Editing Being There

{{Short description|1979 American satire film by Hal Ashby}}
{{About|the film|the novel|Being There (novel){{!}}''Being There'' (novel)|other uses}}
{{Redirect|Chauncey Gardner|the American football player|Chauncey Gardner-Johnson}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Being There
| image          = Original movie poster for Being There.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Hal Ashby]]
| producer       = Andrew Braunsberg
| screenplay     = [[Jerzy Kosiński]]{{Efn|name=fn1|[[Robert C. Jones]] worked extensively on the screenplay. He has said that both he and Kosiński initially shared a writing credit, but the [[Writers Guild of America]] overruled the decision and awarded Kosiński sole credit.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cinemontage.org/2014/03/robert-c-jones-2014-ace-career-achievement-award-honoree/|website = Cinemontage|publisher = [[Motion Picture Editors Guild]]|date = March 1, 2014|access-date = November 22, 2018|last = Kaufman|first = Debra|title = Robert C. Jones: 2014 ACE Career Achievement Award Honoree|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181123023024/http://cinemontage.org/2014/03/robert-c-jones-2014-ace-career-achievement-award-honoree/|archive-date = November 23, 2018|url-status = dead}}</ref>}}
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[Being There (novel)|Being There]]''<br>1970 novel|Jerzy Kosiński}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Peter Sellers]]
* [[Shirley MacLaine]]
* [[Melvyn Douglas]]
* [[Jack Warden]]
* [[Richard Dysart]]
* [[Richard Basehart]]
}}
| music          = [[Johnny Mandel]]
| cinematography = [[Caleb Deschanel]]
| editing        = [[Don Zimmerman (film editor)|Don Zimmerman]]
| studio         = [[Lorimar Productions]]
| distributor    = [[United Artists]]
| released       = {{Film date|1979|12|19}}
| runtime        = 130 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $7 million<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSCfnVzRUGYC&q=Being%20There%201979%20budget&pg=PA176 |title=The Films of Hal Ashby |last=Beach |first=Christopher |year=2009 |location=Detroit, Michigan |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |page=177 |isbn=978-0-8143-3415-7}}</ref>
| gross          = $30.2 million (US)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=beingthere.htm|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|title=Being There, Box Office Information|access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref>
}}

'''''Being There''''' is a 1979 American satirical [[Comedy drama|comedy-drama]] film starring [[Peter Sellers]], [[Shirley MacLaine]], and [[Melvyn Douglas]]. Directed by [[Hal Ashby]], it is based on the 1971 novel ''[[Being There (novel)|Being There]]'' by [[Jerzy Kosiński]], and adapted for the screen by Kosiński and the uncredited [[Robert C. Jones]]. [[Jack Warden]], [[Richard Dysart]], and [[Richard Basehart]] are featured in support.

Douglas won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] and Sellers was nominated for Best Actor.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1980|title=The 52nd Academy Awards (1980) Nominees and Winners|website=[[oscars.org]]|date=March 2022 }}</ref> The screenplay won the [[British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Award]] for Best Screenplay and the [[Writers Guild of America Award]] for Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium. It was also nominated for the [[Golden Globe Award]] for Best Screenplay. In 2015, the [[Library of Congress]] selected ''Being There'' for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]], finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It has since developed a strong cult following and is a favorite among many filmmakers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ghostbusters-top-gun-enter-national-849092|title=''Ghostbusters'', ''Top Gun'', ''Shawshank'' Enter National Film Registry|first=Mike |last=Barnes|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=December 16, 2015|access-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=2015 National Film Registry: "Ghostbusters" Gets the Call|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-15-216/2015-national-film-registry-ghostbusters-gets-the-call/2015-12-16/|website=Library of Congress|access-date=2020-05-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|website=Library of Congress|access-date=2020-05-18}}</ref>

==Plot==
<!--- DO NOT ADD BEYOND 700 WORDS; PLOTS ARE GENERALLY 400-700 WORDS; CURRENT COUNT: 700 -->
Middle-aged, simple-minded Chance lives in a wealthy old man's townhouse in Washington, D.C., along with the man's African-American maid Louise, who is kind to Chance. He has spent his whole life tending the garden and never left the property. Other than gardening, his knowledge is derived entirely from television. When the old man dies, his estate lawyers order Chance out.

