Häufig gestellte Fragen (FAQ) for
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Actually he got paid $3, one dollar each for writing, directing, and acting. He received a more substantial amount by taking a cut of the profits.

Rather than cast an actor to portray Joseph McCarthy, the film uses actual footage of the senator. It has been claimed, widely but without evidence, that test audiences, unaware that only archival footage was used in McCarthy's depiction, felt that the "performer" who "played" him was overacting. IMDb, for instance, states without attribution, "Clooney had said that when the movie had undergone test screenings, audience members felt that the McCarthy character was overacting a bit, not realizing that it was the actual McCarthy through archive footage." In fact, there are no authoritative reports of any particular such test audience reaction, and the story remains a popular but completely unsubstantiated rumor.