dustin Harris) and Best Makeup (Emily O'Quinn, Steve Newburn and Neil Morrill).[10]