The Paper (1994)

88% of critics liked it
(32 reviews)
56% of users liked it
(6,727 ratings)

Director Ron Howard's drama follows a beleaguered reporter during a hectic 24 hours at a New York City tabloid. Michael Keaton stars as Henry Hackett, a metro editor for the struggling New York Sun. Hackett is being wooed by the Sentinel, a more upscale paper, but he's addicted to the… More Director Ron Howard's drama follows a beleaguered reporter during a hectic 24 hours at a New York City tabloid. Michael Keaton stars as Henry Hackett, a metro editor for the struggling New York Sun. Hackett is being wooed by the Sentinel, a more upscale paper, but he's addicted to the adrenaline-stimulating, breakneck pace of the Sun's newsroom, much to the consternation of his pregnant wife Martha (Marisa Tomei. Hackett is currently pursuing a story of two minority youths who have been arrested for the murders of two men. He learns that the police think that the killings may be a mob hit. In the court of public opinion, however, the innocent suspects are being judged as guilty, and the police may bow to the pressure. As Hackett and his staff desperately work all the story's angles to find the truth, several other dramas unfold. Top editor Bernie (Robert Duvall) learns that he has prostate cancer, and tough publisher Alicia (Glenn Close) wonders if her lack of popularity is due to her cost-cutting, her personality, or the fact that she's a woman. In their only collaboration, screenwriter David Koepp co-wrote the script with his brother Stephen Koepp, a senior editor at Time magazine. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 52 min.
Directed By: Aaron Matthews, Ron Howard
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 18, 1994 Wide
On DVD: Nov 1, 1998
Studio: MCA Universal Home Video

Critic Reviews

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
The picture starts to fall in love with its subject -- head- over-heels in love, until the acid drains from the wit and there's nothing left but sentimental ooze.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
It's all slick, fizzy fun. But the film's fighting spirit gets snatched.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Watching The Paper got me in touch all over again with how good it feels to work at the top of your form, on a story you believe in, on deadline.
Rita Kempley, Washington Post
Perfectly captures the hubbub of the nation's newsrooms.
Joe Brown, Washington Post
Thanks to a caffeinated cast and hyperactive script, director Ron Howard delivers The Paper with a bang.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
A crowd pleaser, and, regardless of any viewer's experience (or lack thereof) with the behind-the-scenes wrangling that goes on in newspaper offices, the story is affable and entertaining.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
An overwrought, hysterical drama about the newspaper business that doesn't begin to compare to Hollywood's classics of the genre (The Front Page). The film has an absurdly frantic pace but it's so romantically naive and unsubtle that nothing registers
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily
One of Ron Howard's most underrated films.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
A great ensemble cast
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World
Not a bad view of the inner-workings at a daily
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
Does it show how newspapers really work? Not really, but who cares? It is great fun, even if it is overdone.
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
Enjoyable, if utterly unrealistic look at journalism
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Incisively depicts the ways in which busyness, speed and constant pressure violate our souls in the workplace.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean M

Great ensemble comedy-drama about a New York Daily tabloid newspaper with Michael Keaton as an editor who has a few hours to get the scoop on a murder and stop cost-conscious managing editor Glenn Close from printing a sensationalistic cover that implies two innocent youngsters are… More
Great ensemble comedy-drama about a New York Daily tabloid newspaper with Michael Keaton as an editor who has a few hours to get the scoop on a murder and stop cost-conscious managing editor Glenn Close from printing a sensationalistic cover that implies two innocent youngsters are guilty.
jay n

With this cast this should have been better.
Bradley W

The Paper ended up being much better than I thought. It takes a boring subject like news and made it interesting and also showed me the inside work of a newspaper, but its also at times very weird and does not realize what it is.
Sunil J

Incredibly dated but the solid cast keeps in interesting.
Leo L

Good movie.

Cast

            Michael Keaton as Henry Hackett

            Robert Duvall as Bernie White

            Glenn Close as Alicia Clark

            Marisa Tomei as Martha Hackett

            Randy Quaid as McDougal

            Jason Robards as Graham Keighley

            Jason Alexander as Marion Sandusky

            Spalding Gray as Paul Bladden

            Catherine O'Hara as Susan

            Lynne Thigpen as Janet

            Jack Kehoe as Phil

            Roma Maffia as Carmen

            Clint Howard as Ray Blaisch

            Geoffrey Owens as Lou

            Amelia Campbell as Robin

            William Prince as Henry's Father

            Augusta Dabney as Henry's Mother

            Bruce Altman as Carl

            Jack McGee as Wilder

            John Bentley as Paste-Up Person

            Divina Cook as Sobbing Woman

            Michael Countryman as Emmett

            Julie Donatt as Kathy

            Gary Dourdan as Copy Guy

            Donna Hanover as Herself

            Jill Hennessy as Deanne White

            Jean Speegle Howard as Hospital Volunteer

            Rance Howard as Alicia's Doctor

            William Kunstler as Himself

            Bobo Lewis as Anna

            Kurt Loder as Himself

            Louisa Marie as Sentinel Receptionist

            Michael P. Moran as Chuck

            Harsh Nayyar as Attendant

            Joe Pentangelo as Arresting Officer

            James Ritz as A.C. Repairman

            Myra Taylor as Mother

            Victor Truro as Bernie's Doctor

            Joe Viviani as Max

            Miles Watson as A.C. Repairman

            Cedric Young as Martha's Paramedic

            Pete Hamill as Himself

            Jack O'Connell as Press Operator

            Richard Price as Himself

            Paul Geier as Doctor Porter

            Sally Jane Heit as Grace

            Herb Lovelle as Victor

            Jane Jenkins
            
            Janet Hirshenson
            
            Stephen Koepp as German Newsperson

            Siobhan Fallon as Lisa

            John Miller as Himself

            Jack A. O'Connell as Press Operator
See full cast