The Late Shift
by Betty Thomas
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DVD details
Actor: Bob Balaban, Daniel Roebuck, Ed Begley Jr., John Michael Higgins, Kathy BatesDirector: Betty Thomas
Brand: HBO HOME VIDEO
Cinematographer: Mac Ahlberg
Producer: Daniel Goldberg
Producer: Don Carmody
Producer: Ivan Reitman
Producer: Joe Medjuck
Writer: Bill Carter
Writer: George Armitage
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-30
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Product features:
- When Johnny Carson announces his retirement from the Tonight Show, it throws the networks, and their executives, two talk-show stars and millions of late night television viewers into a frenzy. Who could replace the most important talk-show host in history? It soon comes down to the Tonight Show's guest host Jay Leno, and the later late night star David Letterman in a fight to the finish. Take a p
DVD Reviews of The Late Shift
DVD Review: Great Movie, clears up lots of stuff for me
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this movie because I wanted to know what the deal was with Letterman and Leno. It seems both wanted the Tonight Show after after Carson retired and NBC chose Jay Leno. He did a wonderful job for 17 years, and now because of the bottom line at NBC, Jay was forced out because a clause in Conan's contracts said IF he wasn't given the Tonight Show by a certain date he would quit NBC (Personal opinion)It is rumored 5 or 6 million was the fee IF he didn't get the Tonight show. INHO they should have paid up and kept Jay where he belongs behind the desk of the Tonight Show. There is lot of discussion about Jay's new (CST) 9:00 PM would cut out one or more scripted dramas who usually are on at that time. That would be the hour leading up to our local news. We plan to see Jay, then the news and then on to David Letterman. I love Jay and I think he is a wonderful everyones guy, not snooty like other successful stars. Dave isn't as good of a comedian as Craig Ferguson whose show is owned by Dave's Worldwide Pants, but I WON'T BE WATCHING CONAN. He is a silly, not funny man. I tape his show only when he has a special guest on. After Dave we continue on CBS and watch Craig Ferguson. Now there is a man who is lots of things that audiences want, he is handsome, he has a lovely accent, he is a fly by the seat of his pants kind of guy, so his show is free wheeling and you never know what to expect. I love his layed back way of interviewing his guests. Some of his skits are sort of lame but all in all the show gets a 10 star rating from this middle aged lady. My husband loves Jay and Craig, Dave he can stand. I was working when this movie came out so I had never seen it before. To be sharp at work I had to be in bed by 10 PM, CST, so no late night shows for me then. I have since retired, re-married and have 3 Tivos, 1 DVR on DirecTV, and watch whatever I want,The Late Shift when ever I want. So it is no big deal with our home, we record and watch at a time that is good for us.DVD Review: "Kathy Bates Steals The Film"
Summary: 5 Stars
Home Box Office (HBO) has always produced top quality films made-for-television, and "The Late Shift" is no exception. Originally airing in 1996, the film is a behind-the-scenes look at Jay Leno and David latterman's battle for the host of "The Tonight Show" after Johnny Carson left the series in 1992. The actors playing Leno and Letterman are excellent and Rich Little does an amazing Johnny Carson, but it is Kathy Bates who steals the entire film. If you loved her in "Misery" and "Dolores Clairborne" you will love her in this movie. Bates plays Helen Kushnick, Jay Leno's agent, who was known as an arrogant and abusive woman in Hollywood. She continued to be Leno's agent when he got "The Tonight Show" gig, and she ultimately became the show's executive producer. It was while she was producing "The Tonight Show" that Kushnick's behavior became even more unbalanced as she harrassed backstage personnel and abused network executives and other agents who wanted their acts on the ahow. Eventually Kushnick was fired by NBC. Kathy gives a virtuoso performance and she would ultimately win a Golden Globe for her hair-raising portrayal. Buy the movie for the sole purpose of seeing Bate's amazing acting.
The DVD doesn't come with an extras.
DVD Review: Great Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Hi, I am a big fan of Dave and Jay I remember all the hype when Jay got the tonight show but this movie really gives you the story that we didn't read in the papers.
We enjoyed it. To bad after 17 years they gave Jay the shaft by putting Conan in. He stinks!
DVD Review: Very entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
The movie presents a fun inside view of the back room workings of network TV. The actor who played Warren Littlefield was spot on. I can't help thinking of this movie anytime I see Letterman or Leno.DVD Review: Great (and timely) must see movie
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an HBO-made movie I originally saw back when it came out. I recently thought about it, as Jay Leno is preparing for his departure and David Letterman enters his 25th anniversary on late night television. I enjoyed it as much as I remember I did originally. And Kathy Bates is outstanding! I still like Letterman best, incidentally, but think it worked out best for all parties.
Description of The Late Shift
When two heads are fighting for the late-night crown, one head has to roll. Based on the true story of the battle between Letterman and Leno for Johnny Carson's Tonight Show hot seat!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
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