The Founder (2016)

The Founder is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel. Starring Michael Keaton as businessman Ray Kroc, the film portrays the story of his creation of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain, which eventually involved forcing out the company's original founders to take control with conniving ruthlessness. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch co-star as McDonald's founders Richard and Maurice McDonald.The film premiered at Arclight Hollywood on December 7, 2016, and was released theatrically in the United States on January 20, 2017, by the Weinstein Company. It grossed $24 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Keaton's performance.
The screenplay for The Founder was written by Robert Siegel, based on Ray Kroc's autobiography, and on an unauthorized biography.[7] According to early reports, the film was to be developed in the same vein as There Will Be Blood and The Social Network. According to Deadline Hollywood, it was ranked the 13th best unproduced script of 2014.[8][9] In December 2014, John Lee Hancock was signed to direct the picture.
In February 2015, Michael Keaton was signed to the role of Ray Kroc.[11] Laura Dern joined the film on May 11, 2015, to play Kroc's wife, Ethel Fleming, whom Kroc divorced in 1961.[12] The next day, it was announced that Nick Offerman joined the film, set to play Richard "Dick" McDonald.[13] On May 28, 2015, it was announced that B. J. Novak joined the film as Kroc's financial consultant, Harry J. Sonneborn.[14] On June 9, 2015, it was reported that Linda Cardellini had joined the film,[15] and on June 26, 2015, it was announced that John Carroll Lynch and Patrick Wilson had also been cast.
Principal photography on the film began in Newnan, Georgia, on June 1, 2015.[17][18] Production designer Michael Corenblith had previously worked on films such as Apollo 13, Saving Mr. Banks and The Blind Side, where attention to historic detail was important. Corenblith worked from archival photos, training films, materials provided by the McDonald family, blueprints obtained from eBay, and research at the oldest McDonald's restaurant in Downey, California. The McDonald brothers original octagonal San Bernardino restaurant was built in Newnan in the parking lot of the Coweta County Administration building.[19]

After a month of searching for suitable location, an old-style McDonald's building set with the "golden arches" was constructed in a church parking lot in seven working days in Douglasville, Georgia.[20] The set included a working kitchen with period-accurate kitchen equipment that was brought up to current code. Rearrangement of exterior features such as parking lot striping allowed that set to serve as each franchise location portrayed in the film. Both interior and exterior portions of the restaurant were modular, allowing countertops or entire wall sized glass panes to be removed to make room for cameras and other equipment.Douglasville, Georgia site of McDonald's building set: 33°44′58.19″N 84°45′0.70″W
The J. Mack Robinson College of Business Administration Building in Downtown Atlanta, which houses a Bank of America branch, served as the Illinois First Federal Savings & Loan association building for the film.[21] Some interior sets such as the McDonald's' offices and Kroc's "Prince Castle Sales" interior were built on soundstages at EUE Screen Gems Studios in Atlanta. Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club served as Rolling Green Country Club in the film.