Movie Musings: Disney and More

Broadcast News Legacy

Do you remember the film Broadcast News (1987)? Released on Christmas Day of 1987 - the same year as many other memorable ‘80s classics, like The Last Emperor, Moonstruck, Wall Street, and Fatal Attraction - the film was a financial, critical, and public success and garnered seven well-deserved Academy Award Nominations, including Best Picture, and received 5 Golden Globe Nominations, but disappointingly won none. Despite that, the film has become one of the 1980s most popular films and quotable films. In 1998, the film received a nomination from American Film Institute as one of the top 100 Greatest Movies and in 2005, Aaron’s line from the film, “I’ll meet you at that place near the thing where we went that time,” received another nomination from AFI as one of the top 100 Greatest Movie Quotes. Beyond that, each of the principal stars for the film have made something for Disney at different points in their careers.

James L. Brooks, who served as writer/producer/director of the film, received Oscar and Golden Globe Nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. He lost both of them: to John Patrick Shanley for his Screenplay for “Moonstruck,” and to Jeremy Thomas who produced “The Last Emperor.” However, he had already won the Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture Oscars for his directorial debut with Terms of Endearment (1983), which starred “Broadcast News” star Jack Nicholson. Nicholson won his 2nd of 3 Oscars for “Terms of Endearment,” in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Brooks also directed Nicholson in his 3rd Academy-Award-Winning performance in As Good as It Gets (1997). He also directed Nicholson, in what to this day, has been his last film appearance in How Do You Know (2010).         

William Hurt, who portrayed Tom Grunick in the film, received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Nomination for his performance in the film. He lost the primary to Michael Douglas in “Wall Street” and the latter to Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). (He won the Best Actor Oscar for Kiss of the Spider Woman two years earlier, in 1985). He played the role of Angus Tuck in Disney’s Tuck Everlasting (2002), and most recently, was seen as Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross in Disney/Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War (2016). (Interesting trivia: Stephen Mendillo, who played Tom’s father in “News” in real life, is just 8 years William Hurt’s senior.  

Holly Hunter, who played the role of Jane Craig in the movie, was a last-minute replacement for James L. Brooks, who had originally cast Debra Winger. Hunter replaced Winger just two days before shooting was to begin, because Winger had become pregnant with her son, Noah Hutton. Hunter also received Academy Award and Golden Globe Nominations for her performance in the film, but lost both awards to Cher in “Moonstruck.” (Her one and only win would come six years later with The Piano (1993)). She provided the voice of Helen Parr/Mrs. Incredible in Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles (2004), and while there is currently a sequel to “The Incredibles” in-production at Pixar, whether she will reprise the character has yet to be confirmed. (More trivia: Holly Hunter was also initially offered the role of Carol Connelly in “As Good as It Gets,” before Helen Hunt was cast.)  

Albert Brooks, who has no relation whatsoever, to James L. Brooks, played Aaron Altman in the movie. James L. Brooks previously directed Albert Brooks in “Endearment.” Like both of his co-stars, he received an Oscar Nomination for his performance and was beaten by Sean Connery in The Untouchables (1987). For Disney, Brooks voiced Nemo’s father, Marlin, in Finding Nemo (2003), and most recently reprised the role in Finding Dory (2016). (Trivia: The scene in “Broadcast News,” where his character, Aaron, sweats badly, was Brooks’s idea, when he saw a reporter on CNN sweat profusely in real life when he happened to be reading the scene for the first time in the script for the film.) 

Joan Cusack, who portrayed Blair Litton in “Broadcast News,” received no award nominations for her performance in the film. She did, however, receive the first of her two Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nominations for Working Girl (1988), which was released the very next year. The latter nomination would be for In & Out (1997). Two years after “In & Out,” she was hired by Disney to lent her voice to Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl in Toy Story 2 (1999). She has reprised the role for Toy Story 3 (2010) and all of the Toy Story Shorts that have come since. In addition to the “Toy Story,” Franchise, Cusack also voiced Abby Mallard in Chicken Little (2005) and the Mom in Mars Needs Mom (2011). She played Jenny Portman in Touchstone Pictures’s Raising Helen (2004) and Joan Carlyle in Disney’s live-action film, Ice Princess (2005), and is currently attached to reprise her role as Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl in Toy Story 4 (2018).

In addition to Aaron’s special line nominated by AFI, each of these actors were given tons of other hysterical one-liners in the movie, thanks to James L. Brooks. Some of my personal favorites:

“Except for socially, you’re my role model,” 

“Wouldn’t this be a great world if insecurity and desperation made us all look more attractive? If ‘needy’ were a turn-on,” 

“I lost one of you’re shoulder pads. I think it drowned.”

While this ‘80s flick might not have any visual effects like Ghostbusters (1984) or stunt doubles like the Indiana Jones series, it because of James L. Brooks’s hilarious writing and the brilliant performances of William Hurt, Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks, Joan Cusack, and the rest of the cast, that this movie has the potential to be remembered as a classic.