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DVD The Late Shift
Loyalties ran deep. People were polarized. And, for a while, folks followed it in the news with bated breath. No, it wasn't an election year; it was the battle for late-night television, bitterly fought by Jay Leno and David Letterman.
Even before Johnny Carson retired, Letterman and Leno were jockeying for The Tonight Show. Letterman had a proven record, but at a later time slot, with an edgier crowd. Leno had the guest-host position and the support of the network. HBO dramatizes the struggle for the 11 p.m. slot in The Late Shift, a made-for-cable movie that reveals the seedier side of talk television. Kathy Bates gives a hysterical--both in the funny and the manic sense--performance as Leno's manager. John Michael Higgens is a convincing Letterman and Daniel Roebuck (with mounds of latex on his chin) gets the Leno voice right. And while the studio execs and agents (played humorously by Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Treat Williams, among others) appear as sharks, both Leno and Letterman come off sympathetically. Even though the outcome is well known, The Late Shift is an entertaining look at the craziness that is late-night TV. --Jenny Brown
This is a great HBO telefilm based on the late night talk show wars of the early 90s. The actors portraying Leno and Letterman give dead-on impersonations as their respective hosts. In particular, the Leno was able to capture the essence of unfunny smarminess that is Leno's personality. While these guys were great, the real star is Kathy Bates as the foul-mouthed control freak, Helen Kushnik! What a tour-de-force! She is at her nastiness while behind the wheel of her Mercedes shouting insults and cutdowns galore at uptight studio heads. Unfortunately the real Helen is no longer with us, so be sure to pay tribute to her memory by purchasing this now!
Wonderfully Acted DocuComedy On Leno/Letterman!
I can't tell you how long I have waited for this DVD. A very true story of the dark side of late night comedy, specifically focusing on the year Johnny Carson gave up his chair on The Tonight Show.
Letterman Deserved the Tonight Show
This is a terrific video with Kathy Bates absolutely hateful as Leno's manager. The actors portraying Leno and Letterman are good but try too hard to mimic rather than portray each.
The video is great at showing the behind the scenes maneuvering that allowed Leno to steal The Tonight Show from David Letterman. That may be harsh but I don't think there is any other way to describe what happened. The rightful heir to Carson was Letterman. Leno was (and still is) a poor pretender to the throne.
That being said, the intrigue and lies used to move the transfer of the Tonight Show to Leno is great. CBS's decision to enter the late night market and lure Letterman is played out realistically. It's interesting to note that if Letterman got the Tonight Show, CBS was ready to go after Leno.
The video is a good companion to the book. The book provides much more detail and inside information but the video hits the highlights. If interested, you may want to read the book before viewing the video.
Look forward to seeing this on DVD hopefully with some extras.
This HBO original comedy, adapted by Larry Gelbart (Tootsie) from the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, concerns one of the most compelling tales of corporate buyout madness in the go-go 1980s. James Garner plays F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR Nabisco. Following failed and expensive efforts to sell a smokeless cigarette to the public, Johnson decides that he's had enough of navigating around the wrath of the company's stockholders. Drawing up plans to buy RJR Nabisco outright, he soon finds himself outmatched (though still determined) in a race for the prize with takeover king Henry Kravis (Jonathan Pryce). The ensuing battle is both bitterly funny and full of acid-tinged insights into the '80s greed that changed corporate America forever. Besides Gelbart's great script and... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): James Garner - Jonathan Pryce Director(s): Glenn Jordan DVD Release Date: Released the 25 September 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Culled from 30 years of material, this collection of moments from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson contains some of most inspired bits of lunacy ever recorded. Whether cajoling with Hollywood's biggest stars or normal folk with special talents, Carson was a master of finding the right joke, with timing second to none. Along with bits of his opening monologues, skits, and early stand-up appearances from the likes of David Letterman and Eddie Murphy, there are many highlights with perhaps the perfect Carson guest--exotic animals that stole the show. This is the third collection of Carson's show; the His Favorite Moments videos were released shortly after Carson's reign ended in 1992. Although most of the tapes from his first decade are lost, there are plenty of... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Johnny Carson - Ed McMahon Director(s): Frederick De Cordova - Bobby Quinn - Dick Carson DVD Release Date: Released the 23 May 2003 Usually ships in 3 to 5 weeks
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Nowadays it's rare to find a movie that pays attention to human weakness as well as strength, and that sees a whole person as having both. When a sports magazine gets bought by a media conglomerate, an ad sales executive named Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid, The Rookie) finds himself playing second-in-command to Carter Duryea, a hotshot barely half his age (Topher Grace, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!) whose marriage has just fallen apart. One evening Carter invites himself over to Dan's house to escape his loneliness, where he meets Dan's daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson, Lost in Translation). The two strike immediate sparks and when they run into each other later in the city, a relationship begins--which they discreetly keep from Dan. But the heart of the movie is not in... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Dennis Quaid - Topher Grace - Scarlett Johansson Director(s): Paul Weitz DVD Release Date: Released the 10 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The chameleon-like actor Kevin Spacey is best known for playing pyschopaths (in Seven and The Usual Suspects) and capturing a creepy mid-life crisis in American Beauty--but surprisingly, playing crooner Bobby Darin, Spacey does some snappy dancing and top-notch singing. Beyond the Sea puts Darin's life through a bit of a kaleidoscope: While singing Darin's most memorable hit, "Mack the Knife," Darin suddenly stops the show, revealing that he's not at a nightclub, but in the middle of a shooting a scene about his life as a nightclub performer. Why has he stopped? Because he's just seen himself as a young boy, peering from behind a curtain. Such self-conscious narrative twists recur throughout the movie, turning Darin's fight for fame and respect into a love... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Kevin Spacey - Kate Bosworth - John Goodman Director(s): Kevin Spacey DVD Release Date: Released the 07 June 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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