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Talk Radio (film)
Encyclopedia
Talk Radio is a 1988
American
drama film
, starring Eric Bogosian
, Ellen Greene
and Leslie Hope
. Directed by Oliver Stone
, the film was based on the play
by Eric Bogosian
and Tad Savinar. Portions of the film and play were based on the assassination
of radio host Alan Berg
in 1984. The film was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival
, where it won the Silver Bear.
, is a host with a caustic sense of humor and a knack for cutting people down with his controversial political views.
Champlain's radio show is about to go nationwide. A former suit salesman, he achieves his rise to fame through a guest shot on the Jeff Fisher radio show. He is subsequently given his own show. Barry has a substantial number of hostile callers trying to intimidate him and sometimes receives threatening fan mail
, such as when one caller makes a bomb
threat. His rise to fame is accompanied not only with attention from radical
elements, but also with the alienation of his wife.
, a talk show host in Denver who was murdered in 1984 by white supremacists. In his research for the film version, Bogosian often watched the on-air production of Tom Leykis
' talk show, then originating from Los Angeles station KFI
. Bogosian's fictional character shares many speech patterns and mannerisms with real-life talker Leykis.
Filming took place mostly in Dallas, Texas
and Irving, Texas
. The original play takes place entirely during the on-air broadcast and there are no scenes outside the radio station.
song Beers, Steers, and Queers
. The conversation over the air with "Ralph" while Michael Wincott's character "Joe" enters the studio consisting of "Nobody's trying to change the system, there's too many people against it!" was used by the California punk band Lagwagon on the album "Blaze." The radio tower featured at the end of the film is used by KDFW
, a local television station. At the time of filming, KDFW was a CBS
affiliate, however has since become a FOX
affiliate.
1988 in film
-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, starring Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,...
, Ellen Greene
Ellen Greene
Ellen Greene is an American singer and actress. Greene has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actor and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many films – notably Little Shop of Horrors...
and Leslie Hope
Leslie Hope
Leslie Ann Hope is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Teri Bauer in the Fox show 24 where she played the wife of the main character Jack Bauer.-Life and career:...
. Directed by Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
, the film was based on the play
Talk Radio (play)
Talk Radio is a 1987 Pulitzer Prize-nominated play written by Eric Bogosian, based on a concept by Bogosian and Tad Savinar. It centers around Barry Champlain, a Cleveland-area shock jock, on the eve of his radio show's national syndication....
by Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,...
and Tad Savinar. Portions of the film and play were based on the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of radio host Alan Berg
Alan Berg
Alan Berg was a Jewish American attorney and Denver, Colorado talk radio show host. Berg was notable for his largely liberal, outspoken viewpoints and confrontational interview style....
in 1984. The film was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival
39th Berlin International Film Festival
The 39th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 10 to 21, 1989.-Jury:* Rolf Liebermann * Leslie Caron* Chen Kaige* Vadim Glowna* Randa Haines* Vladimir Ignatovski* Adrian Kutter* Francisco Rabal...
, where it won the Silver Bear.
Plot summary
Barry Champlain, a Jewish radio personality in Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, is a host with a caustic sense of humor and a knack for cutting people down with his controversial political views.
Champlain's radio show is about to go nationwide. A former suit salesman, he achieves his rise to fame through a guest shot on the Jeff Fisher radio show. He is subsequently given his own show. Barry has a substantial number of hostile callers trying to intimidate him and sometimes receives threatening fan mail
Fan mail
Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or "fans".In return celebrities may send a poster or picture and usually a return letter.-Overview:...
, such as when one caller makes a bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
threat. His rise to fame is accompanied not only with attention from radical
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
elements, but also with the alienation of his wife.
Production
Eric Bogosian wrote the screenplay with help from director Oliver Stone. The script was almost entirely based on Bogosian's original play with some biographical information about Alan BergAlan Berg
Alan Berg was a Jewish American attorney and Denver, Colorado talk radio show host. Berg was notable for his largely liberal, outspoken viewpoints and confrontational interview style....
, a talk show host in Denver who was murdered in 1984 by white supremacists. In his research for the film version, Bogosian often watched the on-air production of Tom Leykis
Tom Leykis
Thomas Joseph Leykis is an American radio personality. He currently hosts The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis, a weekly lifestyle program dealing with fine food and drink, airing weekends mainly in West Coast markets...
' talk show, then originating from Los Angeles station KFI
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
. Bogosian's fictional character shares many speech patterns and mannerisms with real-life talker Leykis.
Filming took place mostly in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and Irving, Texas
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
. The original play takes place entirely during the on-air broadcast and there are no scenes outside the radio station.
Cast
- Eric BogosianEric BogosianEric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,...
... Barry Champlain - Ellen GreeneEllen GreeneEllen Greene is an American singer and actress. Greene has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actor and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many films – notably Little Shop of Horrors...
... Ellen - Leslie HopeLeslie HopeLeslie Ann Hope is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Teri Bauer in the Fox show 24 where she played the wife of the main character Jack Bauer.-Life and career:...
... Laura - John C. McGinleyJohn C. McGinleyJohn Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
... Stu - Alec BaldwinAlec BaldwinAlexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
... Dan - John PankowJohn PankowJohn Pankow is an American film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for a supporting role on the sitcom Mad About You .-Early life:...
