Broadcast News

Plot synopsis:
The film revolves around three characters who work in television news. Jane Craig (Hunter) is a talented, neurotic producer whose life revolves around her work. Jane's best friend and frequent collaborator, Aaron Altman (Brooks), is a gifted writer and reporter ambitious for on-camera exposure who is secretly in love with Jane. Tom Grunick (Hurt), a local news anchorman who until recently was a sports anchorman, is likeable and telegenic, but lacks news experience and knows that he was only hired for his good looks and charm. He is attracted to Jane, although he is also intimidated by her skills and intensity.
All three work out of the Washington, D.C., office of a national television network. Jane is drawn to Tom, but resents his lack of qualifications for his new position as news anchor. Aaron also is appalled by Tom's lack of experience and knowledge, but accepts his advice when finally getting an opportunity to anchor a newscast himself. Unfortunately, he lacks Tom's poise and composure in that seat, and his debut as an anchor is a failure.
Aaron acknowledges to Jane that he is in love with her while trying to dissuade her from pursuing a romantic relationship with Tom. As a massive layoff hits the network, resulting in many colleagues losing their jobs, Aaron tenders his resignation, and tells her he plans to take a job in Portland, Oregon. However, before he leaves, he briefly tells Jane of an interview Tom had conducted with a victim of date rape in which Tom appeared to be crying out of sympathy; Aaron quickly gives evidence that this was not authentic, then leaves. Jane later discovers, upon looking through the footage, that Tom's tears were indeed staged.
As Tom is at the airport leaving for London (where the network is transferring him), Jane angrily confronts him, saying that his actions were a breach of journalistic ethics and that she cannot in good conscience become personally involved with him. She no longer has either man in her personal or professional life, at least until the three of them reunite several years later.

Tags: romantic, satire

Review:
William Hurt is the affable but dumb new kid on the block, news anchor.The classical love triangle emerges with the stunningly witty and self deprecating Brookes in love with Hunter but she of course is attracted to Hurt.This film works on many levels.
This is personified by the meteoric career success of the Hurt character in contrast to Brookes relative decline.Despite being fifteen years old the film has some startingly relevant messages about modern news values and the continuing decline in journalistic standards.This film is a classic in every sense and it is difficult to understand why it has been so neglected.
She's so smart in the film (a rarity for a lead female) that you almost think if her only romantic choices are William Hurt's style-but-no-substance anchor or Albert Brooks's neurotic but intellectually arrogant reporter, she'd be better off with Robert Prosky.
Fortunately, the James Brooks script and direction are a joy throughout, culminating in two perfect scenes: one with Joan Cusack unraveling seconds before a tape feed, and a marvelous 360 (?) pan thru the studio showing a live news feed from producer to anchor in one shot..
And Albert Brooks walks away with every scene he's in- this triangle of people is beautifully drawn and compelling and made the whole movie soar above it's vital and important topic of the News, and how it's slowly being compromised in our nation.Watch this with NETWORK for a truly fun and frightening evening..
Not only is this a clever comedy, this is an interesting look at what goes on behind the scenes in the television news business.There are so many funny lines...a couple of my favorites:Ernie Merriman: (sarcastically) It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always think you're the smartest person in the room.
Aaron: No one invites a bad looking idiot to their room!The performances of Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks, and William Hurt were absolutely brilliant!
He isn't only the producer for "The Simpsons," he has some classic comedies under his belt -- "Broadcast News" is one of them.Although it doesn't match his later effort "As Good As It Gets," "Broadcast News" is still a very clever, funny and witty movie about a television broadcasting station and all the problems they suffer.
There's a great comedic sequence of physical humor where Joan Cusack is running around the building trying to rush a news tape to the editing room in a matter of mere minutes before it is to be broadcast live on TV.This isn't only very truthful in terms of how hectic broadcasting stations are operated, but also a skillful and honest portrayal of human beings.A low-key, subtle movie with good acting (especially from Hurt, who I don't always like so much) and apt direction..
Despite good performances (including an unbilled Jack Nicholson as a network Big Fish) and a literate screenplay, the characters are truly too old to be acting like such lovestruck juveniles.
