The Special Relationship is a 2010 biographical drama television film directed by Richard Loncraine and written by Peter Morgan. It is the third film in Morgan's informal "Blair trilogy", which dramatizes the political career of British prime minister Tony Blair (1997–2007), following The Deal (2003) and The Queen (2006), both directed by Stephen Frears.
The first drafts of The Special Relationship dealt with Blair's special relationships with U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. However, Morgan excluded the Bush scenes from subsequent drafts (thus ending the narrative on 20 January 2001) because he found the Blair/Clinton dynamic more interesting. Morgan intended to make his directorial debut with the film but backed out a month before filming began and was replaced by Loncraine. The film was produced by Rainmark Films and backed by HBO Films and BBC Films.
The film stars Michael Sheen reprising his role as Blair, Dennis Quaid as Clinton, Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton, and Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair. Principal photography on locations in and around London, England ran from 20 July – 4 September 2009. The film was broadcast on HBO in the United States and Canada on 29 May 2010,Blair and Clinton: The HBO Movie. Wall Street Journal. Updated 28 May 2010. Retrieved on 20 December 2015. and on BBC Two and BBC HD in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2010.
Premise The film is set between the years of 1997 and 2001 and depicts the UK–US Special Relationship between Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bill Clinton. Executive producer Christine Langan said of the plot, "The film's time frame goes from 1994, when New Labour was taking lessons from Clinton's people, to 1998 and the end of the Kosovo War. It focuses on the international activities of Blair as prime minister and what he learns from his American ally. They're brothers in arms, but Clinton is weakened by the Lewinsky scandal in the middle of it all, while Blair strengthens his position, moving from being something of an acolyte to equal to moral superior, post-Kosovo."Langan, Christine (14 February 2010). "My week: Christine Langan". The Observer (Guardian News & Media): p. 49.
Cast Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Sheen previously played Blair in Peter Morgan's The Deal and The Queen. Critics noted that his portrayal in The Queen was much more sympathetic than in The Deal, which Morgan attributed to Blair being in a "honeymoon" period after his appointment as prime minister in May 1997. Sheen felt a greater scope to play Blair in this film compared to the previous two; "This was interesting because it covers a much bigger period of time for the character. It allowed me to explore things I wasn't able to explore in the other films and take things further. I just found it a very fascinating story how this man changed with time and how he developed and how he became the man making the choices he eventually made that turned a lot of people against him."Lee, Luane (17 May 2010). "Michael Sheen takes on Tony Blair for the third time". McClatchy-Tribune News Service (published on KansasCity.com). Retrieved on 18 May 2010. Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton, President of the United States. To match Clinton's physique, Quaid gained in weight by eating McDonald's food every day—which he described as being like "a baby on a feeding schedule"Jenel Smith, Stacy (12 May 2010). "Dennis Quaid Spills Secrets of How He Put on Bill Clinton Pounds". PopEater.com. Retrieved on 12 May 2010.—and had his eyebrows trimmed and his hair grayed. He worked on adopting Clinton's accent, and fell into character once he wore a suit and "Clinton wig". Quaid met Clinton in the late 1990s when he spent a weekend at the White House. He previously played a President of the United States (albeit fictional) in the film American Dreamz, whom he based on George W. Bush.Tschiedert, Markus (11 September 2009). "Dennis Quaid (55): "Ich bin so dankbar, heute noch im Geschäft zu sein"" (in German). Presse Portal. Retrieved on 12 September 2009. Russell Crowe, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin and Tim Robbins were also considered to play the role. Screenwriter Morgan thought Vince Vaughn would have been a good choice if the film was being made ten years later. Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton, First Lady of the United States. Davis began filming her scenes at the beginning of August.Sperling, Nicole (9 July 2009). "Hope Davis talks about gearing up to play Hillary Clinton ". EW.com. Retrieved on 14 July 2009. She prepared for the role by listening to audio tapes of Clinton and reading books about her. She also watched video clips of her on YouTube and tried to "get the flavor of her speech across" without directly imitating her accent. Davis told The New York Times, "...she's hard to imitate. Her accent has changed a bit over the years. In 1992, when she became first lady, she had quite a bit of Arkansas still in her speech from her 13 years there. That's really gone now. So her accent has kind of shifted over time but she's lived in very different places."Iztkoff, Dave (27 August 2009). "Being Hillary Rodham Clinton". ArtsBeat (The New York Times Company). Retrieved on 27 August 2009. To accurately portray Clinton's appearance, Davis was fitted with a wig, false teeth and wore specially tailored brightly colored pantsuits. Quaid predicted that Davis would receive a lot of attention for her portrayal: "She really looks like Hillary with the puffed up hair and some hip additives". Julianne Moore was originally cast in the role, but was forced to quit less than two weeks before principal photography began, due to commitments to the film The Kids Are All Right.Andreeva, Nellie (8 July 2009). "Hope Davis to play Hillary Clinton" (subscription access). The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media). Retrieved on 8 July 2009. Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair. McCrory reprises her role as Blair's wife from The Queen. When playing Cherie in The Queen, McCrory found there was little information about her because as Tony Blair was prime minister, Cherie did not give interviews or make herself public. Since 2006, Cherie's autobiography has been published, meaning McCrory did not have to rely on hearsay to learn about her.Randall, Lee (11 July 2009). "The Lee Randall Interview: Helen McCrory, actress". The Scotsman (The Scotsman Publications): p. 10. McCrory had already briefly met Cherie. Her husband Damian Lewis recommended that she should meet her again to research the role, but McCrory decided not to, telling The Sunday Times, "The problem is, if you've met somebody, you have a responsibility to them. I don't think it's fair to ask her about Stormont, or Kosovo, or Matrix Chambers... then it not be in the film. At the end of the day, it's not my Cherie Blair, it's Peter Morgan's Cherie Blair."White, Lesley (12 July 2009). "Cheeky girl". The Sunday Times Magazine (Times Newspapers): pp. 6–8.
