Talk Radio (1988) on Netflix
Barry Champlain, a sharp-tongued Dallas radio host, mocks the callers to his late-night show. A network may carry the program nationwide, and far-right militants have been sending him threats.
- Netflix3.2/5
- IMDb7.2/1015,736 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes82%
Trailer
Plot summary
Barry Champlain works the late-night hours at a Dallas radio station, taking calls from listeners whose politics and opinions he treats with contempt. A network is weighing whether to carry his program on stations across the country, a step that would bring him money and fame. He came to radio from selling menswear, after a local host, Jeff Fisher, put him on the air as a guest, and his confrontational style carried him to the top of the ratings in Dallas. The same style has made him enemies: far-right militants have been sending him threatening mail. On the night of the decision he is in the studio, wrestling with self-doubt.
Cast
- Linda Atkinsonas Sheila Fleming
- Harlan Jordanas Coach Armstrong
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Talk Radio (1988)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Pre-production was briefly delayed in January 1988 when director Oliver Stone and his wife suffered a stillbirth. Stone kept the loss private from the cast and crew and channeled his grief into the film, adding darker elements that were not in Bogosian's original play.
- Eric Bogosian's screenplay, written with director Oliver Stone, was based on his Pulitzer Prize-nominated play plus biographical material on Alan Berg, a Denver talk-show host murdered in 1984 by white supremacists.
