Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke led a star-studded live reading of the 1976 film All the President's Men at Hollywood's Harmony Gold Theater, highlighting the enduring relevance of journalism amid current media challenges. The event, a benefit for the Stella Adler Academy of Acting, featured a cast including Don Cheadle and Laurence Fishburne, followed by a panel discussion on the script's ties to today's political landscape. Participants emphasized the story's resonance in an era of media consolidation and attacks on reporters.
The live reading took place on a Friday night in January 2026 at the Harmony Gold Theater in Hollywood, drawing a sold-out audience for a benefit organized by Mark Ruffalo to honor the Stella Adler Academy of Acting. Ruffalo portrayed Bob Woodward, with Ethan Hawke as Carl Bernstein, joined by a nearly 20-person cast that included Don Cheadle as Ben Bradlee, Laurence Fishburne as Deep Throat, and others such as Spencer Garrett, Rob Morrow, Amy Brenneman, Tom Pelphrey, Kaley Cuoco, and Missy Yager.
Prior to the performance, the cast held a single rehearsal. Ruffalo addressed the group, stating, “One thing about Stella (Adler) that we all know is her hunt for the truth. We’re telling the story of the journalists finding the story. Obviously, (journalism) is under attack today. CBS has fallen. Newsrooms are being gobbled up by conglomerates.” Hawke praised Ruffalo's initiative, calling him “a hustler. He’s a do-gooder,” and noted the event's timeliness: “It’s amazing how the sense of shame the country used to possess over the kind of lies and deceit that don’t seem to create a scandal anymore.”
Fishburne, who received the call to participate on Monday, admitted he had never seen the film before, having been busy with Apocalypse Now during its release. After reviewing it, he declared it “a perfect movie” and relevant to the “dangerous and trepidatious” conditions for journalists today.
The audience responded boisterously to the reading, which drew from multiple drafts of William Goldman's screenplay. A subsequent panel, moderated by journalist Elsa Walsh—wife of Bob Woodward—featured reflections on the material's appeal. Walsh observed the Los Angeles crowd found it funnier than the more solemn East Hampton audience in August 2025. Ruffalo explained the draw for actors: “Journalists are our modern heroes... As actors, this turns us on. This is as close to what we do as you can get.”
Christian Williams, a former Washington Post style editor, compared the film to Casablanca for distilling complex events into accessible narratives. Ruffalo highlighted broader concerns, including journalist deaths in Gaza, media buyouts, and consolidation affecting content, underscoring the event's role in celebrating the symbiosis between journalism and filmmaking.