Adam Godley plays Jonathan Powell, Blair's chief of staff, who plays a role in the Northern Ireland peace process endorsed by Blair and Clinton. Ten-year-old actor Max Cottage portrays the Blairs' eldest son Euan.Archard, Michael (3 August 2009). "Ten-year-old cast as Tony Blair's son in new film". Echo (Essex: Newsquest). President of France Jacques Chirac (1995–2007) is portrayed by Marc Rioufol. The producers were having difficulty casting the part in March. Mark Bazeley reprises his role of Blair's spin doctor Alastair Campbell from The Queen, and background actor Chris Wilson portrays Blair's chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown. David Morrissey, who played Brown in The Deal, was asked to reprise the role, but declined because Brown appears in only one scene.Staff (4 March 2010). "David Morrissey: Actor-turned-director finds time to help make world a better place". Express.co.uk (Express Newspapers). Retrieved on 10 July 2010. Instead of the producers casting an actress to play Monica Lewinsky, archive footage is used.
Production Peter Morgan's first production featuring Michael Sheen as Tony Blair was the Channel 4 single drama The Deal (2003), which dramatized the rise of Gordon Brown (David Morrissey) and Blair when they were new Members of Parliament. The drama depicted their rise in the Labour Party culminating in the 1994 leadership election. The Deals critical success led to a theatrical film, The Queen (2006), about the impact of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales on senior members of the Royal Family and Prime Minister Tony Blair. The film featured Sheen as Blair in a supporting role, in what critics noted was a more subdued portrayal than in The Deal.Thompson, Anne (15 December 2008). "Peter Morgan retackles Tony Blair" (subscription access). Variety.com (Reed Business Information). Retrieved on 25 March 2009.Harries, Andy. Interview with John Mair (25 April 2007). Coventry Conversations. Coventry University Podcasting Service. Retrieved on 2 March 2008. Before Morgan began writing the script for The Special Relationship in late 2007, there was speculation that the film would be produced by Left Bank Pictures and BBC Films, where the Deal and Queen producers Andy Harries and Christine Langan were based; Langan told guardian.co.uk in October 2007 that Morgan had "promised" the script to her and Harries, though no contracts had been signed.Dowell, Ben (2 October 2007). "BBC Films to be restructured". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved on 16 December 2008.
Three films about Blair had been planned since The Deal.Dawtrey, Adam (1 October 2007). "Morgan prepares 'Queen' sequel" (subscription access). Variety.com (Reed Business Information). Retrieved on 25 March 2009. Morgan had considered writing a film about Blair during the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq as the subject matter for both the second and third film. He eventually decided to do a film about the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, specifically Blair's differing relationship with Clinton and George W. Bush. Harries said that Morgan believed the transition from Clinton's to Bush's presidency was a "pivotal moment" in the special relationship. Morgan decided to narrow down the scope of the film to just Blair and Clinton, since he believed people tended to have forgotten about the state of politics prior to the September 11 attacks, a time that was "really, really interesting".Fitzherbert, Henry (22 March 2009). "I captured Clough's soul...". Sunday Express (Express Newspapers): pp. 40–41. Langan believed that Morgan found Clinton to be "a more interesting study than Bush" and that New Labour aped the Clinton administration at its inception.Jones, Sam (26 March 2009). "Tony Blair biopic: Screenwriter of The Deal and The Queen lines up final instalment". The Guardian (Guardian News & Media): p. 13. Morgan began his research into the Blair/Clinton relationship after learning that the two had been alone together when Al Gore conceded defeat after the 2000 presidential election. His research took him to Washington, D.C., where he interviewed members of Clinton's cabinet, and Clinton's hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.Goldstein, Patrick (25 July 2008). "Peter Morgan has a bigger deal in mind". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company): p. E1.