Although significantly overlong, the film's content stands up quite well for the most part, with an interesting and informative insight into television news broadcasting and great characters.
The actress and actors selected to play these characters are superb choices, although William Hurt and Albert Brooks do more with their roles than Holly Hunter.
She loved it, was crying and was offended that I was not moved or impressed as she was.I like Albert Brooks but found William Hurt unconvincing as a store dummy and Holly Hunter to be absolutely grating on the ears and embarrassing in every shot of her.I found the story-line to be contrived to jerk tears and hit all the politically correct points of the 80s ( date rape and sensitive men).Save your time and go rent a Hitchcock film instead!Unbowed.
When the last one exits, the co-host of the event says quietly to HOLLY HUNTER: "I don't think there will be any Q&A." Subtle line in a brilliantly written low-key comedy, a farce about the show biz aspect of TV anchoring.WILLIAM HURT is the inept news anchor who finds himself working with HOLLY HUNTER as the network anchorman.
He proves to be a quick study as long as his earpiece is working and he's getting all the straight info from executive producer Hunter.Holly's other anchor friend (ALBERT BROOKS) helps by feeding her information she passes on to Hurt.
In this unpredictable comedy, there's no telling who Hunter (the neurotic heroine) will end up with.Fittingly, HOLLY HUNTER, WILLIAM HURT and ALBERT BROOKS were all nominated for Oscars (Brooks in supporting role), as was the film itself and director/writer James L.
The film focuses mainly on three individuals; 2 x male television reporters Tom Grunick and Aaron Altman (William Hurt and Albert Brooks respectively) and executive producer Jane Craig (Holly Hunter).
With both men employed at the television company, an awkward love triangle develops when Jane falls for Tom and Aaron falls for Jane...Sky Movies proudly boasts Broadcast News as being an Oscar Winning comedy and to be fair given the premise I didn't expect this to be in-your-face comedy and was looking for something that would prove to be suitably humourous.
This was an over-sight in the film's script, in my opinion.Tom Grunnick is too-nice-of-a-guy to be the malevolent, shallow, sensationalist manipulator of the public that both Albert Brooks' character and Holly Hunter's (eventually) make him him to be.
It seems like the director wanted to have his news and read it, too:A mellow, likable, moderately-intelligent, but good-looking sports caster is thrust into the role of anchorman, probably on his looks and connections, and is then accused by some of his closest workmates of shallowness and sensationalism, but we are given only one instance of Grunnick embodying and displaying this propensity.What we needed was to meet Tom Grunnick.
We know she is ambitious and her timing and inter-personal skills are good, but what are her ideals that Albert Brooks' character alludes to toward the end of the movie?
I don't really know when it was that TV stations began preferring to have handsome men as their reporters - regardless of the mens' IQs - but it was clearly a problem by the time that "Broadcast News" came out, and the movie does a really good job looking at it.
Portraying a love triangle between pretty boy air-head reporter Tom Grunick (William Hurt), intelligent but nervous reporter Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks) and producer Jane Craig (Holly Hunter), the movie pulls no punches.
I have a friend who works as a producer for a local news station and he advised that this is close to reality so kudos to the films writer and director for doing their research.Fun movie with a lot of insight into the World of Network News.
Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks are fantastic as the purists who believe in the old- fashioned honest way of delivering the news, and William Hurt is just as good as the up- start who would rather look good on camera.
And Albert Brooks is humble and hard working as an up and coming want to be news star who's just a reporter it's like he's behind the scenes.Aside from seeing the behind the scenes and inner working of news and breaking stories in the room the film blends with the relationships and love life's of the central characters and it's nice to see the legendary Jack Nicholson with some cameo work as the top nightly news anchor and the attractive Lois Chiles as a sexy news reporter who has a one night stand with William Hurt's character.
Jane finds herself falling for Tom despite her views.The great thing in this movie is that all three people are appealing and the actors inject their characters with humanity.
Brooks has made gems in 'Terms Of Endearment' & 'As Good As It Gets', but 'Broadcast News' easily ranks as his finest & most wonderful film to date.Performances in any James L.
