Radioland Murders
Encyclopedia
Radioland Murders is a 1994
black comedy
mystery film
directed by Mel Smith
and co-written/produced by George Lucas
. Radioland Murders is set in the 1939 atmosphere of old-time radio
and pays homage
to the screwball comedy film
s of the 1930s. The film tells the story of writer Roger Henderson trying to settle relationship issues with his wife while dealing with a whodunit
murder mystery in a radio station. The films stars an ensemble cast
, including Brian Benben, Mary Stuart Masterson
, Scott Michael Campbell, Michael Lerner
and Ned Beatty
. Radioland Murders also features numerous small roles and cameo appearance
s, including Michael McKean
, Bobcat Goldthwait
, Jeffrey Tambor
, Christopher Lloyd
, George Burns
, Billy Barty
and Rosemary Clooney
.
George Lucas began development for the film in the 1970s, originally attached as director for Willard Huyck
and Gloria Katz
's script. Universal Pictures
commenced pre-production
and both Steve Martin
and Cindy Williams
had already been approached for the two leads before Radioland Murders languished in development hell
for over 20 years. In 1993 Lucas told Universal that advances in computer-generated imagery
from Industrial Light & Magic (owned by Lucasfilm
), particularly in digital mattes, would help bring Radioland Murders in for a relatively low budget of about $10 million, which eventually rose to $15 million. Mel Smith
was hired to direct and filming lasted from October to December 1993. Radioland Murders was released on October 21, 1994 to negative reviews from critics and bombed at the box office
, only grossing $1.37 million in US totals.
WBN in Chicago, Illinois begins its inaugural night. The station's owner, General Walt Whalen, depends on his employees to impress main sponsor Bernie King. This includes writer Roger Henderson, assistant director Penny Henderson (Roger's wife seeking divorce), page
boy Billy Budget, engineer Max Applewhite, conductor
Rick Rochester, announcer Dexter Morris, director Walt Whalen, Jr. and stage manager Herman Katzenback. After King commissions rewrites on the radio scripts, the WBN writers get angry, adding to the fact that they have not been paid in weeks.
When Ruffles Reedy, a trumpet player, falls dead from rat poisoning, a series of events ensue. Director Walt Jr. is hanged (the mysterious killer makes it look like a suicide), and his father, the General, has the Chicago Police Department
(CPD) get involved to solve the murder mysteries as the nightly radio performance continues. Herman Katzenback is then killed after attempting to fix the main stage when the machinery malfunctions. Penny is appointed both stage manager and director due to Walt Jr. and Katzenback's deaths. Writer Roger Henderson tries to solve the killings, much to the annoyance of the police, led by Lieutenant Cross.
Because Roger unfortunately appears at every scene of crime just as the murders take place, he is ruled as the prime suspect. Roger and Billy Budget then theorize that announcer Dexter Morris is the next to die. Dexter ignores their warning and is killed from electrocution. By going through private documents in WBN's file room, Roger finds that the victims all previously worked together at a radio station in Peoria, Illinois
, which he then correlates into a secretive FCC
scandal. King (laughing gas) and General Whalen (falls down an elevator shaft) are the next to die after Roger's warning, causing even more suspicion from the police.
After escaping from custody, Roger uses Billy to communicate and send scripts to Penny. When rewriting one of programs, Gork: Son of Fire, Roger attempts to write the script with self-reference
events, proving to everyone that the mysterious killer is actually sound engineer Max Applewhite. Max explains that his killings were a revenge scheme that dealt with stock holders and patents, specifically detailing his invention of television, which other scientists have copied. Roger and Penny are taken by Max atop the radio tower at gunpoint. Max is eventually killed when a biplane
shows up and guns him down. Impressed by the nightly performance, the sponsors decide to fund WBN's career in broadcasting. Roger and Penny reconcile their complex relationship and decide not to divorce.
Cameo appearance
s are provided by George Burns
(in his final feature film), Joey Lawrence
, Peter MacNicol
, Robert Klein
, Ellen Albertini Dow
, Candy Clark
and Bo Hopkins
(as Billy Budget's parents), as well as singers Billy Barty
, Rosemary Clooney
and Tracy Byrd.
/co-writer George Lucas
's obsession with old-time radio
. Lucas conceived the storyline of the film during the writing phase of American Graffiti
, viewing it as a homage
to the various Abbott and Costello
films, primarily Who Done It (1942), in which Abbott and Costello star as two soda jerk
s solving a murder in a radio station. Radioland Murders also shares some inspiration from The Big Clock (1948). When Universal Pictures
accepted American Graffiti in 1972, Lucas also allowed the studio first look deal
s for both Radioland Murders and an untitled science fiction film (which eventually became the basis for Star Wars
).
Lucas eventually negotiated a deal to produce Radioland Murders for Universal shortly after the successful release of American Graffiti in late 1973. Willard Huyck
and Gloria Katz
prepared a rough draft based on Lucas's 1974 film treatment
, and Universal was confident enough to announce pre-production
soon after. Lucas was set to direct with Gary Kurtz
producing. In the original Huyck/Katz script, Roger and Penny were not a married couple seeking divorce, but were boyfriend and girlfriend with a love-hate relationship
. Their script also included the controversy over the invention of radio
.
In July 1978, Lucas revealed that Radioland Murders was still in development, and that both Steve Martin
and Cindy Williams
were approached for the two leads. The script was being rewritten and the planned start date
was early-1979. However, throughout the 1970s to early 1990s, Radioland Murders remained in development hell
. Between this time, Lucas commissioned Theodore J. Flicker
to perform a rewrite. In early-1993 Lucas told Universal that advances in computer-generated imagery
from Industrial Light & Magic (owned by Lucasfilm
), particularly in digital matte
s, would help bring Radioland Murders in for a relatively low budget of about $10 million, which eventually rose to $15 million.
Universal agreed to greenlight
Radioland Murders if Lucas would "update" the script. The Huyck/Katz script contained parodies of old-time radio that the general public in the 1970s would likely acknowledge. Universal reasoned that the script would have to modified in an attempt to accustom audiences from the MTV Generation
. Based on Ron Howard
's recommendation, Lucas hired Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn (known for their work on Moonlighting
) to "update" the screenplay. The shooting script
was prepared by Lucas, who combined his favorite elements of the Reno/Osborn draft with the original Huyck/Katz script from the 1970s. Lucas then hired Mel Smith
to direct, who recommended Brian Benben for the lead role. Lucas specifically choose Smith because he believed the British comedian/filmmaker could handle Radioland Murders form of slapstick
comedy and dark humor
. Universal was adamant that the ensemble cast
be filled with then-popular TV stars of the early 1990s. Christopher Lloyd
agreed to make a small appearance as the eccentric sound design
er Zoltan on the agreement that all of his scenes were shot in one day.
Principal photography
for Radioland Murders began on October 28, 1993 at Carolco Studios
in Wilmington, North Carolina
. Brief filming also took place at Hollywood Center Studios
. Production designer
Gavin Bocquet (Star Wars prequels, Stardust) disguised the film's limited rooms in a beehive
like structure. Larger areas, notably the exterior of the building and the transmission tower on the roof, were created or augmented with digital matte
s added by visual effects supervisor
Scott Squires (The Lost World: Jurassic Park
, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
) at Industrial Light & Magic. Following a break, in which Lucas, director Mel Smith and editor Paul Trejo reviewed the footage using the new digital Avid Technology
editing system (the successor to EditDroid
), the cast and crew were reassembled for a further two weeks of filming. Principal photography for Radioland Murders ended on December 23, 1993.
in May 1994. The studio believed both films would specifically appeal to the Baby Boom Generation. Radioland Murders was originally set to be theatrically released in September 1994 before it was pushed back. The film was released in the United States on October 21, 1994 in 844 theaters, only grossing $1.37 million. Ultimately the film bombed at the box office
because it did not recoup its $15 million budget. Critics also responded with negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes
calculated a 20% approval rating based on 15 reviews collected.
