This month, Will (Jeff Daniels), Mac (Emily Mortimer), Jim (John Gallagher Jr.) and the entire News Night team return for the third – and final – season of Aaron Sorkin’s acclaimed cable-news drama The Newsroom on HBO Canada. This season, the show will tackle (among other things) the Boston Marathon bombings and the Edward Snowden leaks but, with only six episodes on deck before the series bids adieu for good, fans may be left clamouring for more behind-the-scenes drama about the world of television news once the final episode fades to black.
Thankfully, there are plenty of awesome films to help fill the narrative void, from 1970s classics to more light-hearted modern-day fare. Here’s a look at eight to add to your post-Newsroom must-watch list.
1. Network (1976)
The Scoop: Ever heard the phrase “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”? Thank this iconic, Oscar-winning satire from director Sidney Lumet, in which the desperate and conniving staff and executives (including Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and William Holden) at a floundering network-news program attempt to boost ratings by any means necessary.
Breaking News!: Finch, who died in January 1977, was the first actor ever to win an Oscar posthumously, and his co-star, Beatrice Straight, holds the record for shortest Oscar-winning performance – her supporting turn consisted of just five minutes and 40 seconds of screen time in the film.
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2. The China Syndrome (1979)
The Scoop: The efforts to bring truth to light are the basis for this stirring drama about a TV-news reporter (Jane Fonda) in Los Angeles, who teams with her cameraman (Michael Douglas) and a nuclear-plant employee (Jack Lemmon) to expose the cover-up of a reactor’s potentially deadly malfunctions.
Breaking News!: The film opened in theatres on March 16, 1979, and – just 12 days later – the notorious (and eerily similar) nuclear meltdown occurred at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.
Please be advised that streaming video consumes larger amounts of data
Available on Rogers on Demand (Channel 100)
3. Broadcast News (1987)
The Scoop: Driven TV-news producer Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) finds herself at the apex of a personal and professional triangle involving a seasoned-but-bland reporter (Albert Brooks) and a pretty-but-dim new anchor (William Hurt).
Breaking News!: The film, directed by James L. Brooks, was nominated for seven Academy Awards – including a Best Picture nod and acting nominations for all three of its leads – but failed to score a single win.
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Available on Rogers on Demand (Channel 100)
4. Up Close and Personal (1996)
The Scoop: Newbie Miami TV-news reporter Tally Atwater (Michelle Pfeiffer) goes from awkward novice to respected network star under the tutelage of her mentor-turned-beau: once-lauded journalist Warren Justice (Robert Redford).
Breaking News!: Screenwriter John Gregory Dunne had such a nightmarish time working on the film (eight years! 27 drafts!) that he wrote a hilariously scathing book (Monster: Living Off the Big Screen) detailing his experience.
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Available on Rogers on Demand (Channel 100)
5. The Insider (1999)
The Scoop: Al Pacino and Russell Crowe co-star in director Michael Mann’s explosive look behind the scenes at 60 Minutes and its involvement with tobacco-industry whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe) – which began as a news story about the effects of nicotine, but quickly spiraled into a terrifying ordeal of threats, intimidation and lawsuits for Wigand and his family.
Breaking News!: In real life, Wigand so feared the repercussions of his appearance on 60 Minutes that he hired a pair of former Secret Service agents as bodyguards.
Please be advised that streaming video consumes larger amounts of data
Available on Rogers on Demand (Channel 100)
6. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
The Scoop: Spoofing 1970s news broadcasts (and fashion!), this outrageous comedy stars Will Ferrell as the titular self-absorbed, chauvinistic anchor, whose news team’s “boys club” (which includes Paul Rudd and Steve Carell) gets an (unwanted) injection of estrogen when a new co-anchor (Christina Applegate) joins their top-rated San Diego broadcast.
Breaking News!: In addition to plenty of memorable lines (“Stay classy!”), the film boasts an array of celebrity cameos, including appearances by Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Jack Black and Seth Rogen.
Please be advised that streaming video consumes larger amounts of data
Available on Rogers on Demand (Channel 100)
7. Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)
The Scoop: The McCarthy era in the 1950s provides the backdrop for director George Clooney’s look at Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn), who used his CBS news broadcast to challenge fanatical Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch hunts – which sought to expose government employees, actors, military personnel and the like as members of the Communist Party.
Breaking News!: In an effort to keep the film’s $7-million budget under control, Clooney opted to be paid scale for his work – earning just $120,000, combined, for writing, directing and acting.
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8. Morning Glory (2010)
The Scoop: An ambitious young TV producer (Rachel McAdams) has her hands full when she takes a job with a ratings-challenged network morning show and tries to wrangle its bickering hosts: a fed-up veteran (Diane Keaton) and an über-reluctant, renowned journalist (Harrison Ford), who’d rather do hard news than fluff pieces.
Breaking News!: In the film, McAdams’ character initially dreams of working on the Today show; in reality, McAdams prepped for her role by hanging out in the Today show’s control room and shadowing its executive producer, Jim Bell.
Please be advised that streaming video consumes larger amounts of data
Available on Rogers on Demand (Channel 100)
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