Broadcast News (1987)

Director:

James L. Brooks

Writer:

James L. Brooks (written by)

Release Date:

16 December 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It's the story of their lives.

Plot:

Take two rival TV reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one producer, female. Mix well and watch the sparks fly.

Plot Keywords:

TV Reporter | Love Triangle | Television | Crocodile Tears | Stress Management

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

William Hurt	...	Tom Grunick
Albert Brooks	...	Aaron Altman
Holly Hunter	...	Jane Craig
Robert Prosky	...	Ernie Merriman
Lois Chiles	...	Jennifer Mack
Joan Cusack	...	Blair Litton (as Joan Cusak)
Peter Hackes	...	Paul Moore
Christian Clemenson	...	Bobby
Jack Nicholson	...	Bill Rorish
Robert Katims	...	Martin Klein
Ed Wheeler	...	George Wein
Stephen Mendillo	...	Gerald Grunick
Kimber Shoop	...	Young Tom
Dwayne Markee	...	Young Aaron
Gennie James	...	Young Jane
Leo Burmester	...	Jane's Dad
Amy Brooks	...	Elli Merriman
Jane Welch	...	Anne Merriman
Jonathan Benya	...	Clifford Altman
Frank Doubleday	...	Mercenary
Sally Knight	...	Lila
Manny Alvarez	...	Spanish Cameraman
Luis Valderrama	...	Guerilla Leader
Francisco García	...	Guerilla Soldier
Richard Thomsen	...	General McGuire
Nat Benchley	...	Commander (as Nathan Benchley)
Marita Geraghty	...	Date-Rape Woman
Nicholas D. Blanchet	...	Weekend News Producer
Maura Moynihan	...	Makeup Woman
Chuck Lippman	...	Floor Manager
Nannette Rickert	...	Paul's Secretary
Timothy W. White	...	Edward Towne (as Tim White)
Peggy Pridemore	...	Tom's Soundwoman
Emily Crowley	...	Emily
Gerard Ender	...	Newsroom Worker (as Gerald Ender)
David Long	...	Donny
Joshua Billings	...	Chyron Operator (as Josh Billings)
Glenn Faigen	...	Technical Director
Robert Grevemberg Jr.	...	Technical Director
Richard Pehle	...	Control Room Director
James V. Franco	...	Weekend News Director
Jimmy Mel Green	...	Assistant Director
Raoul N. Rizik	...	Assistant Director
Mike Skehan	...	Technician
Franklyn L. Bullard	...	Audio Visual Engineer
Glen Roven	...	News Theme Writer
Marc Shaiman	...	News Theme Writer
Alex Mathews	...	Lecture Host
Steve Smith	...	Aaron's Cameraman
Martha Smith	...	Aaron's Soundwoman (as Martha L. Smith)
Cynthia B. Hayes	...	Mother in Hall
Dean Nitz	...	Young Tough
Phil Ugel	...	Young Tough
Lance Wain	...	Young Tough
Susan Marie Feldman	...	Ellen
Jean Bourne Carinci	...	Tom's Female Colleague
M. Fekade-Salassie	...	Cab Driver
Gerald F. Gough	...	Uniformed Cop (as Jerry Gough)
Robert Rasch	...	Defense Dept. Spokesman
Robert Walsh	...	NATO Spokesman
John Cusack	...	Angry Messenger (as John Cusak)
John Badila	...	Guest at Ball
Heather Ehlers	...	Guest at Ball
Arlene M. Dillon	...	Guest at Ball
Sam Samuels	...	Guest at Ball
Rochelle Deering	...	Woman at Speech
Albert Murphy Sr.	...	Man in Airport
Eleanore C. Kopecky	...	Woman in Airport
J. Alan Thomas	...	Airport Cabbie (as Jeffrey Alan Thomas)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brad Baker	...	Businessman (uncredited)
Denise King	...	Copy Runner (uncredited)
Nancy Kirk	...	Airport traveler (uncredited)

Directed by
James L. Brooks

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
James L. Brooks		written by

Produced by
James L. Brooks	....	producer
Penney Finkelman Cox	....	co-producer
Polly Platt	....	executive producer
Kristi Zea	....	associate producer
Susan Zirinsky	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Bill Conti

Cinematography by
Michael Ballhaus		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Richard Marks

Casting by
Ellen Chenoweth

Production Design by
Charles Rosen

Set Decoration by
Jane Bogart

Costume Design by
Molly Maginnis

Makeup Department
Colleen Callaghan	....	hair stylist (as Colleen Callahan)
Carl Fullerton	....	makeup artist
Craig Lyman	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
David V. Lester	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yudi Bennett	....	first assistant director
Barbara Bruno	....	additional second assistant director
David Sardi	....	second assistant director
Peter Schindler	....	assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Sharon Barnebey	....	stand-by painter
William Borum	....	swing gang
Steve Callas	....	construction foreman
Harold Fuhrman	....	set designer
Bruce J. Gfeller	....	construction coordinator
Dick Girod	....	paint boss
Randy Gunter	....	assistant property master
Sherman Labby	....	illustrator
James Michael Mullen	....	lead man: Washington (as James Mullen)
Howard Sachs	....	swing gang
Art Schneider	....	lead man
Mark Wade	....	property master
William Kellow	....	construction propmaker (uncredited)
Robert Van Dyke	....	propmaker gangboss (uncredited)

Sound Department
Beth Bergeron	....	supervising adr editor
Joseph F. Brennan	....	boom operator (as Joseph Brennan)
Thomas Causey	....	sound mixer
Bob Cornett	....	temporary dubbing editor
Jacqueline Cristianini	....	dialogue editor
Patrick Drummond	....	sound effects editor
Jessica Gallavan	....	adr editor
Robert Grieve	....	supervising sound editor
Anne Grodzicki	....	assistant sound editor
Margaret Guinee	....	apprentice sound editor
Grover B. Helsley	....	additional sound re-recordist (as Grover Helsley)
Wilt Henderson	....	assistant sound editor
Ellen Heuer	....	foley artist (as Ellen Huer)
John Hoeren	....	assistant sound editor
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dave Kulczycki	....	dialogue editor
Gregg Landaker	....	additional sound re-recordist
Beth Lynk	....	assistant sound editor
Cindy Marty	....	foley editor
Steve Maslow	....	additional sound re-recordist
Donald O. Mitchell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Charleen Richards	....	adr recordist (as Charlene Richards)
John Roesch	....	foley artist
Jeff Rosen	....	adr editor
Frank Smathers	....	dialogue editor
Tracey Smith	....	temporary dubbing editor (as Tracy Smith)
Rich Steven	....	temporary dubbing editor
Mark P. Stoeckinger	....	foley editor (as Mark Stoeckinger)
D.C. Valentine	....	cable person
Cyndi Vaughan	....	assistant sound editor
Linda Whittlesey	....	sound effects editor
Gary Wright	....	temporary dubbing editor
Carolyn Tapp	....	foley recordist (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Clayton R. Marsh	....	opticals

Stunts
Jery Hewitt	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Florian Ballhaus	....	second assistant camera
Steven Benioff	....	video assistant
Winter Byrd	....	video camera crew
Jerry DeBlau	....	best boy
John W. DeBlau	....	gaffer (as John DeBlau)
Douglas A. Degrazzio	....	video technician (as Douglas DeGrazzio)
David M. Dunlap	....	camera operator (as David Dunlap)
Brian Fitzsimons	....	best boy grip
Dennis Gamiello	....	key grip
Kerry Hayes	....	still photographer
Gregg Heschong	....	director of photography: second unit
Bruce Kissel	....	video camera crew
Gábor Kövér	....	first assistant camera (as Gabor Kover)
Ronald Lamendola	....	key grip: Washington
Greg Larson	....	video camera crew
John Lowry	....	dolly grip
Van Scarboro	....	video technician
Stuart Stein	....	second assistant camera
Frank Tobin	....	best boy: Los Angeles
James Woodward Sr.	....	gaffer: Washington
Missy Boswell	....	assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)
George Palmer	....	video engineer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	voice casting
Paula Herold	....	additional casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Oda Groeschel	....	costumer: women
G. Tony Scarano	....	costumer: men (as Tony Scarano)
Catherine Adair	....	assistant costume designer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Kevin Barlia	....	apprentice editor
M. Pam Blumenthal	....	additional editor
Marly Carpenter	....	apprentice editor
Margaret Goodspeed	....	assistant editor
Bob Hagans	....	color timer
Julie Hall	....	apprentice editor
Stephanie Lowry	....	apprentice editor (as Stephanie Ng)
Barbara Marks	....	additional editor
David Moritz	....	assistant editor
Michael Mulconery	....	assistant editor
David Rawlins	....	additional editor
Karen I. Stern	....	first assistant editor
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter (uncredited)
Dale E. Grahn	....	color timer (uncredited)

