The Late Shift
by Betty Thomas
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bob Balaban, Daniel Roebuck, Jr. Ed Begley, Kathy BatesDirector: Betty Thomas
Brand: HBO Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-30
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: 91284
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
Movie Reviews of The Late Shift
Movie 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.
Summary of The Late Shift
LATE SHIFT - DVD MovieLoyalties 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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