Late Night (film): Difference between revisions
2019 film by Nisha Ganatra
Late Night is a 2019 American comedy-drama film directed by Nisha Ganatra from a screenplay also produced by Mindy Kaling. It stars Emma Thompson as a popular TV host who hires a new writer (Kaling) to keep from getting replaced. Max Casella, Hugh Dancy, John Lithgow, Denis O’Hare, Reid Scott, and Amy Ryan also star.
The project was first announced in 2016, with Fox 2000 Pictures set to produce Kaling’s script and Paul Feig signed on to direct. In August 2017, Ganatra replaced Feig and the film was picked up by FilmNation Entertainment. Much of the cast joined in April 2018 and filming began later that month in New York City. Following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019, Amazon Studios bought the domestic distribution rights for a record $13 million.
Late Night was theatrically released in the United States on June 7, 2019. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its social satire and commentary, screenplay, as well as Thompson’s performance.[4] For her performance, Thompson received a nomination at the 77th Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.
Katherine Newbury is an acclaimed late-night talk show host with an extensive career in comedy, but her show’s ratings have seen a steady decline over the past decade. The network’s president, Caroline Morton, tells Katherine to fix up her show or she will be replaced.
In an attempt to revamp the show, Katherine has Molly Patel hired to her writing staff, mainly on the basis that she is an Indian-American woman while all remaining writers are white men. Although Molly has little experience in comedy and initially struggles, she proves her worth by giving Katherine good material to work with on her show as well as ideas on how to reach out to a bigger audience. The results prove successful.
Katherine learns that Caroline wants to pick young, popular comedian Daniel Tennant to replace her as the new host. Katherine resists, as Daniel’s comedy is vulgar and misogynistic. With backup from her writers, Katherine defies the network’s demands and decides on air to continue her career.
An email from one of the writers, Charlie, gets leaked, in which it is revealed that Katherine had an affair with him after her husband Walter was initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In the midst of the drama, Katherine fires Molly after she criticizes her for her response to the news. Eventually, Katherine makes amends with Walter and the other writers and admits her affair to her audience. Her sincerity and passion for the show convinces Caroline to let her stick around, and Katherine later apologizes to Molly, hiring her back. The show continues to stay on air.
One year later, the show’s team has diversified, Molly is promoted to co-lead monologue writer, and Katherine’s show is more successful than ever.
- Emma Thompson as Dame Katherine Newbury DBE, an acclaimed and legendary late-night talk show host and comedian from the United Kingdom. She is the host of Tonight with Katherine Newbury, one of the most popular late-night talk shows in the United States but with declining ratings.
- Mindy Kaling as Molly Patel, an Indian-American writer who works for Katherine Newbury and is a staff member of Tonight with Katherine Newbury, also dubbed by Katherine as Eight
- Amy Ryan as Caroline Morton, the president of the unnamed network on which Tonight with Katherine Newbury is shown
- John Lithgow as Walter Lovell, professor emeritus at NYU and Katherine’s husband of 25 years
- Denis O’Hare as Brad, head writer of the show
- Paul Walter Hauser as Eugene Mancuso, one of the writers on the show, dubbed as One
- John Early as Chris Reynolds, one of the writers on the show, dubbed as Two
- Hugh Dancy as Charlie Fain, one of the writers on the show, dubbed as Four, with whom Katherine had a two month-long affair three years ago
- Max Casella as Burditt, a writer who has worked on the show for 27 years, dubbed as Five
- Nick Denning as one of the writers, dubbed as Six
- Reid Scott as Tom Campbell, a monologue writer on the show, dubbed as Seven
- Blake DeLong as McCary, a writer with a long-distance relationship who got fired
- Lucas Caleb Rooney as Gabe Eichler, a writer who got fired after he asked for a raise
- Luke Slattery as Hayes Campbell, Tom’s younger brother instead of whom Molly was hired
- Annaleigh Ashford as Mimi Mismatch, a YouTube star who is a guest on Tonight with Katherine Newbury
- Megalyn Echikunwoke as Robin, Katherine’s new publicist
- Marc Kudisch as Billy Kastner
- Ike Barinholtz as Daniel Tennant, a popular and controversial comedian known for his vulgar and misogynistic humor and who is considered a possible replacement for Katherine Newbury
- Halston Sage as Zoe Martlin, an actress promoting The Van Hellsing Prep on Tonight with Katherine Newbury
- Bill Maher as himself
- Seth Meyers as himself
- Jake Tapper as himself
- Maria Dizzia as Joan
- Jia Patel as Pavarti,…