Music Department
Bob Badami	....	music editor
Sally Boldt	....	assistant music editor
Michel Camilo	....	composer: newsroom theme
Lee De Carlo	....	scoring mixer (as Lee DeCarlo)
Jack Eskew	....	orchestrator
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist (uncredited)
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist (uncredited)
Julie Giroux	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
James Thatcher	....	musician: French horn (uncredited)

Transportation Department
David Siegel	....	transportation coordinator
Skip Wilson	....	transportation captain (as Frederick Wilson)

Other crew
Lisa Bailey	....	assistant to producers
Mary Bailey	....	script supervisor
Jan Sebastian Ballhaus	....	production assistant (as Sebastian Ballhaus)
Saul Bass	....	title designer
Diane Brooks	....	senior production associate
Richard Clark	....	video coordinator
David Davis	....	special advisor
Barbara Duncan	....	executive assistant: Mr. Brooks
Lynsey Evans	....	production assistant
Paul Germain	....	senior production associate
Clay A. Griffith	....	production assistant (as Clay Griffith)
Craig Knizek	....	production assistant
Kathi Levine	....	assistant accountant
Patty MacDonald	....	secretary: Mr. Brooks (as Patricia R. MacDonald)
Maggie Murphy	....	production assistant (as Margaret Murphy)
Stuart Neumann	....	location manager
Jeffrey A. Okun	....	title coordinator (as Jeff Okun)
Peggy Pridemore	....	location assistant
Jay Roberts	....	accountant (as Lewis J. Roberts)
Richard Sakai	....	executive: Gracie Films
Catherine Schellhorn	....	production secretary
Anne Marie Stein	....	unit publicist
Cynthia Streit	....	production coordinator
Catherine Webb	....	auditor
Ricardo Whitson	....	craft service
Charlie Wilson	....	technical coordinator
Elaine Bass	....	title designer (uncredited)
Sondra Dee Boyachek	....	assistant production coordinator (uncredited)
Kate Karpinski	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Linda Olszewski	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Tom Trigo	....	location scout (uncredited)
William L. Wright	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Lynnanne Zager	....	adr loop group (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Amercent Films
• American Entertainment Partners L.P.
• Gracie Films
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1987) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1992) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• 20th Century Fox (1988) (France) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1988) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Spentzos Films (1987) (Greece) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Abril Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (video)
• CBS/Fox Video (1989) (Belgium) (video)
• CBS/Fox (1988) (Argentina) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (1988) (Greece) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2002) (2007)) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1995) (Finland) (TV) (TV1)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  casting: Washington
• Cinema Research  opticals
• D. Bassett & Associates  negative cutting
• Inter Video  24 frame video playback
• TAJ Soundworks  foley
• Unique Casting  casting: Miami
• Varèse Sarabande  score album released by (limited edition)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-10 | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

600 East Capitol Street SE, Capitol Hill, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Company:

Amercent Films

Trivia:

James L. Brooks wrote Broadcast News (1987) especially for Debra Winger, but she was forced to turn it down because she was pregnant with her son Noah Hutton. Before casting Holly Hunter as a replacement, Brooks considered Sigourney Weaver, Judy Davis, Elizabeth McGovern, Christine Lahti and Elizabeth Perkins.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Aaron and Tom are talking at the party, Tom claims that he would never pretend to know more than he really did. A few moments later Aaron shows him up as a fraud when he asks if Tom can name all the members of the President's cabinet. When Tom claims to know all the names, Aaron asks him "All twelve?". When Tom answers yes, Aaron delivers the 'gotcha' comeback "There's only ten." In fact there were 13 cabinet secretaries at the time the movie was made (the secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health & Human Services, Housing & Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, and Education, and the Attorney General). Since the film's release, two more secretaries have been added (Veteran's Affairs and Homeland Security).

Quotes:

[after Paul fires one of his workers]
Paul Moore:Now, if there's anything I can do for you...
Employee:Well, I certainly hope you'll die soon.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Episode #1.2" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Midnight Train to Georgia

Sadly true and great.

I say sadly because if you see this movie now, you realize how low our media has sunk- all the warning signs are in this movie.

It's a great film, I think the last great James Brooks film, but others may disagree. It has rich characters (who are believable as well), great acting, great writing, and although the music got a little cheesy, I even liked that.

William Hurt has never been better. Holly Hunter is stunning. And Albert Brooks walks away with every scene he's in- this triangle of people is beautifully drawn and compelling and made the whole movie soar above it's vital and important topic of the News, and how it's slowly being compromised in our nation.

Watch this with NETWORK for a truly fun and frightening evening.