He wanders aimlessly, discovering the outside world for the first time. An African-American youth points a knife at him; Chance ineffectually tries to click him out of existence with a TV remote control. Passing by a TV shop, Chance sees himself captured by a video camera in the shop window. Entranced, he steps backward off the sidewalk and is struck by a limousine chauffeuring Eve Rand, the glamorous and much younger wife of elderly business mogul Ben Rand. When she asks him his name she mishears "Chance, the gardener" as "Chauncey Gardiner".

Eve brings Chance to their palatial estate to be seen by Dr. Allenby, who is resident there caring for Ben, who is slowly dying from [[Aplastic anemia|a blood disease]]. After checking Chauncey out, the doctor invites him to stay to keep an eye on him.

Chauncey's manners are old-fashioned and courtly, and he wears expensively-tailored but outmoded 1930s clothes he took from his former employer's attic. When Ben meets him he takes "Chauncey" for an upper-class, highly educated businessman fallen on hard times. Ben admires him, finding him direct, wise and insightful.

Ben is also a confidant and advisor to the [[President of the United States]], whom he introduces to Chauncey. In a discussion about the economy, Chance takes his cue from the words "stimulate growth" and talks about the changing seasons of the garden. The President misinterprets this as optimistic political advice and quotes "Chauncey Gardiner" in a speech.

Chance now rises to national prominence, attends important events, develops a close connection with the Soviet ambassador, and appears on a talk show during which his detailed advice about what a serious gardener should do is misunderstood as his opinion on presidential policy. Louise tells other African Americans as they watch Chance on TV that he has "rice pudding between the ears" and that whiteness is all that is needed to succeed in America. The President is shown as sexually impotent with his wife when watching the show.

Though Chance has now risen to the pinnacle of Washington society, the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] and 16 foreign agencies are unable to find any background information on him. Meanwhile, Allenby becomes increasingly suspicious that Chance is not a wise political expert and that his mysterious identity may have a more mundane explanation. Allenby considers telling Ben, but remains silent when he realizes how happy Chance is making him in his final days.

The dying Ben encourages Eve to become close to "Chauncey". She is already attracted to him and makes a sexual advance. Chance has no interest in or knowledge of sex, but mimics a kissing scene from the 1968 film ''[[The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)|The Thomas Crown Affair]]'', which happens to be on TV. When the scene ends, Chance stops suddenly and Eve is confused. She asks what he likes, meaning sexually; he replies "I like to watch," meaning television. She is momentarily taken aback, but masturbates for his voyeuristic pleasure, not noticing he has turned back to the TV and is imitating ''[[Lilias, Yoga and You]]'' on another channel.

Chance is present at Ben's death and shows genuine sadness. Questioned by Allenby, he admits that he "loves Eve very much" and also that he is just a gardener. When he leaves to inform Eve of Ben's death, Allenby says to himself, "I understand."

While the President delivers a speech at Ben's funeral, the pallbearers hold a whispered discussion over potential replacements for the President in the next presidential term, and unanimously agree on "Chauncey" as successor. Oblivious, Chance wanders off through Ben's wintry estate. He straightens out a pine sapling flattened by a fallen branch, then [[Jesus walking on water|walks across the surface of a lake]] without sinking. He pauses, dips his umbrella deep into the water to the right of his path, then continues on, while the President is heard quoting Ben: "Life is a state of mind."

