News Fever - Broadcast News

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title News Fever - Broadcast News
Original title Broadcast News
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1987
length 127 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director James L. Brooks
script James L. Brooks
production James L. Brooks,
Polly Platt
music Bill Conti
camera Michael Ballhaus
cut Richard Marks
occupation

Broadcast News - Broadcast News ( Broadcast News ) is an American comedy film from 1987. The film starred William Hurt and Holly Hunter .

action

At the beginning of the film, the learning difficulties Tom Grunick, the clever geek Aaron Altman and the highly intelligent Jane Craig are shown as children. Tom is annoyed that he is only praised for his appearance and suffers from his bad grades. Jane is precocious and improves her father's use of foreign words. Aaron provokes his classmates and is then beaten up by them.

Years later, reporter Aaron Altman and producer Jane Craig worked together on a news channel in Washington, DC . Jane Craig is a self-confident perfectionist and a workhorse who always manages to literally put together her good contributions for the show at the last minute. When she gives a lecture on ethics in the media, the audience leaves the lecture hall, bored. Only the smart TV presenter Tom Grunick tells her that he really appreciated the presentation. They both get to know each other and he confesses to her that he is a successful journalist, but not a good one.

Jane takes Tom to her hotel room and tries clumsily to seduce him. When she criticizes him sharply for his attitude, Tom leaves the hotel room angrily, but also tells her that she is right about everything. Later he calls her and tells her that it has been hired by her broadcaster and that they will work together in the future.

The newly hired Grunick has professional success due to his good looks and ambition, although he has relatively little work experience. He compensates for a lack of specialist knowledge with a self-confident demeanor and a strong screen presence. Tom produces a report about female rape victims in which he cries as an interviewer and thus earns high praise. Jane is also touched by this report.

Grunick's reputation with his colleague Craig increases rapidly when he has to take over the moderation of a special program on a conflict between the US and Gaddafi's Libya. Jane constantly gives him the right keywords via the ear microphone, some of which come from her friend Altman. Altman, who is in love with Jane, suffers from this success of Tom. On the one hand he should have directed the show as an expert on Libya and military policy, on the other hand he sees Tom as a competitor when it comes to Jane.

When the attractive colleague Jennifer Mack then asks Jane for permission to approach Tom, Jane agrees after some hesitation. Shortly thereafter, Tom has an affair with the superficial Jennifer, which hurts Jane. The broadcaster is forced to save and announces that some employees - including Altman - will be fired. However, he gets one last chance and is allowed to moderate the Sunday evening broadcast as a newscaster. Tom tries to help him and teaches him the basic rules of screen presence. During the recording, however, Aaron experiences such an extreme sweat that he realizes that he is unsuitable as a moderator. Jane also reveals to him that she is in love with Tom. Altman is devastated. He calls Tom the "devil" for lowering the level of the news broadcasts and in turn confesses to Jane that he loves her.

Then the shock: Numerous employees of the station are laid off to save costs. Craig becomes editor-in-chief of the Washington studio, Grunick is transferred to London , which is viewed as a promotion within the network. Altman, whose salary is considered acceptable , is also allowed to stay. However, he then quits (probably because of his "impossible" jealous behavior) and takes a job in Portland.

Grunick still has a week until he leaves for London and wants to spend this time with Craig in the Caribbean . She first agrees, but then Altman tells her that Grunick only later reenacted the emotions shown during the highly regarded interview with the raped woman. Because this violates her ethical principles, she makes serious accusations to Grunick at the airport and finally lets him fly off alone.

Seven years later: Grunick is engaged and the station's chief presenter. He wants to bring Craig, who has been in a relationship for three months, as editor-in-chief of the whole station to the headquarters in New York City . At a meeting in the park, Altman is there with his young son. Altman makes an ironic remark about Grunick's excellent career, but he takes it calmly. When he asks Jane if he can introduce her to his new fiancée, she refuses.

Reviews

  • Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on December 16, 1987 that the film would show the background of television news production better than any film before. He praised the screen presence of William Hurt, who would not always come across as authentic.
  • Lexicon of International Films : An in-depth comedy about the marketability of news and the degeneration of television journalism. Confident in style in the amalgamation of playful ease and a serious sense of the reality of everyday television life. Worth seeing.

Awards

Academy Awards 1988
Golden Globe Awards 1988
  • William Hurt - nomination
  • Holly Hunter - nomination
  • James L. Brooks (Best Director) - nomination
  • James L. Brooks (Best Screenplay) nomination
  • Best Comedy Nomination
New York Film Critics Circle Award 1987
Boston Society of Film Critics Award
Further awards

Holly Hunter also won the National Board of Review Award in 1987 , the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and the 1988 Silver Bear .

James L. Brooks was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award (Best Original Screenplay) in 1988 and for the Directors Guild of America Award ( Best Feature Film ) in 1987 .

The film was entered into the National Film Registry in 2018 .

Others

  • The main female role was to be played by Debra Winger , who had to decline because of her pregnancy.
  • Joan's brother, well-known actor John Cusack, plays a supporting role

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roger Ebert: Broadcast News. In: RogerEbert.com. December 16, 1987, accessed February 2, 2017 .
  2. ↑ News Fever - Broadcast News. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000710/1988
  4. ↑ http://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1980s/1987.aspx
  5. ↑ Article on Debra Winger