‘Gaslit’ – Interview: – Movies To History.com

24 October, 2022 Siobhan Marie Day 0 Comments 2 categories

SCANDALOUS FRIENDS…

Julia Roberts and Sean Penn sit down with Good Morning America‘s George Stephanopoulos to discuss their new STARZ limited series, Gaslit. It’s the first time in both of their long careers and longer friendship that the two stars have shared the screen together. They play Martha Mitchell and John N. Mitchell, Martha was the most popular political figure of the Republican Party by 1970 due to her marriage to John, who was the attorney general for President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Martha was known as a flamboyant boisterous woman who loved to talk to the press and this would make her the most famous wife in Nixon‘s cabinet. Martha would go on to be the Watergate whistleblower, when alluding to the press that Richard Nixon had something to do with the break-in of Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Apartment Office Complex on June 17, 1972.

Julia Roberts and Sean Penn in their 'GMA' Interview with George Stephanopoulos promoting the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' where they star as Martha and John N. Mitchell, the wife and Nixon attorney general during the Watergate scandal. Photo Credit: Good Morning America/ABC Network

Genre: Political thriller, Created by Robbie Pickering, Based on "Slow Burn" by Leon Neyfakh, Directed by Matt Ross, Starring: Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Dan Stevens, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, Darby Camp, Composer Mac Quayle, Country of origin: United States, No. of episodes 8, Executive producers: Robbie Pickering, Matt Ross, Sam Esmail, Chad Hamilton, Julia Roberts, Gabriel Roth, Josh Levin, Producers: Caroline James, Gregg Tilson, with Cinematography by Larkin Seiple, Editor Joe Leonard, Production companies: Esmail Corp, Anonymous Content, Red Om Films, Slate, Universal Content Productions. Original Network: Starz (2022)

(L to R) Martha Mitchell and John N. Mitchel and Sean Penn as John N. Mitchell and Julia Roberts as Martha Mitchell from the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' and the GMA Interview with Julia Roberts and Sean Penn discussing the new series. Photo Credit: Good Morning America

Martha Mitchell, wife of Nixon's attorney General John Mitchell is shown smiling. Photo Credit: Getty Images

Exclaiming she never gives sidewalk interviews, Martha Mitchell, wife of then-U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell, on her way to give sworn testimony about what she knew concerning the Watergate case, 1973. Photo Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Attorney General John Mitchell is shown speaking into a microphone in this closeup photo. Photo Credit: Getty Images

President Nixon and Attorney General John Mitchell. Photo Credit: © Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

Exterior view of the Watergate office-apartment-hotel complex, scene of what became known as the Watergate scandal, in Washington DC, 2nd May 1973. The Watergate scandal saw five men arrested for breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), photographing documents and bugging the phones; the scandal led to the resignation of President Nixon. Photo Credit: Consolidated News Pictures/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Police and telephone men check out the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington Saturday after five men were arrested during a break-in attempt. Authorities called it an elaborate plot to bug the office and said the men had photographic equipment and electronic listening devices. Watergate break-in. Photo Credit: Ken Feil/The Washington Post via Getty Images

During their trial at a district court, the defendants charged with breaking into the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex stand outside with their attorney. From left to right: Virgilio Gonzales, Frank Sturgis, attorney Henry Rothblatt, Bernard Barker, and Eugenio Martinez. Photo Credit: © Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

JULIA ROBERTS DISCUSSES MARTHA MITCHELL…

Stephanopoulos asks Roberts if she knew who Martha was before she decided to play her and if she was familiar with her story surrounding the Watergate scandal. When Roberts confesses that she didn’t know much about her or her involvement in the Watergate scandal, they both found it amazing because she was one of the most popular figures of that time politically, she was even requested more than Nixon to appear at Republican speaking engagements and appeared on the covers of LIFE Magazine, TIME Magazine, and People Magazine by the end of 1974. when watching the interview you can see those issues of the publications featuring Martha Mitchell on the cover on display on the table in front of Roberts, Penn and Stephanopoulos.

'GMA' Interview with George Stephanopoulos promoting the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' where they star as Martha and John N. Mitchell, the wife and Nixon attorney general during the Watergate scandal. Photo Credit: Good Morning America/ABC Network

Julia Roberts in 'GMA' Interview with George Stephanopoulos promoting the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' where they star as Martha and John N. Mitchell, the wife and Nixon attorney general during the Watergate scandal. Photo Credit: Good Morning America/ABC Network

Julia Roberts as Martha Mitchell in a scene from 'Gaslit' during a 'GMA' Interview with George Stephanopoulos promoting the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' where they star as Martha and John N. Mitchell, the wife and Nixon attorney general during the Watergate scandal. Photo Credit: Good Morning America/ABC Network