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Peter Sellers]] as Chance the gardener (Chauncey Gardiner)
* [[Shirley MacLaine]] as Eve Rand
* [[Jack Warden]] as the President
* [[Melvyn Douglas]] as Ben Rand
* [[Richard Dysart]] as Dr. Robert Allenby
* [[Richard Basehart]] as Soviet Ambassador Vladimir Skrapinov
* [[Than Wyenn]] as Ambassador Gaufridi
* [[David Clennon]] as Thomas Franklin
* [[Fran Brill]] as Sally Hayes
* [[Ruth Attaway]] as Louise
* [[Denise DuBarry]] as Johanna
* [[Richard Venture]] as Wilson 
* [[Sam Weisman]] as Colson
* [[Alice Hirson]] as the First Lady
* Arthur Rosenberg as Morton Hull
* [[Jerome Hellman]] as Gary Burns
* [[James Noble (actor)|James Noble]] as Kaufman
* [[John Harkins (actor)|John Harkins]] as Courtney
* [[Elya Baskin]] as Karpatov
* [[Richard McKenzie (actor)|Richard McKenzie]] as Ron Steigler
}}

==Production==
===Casting===
[[Burt Lancaster]] was Ashby's first choice for the role of Ben Rand.<ref name=sikov>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rZGZAAAAQBAJ&q=burt+lancaster+laurence+olivier+being+there+masturbation&pg=PT439|last=Sikov|first=Ed|title=Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers|year=2003|publisher=Hachette Books|isbn=9781401398941}}{{page needed|date=July 2019}}</ref>{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=210}} [[Laurence Olivier]] was also considered for the role, but turned it down because of the masturbation scene.<ref name=sikov/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SqXAAAAQBAJ&q=laurence%20olivier%20being%20there%20ben%20rand&pg=PA30|last=Mell|first=Eila|title=Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others|year=2005|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476609768}}page 30</ref>

===Filming===
Principal filming occurred at the [[Biltmore Estate]], the largest private home in the United States, located in [[Asheville, North Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Henion|first=Leigh Ann|title=A Behind-the-Scenes Visit to Biltmore|date=March 2011|work=[[Our State]]|url=http://www.ourstate.com/biltmore-insiders-tour/|access-date=May 12, 2015}}</ref> According to MacLaine, "(Peter) believed he was Chauncey. He never had lunch with me&nbsp;... He was Chauncey Gardiner the whole shoot, but believing he was having a love affair with me."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-11-30 |title=Shirley MacLaine On What Peter Sellers Was Really Like |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkdXTaHsSu0 |website=Hudson Union Society |via=YouTube}}</ref> The original ending as written in the script was filmed; it shows Eve finding Chance by the lake, they declare they have found each other, and both walk back together.<ref>{{YouTube|ZPZrFbpgRt4|Being There (alternate ending)}}</ref> However, Ashby was unhappy with this ending so he had a platform submerged in the lake for Sellers to walk on, creating the film's enigmatic final scene.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/great-scene-being-there-1a2246027569|title=Great Scene: 'Being There'|website=gointothestory.blcklst.com|date=2 July 2022}}</ref>

Melvyn Douglas's granddaughter, [[Illeana Douglas]], visited the set and met Peter Sellers, who is her favorite actor. She has since credited the film for inspiring her to pursue a career in acting. According to Illeana, Sellers and Douglas had known each other since the 1940s, when they first met in the [[Burma campaign (1944–1945)]] during [[World War II]]. They often reminisced about their war days while on the set.<ref name="francisco">{{cite web |last=Vigil |first=Delfin |date=February 15, 2009 |title=Illeana Douglas inspired by Melvyn's 'Being There' |url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Illeana-Douglas-inspired-by-Melvyn-s-Being-There-3250931.php#photo-2399605 |access-date=September 6, 2015 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref> The making of the film is portrayed in ''[[The Life and Death of Peter Sellers]]'', a biographical film of Sellers's life.

