Silkwood is a 1983 American biographical drama film directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, and Cher. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was adapted from the book Who Killed Karen Silkwood? by Rolling Stone writer and activist Howard Kohn, which detailed the life of Karen Silkwood, a nuclear whistle-blower and a labor union activist who investigated alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she worked. In real life, her death in a car crash gave rise to a 1979 lawsuit, Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, led by attorney Gerry Spence. The jury rendered its verdict of $10 million in damages to be paid to the Silkwood estate (her children), the largest amount in damages ever awarded for that kind of case at the time. The Silkwood estate eventually settled for $1.3 million. The development of Silkwood spanned nine years, with the project originating with Warner Bros., who intended to cast Jane Fonda as Silkwood. Warner Bros. ultimately abandoned the project after producer Buzz Hirsch was subpoenaed by an Oklahoma City judge to disclose all of the film's research materials, an effort that was overruled by a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. The project was later acquired by ABC Motion Pictures, with Nichols directing and Streep cast in the title role. Silkwood was shot largely in New Mexico and Texas on a budget of $10 million. Factual accuracy was maintained throughout the script. One scene in particular involved Silkwood activating a radiation alarm at the plant; Silkwood herself had forty times the legal limit of radioactive contamination in her system. Streep had just finished filming Sophie's Choice (1982) when production began. The film marked a departure for some of its stars: it is noted for being one of the first serious works of Cher, who had been previously known mostly for her singing, and for Russell, who was at the time widely known for his work in the action genre. Silkwood was released by 20th Century Fox on December 14, 1983. The film received positive reviews and was a box office success, with particular attention focused on Nichols' direction and Streep's performance. At the 56th Academy Awards, Silkwood received five nominations in total, including Streep for Best Actress, Cher for Best Supporting Actress and Nichols for Best Director.
Plot In 1972, Karen Silkwood, a worker at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site (near Crescent, Oklahoma), shares a ramshackle house with two co-workers, her boyfriend Drew Stephens and her lesbian friend Dolly Pelliker. She makes MOX fuel rods for nuclear reactors, where she deals with the threat of exposure to radiation. She has become a union activist, concerned that corporate practices may adversely affect the health of workers. She is also engaged in a conflict with her former common-law husband in an effort to have more time with their three children. Because the plant has ostensibly fallen behind on a major contract – fabricating MOX fuel rods for a breeder reactor at the Hanford Site in Washington state – employees are required to work long hours and weekends of overtime. She believes that managers are falsifying safety reports and cutting corners wherever possible, risking the welfare of the personnel. Karen approaches the union with her concerns and becomes active in lobbying for safeguards. She travels to Washington, D.C. to testify before the Atomic Energy Commission. When Silkwood and other workers become contaminated by radiation, plant officials try to blame her for the incident. When she sees weld sample radiographies of fuel rods being retouched to hide shoddy work, and that records of inadequate safety measures had been altered, she decides to investigate further herself. Complications arise in her personal life when Angela, a funeral parlour beautician, joins the household as Dolly's lover. Unable to deal with Silkwood's obsession with gathering evidence, and suspecting her of infidelities, Drew moves out. On November 13, 1974, once she feels she has gathered sufficient documentation, Silkwood contacts a journalist from The New York Times and arranges a nighttime meeting. She first attends a union meeting, carrying documentation of her findings on her way to meet with the journalist. En route, she sees approaching headlights in her rear-view mirror, which draw so close that they distract and blind her, preventing her from seeing the road ahead, leading to her fatal one-car crash. No documents are found in the wreckage of her car.
Cast
Production
Development Development of a film adaptation of Karen Silkwood's life spanned approximately nine years before the film began production. Executive producers Buzz Hirsch and Larry Cano, while both graduate students at the University of California, Los Angeles, became fascinated by Silkwood's story and sought to bring it to the screen. Within a year of graduating, Hirsch and Cano began developing the project. Warner Bros. initially expressed interest in producing the film with Jane Fonda portraying Silkwood, but the project dissipated after the Silkwood estate filed a lawsuit against Kerr-McGee, Silkwood's former employer. Kerr-McGee subsequently subpoenaed Hirsch to appear at a deposition in Oklahoma City, requesting that he produce all of the audition tapes, script notes, and other research materials for the studio's planned film adaptation. Federal Judge Luther Eubanks ruled in Kerr-McGee's favor, requiring that Hirsch disclose all research materials acquired for the film. In June 1977, a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado, agreed to hear Hirsch's appeal of Eubanks' ruling, with the Writers Guild of America West voting to lend legal assistance to Hirsch in the process, declaring they would file an amicus curiae, "arguing that Hirsch has a First Amendment right to shield his film materials from subpoena." In September that year, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Eubanks' ruling, ordering additional proceedings in Oklahoma City. In the fall of 1980, ABC Motion Pictures began revamping Hirsch's original project with Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen writing the screenplay. Producer Frank Yablans, though not credited on the film, was involved in the project's development and was approached by director Mike Nichols, who was hired to direct.
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