Roger Ebert
criticized the film for containing too much slapstick
comedy instead of subtle humor. Although he praised the art direction and visual effects, Ebert believed "the movie just doesn't work. It's all action and no character, all situation and no comedy. The slapstick starts so soon and lasts so long that we don't have an opportunity to meet or care about the characters in a way that would make their actions funny." Richard Schickel
, writing in Time magazine
gave a mixed review, mainly criticizing the film for its fast pacing. Caryn James of The New York Times
dismissed the film for trying too hard to pay homage to screwball comedy film
s of the 1930s.
Mick LaSalle
of the San Francisco Chronicle
gave a mixed reaction, feeling the filmmakers failed in attempting to woo audiences with nostalgia
. Internet reviewer James Berardinelli
called the film a "horrible concoction synthesizing elements of The Hudsucker Proxy
and Brain Donors
, and setting them in the world of David Lynch
's On the Air. This film has more gags in it than anything this side of a Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker
production, too few of which work."
The first Region 1 DVD
release came in March 1998 by Image Entertainment
. Universal Studios Home Entertainment
re-released the film on DVD in August 2006.
1994 in film
1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
mystery film
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
directed by Mel Smith
Mel Smith
Melvin Kenneth "Mel" Smith is an English comedian, writer, film director, producer, and actor. He is most famous for his work on the sketch comedy shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Griff Rhys Jones.- Early life :Smith's father, Kenneth, was born...
and co-written/produced by George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
. Radioland Murders is set in the 1939 atmosphere of old-time radio
Old-time radio
Old-Time Radio and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the primary home entertainment medium in the 1950s...
and pays homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to the screwball comedy film
Screwball comedy film
The screwball comedy is a principally American genre of comedy film that became popular during the Great Depression, originating in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s. It is characterized by fast-paced repartee, farcical situations, escapist themes, and plot lines involving...
s of the 1930s. The film tells the story of writer Roger Henderson trying to settle relationship issues with his wife while dealing with a whodunit
Whodunit
A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
murder mystery in a radio station. The films stars an ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
, including Brian Benben, Mary Stuart Masterson
Mary Stuart Masterson
Mary Stuart Masterson is an American film, stage and television actress and director.-Early life:Masterson was born in New York City to writer/director Peter Masterson and actress Carlin Glynn. She has two siblings: Peter Masterson Jr., and Alexandra Masterson, who are both involved in the...
, Scott Michael Campbell, Michael Lerner
Michael Lerner (actor)
-Life and career:Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor...
and Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
. Radioland Murders also features numerous small roles and cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s, including Michael McKean
Michael McKean
Michael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St...
, Bobcat Goldthwait
Bobcat Goldthwait
Robert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film and television director. He is commonly known for his energetic, ravenous stage personality, his dark, acerbic black comedy, and his gruff but high-pitched voice.- Early life :Goldthwait was born in Syracuse,...
, Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.-Early life:...
, Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
, George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
, Billy Barty
Billy Barty
Billy Barty was an American film actor.-Biography:Barty, an Italian American, was born William John Bertanzetti in Millsboro, Pennsylvania...
and Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
.
George Lucas began development for the film in the 1970s, originally attached as director for Willard Huyck
Willard Huyck
Willard Huyck is an American screenwriter, director and producer, best known for his association with George Lucas. They met as students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and along with others, they became members of a renowned group of amateur filmmakers called The Dirty Dozen...
and Gloria Katz
Gloria Katz
Gloria Katz is an American screenwriter and film producer, best known for her association with George Lucas. Along with her husband Willard Huyck, Katz has created the screenplays of films including American Graffiti, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and the notorious Howard the Duck.-...
's script. Universal Pictures
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
commenced pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
and both Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
and Cindy Williams
Cindy Williams
Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Williams is an American actress best known for starring in the television situation-comedy series Laverne & Shirley, in the role of "Shirley Feeney", and for her role as Laurie Henderson in the classic film American Graffiti.-Early life:Williams was born in Van Nuys,...
had already been approached for the two leads before Radioland Murders languished in development hell
Development hell
In the jargon of the media-industry, "development hell" is a period during which a film or other project is trapped in development...
for over 20 years. In 1993 Lucas told Universal that advances in computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
from Industrial Light & Magic (owned by Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
), particularly in digital mattes, would help bring Radioland Murders in for a relatively low budget of about $10 million, which eventually rose to $15 million. Mel Smith
Mel Smith
Melvin Kenneth "Mel" Smith is an English comedian, writer, film director, producer, and actor. He is most famous for his work on the sketch comedy shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Griff Rhys Jones.- Early life :Smith's father, Kenneth, was born...
was hired to direct and filming lasted from October to December 1993. Radioland Murders was released on October 21, 1994 to negative reviews from critics and bombed at the box office
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
, only grossing $1.37 million in US totals.
