Talk Radio

Barry Champlain hosts a late-night call-in radio show in Dallas where he argues with his listeners, many of them outsiders and troubled callers drawn to the open phone lines. His aggressive style has made the program a hit, and a national network is preparing to pick it up. As that move approaches, the hostility his show generates closes in on him: threatening calls multiply, a guest turns dangerous, and a conversation with his ex-wife Ellen unsettles him. Champlain pushes back at those around him rather than letting them in.

Oliver Stone directed the film, his fifth feature in chronological order, following Wall Street and preceding Born on the Fourth of July. Stone wrote the screenplay with Eric Bogosian, who plays Champlain; the story draws on Stephen Singular's book about the life and murder of radio host Alan Berg. Ellen Greene appears as Ellen, with Leslie Hope, John C. McGinley, Alec Baldwin and John Pankow among the cast, which numbers 45 credited performers and 117 credited crew.

Made for about 4 million dollars, the film took in roughly 3 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.2 out of 10 from around 15,000 votes, and on TMDB 7 out of 10 from 254 votes; a critics' rating of 7.2 out of 10 from 51 reviews places it close to the audience scores.