==Music==
Incidental music is used very sparingly. What little original music is used was composed by [[Johnny Mandel]], and primarily features two recurrent piano themes based on "[[Gnossiennes]]" No. 4 and No. 5 by [[Erik Satie]]. The other major pieces of music used are the [[Eumir Deodato]] jazz/funk arrangement of the opening fanfare from ''[[Also sprach Zarathustra (Strauss)|Also Sprach Zarathustra]]'' and "[[Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces|Basketball Jones]]" by Cheech and Chong. These pieces respectively accompany the title credits and Chance's first arrival to the Biltmore Estate.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Vi3vz7qbtwC&q=also%20sprach%20zarathustra%20being%20there&pg=PA9|last=Stoehr|first=Ingo Roland|title=German Literature of the Twentieth Century: From Aestheticism to Postmodernism|year=2001|publisher=Boydell & Brewer|isbn=9781571131577}}</ref> Mandel was also assisted by his cousin and fellow composer [[Miles Goodman]] with the orchestration of the film.<ref>{{cite web|title=Miles Goodman, 47, Composer for Films|date=August 20, 1996|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/20/arts/miles-goodman-47-composer-for-films.html|access-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Jablon|first=Robert|title= Miles Goodman, Film Composer and Jazz Record Producer, Dies |date=August 18, 1996|work=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://apnews.com/cdd69bf7e9fadd7e532dffd061c48a79|access-date=March 25, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230518091640/https://apnews.com/article/cdd69bf7e9fadd7e532dffd061c48a79 |archive-date=2023-05-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Oliver|first=Myrna|title=Miles Goodman; Record Producer, Film Composer|date=August 20, 1996|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-08-20-me-35989-story.html|access-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Miles Goodman: Composer|date=August 22, 1996|work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19960822&id=wD8gAAAAIBAJ&pg=2263,1662626|access-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Record producer, composer Miles Goodman dies at 47|date=August 21, 1996|work=[[The Daily Gazette]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19960821&id=-r9KAAAAIBAJ&pg=4020,4884243|access-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Saporito |first=Jeff |date=December 7, 2015 |title=Why does "Being There" highlight "Basketball Jones" so prominently |url=http://screenprism.com/insights/article/why-does-being-there-highlight-basketball-jones-so-prominently |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727015336/http://screenprism.com/insights/article/why-does-being-there-highlight-basketball-jones-so-prominently |archive-date=2016-07-27 |website=Screen Prism}}</ref>

==Reception==
The film opened to positive reviews and gave Sellers a hit after many failed films outside of the ''Pink Panther'' series. Film critic [[Roger Ebert]] awarded a grade of four out of four stars in his original print review.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/being-there-1980 |title=Being There |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=January 1, 1980 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |access-date=November 24, 2018 }}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] also gave the film a perfect grade of four stars, calling it "one of those rare films, a work of such electric comedy that you are more likely to watch it in amazement than to break down and laugh".<ref>[[Gene Siskel|Siskel, Gene]] (February 8, 1980). "Sellers builds on perfection in 'Being There'". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 3, p. 3.</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called it "a stately, beautifully acted satire with a premise that's funny but fragile".<ref>{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=December 20, 1979 |title=Film: Ashby-Kosinksi 'Being There' |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=C20 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/20/archives/film-ashbykosinksi-being-therewatching-tv.html |access-date=November 21, 2023}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called it "an unusually fine film" that "represents Peter Sellers's most smashing work since the mid-1960s".<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 19, 1979 |title=Being There |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/1978/film/reviews/being-there-1200424539/ |access-date=2023-12-16 }}</ref> [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called it "a gentle, exquisitely funny film", adding that "Sellers hasn't been so terrific—or had such terrific material—in years."<ref>[[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Thomas, Kevin]] (December 20, 1979). "A Kosinski Novel Comes to Life". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part IV, p. 36.</ref>

Vincent Misiano reviewed ''Being There'' in ''[[Ares (magazine)|Ares Magazine]]'' and commented that "the film's humor never flags and yet its delicately bitter irony is never far away. It satirizes politics and politicians, business and businessmen, and, finally, all the rest of us and what we imagine we see when we look at one another."<ref name="Ares">{{cite journal | last=Misiano | first=Vincent | title=Film & Television | journal=[[Ares (magazine)|Ares Magazine]] | publisher=[[Simulations Publications, Inc.]] | date=July 1980 | issue=3 | page=32}}</ref>

