Talk Radio (film)
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| Talk Radio | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Oliver Stone |
| Produced by | A. Kitman Ho Edward R. Pressman |
| Written by | Oliver Stone Eric Bogosian Tad Savinar Stephen Singular (book) |
| Starring | Eric Bogosian Ellen Greene Leslie Hope John C. McGinley Alec Baldwin John Pankow |
| Music by | Stewart Copeland |
| Cinematography | Robert Richardson |
| Editing by | David Brenner Joe Hutshing |
| Distributed by | Universal Studios |
| Release date(s) | December 21, 1988 (USA) |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4,000,000 (estimated) |
Talk Radio is a 1988 American drama film, starring Eric Bogosian, Ellen Greene and Leslie Hope. Directed by Oliver Stone, the film was based on the play by Eric Bogosian and Tad Savinar. Portions of the film and play were based on the assassination of radio host Alan Berg in 1984. The film was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear.[1]
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[edit] Plot summary
Barry Champlain, a Jewish radio personality in Dallas, Texas, is a host with a caustic sense of humor and a knack for cutting people down with his controversial political views.
Champlain's radio show is about to go nationwide. A former suit salesman, he achieves his rise to fame through a guest shot on the Jeff Fisher radio show. He is subsequently given his own show. Barry has a substantial number of hostile callers trying to intimidate him and sometimes receives threatening fan mail, such as when one caller makes a bomb threat. His rise to fame is accompanied not only with attention from radical elements, but also with the alienation of his wife.
[edit] Production
Eric Bogosian wrote the screenplay with help from director Oliver Stone. The script was almost entirely based on Bogosian's original play with some biographical information about Alan Berg, a talk show host in Denver who was murdered in 1984 by white supremacists. In his research for the film version, Bogosian often watched the on-air production of Tom Leykis' talk show, then originating from Los Angeles station KFI. Bogosian's fictional character shares many speech patterns and mannerisms with real-life talker Leykis.[2]
Filming took place mostly in Dallas, Texas and Irving, Texas. The original play takes place entirely during the on-air broadcast and there are no scenes outside the radio station.
[edit] Cast
- Eric Bogosian ... Barry Champlain
- Ellen Greene ... Ellen
- Leslie Hope ... Laura
- John C. McGinley ... Stu
- Alec Baldwin ... Dan
- John Pankow ... Dietz
- Michael Wincott ... Kent/Michael/Joe (voice)
- Robert Trebor ... Jeffrey Fisher/Francine
- Tony Frank ... Dino
- Anna Levine ... Woman at the Basketball Game/Denise
- Rockets Redglare ... Killer/Redneck Caller
- Park Overall ... Debbie/Agnes/Theresa (voice)
- Earl Hindman ... Chet/Black John/Jerry (voice)
- Linda Atkinson ... Sheila Fleming
- Zach Grenier ... Sid Greenberg
- Harlan Jordan ... Coach Armstrong
- Bill Johnson ... Fan #1
- Kevin Howard ... Fan #2
- Bruno Rubeo ... Tony
- Pirie MacDonald ... Judge Willard
- Allan Corduner ... Vince / Morris
- Mimi Cochran ... Girl #1
- Teresa Bell ... Girl #2 / Lucy
- Angus G. Wynne III ... Engineer
- Chip Moody ... Announcer
- David Poynter ... Engineer
- Peter Zapp ... Josh / Vincent (voice)
- Carl Kissin ... Glen (voice)
- Michele Mariana ... Rhonda / Elderly Woman / Julia (voice)
- John Seitz ... Bob (voice)
- Kyle McClaran ... Arnold (voice)
- Dee Pyland ... Nancy (voice)
- Daniel Escobar ... Frank (voice)
- William De Acutis ... John the Rapist / Ralph (voice) (as Bill DeAcutis)
- Frederica Meister ... Sexy Woman (voice)
- Luis Barajas ... Fred (voice)
- Vernie Bailey ... Jackie (voice)
- Martin Rayner ... Arnold (voice)
- Alan Clark ... Larry (voice)
- Moby ... Station Announcer / Newscaster (voice)
- John B. Wells ... V.O. (voice)
- Leigh French ... Newscaster (voice)
- Walter Lynn ... Newscaster (voice)
- Theresa Bell ... Lucy (uncredited)
- Fernando Lara ... Newcaster (uncredited)
[edit] In popular culture
Parts of the film have been sampled by many bands. Barry's enthusiastic "Hooooo-oyy!" outcry mocking a caller's southern accent was used prominently in the 1990 Revolting Cocks song Beers, Steers, and Queers. The conversation over the air with "Ralph" while Michael Wincott's character "Joe" enters the studio consisting of "Nobody's trying to change the system, there's too many people against it!" was used by the California punk band Lagwagon on the album "Blaze." The radio tower featured at the end of the film is used by KDFW, a local television station. At the time of filming, KDFW was a CBS affiliate, however has since become a FOX affiliate.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Berlinale: 1989 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1989/03_preistr_ger_1989/03_Preistraeger_1989.html. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096219/trivia Talk Radio (1988) - Trivia
- Rossi, Umberto. “Acousmatic Presences: From DJs to Talk-Radio Hosts in American Fiction, Cinema, and Drama”, Mosaic, 42:1, March 2009, pp. 83–98.
[edit] References
- ^ "Berlinale: 1989 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1989/03_preistr_ger_1989/03_Preistraeger_1989.html. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096219/trivia Talk Radio (1988) - Trivia
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Talk Radio (film) |
- Talk Radio at the Internet Movie Database
- Talk Radio at AllRovi
- Talk Radio at Rotten Tomatoes
- Talk Radio at Box Office Mojo
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