The Late Shift (1996) (TV)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Betty Thomas

Writers (WGA):

Bill Carter (book)
Bill Carter (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

24 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Talk-Show

Tagline:

Two heads fighting for the late night crown - One head's gotta roll.

Plot:

A dramatization of the rivalry to be the successor of Johnny Carson as the host of "The Tonight Show."

Plot Keywords:

Manager | Television | Based On True Story | Based On Book

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Kathy Bates	...	Helen Kushnick
John Michael Higgins	...	David Letterman
Daniel Roebuck	...	Jay Leno
Bob Balaban	...	Warren Littlefield
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Rod Perth
Peter Jurasik	...	Howard Stringer
Reni Santoni	...	John Agoglia
John Kapelos	...	Robert Morton
Steven Gilborn	...	Peter Lassally
John Getz	...	Brandon Tartikoff
Lawrence Pressman	...	Bob Wright
Sandra Bernhard	...	Herself
Treat Williams	...	Michael Ovitz
David Brisbin	...	Alan Levine
Michael Chieffo	...	Rick Ludwin

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Trivia:

A few days after the film's premiere, John Michael Higgins was booked on "Late Show With David Letterman" to talk about the movie and what it was like to portray Letterman. Higgins then sat in the green room as Letterman spent the next hour padding bits and doing filler, all the while promising Higgins was "coming up". At the end of the show Letterman apologized to Higgins for "running out of time", pointedly saying he hoped the actor could "come back again soon." Higgins was never re-booked.

Goofs:

Continuity: Between the two times that David is shown at the same CBS press conference, his denials about Amy Fisher are reversed.

Quotes:

Reporter #3: Are you gonna kick Jay Leno's ass?
David Letterman: I'll kick your ass.

Movie Connections:

References "Wings" (1990)

Soundtrack:

There's No Business Like Show Business

A great look behind the scenes

as a former TV editor, I can say this is as authentic as it gets. It even led to Letterman's producer (thought to be a source) resigning (eventually) in real life. Letterman was outraged (OK, so one goofy thing is it has him throwing softballs at a tire swing on his estate; total fabrication) but the main information is hilariously true, from the silly bidding war for Letterman once he decided to leave NBC to Leno's problems with an agent who was not ready for big time, but who he let run the show (almost to a disastrous exit) out of his famed loyalty. If any of you kids don't grasp the idea of why Letterman is jealous to this day, see this tape.