There have been many movies made about show business over the years, but few have been as revealing as “The Late Shift.” This HBO original motion picture shows the behind the scenes maneuvering and jockeying to replace Johnny Carson as host of “The Tonight Show.”
Carson stunned NBC bigwigs (and the world) back in May of 1971 by announcing he would retire in June of the following year. David Letterman’s camp immediately went into high gear to convince the network that he should be Carson’s successor. They did not realize that Jay Leno had already secured a secret agreement with NBC to be the next host of “Tonight.”
John Michael Higgins and Daniel Roebuck did a good job of portraying Letterman and Leno, respectively, and successfully captured the two men’s quirky personalities. However, it is Kathy Bates who stole the show as Leno’s pushy agent Helen Kushnick, who brought him from obscurity to famous comic to guest host and eventual host of “The Tonight Show.” Kushnick even secured the secret pact with the network brass that also made her the show’s producer. Bates was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, one of seven nominations for “The Late Shift.”
There is an army of supporting cast portraying the personalities involved: Bob Balaban as Warren Littlefield, Ed Begley Jr. as Rod Perth, John Kapelos as Robert Morton, Steven Gilborn as Peter Lassally, John Getz as Brandon Tartikoff, Treat Williams as Michael Ovitz, Paul Elder as Rupert Murdoch, Aaron Lustig as Paul Shaffer, Lawrence Pressman as Bob Wright, Nicholas Guest as Bob Iger, and Sandra Bernhard as herself. Rich Little did an impressive job, as usual, as Johnny Carson.
Director Betty Thomas and teleplay authors Bill Carter and George Armitage did an excellent job of putting together this made-for-television product. “The Late Shift” was produced by Northern Lights Entertainment (later called the Montecito Picture Company) and HBO Pictures, first aired on HBO on February 24, 1996.
The Late Shift (1996)
cinema
My Review
There have been many movies made about show business over the years, but few have been as revealing as “The Late Shift.” This HBO original motion picture shows the behind the scenes maneuvering and jockeying to replace Johnny Carson as host of “The Tonight Show.”
Carson stunned NBC bigwigs (and the world) back in May of 1971 by announcing he would retire in June of the following year. David Letterman’s camp immediately went into high gear to convince the network that he should be Carson’s successor. They did not realize that Jay Leno had already secured a secret agreement with NBC to be the next host of “Tonight.”
John Michael Higgins and Daniel Roebuck did a good job of portraying Letterman and Leno, respectively, and successfully captured the two men’s quirky personalities. However, it is Kathy Bates who stole the show as Leno’s pushy agent Helen Kushnick, who brought him from obscurity to famous comic to guest host and eventual host of “The Tonight Show.” Kushnick even secured the secret pact with the network brass that also made her the show’s producer. Bates was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, one of seven nominations for “The Late Shift.”
There is an army of supporting cast portraying the personalities involved: Bob Balaban as Warren Littlefield, Ed Begley Jr. as Rod Perth, John Kapelos as Robert Morton, Steven Gilborn as Peter Lassally, John Getz as Brandon Tartikoff, Treat Williams as Michael Ovitz, Paul Elder as Rupert Murdoch, Aaron Lustig as Paul Shaffer, Lawrence Pressman as Bob Wright, Nicholas Guest as Bob Iger, and Sandra Bernhard as herself. Rich Little did an impressive job, as usual, as Johnny Carson.
Director Betty Thomas and teleplay authors Bill Carter and George Armitage did an excellent job of putting together this made-for-television product. “The Late Shift” was produced by Northern Lights Entertainment (later called the Montecito Picture Company) and HBO Pictures, first aired on HBO on February 24, 1996.