Plot
In 1939 radio networkRadio network
There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...
WBN in Chicago, Illinois begins its inaugural night. The station's owner, General Walt Whalen, depends on his employees to impress main sponsor Bernie King. This includes writer Roger Henderson, assistant director Penny Henderson (Roger's wife seeking divorce), page
Page (servant)
A page or page boy is a traditionally young male servant, a messenger at the service of a nobleman or royal.-The medieval page:In medieval times, a page was an attendant to a knight; an apprentice squire...
boy Billy Budget, engineer Max Applewhite, conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
Rick Rochester, announcer Dexter Morris, director Walt Whalen, Jr. and stage manager Herman Katzenback. After King commissions rewrites on the radio scripts, the WBN writers get angry, adding to the fact that they have not been paid in weeks.
When Ruffles Reedy, a trumpet player, falls dead from rat poisoning, a series of events ensue. Director Walt Jr. is hanged (the mysterious killer makes it look like a suicide), and his father, the General, has the Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
(CPD) get involved to solve the murder mysteries as the nightly radio performance continues. Herman Katzenback is then killed after attempting to fix the main stage when the machinery malfunctions. Penny is appointed both stage manager and director due to Walt Jr. and Katzenback's deaths. Writer Roger Henderson tries to solve the killings, much to the annoyance of the police, led by Lieutenant Cross.
Because Roger unfortunately appears at every scene of crime just as the murders take place, he is ruled as the prime suspect. Roger and Billy Budget then theorize that announcer Dexter Morris is the next to die. Dexter ignores their warning and is killed from electrocution. By going through private documents in WBN's file room, Roger finds that the victims all previously worked together at a radio station in Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
, which he then correlates into a secretive FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
scandal. King (laughing gas) and General Whalen (falls down an elevator shaft) are the next to die after Roger's warning, causing even more suspicion from the police.
After escaping from custody, Roger uses Billy to communicate and send scripts to Penny. When rewriting one of programs, Gork: Son of Fire, Roger attempts to write the script with self-reference
Self-reference
Self-reference occurs in natural or formal languages when a sentence or formula refers to itself. The reference may be expressed either directly—through some intermediate sentence or formula—or by means of some encoding...
events, proving to everyone that the mysterious killer is actually sound engineer Max Applewhite. Max explains that his killings were a revenge scheme that dealt with stock holders and patents, specifically detailing his invention of television, which other scientists have copied. Roger and Penny are taken by Max atop the radio tower at gunpoint. Max is eventually killed when a biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
shows up and guns him down. Impressed by the nightly performance, the sponsors decide to fund WBN's career in broadcasting. Roger and Penny reconcile their complex relationship and decide not to divorce.
Cast
- Brian Benben as Roger Henderson: Ecstatic writer of WBN and husband to Penny. Much to the suspicion of the police force, Roger solves the murder mystery.
- Mary Stuart MastersonMary Stuart MastersonMary Stuart Masterson is an American film, stage and television actress and director.-Early life:Masterson was born in New York City to writer/director Peter Masterson and actress Carlin Glynn. She has two siblings: Peter Masterson Jr., and Alexandra Masterson, who are both involved in the...
as Penny Henderson: Stressed WBN secretary who is promoted to both director and stage manager after the deaths of Walt Jr. and Herman Katzenback. She initially intends to divorce Roger after catching him in with an affair with Claudette Katzenback, but they later reconcile their relationship. - Scott Michael CampbellScott Michael CampbellScott Michael Campbell is an American actor.Among the roles he has played , there are appearances in ER, Nothing Sacred, House, and more recently, a semi-regular participation in The Event and the movies Flight of the Phoenix, Brokeback Mountain among many others.-...
as Billy Budget: WBN page boy who is used by Roger to communicate with Penny and send scripts, despite the fact that he is trying to hide from the police. - Michael LernerMichael Lerner (actor)-Life and career:Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York of Romanian Jewish descent, the son of Blanche and George Lerner, who was a fisherman and antiques dealer. He was raised in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. His brother, Ken Lerner, is also an actor...
as Lieutenant Cross: Short-tempered policeman who has a vendetta against Roger. - Ned BeattyNed BeattyNed Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
as General Walt Whalen: Owner of WBN who commands his staff with a military-like work environment. The General dies after falling down an elevator shaft. - Brion JamesBrion JamesBrion Howard James was an American character actor. Known for playing the character of Leon Kowalski in the movie Blade Runner, James portrayed a variety of colorful roles in well-known films such as 48 Hrs., Another 48 Hours, Tango & Cash, Silverado, Red Heat, The Player and The Fifth Element...
as Bernie King: WBN's main sponsor who has no sense of humor. King eventually dies from laughing gas. - Stephen TobolowskyStephen TobolowskyStephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, as well as portraying Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood for nine episodes and Bob Bishop in Heroes for eleven episodes over the second and third seasons...
as Max Applewhite: WBN's sound engineer who is found to be responsible for the murders. Max dies after getting shot atop the radio tower. - Michael McKeanMichael McKeanMichael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St...
as Rick Rochester: WBN band conductor who despises Dexter. - Corbin BernsenCorbin BernsenCorbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
as Dexter Morris: The station's announcer who has a smoking habit. Dexter dies of electrocution, ignoring Roger and Billy's warning. - Bobcat GoldthwaitBobcat GoldthwaitRobert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film and television director. He is commonly known for his energetic, ravenous stage personality, his dark, acerbic black comedy, and his gruff but high-pitched voice.- Early life :Goldthwait was born in Syracuse,...
as Wild Writer: Violent and melancholic WBN writer. - Anita MorrisAnita Morris-Career:Among many roles, Morris's most prominent film role was as Carol Dodsworth, the mistress to Danny DeVito, in Ruthless People and for her sensual performance as Carla in the musical Nine opposite Raul Julia. While nominated for a Best Featured Actress Tony Award as Carla, she lost to Liliane...
as Claudette Katzenback: Famous singer and Herman's wife. Penny catches her with Roger, presumably having sex, but this appears to have been a prank Claudette created. Roger originally believes she was responsible for killings. - Jeffrey TamborJeffrey TamborJeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.-Early life:...
as Walt Whalen, Jr.: The General's toupéeToupeeA toupée is a hairpiece or partial wig of natural or synthetic hair worn to cover partial baldness or for theatrical purposes. While toupées and hairpieces are typically associated with male wearers, some women also use hairpieces to lengthen existing hair, or cover partially exposed scalp...
-wearing son and show director. - Larry MillerLarry Miller (actor)Lawrence J. "Larry" Miller is an American actor, voice artist, comedian, podcaster, and columnist.-Early life:Miller was born in Valley Stream, New York, attended Valley Stream South High School graduating in 1971. He attended Amherst College...
as Herman Katzenback: German stage manager of WBN. Herman is the third to die and is aware of Claudette's multiple affairs with other employees. - Christopher LloydChristopher LloydChristopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
as Zoltan: Eccentric sound designSound designSound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
er. - Harvey KormanHarvey KormanHarvey Herschel Korman was an American comedic actor who performed in television and movie productions beginning in 1960...
as Jules Cogley: Alcoholic writer who confirms that Ruffles' death came from poisoning. - Dylan BakerDylan BakerDylan Baker is an American actor, known for playing supporting roles in both major studio and independent films.-Early life:...
as Detective Jasper: Cross' idiot assistant. - Jack SheldonJack SheldonJack Sheldon is an American bebop and West Coast jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He is a trumpet player and was a comedian on The Merv Griffin Show, as well as the voice heard on several episodes of the educational music television series Schoolhouse Rock.-Biography:Sheldon was born in...
as Ruffles Reedy: Drunk trumpet player of Rochester's band. He is the first to die.
Cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s are provided by George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
(in his final feature film), Joey Lawrence
Joey Lawrence
Joseph "Joey" Lawrence is an American actor, R&B-singer, and TV-host. He is known for his roles in the TV-series Gimme a Break!, Blossom, and Melissa & Joey.- Early life :...
, Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol is an American actor. He may be best known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, Thomas Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It and David Langley in Bean...
, Robert Klein
Robert Klein
Robert Klein is an American stand-up comedian, singer and actor.-Early life:Klein was born in the Bronx, the son of Frieda and Benjamin Klein, and was raised in a "prototypical 1950s Bronx Jewish" environment. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, Klein planned to study medicine...
, Ellen Albertini Dow
Ellen Albertini Dow
Ellen Albertini Dow is an American character actress. She often portrays feisty old ladies and is perhaps best known as the rapping grandmother who performs in the feature film The Wedding Singer...
, Candy Clark
Candy Clark
Candace June "Candy" Clark is an American film and television actress, well known for her role as Debbie Dunham in the 1973 film American Graffiti, which garnered her an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, a character she reprised in 1979 for the sequel More American Graffiti...
and Bo Hopkins
Bo Hopkins
Bo Hopkins is an American actor.-Career:Hopkins has appeared in more than one hundred film and television roles in a career of more than forty years, including The Bridge at Remagen, The Wild Bunch, The Getaway, American Graffiti, White Lightning, Radioland Murders, The Killer Elite, Midnight...
(as Billy Budget's parents), as well as singers Billy Barty
Billy Barty
Billy Barty was an American film actor.-Biography:Barty, an Italian American, was born William John Bertanzetti in Millsboro, Pennsylvania...
, Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
and Tracy Byrd.
Production
The genesis of Radioland Murders came from executive producerExecutive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
/co-writer George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
's obsession with old-time radio
Old-time radio
Old-Time Radio and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the primary home entertainment medium in the 1950s...
. Lucas conceived the storyline of the film during the writing phase of American Graffiti
American Graffiti
American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
, viewing it as a homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to the various Abbott and Costello
Abbott and Costello
William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and 1950s...
films, primarily Who Done It (1942), in which Abbott and Costello star as two soda jerk
Soda jerk
A soda jerk was a person — typically a youth — who operated the soda fountain in a drugstore, often for the purpose of preparing and serving ice cream soda. This was made by putting flavored syrup into a specially designed tall glass, adding carbonated water and, finally, one or two scoops of ice...
s solving a murder in a radio station. Radioland Murders also shares some inspiration from The Big Clock (1948). When Universal Pictures
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
accepted American Graffiti in 1972, Lucas also allowed the studio first look deal
First look deal
A first look deal is an arrangement, usually in the film industry, where either a company or in some cases an individual enters into a commercial agreement with a studio under which they must allow the studio the right of first refusal in relation to developing and/or producing a project the...
s for both Radioland Murders and an untitled science fiction film (which eventually became the basis for Star Wars
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
).
Lucas eventually negotiated a deal to produce Radioland Murders for Universal shortly after the successful release of American Graffiti in late 1973. Willard Huyck
Willard Huyck
Willard Huyck is an American screenwriter, director and producer, best known for his association with George Lucas. They met as students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and along with others, they became members of a renowned group of amateur filmmakers called The Dirty Dozen...
and Gloria Katz
Gloria Katz
Gloria Katz is an American screenwriter and film producer, best known for her association with George Lucas. Along with her husband Willard Huyck, Katz has created the screenplays of films including American Graffiti, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and the notorious Howard the Duck.-...
prepared a rough draft based on Lucas's 1974 film treatment
Film treatment
A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline , and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits...
, and Universal was confident enough to announce pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
soon after. Lucas was set to direct with Gary Kurtz
Gary Kurtz
Gary Kurtz is an American film producer whose list of credits include American Graffiti, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. He later produced The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz after departing from the Star Wars series...
producing. In the original Huyck/Katz script, Roger and Penny were not a married couple seeking divorce, but were boyfriend and girlfriend with a love-hate relationship
Love-hate relationship
A love–hate relationship is an interpersonal relationship involving simultaneous or alternating emotions of love and hate. This relationship does not have to be of a romantic nature, and may be instead of a sibling one...
. Their script also included the controversy over the invention of radio
Invention Of Radio
Within the history of radio, several people were involved in the invention of radio and there were many key inventions in what became the modern systems of wireless. Radio development began as "wireless telegraphy"...
.
In July 1978, Lucas revealed that Radioland Murders was still in development, and that both Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
and Cindy Williams
Cindy Williams
Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Williams is an American actress best known for starring in the television situation-comedy series Laverne & Shirley, in the role of "Shirley Feeney", and for her role as Laurie Henderson in the classic film American Graffiti.-Early life:Williams was born in Van Nuys,...
were approached for the two leads. The script was being rewritten and the planned start date
Start date
The start date of a film refers to the first day of principal photography.A film project which has been green-lit does not typically enter pre-production until it has been assigned a start date, and for this reason a film with a start date is generally regarded as more likely to proceed to...
was early-1979. However, throughout the 1970s to early 1990s, Radioland Murders remained in development hell
Development hell
In the jargon of the media-industry, "development hell" is a period during which a film or other project is trapped in development...
. Between this time, Lucas commissioned Theodore J. Flicker
Theodore J. Flicker
Theodore Jonas "Ted" Flicker is an American playwright, theatrical producer, television and film director, actor, screenwriter, author, and sculptor.-Early life:...
to perform a rewrite. In early-1993 Lucas told Universal that advances in computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
from Industrial Light & Magic (owned by Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
), particularly in digital matte
Matte (filmmaking)
Mattes are used in photography and special effects filmmaking to combine two or more image elements into a single, final image. Usually, mattes are used to combine a foreground image with a background image . In this case, the matte is the background painting...
s, would help bring Radioland Murders in for a relatively low budget of about $10 million, which eventually rose to $15 million.
Universal agreed to greenlight
Greenlight
To green-light a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the movie and TV businesses, to green-light something is to formally approve its production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to...
Radioland Murders if Lucas would "update" the script. The Huyck/Katz script contained parodies of old-time radio that the general public in the 1970s would likely acknowledge. Universal reasoned that the script would have to modified in an attempt to accustom audiences from the MTV Generation
MTV Generation
The MTV Generation is a term sometimes used to refer to youth of the late 20th century. The term can mean different things to different people, and is sometimes used synonymously with the terms Generation X or Generation Y.- History :...
. Based on Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
's recommendation, Lucas hired Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn (known for their work on Moonlighting
Moonlighting (TV series)
Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 3, 1985, to May 14, 1989. The network aired a total of 66 episodes...
) to "update" the screenplay. The shooting script
Shooting script
A shooting script is the version of a screenplay used during the production of a motion picture. Shooting scripts are distinct from spec scripts in that they make use of scene numbers , and they follow a well defined set of procedures specifying how script revisions should be implemented and...
was prepared by Lucas, who combined his favorite elements of the Reno/Osborn draft with the original Huyck/Katz script from the 1970s. Lucas then hired Mel Smith
Mel Smith
Melvin Kenneth "Mel" Smith is an English comedian, writer, film director, producer, and actor. He is most famous for his work on the sketch comedy shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Griff Rhys Jones.- Early life :Smith's father, Kenneth, was born...
to direct, who recommended Brian Benben for the lead role. Lucas specifically choose Smith because he believed the British comedian/filmmaker could handle Radioland Murders form of slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
comedy and dark humor
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
. Universal was adamant that the ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
be filled with then-popular TV stars of the early 1990s. Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
agreed to make a small appearance as the eccentric sound design
Sound design
Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
er Zoltan on the agreement that all of his scenes were shot in one day.
Principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
for Radioland Murders began on October 28, 1993 at Carolco Studios
Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures, Inc., Carolco International N.V., or Anabasis Investments was an American independent film production company that, within a decade, went from producing such blockbuster successes as Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the first three movies of the Rambo series to being bankrupted by...
in Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. Brief filming also took place at Hollywood Center Studios
Hollywood Center Studios
Hollywood Center Studios is a company based in Los Angeles, California that provides stage facilities to television and movie production companies. Its sound stages, located at 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, California, are steeped in Hollywood history...
