Words can kill...

The last neighborhood in America.

Monologist Eric Bogosian's one-man theater piece Talk Radio, co-written by Bogosian and Tad Savinar, is searingly brought to the screen by Oliver Stone. Bogosian plays provocateur radio talk-show host Barry Champlain, whose constant espousal of his inflammatory views and ceaseless hectoring of his callers and listeners reaps equal parts love and hate. As his program rolls on, Champlain is revealed to be just as screwed up as any of his fans, if not more. And then he pushes one caller just a bit too far. In co-adapting the play for the screen, Stone interweaves elements of Stephen Singular's factual book Talked to Death, the story of a liberal Denver radio personality who was murdered at the behest of a militant right-wing hate group. One word of warning: if you're not a fan of the sort of radio depicted herein, chances are you won't warm up to this film.


Talk Radio is a 1988 American drama film, starring Eric Bogosian, Ellen Greene, and Leslie Hope. Directed by Oliver Stone, the film was based on the play by Eric Bogosian and Tad Savinar. Portions of the film and play were based on the assassination of radio host Alan Berg in 1984 and the book Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg by Stephen Singular. The film was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear.


Release Date: December 21, 1988 @ The Beekman

Distrib: Universal + Cineplex Odeon Films


Boxoffice: $3,468,572 2013: $7,117,900

Trailers:
Universal Orlando Promo (at the beginning)
Gorillas in the Mist (1988) (At the end)
Midnight Run (1988) (At the end)