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What Just Happened

2008 · 104 min

A wry, inside-Hollywood look at a producer's chaotic week, mixing cynical laughs with midlife melancholy.

Directed by
Barry Levinson
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Tagline
Admit nothing.
Overview
During the course of an ordinary week in Hollywood, movie producer Ben must navigate his way through shark-infested waters as he struggles to complete his latest projects. A demanding studio boss demands extensive changes to a movie starring Sean Penn, while another chief won't greenlight a project unless star Bruce Willis shaves his beard. Meanwhile, Ben tries to reconcile with his wife and maintain a relationship with his young daughter.

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Directed by
Barry Levinson
Genres
Comedy, Drama
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • satiricalstrength 3 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • absurdstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • work
  • ambition
  • betrayal
  • family
  • identity
Places
  • big city
  • workplace
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language strong
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror0
Humour7
Realism8
Romance3
Tension5
Darkness5
Complexity6
Emotional weight5

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Cast

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Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy, drama
Directed by
Barry Levinson
Written by
Art Linson
Starring
Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Bruce Willis, Robin Wright, Stanley Tucci, John Turturro, Kristen Stewart, Lily Rabe
Music
Marcelo Zarvos
Cinematography
Stéphane Fontaine
Runtime
104 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
French, English, Hebrew

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