Chappaquiddick
Chappaquiddick, sometimes known as The Senator, is a 2017 American political drama film directed by John Curran, and written by Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan. The film stars Jason Clarke as U.S. Senator from Massachusetts Ted Kennedy and Kate Mara as Mary Jo Kopechne, with Ed Helms, Bruce Dern, Jim Gaffigan, Clancy Brown, and Olivia Thirlby in supporting roles. The plot details the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident, in which Kennedy's negligence caused an automobile accident which resulted in the death of his 28-year-old passenger Mary Jo Kopechne trapped inside the vehicle, and the Kennedy family's response.
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| Music by | Garth Stevenson
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| Edited by | Keith Fraase
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| Production company | Apex Entertainment |
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| Running time | 101 minutes
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| Country | United States
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| Language | English
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| Budget | $34 million
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| Box office | $18 million
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- The "Kennedy curse" refers to the various tragic events and deaths that have the Kennedy family throughout the years: Rosemary's botched brain surgery (lobotomy) in 1941, Joe Kennedy Jr.'s 1944 sudden death (plane crash), Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy's death in 1948 (plane crash), JFK and Jackie's loss of their infant son in 1963, the assassination of JFK in 1963, a plane in 1964 carrying Ted Kennedy and others that crashed killing the pilot and an aide, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in 1968, Ted Kennedy being charged with leaving the scene at Chappaquidick in 1969, Ted Kennedy's son, Ted Jr., losing his leg in 1973, RFK's nephew Michael Skakel being charged with murder in 1975 (litigation pending), RFK's son David's death in 1984 (drug overdose), William Kennedy Smith's attempted rape charge in 1991 (he was acquitted), another RFK son Michael's death in 1997 (ski accident), and the deaths of John Kennedy Jr., his wife, and his sister-in-law in 1999 (plane crash).
- The bridge where they were driving on was the Dike Bridge on the eastern part of the island, that connects the main part of Chappaquiddick with a strip of beach that runs north/south. While there are some homes along that eastern strip of beach on the north end, the party was not at one of them. The mystery of why they were driving on Dike Bridge has never been answered.
- Though not mentioned in the movie, three other men were at the cottage with Ted Kennedy, Joseph Gargan, and Paul F. Markham. They were Charles Tretter, Raymond La Rosa, and John Crimmins.
- In the film, Kennedy is rowed across the Katama Bay Channel to Edgartown after the accident. Kennedy testified that he swam the 500 feet. How Kennedy returned to the mainland is one of the many inconsistencies with the events of that night. Columnist Jack Anderson reported a month after the incident that Kennedy was taken to shore by boat, as shown in the film.
- Joseph P. Kennedy was a 1½ months shy of his 81st birthday at the time of the incident. Usually a younger actor with makeup to look older is used to portray an older character. In this case, it was just the opposite. (link-nm0001136) was 91 portraying someone 10 years younger.
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