In 2006, Roger Ebert mentioned the reaction of his students to the final scene (which is unique to the film, not appearing in the book),<ref>{{cite book | year=2006 | title = The Great Movies II | first=Roger | last=Ebert | author-link = Roger Ebert | publisher=Random House | isbn=978-0-7679-1986-9 | page=52 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdv8LRB6a88C&pg=PA52}}</ref> stating that they once suggested that Chance may be walking on a submerged pier. But, Ebert writes, "The movie presents us with an image, and while you may discuss the meaning of the image, it is not permitted to devise explanations for it. Since Ashby does not show a pier, there is no pier—a movie is exactly what it shows us, and nothing more."<ref>{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=May 25, 1997 |title=Being There {{!}} Great Movies |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-being-there-1979 |url-status=live |access-date=December 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623115834/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19970525%2FREVIEWS08%2F401010303 |archive-date=June 23, 2011}}</ref>

The ending credits roll over the "Rafael [[outtake]]". Sellers was displeased that the outtake ran because he believed that it took away from Chauncey's mystique.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kim|first=Wook|title=After 'The End': 10 Memorable End-Credit Scenes|date=November 26, 2012|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/27/after-the-end-10-memorable-end-credit-scenes/slide/being-there/|access-date=May 12, 2015}}</ref> He also believed that it prevented him from winning the Oscar.<ref name=francisco/>{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=226}}

As of 2023, the film holds a score of 95% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 8.60/10. The critical consensus calls it "smart, sophisticated, and refreshingly subtle."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/being_there/ |title=Being There |publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=April 16, 2023 }}</ref> In 2003, ''The New York Times'' placed the film on its ''Best 1000 Movies Ever'' list.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080612032429/https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.] ''[[The New York Times]]'' via the [[Internet Archive]]. Published April 29, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2008.</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[52nd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]<ref name=":0" />
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Peter Sellers]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Melvyn Douglas]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[34th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Film in 1981 {{!}} BAFTA Awards |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1981/film |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=awards.bafta.org}}</ref>
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| Andrew Braunsberg
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
| Peter Sellers
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Actress in a Leading Role]]
| [[Shirley MacLaine]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| [[Jerzy Kosiński]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[1979 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Official Selection 1980: All the Selection |url=http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1980/allSelections.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021214419/http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/1980/allSelections.html |archive-date=2013-10-21 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=festival-cannes.fr}}</ref>
| [[Palme d'Or]]
| [[Hal Ashby]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| Fotogramas de Plata Awards
| Best Foreign Performer
| Peter Sellers
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="6"| [[37th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Being There |url=https://goldenglobes.com/film/being-there/ |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=Golden Globes |language=en-US}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| Peter Sellers
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical|Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]] 
| Shirley MacLaine
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]
| Melvyn Douglas
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with [[Robert Duvall]] for ''[[Apocalypse Now]]''.}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Hal Ashby
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]]
| Jerzy Kosinski
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Japan Academy Film Prize]]
| [[Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film|Outstanding Foreign Language Film]]
| Hal Ashby
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[London Critics Circle Film Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Critics' Circle Film Awards |url=https://criticscircle.org.uk/film/critics-circle-film-awards/ |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=The Critics' Circle |language=en-GB}}</ref>
| Special Achievement Award
| Peter Sellers
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1979|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Awards for 1979 - LAFCA |url=http://www.lafca.net/Years/1979.php |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.lafca.net}}</ref>
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| Melvyn Douglas {{small|(also for ''[[The Seduction of Joe Tynan]]'')}}
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[National Board of Review Awards 1979|National Board of Review Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=1979 Archives |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1979/ |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=National Board of Review |language=en-US}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Board of Review Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Peter Sellers
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Film Preservation Board]]<ref name=":1" />
| colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]]
| {{won|Inducted}}
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[National Society of Film Critics Awards 1979|National Society of Film Critics Awards]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 3, 1980 |title=National Film Critics Select 'Breaking Away' |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/01/03/archives/national-film-critics-select-breaking-away.html |access-date=2023-12-17}}</ref>
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Peter Sellers
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| Melvyn Douglas
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Jerzy Kosinski and [[Robert C. Jones]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| [[Caleb Deschanel]] {{small|(also for ''[[The Black Stallion (film)|The Black Stallion]]'')}}
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[1979 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=1979-12-20 |title=Film Critics Cite 'Kramer,' Dustin Hoffman and Sally Field |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/20/archives/film-critics-cite-kramer-dustin-hoffman-and-sally-field-sellers-is.html |access-date=2023-12-17}}</ref>
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Peter Sellers
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| Melvyn Douglas
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| rowspan="2"| Jerzy Kosinski
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[32nd Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=1980 Awards Winners |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=2012-12-05 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=wga.org}}</ref>
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Comedy – Adapted from Another Medium]]
| {{won}}
|}