It seemed like the romantic comedy, and I remembered I hated those, and had the full mindset of hating this movie.Boy, was I wrong.While this is a romantic comedy, it's acted by an amazing lead & supporting cast (Brooks, Hunter, Cusack, and Nicholson), and everything works well within itself.
The characters, played by Holly Hunter (Jane), William Hurt (Tom) and Albert Brooks (Aaron), are a dynamic trio of very different and conflicting personalities.
Hey, no one ever said Howard Cosell got by on his looks and charm.Broadcast News got nominated for Oscars in seven categories including Best Picture, Best Actor for William Hurt, Best Actress for Holly Hunter, and Best Supporting Actor for Albert Brooks among them.
He is also concerned that his good friend Jane maybe falling in love with Tom, despite her better judgement, as it becomes increasingly clear that Aaron has his own romantic feelings for her.This central romantic plot is set within the trials and tribulations of a TV news network office, where moral dilemmas and ethics are wrestled with quickly and where appearances and dramatic effect are becoming more prevalent and important.This is where most of the bite comes from with well-observed comment and scenes.
Brooks gets the best portion of them, in line with his character, but even the briefest conversations that are incidental and perhaps over-heard by one or more of the characters as they move through a crowded room, should be listened to.Hunter is a tour-de-force in this role for which she was rightly (and not alone) nominated for an Oscar, and for which she probably would have got if it was for a role in a film that didn't mock part of what had become a closely related industry - and against a strong performance from another actress in a more traditional feel-good, rom-com.Brooks is also excellent as the constantly frustrated and occasionally too-smug-for-his-own-good, Aaron Altman.Hurt, whilst possessing the looks and providing the personality required of his character, does not always convince that he is quite as dim-witted the character says he is or is supposed to be.
Sometimes i wonder why movies as dull as this get rave reviews and are nominated for major awards and all i can come up with with Broadcast News is that it was given great reviews when released because the columns were written by journalists who maybe could relate to the subject matter or maybe it's a case of the emporors new clothes....One  review says how funny this film is and another journo says they same without deep down actually knowing what he or she found funny about it and i think from there on the adulation snowballed in my opinion without justification .
I didn't like "As Good as it Gets" very much, but I am a big fan of William Hurt and Holly Hunter's work, so I decided to watch this movie.
well, we have the superb actors Holly Hunter and William Hurt at the top of their game, and Albert Brooks was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a TV reporter who wants to be an anchor.
(Joan Cusack, Robert Prosky and Jack Nicholson are also fun to watch.)As a woman what I found especially appealing (and so did many of my woman friends) about BROADCAST NEWS is that Holly Hunter's character is in a (hierarchical) position of power over both men, and therefore the familiar dynamic of the boss mentoring a new hire undergoes a sex change.
As a member of the broadcasting industry for nearly 25 years, I can attest that Broadcast News was an almost-perfect representation of "The Biz." The only flaw was that, in real life, characters like Tom Grunnick are even better looking, have bigger egos, are far more glib, are smoother readers, and in most cases, are more adept at hiding their shortcomings.Please understand, I am not suggesting that is true of all anchor people, but Aaron Altman's notion that "being out covering the stories is where the real action is" is also the facet of the business that requires the greatest talent.
Holly Hunter has given amazing performances, but she is at her finest as a workaholic news producer, torn between a handsome anchorman (William Hurt), and a down-to-earth reporter (Albert Brooks).
The story is rather bland and becomes even somewhat tedious near the end, but the acting and the dialogues are so terrific that I forgive the somewhat bland ending.The story is about 2 competing news men and one woman: William Hurt, Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter.
Brooks wrote and directed this comedy drama that stars Holly Hunter as network news producer Jane Craig, who finds herself attracted to a new(and handsome) newscaster named Tom Grunick(played by William Hurt).
Jack Nicholson also stars in a small role as a retiring veteran news anchor that everyone looks up to.Funny and intelligent film is not as moving or memorable as Brook's previous "Terms Of Endearment", but still works as an insightful look at network news, and human relationships, which doesn't end in the traditional way, though is still believable..
Feisty TV news producer Holly Hunter (as Jane Craig) desires dumb blond anchorman William Hurt (as Tom Grunick), but turns on non-telegenic reporter Albert Brooks (as Aaron Altman).
At the news station there are two reporters, Tom Grunick (Hurt) and Aaron Altman (Brooks), and both are very attracted to Jane Craig.
William Hurt, Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter portraying the principals in a complicated romantic charade at a television news station just doesn't click as well as it should.
Brooks has much game, chilluns.Pay special attention to the scene where Jane (Holly Hunter) admits to Aaron (Albert Brooks), that she's in love with Tom (William Hurt).
Albert Brooks, whom I admire greatly as a director as well as an actor, adds real flair to the role of Hunter's best friend, looking out for her best interests but being in love with her at the same time.The personal and the professional are sketched by James L.
The three main stars, William Hurt,Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks create a love triangle whilst working at the Washington bureau of a TV network.Tom Grunick(Hurt)is the handsome reporter who is being groomed to be a star.Jane (Hunter)is the producer who recognises that Tom lacks the intellectual gravitas to be a real journalist, but falls for him anyway.Aaron Altman(Brooks)is the man who shares her beliefs in journalistic standards is also the man who truly loves her.Holly Hunter was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award ,but lost out to Cher(Moonstruck!).She was robbed!
The scales literally fall from her eyes.Wiliam Hurt's performance is less showy.He plays a man who is well aware that he is a himbo and a fraud,but is smart enough to know that his rise will be facilitated by people like Jane.He gives little hints of a man who is extremely calculating and is a complete narcissist.The film comments on celebrity, journalism,integrity and the commercial pressures on news in a medium that is focused on the bottom line.
Good romance comedy drama movie that coud have been a classic if it had a better ending.Good overall production and the acting performances was solid.Good vehicle for Holly Hunter.The last few minutes of the movie was terrible though and uncanny because the build up was an intelligent pleasurable ride.Like great sex without an orgasm.The Academy Awards thought so too apparently,nominating this movie many times but not giving it any statues.Only for big romance drama comedy fans,Broadcast news industry people and fans of the lead actors........
It can also be seen as a Rocky-like inspiration for those of us who feel that we are in a job that demands abilities that we can not provide as we may be able to thrive on our good looks and personality, if we have them.The film is about a handsome, likable news reporter, Tom Grunick (William Hurt) who unexpectedly enters the serious world of network news after humble beginnings covering sport for local television.
This is one of several flaws in an otherwise enjoyable film.The three central characters in the film of Grunick, Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks) and Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) are introduced at the start as children and already their personal traits are firmly established.
Leaving Holly Hunter to one side (which is probably the best place for her), the terrific William Hurt merely has to look good in order to succeed, just like the character he is playing.
In this movie, he satirizes the industry and how the media operates.Actors William Hurt, Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks give memorable performances.
Actors William Hurt, Holly Hunters and Albert Brooks play key roles as television news presenters in this film which also showed how a person's career choices are shaped by the childhood's experiences.
Albert Brooks gives a sharp performance and so does William Hurt as the two reporter rivals, Aaron and Tom. Also, Joan Cusack is very funny in one of her younger roles and finally, Jack Nicholson is excellent in his near "cameo." Overall, Broadcast News is an excellent film based on journalism and love.
"Broadcast News" is one of several newsroom movies made over the years, the story involves a talented reporter and writer (Albert Brooks) who the network brass clearly doesn't have on the fast-track because of his abrasive personality and lack of good looks, a rising star producer (Holly Hunter) who is great at her job but lacks social skills in the extreme, and a pretty face with no confidence in his reporting skills (William Hurt) is rising meteorically on the basis of his presentation and simple luck.The news reporting elements of this movie are fantastic.
The movie follows Jane Craig (Holly Hunter), a television news producer.
William Hurt, Holly Hunter, and Albert Brooks play a group of reporters and producer at a big news network.
William Hurt gives depth to a dimbulb anchor, but Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks walk away with the movie.
William Hurt gives depth to a dimbulb anchor, but Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks walk away with the movie.
A romance blooms between a green anchor (William Hurt; this was a great period for the actor), coming up from Sports, and television broadcast news producer (Holly Hunter; she has hardly ever been better) while both are rising professionally in their young careers in a DC station.