. Production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
Gavin Bocquet (Star Wars prequels, Stardust) disguised the film's limited rooms in a beehive
Beehive
A beehive is a structure in which bees live and raise their young.Beehive may also refer to:Buildings and locations:* Bee Hive, Alabama, a neighborhood in Alabama* Beehive , a wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings...
like structure. Larger areas, notably the exterior of the building and the transmission tower on the roof, were created or augmented with digital matte
Matte (filmmaking)
Mattes are used in photography and special effects filmmaking to combine two or more image elements into a single, final image. Usually, mattes are used to combine a foreground image with a background image . In this case, the matte is the background painting...
s added by visual effects supervisor
Visual effects supervisor
In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director and/or producers through the use of visual effects...
Scott Squires (The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 science fiction thriller film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was produced by Bonnie Curtis, Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson...
, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...
) at Industrial Light & Magic. Following a break, in which Lucas, director Mel Smith and editor Paul Trejo reviewed the footage using the new digital Avid Technology
Avid Technology
Avid Technology, Inc. is an American company specializing in video and audio production technology; specifically, digital non-linear editing systems, management and distribution services. It was created in 1987 and became a publicly traded company in 1993...
editing system (the successor to EditDroid
EditDroid
The EditDroid was a computerized analog NLE , developed by Lucasfilm spin-off company, the Droid Works and Convergence Corporation who formed a joint venture company. The company existed up through the mid-80's to the early 90's in an attempt to move from analog editing methods to digital...
), the cast and crew were reassembled for a further two weeks of filming. Principal photography for Radioland Murders ended on December 23, 1993.
Release
To market Radioland Murders, Universal attached a film trailer to The FlintstonesThe Flintstones (film)
The Flintstones is a 1994 American live-action comedy film based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon television series of the same name about a Stone-Age man, his family and his best friend. The film was directed by Brian Levant, written by Tom S. Parker, Jim Jennewein and Steven E...
in May 1994. The studio believed both films would specifically appeal to the Baby Boom Generation. Radioland Murders was originally set to be theatrically released in September 1994 before it was pushed back. The film was released in the United States on October 21, 1994 in 844 theaters, only grossing $1.37 million. Ultimately the film bombed at the box office
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
because it did not recoup its $15 million budget. Critics also responded with negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
calculated a 20% approval rating based on 15 reviews collected.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
criticized the film for containing too much slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
comedy instead of subtle humor. Although he praised the art direction and visual effects, Ebert believed "the movie just doesn't work. It's all action and no character, all situation and no comedy. The slapstick starts so soon and lasts so long that we don't have an opportunity to meet or care about the characters in a way that would make their actions funny." Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
, writing in Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
gave a mixed review, mainly criticizing the film for its fast pacing. Caryn James of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
dismissed the film for trying too hard to pay homage to screwball comedy film
Screwball comedy film
The screwball comedy is a principally American genre of comedy film that became popular during the Great Depression, originating in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s. It is characterized by fast-paced repartee, farcical situations, escapist themes, and plot lines involving...
s of the 1930s.
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
gave a mixed reaction, feeling the filmmakers failed in attempting to woo audiences with nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
. Internet reviewer James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
called the film a "horrible concoction synthesizing elements of The Hudsucker Proxy
The Hudsucker Proxy
The Hudsucker Proxy is a 1994 screwball comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Sam Raimi co-wrote the script and served as second unit director....
and Brain Donors
Brain Donors
Brain Donors is an American comedy movie released by Paramount Pictures, loosely based on the Marx Brothers comedy, A Night at the Opera...
, and setting them in the world of David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's On the Air. This film has more gags in it than anything this side of a Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker
Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker
Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker are an American comedy filmmaking trio consisting of Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker who specializes in slapstick comedy films during the 1980s and the early 1990s...
production, too few of which work."
The first Region 1 DVD
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
release came in March 1998 by Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
. Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
re-released the film on DVD in August 2006.