The film is recognized by [[American Film Institute]] in:

* 2000: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]] – #26<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs |url= https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-laughs/ |website=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=November 21, 2023}}</ref>

==Home media==
A 30th Anniversary Edition was released on [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray]] in February 2009.<ref name=francisco/> [[The Criterion Collection]] issued the film on DVD and Blu-ray in March 2017.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Wilkins|first=Budd|title=Being There|date=29 March 2017|magazine=[[Slant Magazine]]|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/being-there-bd|access-date=23 June 2017}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Film}}
* ''[[The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma]]'': ''Being There'' is said to bear a strong resemblance to this 1932 Polish novel, and the film's originality became a subject of controversy in 1982. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska wrote "most Polish critics immediately recognized his book as a version of ''Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy'' by [[Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz|Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocADDQAAQBAJ | chapter=The Role of Polish Language and Literature | publisher=University of Texas Press | title=The Hidden Isaac Bashevis Singer | editor-first=Seth L. | editor-last=Wolitz | year=2001 | first=Monika | last=Adamczyk-Grabowska | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ocADDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA137 137] | isbn=029279147X}}</ref>
* {{Annotated link|Dasein|''Dasein''}}
* [[Politics in fiction]]
* [[Social effects of television]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ayGlICMwYD0C&q=burt+lancaster&pg=PA226|last=Dawson|first=Nick|title=Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel|year=2009|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=9780813139197}}
* {{Cite book
  | last = Finkelstein
  | first = Joanne
  | title = The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture
  | url = http://www.ibtauris.com/display.asp?ISB=9781845113957
  | location = London
  | publisher = I. B. Tauris
  | year = 2007
  | pages = 9, 98–99
  | isbn = 978-1-84511-395-7
}}
* {{Cite book
  | last1 = Nichols
  | first1 = Peter M.
  | first2 = A. O. 
  | last2 = Scott
  | first3 = Vincent 
  | last3 = Canby
  | year = 2004
  | title = The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made
  | location = New York
  | publisher = Macmillan
  | pages = 93–94
  | isbn = 0-312-32611-4
}}
* {{Cite book
  | last = Sikov
  | first = Ed
  | title = Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers
  | location = New York
  | publisher = Hyperion
  | year = 2002
  | isbn = 0-7868-8581-5
}}
* {{Cite book
  | last = Tichi
  | first = Cecelia
  | title = Electronic Hearth: Creating an American Television Culture
  | location = New York
  | publisher = Oxford University Press
  | year = 1991
  | isbn = 0-19-507914-0
}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/BeingThere.pdf "Being There"] essay by Jerry Dean Roberts at the [[National Film Registry]]
* {{AFI film|id=56196|title=Being There}}
* {{IMDb title|0078841}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/being-there-am4712 ''Being There'' at AllMovie]
* {{TCMDb title|id=3994}}
* {{mojo title|beingthere}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|being_there}}
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4473-being-there-american-cipher ''Being There: American Cipher''] an essay by [[Mark Harris (journalist)|Mark Harris]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/01/23/34-best-political-movies-ever-made/ "The 34 best political movies ever made"], [[Ann Hornaday]], ''The Washington Post'', Jan. 23, 2020, ranked No. 24

{{Hal Ashby}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Being There}}
[[Category:1979 films]]
[[Category:1979 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American black comedy films]]
[[Category:American comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American political satire films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s political satire films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Films about disability in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about fictional presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Films about television]]
[[Category:Films about the mass media in the United States]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Hal Ashby]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe winning performance]]
[[Category:Films scored by Johnny Mandel]]
[[Category:Films set in country houses]]
[[Category:Films set in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Films shot in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Films shot in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Films whose writer won the Best Screenplay BAFTA Award]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]