Julia Roberts as Martha Mitchell in the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' (2022) Photo Credit: STARZ

President Richard Nixon, claiming he was misled by his staff, has assumes "full responsibility" for the Watergate bugging and indicated a special prosecutor may be named to investigate the worst crisis of his presidency. Six top administration officials have resigned as a consequence of the case. Attorney General Richard G.Kleindienst and top White House aides H.R.Haldeman, John D.Ehrlichman and John W.Dean III all resigned April 30. Last week, L.Patrick Gray III, acting director of the F.B.I., and Jeb Stuart Magruder, a former Haldeman aide, also resigned. Photo Credit: AFP

Martha Mitchell on the cover of LIFE Magazine in October 1970. Photo Credit: LIFE

Martha Mitchell on the cover of 'Time' Magazine in November 1970. Photo Credit: TIME

Martha Mitchell on the cover of PEOPLE Magazine on March 11, 1974.

Photo Credit: LIFE

WHY START NOW…?

Stephanopoulos then asked both Roberts and Penn why they waited for so long to act on screen together and they both laugh not really knowing why but were just glad to have finally been given the opportunity to be on screen together in Gaslit. Stephanopoulos then asks Roberts what made her think he was the best actor for the role considering how much he doesn’t look like John N. Mitchell. Roberts explained that she just read the script and thought of Sean in the role because when she thinks of him acting, she can think of him in any role because he’s so phenomenal at it. George Stephanopoulos then asked Penn if he remembered the Watergate Hearings from when he was a kid and what he thought about playing John N. Mitchell.

Julia Roberts as Martha Mitchell and Sean Penn as John N. Mitchell in the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' (2022) Photo Credit: STARZ

John N. Mitchell from the 'GMA' Interview with George Stephanopoulos promoting the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' where they star as Martha and John N. Mitchell, the wife and Nixon attorney general during the Watergate scandal.

Photo Credit: Good Morning America/ABC Network

Sean Penn as John N. Mitchell in a scene from 'Gaslit' during a 'GMA' Interview with George Stephanopoulos promoting the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' where they star as Martha and John N. Mitchell, the wife and Nixon attorney general during the Watergate scandal.

Photo Credit: Good Morning America/ABC Network

Watergate Hearings footage from the 'GMA' Interview with George Stephanopoulos promoting the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' where they star as Martha and John N. Mitchell, the wife and Nixon attorney general during the Watergate scandal.

Photo Credit: Good Morning America/ABC Network

THE BEST IS YET TO COME…

Stephanopoulos then discussed with Roberts and Penn their ability to take the conservative couple of the Republican Party and made them sexy on screen and showed how much Martha and John loved each other as well as how much their marriage was affected by the Watergate scandal due to their powerful scenes together that shows the deterioration of the marriage over time. Stephanopoulos then asked the two friends if they plan to work together again in the future and both Roberts and Penn say they plan to and have already discussed what kind of work they see themselves doing in the future. Stephanopoulos says that he hopes they do based on their amazing performances together in the great limited series, Gaslit.

(L to R) Sean Penn as John N. Mitchell and Julia Roberts as Martha Mitchell from the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' and the GMA Interview with Julia Roberts and Sean Penn discussing the new series. Photo Credit: Good Morning America

John and Martha Mitchell arrive at the White House for Tricia Nixon's wedding on June 12, 1971 in Washington, D.C. Photo Credit: Matthew Lewis/The Washington Post via Getty Images

This file photo shows the Watergate complex in Washington, DC, as seen in this 1972 courtroom evidence photo that was used 30 years ago to illustrate the proximity of the Howard Johnson Hotel(lower left) and the Watergate(R). Burgulars used ease dropping bugs to listen in on the Democratic National Committee with offices in the Watergate setting up shop in the nearby Howard Johnson Hotel, and were caught in the act with the scandal leading up to the resignation of then US President Richard Nixon. Photo Credit: AFP

A historical marker stands outside the parking garage underneath the Oakhill Office Building, where Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward would meet his source -- known as 'Deep Throat' -- to exchange notes about the Watergate scandal, July 23, 2021 in Rosslyn, Virginia. The aging garage and the building, constructed in 1966, are slated to be torn down and redeveloped as part of the Realize Rosslyn Sector Plan. The location of the clandestine meetings between Woodward and then-FBI Associate Director Mark Felt in 1972 and 1973 were kept secret until Felt came forward and revealed himself to be Deep Throat in 2005. Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A visitor attends a new permanent exhibition on Watergate on March 31, 2011 at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California, aiming to give a more balanced view of the infamous scandal. The Watergate Gallery -- which replaces a previous version criticized as a whitewash for Nixon -- aims to help "make sense of the web of personalities, actions and intentions at the heart of the Watergate scandal," said organizers. Photo Credit: Gabriel Bouys/AFP

