Various members of the cast and crew have admitted to receiving government-level "push back" to the film, both during filming and in post-production.
A year after Gary Webb passed away, journalist Nick Schou approached the Webb family to get their blessing on doing a book about Gary. Schou reflected: "I was shocked that no one else had already done it. I wrote the book because Gary's legacy hasn't been fully understood. When he died, the obituaries unfairly tagged him as a 'discredited reporter'. Schou added: "I can't remember how many rejection letters I got before Nation Books published 'Kill the Messenger', but I had this passion to get his story told and set the record straight."
Actor Jeremy Renner said: "The reaction to the 'Dark Alliance' series proved that Gary ['Gary Webb (II)] was doing something right. 'Ruffling feathers, that's good investigative journalism,' to quote Gary. But when the Mercury News wouldn't stand by him, that was the ultimate betrayal, crushing him. [For the Watergate investigations at The Washington Post in the 1970s], Ben Bradlee [Ben Bradlee] had Woodward [Bob Woodward] and Bernstein [Carl Bernstein]s' backs; Gary didn't have a Ben Bradlee. "Gary's life and his identity were very much tied to his work, and that being taken away from him was tragic."
Director Michael Cuesta commented: "Gary [Gary Webb, played in the film by Jeremy Renner] was like a Doberman. His scrappy, insistent way of getting at the facts, and his ardent belief in the public's right to know the truth, was paramount to him. He was a reporter of the people, of the proletariat. He had a pure sense of what truth and justice means. He was a real guy that liked punk bands and hockey. He was not afraid to go toe-to-toe with the bigwigs. We need guys like this, especially in today's labyrinth of media noise and reckless political media punditry."
Actor and producer Jeremy Renner remarked: "When my producing partner, Don Handfield, alerted me to this story, I knew I wanted to portray Gary [Gary Webb]. I started calling in, or just asking for, favors to help get this movie made. Gary's story needed to be told." Renner added: "Gary's journey was emotional, exciting, and relevant to us today, given how impacted we all are by surveillance and social media. Accountability in government and from our leaders only comes when an ethical, free press is engaged and energized. Gary did the right thing at great personal and professional cost, and his plight moved me."
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