Hollywoodland (2006)

Hollywoodland is a 2006 American mystery drama film directed by Allen Coulter and written by Paul Bernbaum. The story presents a fictionalized account of the circumstances surrounding the death of actor George Reeves (Ben Affleck), the star of the 1950s film Superman and the Mole Men and the television series Adventures of Superman. Adrien Brody stars as a fictional character, Louis Simo, a private detective investigating Toni Mannix (Diane Lane); who was involved in a long romantic relationship with Reeves and was the wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins). Reeves had ended the affair and had become engaged to a younger woman, aspiring actress Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney).

Development for Hollywoodland began in 2001 when Focus Features purchased Bernbaum's script, titled Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Michael and Mark Polish were set to direct with Benicio del Toro in the lead role, but Focus Features placed the film in turnaround to Miramax Films the following year. Ultimately, Truth, Justice, and the American Way became a joint production between the two studios, and filming commenced in May 2005, with veteran television director Coulter making his feature film directorial debut. Due to copyright issues with Warner Bros. and DC Comics, the film was retitled Hollywoodland and released to generally positive reviews with high praise for Affleck's performance.