View of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, which will discuss on the impeachment proceedings as part of the Watergate scandal,on May 14, 1974, in the Rayburn House Office Building, in Washington. - A burglary inside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex in Washington in June 1972 grew into a wide-ranging political scandal that culminated in the resignation of President Richard Nixon two years later, in August 1974. Two young reporters on The Washington Post's staff, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, using a secret source known as "Deep Throat", revealed the affair. Some high officials at the White House were directly involved in the investigation. Photo Credit: Consolidated News Pictures / AFP

Sean Penn as John N. Mitchell and Julia Roberts as Martha Mitchell in the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' (2022) Photo Credit: STARZ

John N. Mitchell resigned June 1 as President Nixon's re-election campaign director in order that he could devote more time to his wife and family. The resignation came just a week after the volatile wife of the former attorney general said she would leave him unless he quit politics. The Mitchells are shown together in this '71 file photo. Photographer: David Hume Kennerly for UPI. Photo Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Attorney General John Mitchell, his wife Martha, and daughter Marti at home. Photo Credit: © Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

Sean Penn and Julia Roberts attend the GASLIT World Premiere on April 18, 2022 in New York City. Photo Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for STARZ

Julia Roberts attends the GASLIT World Premiere on April 18, 2022, in New York City. Photo Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for STARZ

Sean Penn attends the New York premiere of "Gaslit" at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art on April 18, 2022 in New York City. Photo Credit: Angela Weiss / AFP

Sean Penn as John N. Mitchell in the STARZ limited series, 'Gaslit' (2022) Photo Credit: STARZ

You can watch the GMA Interview with Julia Roberts and Sean Penn in its entirety here:

AND THEN THERE WAS MORE…

If your curious to know more about Martha Mitchell before you watch the STARZ limited series, Gaslit, then you might want to watch the documentary, The Martha Mitchell Effect. It is an American Netflix original documentary film directed by Anne Alvergue and Debra McClutchy and was released on the fiftieth anniversary of the Watergate scandal break-in, June 17, 2022. Told through archival footage, the story is centered around Watergate whistleblower Martha Mitchell, the cabinet wife of President Richard Nixon‘s attorney general, John N. Mitchell, who was gaslit by the Nixon administration in an attempt to keep her quiet. That attempt included holding her against her will in a hotel room in Newport Beach, California on the night of the Watergate break-in. The 40 minute documentary is available now on Netflix.

Mrs. Martha Mitchell is shown at her home during an interview. The wife of Attorney General John Mitchell, she is shown in head and shoulders shots and seated at a piano. Photo Credit: Getty Images

The directors of 'The Martha Mitchell Effect,' Anne Alvergue, and Debra McClutchy. Photo Credit: Netflix

Marking the 30th anniversary of the break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate Office Building in Washington, 17 June 1972, the US National Archives opened up and displayed some of the police evidence 13 June 2002 that has been sealed in archival warehouses for almost 30 years. To the rear are arrest photo enlargements of the 4 Cubans from Miami, Valdez Martinez(L),Virgilio Gonzalez(2L), Bernard Barker, and Frank Sturgis(R) who committed the break-in and in the forground is some equipment used in one of the most famous burglaries in political history. Photo Credit: Paul J. RICHARDS / AFP

The door used to break into Suite 600 of the Watergate Hotel and Office Building in 1972 is seen from the stairwell in Washington Friday, February 19, 2016. Sage Publications in the 6th floor's new tenant. Photo Credit: J. Lawler Duggan/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Main Glass Entrance Door, Watergate hotel, Washington 1974 . Photo Credit: Evelyn Hofer/Getty Images

USA - 1997: Image of former President Richard Nixon, with headline "Watergate." Photo Credit: Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Washington, D.C.: Nixon said he wants his next Supreme Court nominee to be from outside the South because he feels the Senate will not accept a conservative Southerner. He said he has told Attorney General John N. Mitchell (left) to recommend someone from outside the South for his third nominee for a vacant seat on the court. Photo Credit: Getty Images

President Nixon points to his signature on legislation be signed at the White House setting up a council to formulate a national campaign against organized crime. In background are FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, (left), one of those named to the council, and Representative Emanuel Cellar, D.-N.Y., Chairman of House of Judiciary Committee. Photo Credit: AFP

Head shot of Martha Mitchell. Photo Credit: UPI Color/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

The Mitchell's Newport Beach, California hotel, where Martha Mitchell alleged she ws kidnapped and held against her will the night of the Watergate break-in. Photo Credit: Getty Images

You can watch the 2022 Official Trailer for The Martha Mitchell Effect here:

All 8 episodes of Gaslit are available through you local cable provider ON DEMAND now on the STARZ channel or through the STARZ app.