Plot.
Poster of Being There

Being There

1979 · Film · 130 min

  • Comedy
  • Drama

Plot

A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television.

About Being There

Being There is a 1979 American satirical comedy-drama film starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Hal Ashby, it is based on the 1970 novel Being There by Jerzy Kosiński, and adapted for the screen by Kosiński and the uncredited Robert C. Jones. Jack Warden, Richard Dysart, and Richard Basehart are featured in support. The film concerns a simple-minded and heavily sheltered gardener who explores the outside world after the death of his wealthy employer and is mistaken for a brilliant political pundit. Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Sellers was nominated for Best Actor. The screenplay won the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay. In 2015, the Library of Congress selected Being There for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Since release, it has developed a strong cult following and is a favorite among many filmmakers.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cast

  • Peter SellersChance
  • Shirley MacLaineEve Rand
  • Melvyn DouglasBenjamin Rand
  • Jack WardenPresident 'Bobby'
  • Richard DysartDr. Robert Allenby
  • Richard BasehartVladimir Skrapinov
  • Ruth AttawayLouise
  • David ClennonThomas Franklin
Images