Themes: Ladder to the Top, Workplace Romance, Members of the Press
Main Cast: Daniel Zacapa, Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stockard Channing, Joe Mantegna, Kate Nelligan
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 124 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
A story about a career television journalist who eclipses her mentor, this drama's plot resembles that of A Star Is Born, and it shares the same screenwriters as those who penned the 1976 version of that film, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. It's based loosely on the real-life story of newscaster Jessica Savitch. Sally Atwater (Michelle Pfieffer) gets a job at a Miami TV station based on a demo tape from her hometown of Reno, Nevada. The station's news director is Warren Justice (Robert Redford), a former high-profile Washington newsman whose career has suffered from his insistence on integrity. He makes Sally his gofer and criticizes her clothes and appearance while she begs him for a chance to go on-air. She becomes the station's weathercaster and Warren gives her the stage name of Tally. With Warren's constant advice, she breaks into news reporting and her star rises quickly as the two become romantically involved. She takes a better job in Philadelphia, with Warren's blessing, and there she soon eclipses the anchorwoman Marcia McGrath (Stockard Channing). From there, Tally's career continues to flourish, while her relationship with Warren takes some strange twists and turns. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Glenn Plummer - Ned Jackson; Ed Amatrudo - Miami Reporter; Yareli Arizmendi - Inez Cifuentes; Lexie Bigham - Homeless Woman; Nicholas Cascone - WMIA Director; Raymond Cruz - Fernando Buttanda; Dennis Dun - Satellite Van Technician; Fabian - Himself; Julie Foreman - WMIA Producer; Nigel Gibbs - WFIL Floor Manager; Neil Giuntoli - Trailer Park Manager; Bruce Gray - Gabe Lawrence; Charlie Holliday - Priest; James Karen - Tom Orr; Michael Laskin - IBS Director; Salvadore Levy - Congessman Levy; Marc Macaulay - Police Spokesman; Brian Markinson - Vic Nash; Tom McCarthy - Negotiator; Larry John Meyers - Murray Gordon; Edwina Moore - WMIA Co-Anchor; Charles Noland - Focus Group Member; Norman Parker - Mark Lindler; DeDee Pfeiffer - Luanna Atwater; James Rebhorn - John Merino; Elizabeth Ruscio - Miami Reporter; Miguel Sandoval - Dan Duarte; Jack Shearer - Prison Expert; Heidi Swedberg - Sheila; Cynthia Szigeti - 98 Year Old Twin; Rick Warner - Spokesman; Michael Shamus Wiles - WFIL Cameraman; Noble Willingham - Buford Sells; Fern Buchner - WMIA Makeup Woman; Scott Bryce - Rob Sullivan; Ginny Graham - Focus Group Member; Andy Prosky - Cord Otavio; Miguel Perez - WMIA Floor Manager; Joanna Sanchez - Ileana; Daniel Zacapa
Credit
Mark Mansbridge - Art Director, Bruce A. Miller - Art Director, David Rubin - Casting, Linda Ellman - Consultant/advisor, Martin Huberty - Co-producer, Lisa Lindstrom - Co-producer, Albert Wolsky - Costume Designer, David McGiffert - First Assistant Director, Jon Avnet - Director, Debra Neil-Fisher - Editor, John C. Foreman - Executive Producer, Ed Hookstratten - Executive Producer, Thomas Newman - Composer (Music Score), Fern Buchner - Makeup, Jeremy Conway - Production Designer, Karl Walter Lindenlaub - Cinematographer, Jon Avnet - Producer, Jordan Kerner - Producer, David Nicksay - Producer, Scott Rudin - Producer, Dorree Cooper - Set Designer, Chuck Stewart - Special Effects, Charles Wilborn - Sound/Sound Designer, Chuck Picerni, Jr. - Stunts, Joan Didion - Screenwriter, John Gregory Dunne - Screenwriter, Gary Pilkinton - Special Effects Assistant, Kevin Bartnof - Foley Artist
Starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfieffer, Up Close & Personal is a love story between two television personalities. Appropriately, Thomas Newman's soundtrack is gentle and romantic. Although it doesn't hold much interest when seperated from the movie, it is pleasant. The album is boosted immeasurably by the presence of Celine Dion's hit single. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Tito Puente (Performer), Tito Puente (?), Tom Winslow (Engineer), Jon Avnet (Executive Producer), Joe Gastwirt (Mastering), Leslie Morris (Contractor), Thomas Newman (Conductor), Thomas Newman (Producer), Thomas Newman (Remixing), Eddie Palmieri (Performer), Eddie Palmieri (?), Thomas Pasatieri (Orchestration), Dennis Sands (Engineer), Dennis Sands (Remixing), Bill Bernstein (Producer), Bill Bernstein (Editing), Tom Hardisty (Engineer), Julian Bratolyubov (Preparation)
Up Close & Personal is a 1996Americanmotion picture drama/romance that was inspired by the story of Jessica Savitch who, in the 1970s, became the first female anchor on American television. The film is based on the 1988 book, Golden Girl: The Story of Jessica Savitch by Alanna Nash.
The making of the film is told in the book: Monster: Living Off the Big Screen (1997) by John Gregory Dunne, who co-wrote the screenplay with his wife, Joan Didion. The book relays how a movie about Jessica Savitch to some degree turned into A Star is Born-type film, where one person is a "rising star" while that person's love interest becomes a "falling star."
