Edtv (1999)

A video store clerk agrees to have his life filmed by a camera crew for a television show.

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers:

Émile Gaudreault (screenplay "Louis 19, le roi des ondes"), Sylvie Bouchard (screenplay "Louis 19, le roi des ondes")

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Geoffrey Blake

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Geoffrey Blake	...	Keith
Gail Boggs	...	Wife
Jenna Byrne	...	Felicia
Merrin Dungey	...	Ms. Seaver
Ian Gomez	...	McIlvaine
Gavin Grazer	...	Clint
Chris Hogan	...	Paul
Arianna Huffington	...	Panel Member
Larry Flash Jenkins	...	Husband (as Larry Jenkins)
Wendle Josepher	...	Rita
Scott LaRose	...	Desipio
John Livingston	...	Terry
Mitzi McCall	...	Fig Lady
Jim Meskimen	...	Dr. Geller
Don Most	...	Benson

Storyline

In a Hail Mary move for corporate preservation, the San Francisco based Northwest Broadcasting Corporation launches True TV, a new network which will broadcast the life of an Average Joe or Jane, 24/7 live and thus unedited, the subject chosen signed initially for one month. The project is conceived and led by one of the producers, Cynthia, but her boss, NWBC president Whitaker, will take the credit if it succeeds, and let her sink as the captain of the ship if it fails. The network is rebranded EdTV when Cynthia believes she's found her subject, Ed Pekurny, a native Texas hayseed, who fits the two main criteria that she is looking for in the person: he is easy on the eyes, and he has what seems to be a potential trainwreck of a life in that he he is thirty-one years old, spends most of his time hanging out at the bar, and has no ambition beyond his longtime dead end job as a clerk in a video store. Ed did not actively campaign for the job - his blowhard of a brother Ray was the one ...

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Plot Keywords:

television | fictional reality show | media circus | commercialism | satire | 

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Taglines:

Good morning! You're live on EDtv

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sex-related situations, partial nudity and crude language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ed TV

Filming Locations:

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument - 11 South Castillo Drive, St. Augustine, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,311,290, 28 March 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$22,362,500, 30 May 1999

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,300,000, 15 August 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagine Entertainment, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The band appearing in the bar where Ed and Shari are out is Stroke 9, a band from San Francisco. However, only Luke Esterkyn, the lead singer, is credited.

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Goofs

When Ed follows Shari into the theatre's female bathroom the sign reads 'Female" but the sign below it shows it is a unisex bathroom with a man, woman and disabled images.

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Quotes

Panel member: A joyous celebration of boobery, that's what it is.

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Connections

References The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

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Soundtracks

Gimme Some Lovin'
Written by Steve Winwood, Muff Winwood, and Spencer Davis
Performed by The Spencer Davis
Courtesy of EMI Records (for the U.S.)
Under license from EMI Music Special Markets
Courtesy of Island Records Limited (for the world outside the U.S.)
By Arrangement with Universal Film & TV Music

User Reviews

Exposes The Vulgarity Of Reality Shows,And The Public That Loves Them

I never liked reality shows,and when this movie was shown on cable I decided to watch it and found it really interesting.Matthew McConaughey plays video store clerk Ed Pekurny who lives with his parents and his big brother Ray Pekurny,played by Woody Harrelson.He is hired by a TV company that wants to do a 24-hour reality show based on his life,and Ed grabs the offer.In the beginning,the public tells Ed that his show 'stinks',but as they see him getting involved with his elder brother's girlfriend,the ratings go above the roof.What's more,when Ed makes out live with the bombshell to end all bombshells,that is Elizabeth Hurley,the interest verges on voyeurism.The icing in the cake comes when Ed's father suddenly turns up from nowhere,having abandoned him and his brother years ago.The film is a well-made documentation of the vulgarity of the public that makes up the television audience not only in America,but the whole world.Sex and scandal will always be the top-sellers,whether it is an ordinary man's tale or that of a celebrity.In fact,it is Ed's scandalous life that makes him America's Number One celebrity.McConaughey plays his role with ease,and so does Harrelson.Ellen Degeneres is good as the unscrupulous TV producer,while Elizabeth Hurley's brief appearance leaves the audience gasping for more.Quite entertaining and very candidly made.