The Insider (1999)

This is an okay movie based on true events. Dr. Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) was the top scientist at tobacco company Brown & Williamson before being fired over a disagreement with management. Veteran producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) wants to do an expose on tobacco for the television show 60 minutes and hopes the scientist can provide inside details. Wigand’s former employer suddenly starts to harass him by watching his house, leaving a bullet in his mailbox, and prank calling at night. CBS is worried that they will be sued if they broadcast the news story.

The full 60 Minutes episode was aired on February 4, 1996. The story was taken from the May 1996 Vanity Fair article "The Man Who Knew Too Much" written by Marie Brenner. Brown & Williamson merged with R.J. Reynolds in 2004 and they are now the second-largest American tobacco company (only behind Philip Morris). Crowe put on 35 pounds for the role. The actual courtroom in Pascagoula, Mississippi was shown. Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore portrayed himself in the film. The scene at the golf range is fictional.