... Dietz - Michael WincottMichael WincottMichael Anthony Claudio Wincott is a Canadian actor.Wincott was born in Toronto, Ontario and is renown for playing villainous roles-Filmography:*Title Shot - Robber*Wild Horse Hank - Charlie Connors...
... Kent/Michael/Joe (voice) - Robert TreborRobert TreborRobert Trebor is an American character actor, perhaps best known for his role as "Salmoneus" on the cult hits Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess...
... Jeffrey Fisher/Francine - Tony FrankTony FrankTony Frank was an American television actor. He acted in such films and series as Extreme Prejudice, Born on the Fourth of July, North and South, Riverbend and A Climate for Killing....
... Dino - Anna LevineAnna LevineAnna Kluger Levine is an American actress. She has also been credited as Anna Levine Thompson and Anna Thomson.-Filmography:* Desperately Seeking Susan as Crystal* Murphy's Romance as Wanda...
... Woman at the Basketball Game/Denise - Rockets RedglareRockets RedglareRockets Redglare was an American character actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared in over 30 films in the 1980s and 1990s, including a number of independent films, and mainstream films such as After Hours and Desperately Seeking Susan .-Early life:Born Michael Morra in New York City to a...
... Killer/Redneck Caller - Park Overall ... Debbie/Agnes/Theresa (voice)
- Earl HindmanEarl HindmanEarl John Hindman was an American actor, best-known for his role as the kindly neighbor Wilson W. Wilson Jr...
... Chet/Black John/Jerry (voice) - Linda Atkinson ... Sheila Fleming
- Zach GrenierZach GrenierZach Grenier is an American actor who has worked in film, television and on stage.He appeared in the first season of the television show 24 as Carl Webb, was in Deadwood, and on several episodes of Law & Order...
... Sid Greenberg - Harlan Jordan ... Coach Armstrong
- Bill JohnsonBill Johnson (actor)Bill Johnson is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Leatherface in the 1986 horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.-Personal life:...
... Fan #1 - Kevin Howard ... Fan #2
- Bruno RubeoBruno RubeoBruno Rubeo was a production designer, known for his multiple collaborations with directors Oliver Stone and Taylor Hackford....
... Tony - Pirie MacDonaldPirie MacDonaldIan Pirie MacDonald was an American portrait photographer, New York City civic leader, and peace advocate. He photographed over 70,000 men in the span of his career, including international heads of state, religious leaders, and artists.-Photography career:Born in Chicago, MacDonald moved to...
... Judge Willard - Allan CordunerAllan CordunerAllan Corduner is an English actor.-Early life:Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in North London with his mother, father and a younger brother. His mother had escaped to England from Nazi Germany with her family in 1938...
... Vince / Morris - Mimi Cochran ... Girl #1
- Teresa Bell ... Girl #2 / Lucy
- Angus G. Wynne III ... Engineer
- Chip Moody ... Announcer
- David Poynter ... Engineer
- Peter Zapp ... Josh / Vincent (voice)
- Carl Kissin ... Glen (voice)
- Michele Mariana ... Rhonda / Elderly Woman / Julia (voice)
- John Seitz ... Bob (voice)
- Kyle McClaran ... Arnold (voice)
- Dee Pyland ... Nancy (voice)
- Daniel Escobar ... Frank (voice)
- William De Acutis ... John the Rapist / Ralph (voice) (as Bill DeAcutis)
- Frederica Meister ... Sexy Woman (voice)
- Luis Barajas ... Fred (voice)
- Vernie Bailey ... Jackie (voice)
- Martin Rayner ... Arnold (voice)
- Alan ClarkAlan ClarkAlan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was a British Conservative MP and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Trade, and Defence, and became a privy counsellor in 1991...
... Larry (voice) - MobyMobyRichard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
... Station Announcer / Newscaster (voice) - John B. Wells ... V.O. (voice)
- Leigh FrenchLeigh French-External links:...
... Newscaster (voice) - Walter Lynn ... Newscaster (voice)
- Theresa Bell ... Lucy (uncredited)
- Fernando Lara ... Newcaster (uncredited)
In popular culture
Parts of the film have been sampled by many bands. Barry's enthusiastic "Hooooo-oyy!" outcry mocking a caller's southern accent was used prominently in the 1990 Revolting CocksRevolting Cocks
Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, is an American–Belgian industrial rock band and sometime supergroup that began as a musical side-project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc Van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry.-History:...
song Beers, Steers, and Queers
Beers, Steers, and Queers
-Additional information:The album opens with a telephone conversation between two southerners discussing an upcoming local appearance by the Revolting Cocks. They are unfamiliar with the band and interpret the name as belonging to a male strip show....
. The conversation over the air with "Ralph" while Michael Wincott's character "Joe" enters the studio consisting of "Nobody's trying to change the system, there's too many people against it!" was used by the California punk band Lagwagon on the album "Blaze." The radio tower featured at the end of the film is used by KDFW
KDFW
KDFW, virtual channel 4 , is the Fox owned-and-operated television station in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex designated market area....
, a local television station. At the time of filming, KDFW was a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate, however has since become a FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate.