Being There (1979)
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
- Director(s):
- Hal Ashby
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG
- Format(s):
- DVD
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Blu-ray
| Digital SD
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Synopsis of Being There
Having lived his life as the gardener on a millionaire's estate, Chance (Peter Sellers) knows of the real world only what he has seen on TV. When his benefactor dies, Chance walks aimlessly into the streets of Washington D.C., where he is struck by a car owned by wealthy Eve Rand (Shirley MacLaine). Identifying himself, the confused man mutters "Chance...gardener," which Eve takes to be "Chauncey Gardiner." Eve takes him to her home to convalesce, and because Chance is so well-dressed and well-groomed, and because he speaks in such a cultured tone, everyone in her orbit assumes that "Chauncey Gardiner" must be a man of profound intelligence. No matter what he says, it is interpreted as a pearl of wisdom and insight. He rises to the top of Washington society, where his simplistic responses to the most difficult questions (responses usually related to his gardening experience) are highly prized by the town's movers and shakers. In fact, there is serious consideration given to running Chance as a presidential candidate. Both a modern fable and a political satire, Being There was based on the novel by Jerzy Kosinski and costars Melvyn Douglas, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as Eve's aging power-broker husband. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 130 mins
Complete Cast of Being There
- Peter Sellers - Chance the Gardener
- Melvyn Douglas - Benjamin Rand
- Richard Basehart - Vladimir Skrapinov
- Ruth Attaway - Louise
- Fran Brill - Sally Hayes
- Sam Weisman - Colson
- Mark Hammer - Pallbearer
- John Miller - Ron Steigler
- Katherine de Hetre - Kinney, News Researcher
- Austin Hay - Pallbearer
- Melendy Britt - Sophie
- Jerome Hellman - Gary Burns
- Danna Hansen - Mrs. Slipshod
- Kenneth Patterson - Perkins
- Alice Hirson - First Lady
- Georgine Hall - Mrs. Aubrey
- Oteil Burbridge - Lolo
- Ravenell Keller III - Abbaz
- Ernest McClure - Jeffery
- Arthur Rosenberg - Morton Hull
- Elya Baskin - Karpatov
- Mitch Kreindel - Dennis Watson
- Gwen Humble - TV Guest
- Shirley MacLaine - Eve Rand
- Jack Warden - President Bobby
- Richard Dysart - Dr. Robert Allenby
- David Clennon - Thomas Franklin
- Denise DuBarry - Johanna Franklin
- Donald Jacob - David, chauffeur
- William Larsen - Lyman Stuart
- Fredric Lehne - TV Page
- Paul Marin - Reporter
- Allen Williams - Reporter
- Alfredine Brown - Old Woman
- Richard Venture - Wilson
- Than Wyenn - Ambassador Gaufridi
- James Noble - Kaufman, Presidential Advisor
- Hanna Hertelendy - Natasha Skrapinov
- Maurice Copeland - Pallbearer
- Terrence Currier - Pallbearer
- John Harkins - Courtney
- Stanley Grover - Baldwin
- Sandy Ward - Sen. Slipshod
- Ned Wilson - Honeycutt
- Arthur Grundy - Arthur
- Brian Corrigan - Policeman
- Director(s):
- Hal Ashby
- Writer(s):
- Robert Jones, Jerzy Kosinski
- Producer(s):
- Jack Schwartzman, Andrew Braunsberg, Charles B. Mulvehill
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG(Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Humor)
- Categories:
- Comedy
- 1980 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Screenplay
- 1979 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
- 1979 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
- 1979 - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Best Supporting Actor
- 1979 - National Board of Review - Best Actor
- 1979 - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Supporting Actor
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