Murder Live!

Murder Live!
A human silhouette wearing a thick coat and hood stands against a white background. Beams of white emanate from the hood opening, obscuring its identity.
DVD cover
Written byChris Bertolet
Directed byRoger Spottiswoode
Starring
Music byGary Chang
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producers
  • Randy Sutter
  • Karen Moore
CinematographyJeffrey Jur
EditorDominique Fortin
Running time96 minutes
Production companies
Original release
ReleaseMarch 9, 1997 (1997-03-09)

Murder Live! is a 1997 American television film written by Chris Bertolet and directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Marg Helgenberger stars as Pia Postman, a television presenter who hosts a self-titled tabloid talk show. David Morse stars as Frank McGrath, a man who holds Postman hostage after his daughter suffered embarrassment due to a prior guest appearance on the show.

Plot

Pia Postman (Helgenberger) hosts a self-titled tabloid talk show, a program grieving father Frank McGrath (Morse) takes offense to after his daughter commits suicide as a direct result of being humiliated on the show. He then disguises himself as a member of the audience during a live episode of the show, and takes Postman hostage wearing a bomb jacket, threatening to kill himself, Postman, and the audience if the police intervene.[1]

Cast

Production

The film was inspired by the murder of Scott Amedure, a guest who was killed three days after he appeared on an episode of The Jenny Jones Show.[2]

Critical reception

Ray Richmond of Variety believed the film was "a roundly entertaining, smartly constructed piece of filmmaking", although he also claimed it was "over-the-top for its own good".[3] Tom Shales of The Washington Post criticized the film as "preachy and ponderous".[4] Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times claimed the film was just as exploitative as the tabloid talk shows it intended to criticize.[5] John J. O'Connor of The New York Times believed the film had a strong message against the tabloid talk show genre, and he praised Marg Helgenberger's leading performance.[6]

References

  1. ^ Scanner – A Weekly Guide to TV. page 4. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ Hevrdejs, Judy; Conklin, Mike (October 24, 1996). "TV Newsroom Post Brings Chicago Native Home". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  3. ^ Richmond, Ray (March 5, 1997). "Murder Live!". Variety. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  4. ^ Shales, Tom (March 8, 1997). "'Murder': Killing Time". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  5. ^ Rosenberg, Howard (March 8, 1997). "'Murder Live!' Takes on Tabloid Television Vices". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  6. ^ O'Connor, John J. (March 7, 1997). "This Talk Show Guest Is Murder". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2024.


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