Main Cast: John Turturro, John Heard, Kevin Anderson, Nicholas Turturro, Brad Beyer
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Just as Jon Voight's on-target portrayal of controversial sportscaster Howard Cosell) in the 2002 biopic Ali was making the theatrical rounds, actor John Turturro offered his own spin on "Humble Howard" in the made-for-cable movie Monday Night Mayhem. Based on the book by Bill Carter and Marc Gunther, the film chronicles the creation of ABC Television's Monday Night Football telecast in 1970, then continues with the weekly telecast's rapid ascent to the top of the ratings. Reasoning that such a momentous undertaking needed a spectacular "star" lineup in the announcing booth, ABC's aggressive sports director Roone Arledge (John Heard) teams the highly opinionated, irritatingly erudite Cosell with not one but two charismatic ex-athletes, "Dandy Don" Meredith (Brad Beyer) and Frank Gifford (Kevin Anderson). The film makes much of Cosell's open disdain towards his "intellectually inferior" co-anchors and of Meredith and Gifford's reaction to their booth-mate's jibes, and also recreates many of Monday Night Football's highlights, notably Cosell's announcement in the middle of an important game that John Lennon has just been murdered. Monday Night Mayhem originally aired on January 14, 2002, not on ABC (surprise, surprise!) but as part of the TNT cable network's prime time lineup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Patti LuPone - Emmy Cosell; Jay Thomas - Pete Rozelle; Michael Patrick McGrath - Jim McKay
Credit
Ernest R. Dickerson - Director, Leslie Greif - Executive Producer, Lewis Kleinberg - Executive Producer, Tiffany McLinn - Executive Producer, Van Dyke Parks - Composer (Music Score), Jonathan Freeman - Cinematographer, Bill Carter - Screenwriter, Marc Gunther - Book Author, Bill Carter - Book Author
