Weapons of Mass Distraction
Encyclopedia
Weapons of Mass Distraction is a 1997 film
starring Gabriel Byrne
, Ben Kingsley
, Mimi Rogers
, Jeffrey Tambor
, and other stars in an ensemble cast, about two media moguls and their fight over ownership of a professional football team. It was written by Larry Gelbart
and directed by Stephen Surjik
.
This film was nominated for four Primetime Emmy awards.
with every weapon at their disposal.
While the billionaires scheme and squabble, the married couple Rita and Jerry Pascoe can barely make ends meet. Their marriage becomes strained with Jerry's continuing inability to hold or find a job. While rich people blackmail one another, homeless people look for handouts and Jerry Pascoe is reduced to cleaning stadium restrooms and applying for a job as a peanut vendor.
The tabloid-worthy secrets in the lives of Powers' wife Ariel and right-hand man Alan Blanchard lead to dire consequences for all. The marriage of the Pascoes, meanwhile, turns tragi-comically from a terrible climax to fodder for reality TV.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
, Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
, Mimi Rogers
Mimi Rogers
Mimi Rogers is an American movie actress and competitive poker player.-Early life:Rogers was born Miriam Spickler in Coral Gables, Florida, the daughter of Philip C...
, Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.-Early life:...
, and other stars in an ensemble cast, about two media moguls and their fight over ownership of a professional football team. It was written by Larry Gelbart
Larry Gelbart
Larry Simon Gelbart was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter and author.-Early life:...
and directed by Stephen Surjik
Stephen Surjik
Stephen Surjik is a Canadian film and television director mostly working in television. Surjik was nominated three times for Gemini Awards for best direction, for Little Criminals, Tripping the Wire: A Stephen Tree Mystery, Intelligence, and received four Emmy Award nominations for Weapons of Mass...
.
This film was nominated for four Primetime Emmy awards.
Plot
Lionel Powers and Julian Messenger are filthy rich men with dirty family secrets. They play dirty as well, fighting for control over a professional football team in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
with every weapon at their disposal.
While the billionaires scheme and squabble, the married couple Rita and Jerry Pascoe can barely make ends meet. Their marriage becomes strained with Jerry's continuing inability to hold or find a job. While rich people blackmail one another, homeless people look for handouts and Jerry Pascoe is reduced to cleaning stadium restrooms and applying for a job as a peanut vendor.
The tabloid-worthy secrets in the lives of Powers' wife Ariel and right-hand man Alan Blanchard lead to dire consequences for all. The marriage of the Pascoes, meanwhile, turns tragi-comically from a terrible climax to fodder for reality TV.
Cast
- Gabriel ByrneGabriel ByrneGabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
as Lionel Powers - Ben KingsleyBen KingsleySir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
as Julian Messenger - Mimi RogersMimi RogersMimi Rogers is an American movie actress and competitive poker player.-Early life:Rogers was born Miriam Spickler in Coral Gables, Florida, the daughter of Philip C...
as Ariel Powers - Jeffrey TamborJeffrey TamborJeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.-Early life:...
as Alan Blanchard - Ileana Douglas as Rita Pascoe
- Chris MulkeyChris MulkeyChris Mulkey is an American actor who most recently appeared in Against the Wall, Cloverfield, the NBC TV movie Knight Rider, and as a corporate executive in season 7 of 24...
as Jerry Pascoe