Weapons of Mass Distraction

*Weapons of Mass Distraction*
Weapons of Mass Distraction
Written by	Larry Gelbart
Directed by	Stephen Surjik
Starring	Gabriel Byrne; Ben Kingsley
Music by	Don Davis
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Sean Ryerson
Cinematography	Alar Kivilo
Editor	Zach Staenberg
Running time	100 min
Original release
Release	May 17, 1997

Weapons of Mass Distraction is a 1997 television film directed by Stephen Surjik and written by Larry Gelbart, about two media moguls and their fight over ownership of a professional American football team. The film starred Gabriel Byrne and Ben Kingsley, with an ensemble supporting cast including Illeana Douglas, Mimi Rogers, and Jeffrey Tambor.

The film was nominated for four awards at the 49th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Special for Gelbart.

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 Angeles with every weapon at their disposal. Powers' bid attracts particular controversy since he intends to retain ownership of a successful football club in Tucson. During Congressional hearings, U.S. Senator Billy Paxton makes his objections to the obvoius conflict of interest clearly known.

As the billionaires ruthlessly scheme and squabble, they wreak havoc on the lives and careers of thousands of people. Powers is particularly unscrupulous as he specifically targets a number of well-known individuals. Among his targets is not only Senator Paxton, against whom he carries an obvious grudge, but also far less "culpable" individuals such as children's television presenter Robin Zimmer and plastic surgeon Dr. Jonathon Cummings, whose lives are upended merely because it Powers is convinced this will serve and/or eliminate a perceived threat to his interests.

Among the everyday people affected is Jerry Pascoe, who loses his well-paying job as a consequence of wider cost-cutting moves by Powers. As the Pascoe family struggles to make ends meet, Jerry's marriage with his wife Rita becomes strained due to Jerry's continuing inability to find and hold jobs as menial as cleaning stadium restrooms and selling peanuts.

After Powers and Messenger fail to resolve their differences in a secret face-to-face meeting, the wealthy characters continue to blackmail one another as homeless people look for handouts. The tabloid-worthy secrets in the lives of Powers' wife Ariel and right-hand man Alan Blanchard lead to dire consequences for all. Although Blanchard is privy to the intimate details of Powers' most embarrassing personal secret, he opts for suicide insetead of revenge after his downfall.

In spite of all of his ruthlessness, the propects of Powers' Los Angeles bid look increasingly dim until he is able to procure details of the Messenger family's darkest and most damaging secret. Once Powers discreetly divulges his knowledge to Messenger, Senator Paxton quickly brokers an uneasy compromise in which the feuding moguls agree to share ownership of the Los Angeles football franchise.

In the meantime, the marriage of the Pascoes turns tragi-comically from a terrible climax to fodder for reality TV.

Cast

Gabriel Byrne as Lionel Powers
Ben Kingsley as Julian Messenger
Mimi Rogers as Ariel Powers
Jeffrey Tambor as Alan Blanchard
Illeana Douglas as Rita Pascoe
Paul Mazursky as Dr. Jonathon Cummings
Chris Mulkey as Jerry Pascoe
R. Lee Ermey as Billy Paxton
Caroline Aaron as Robin Zimmer
Jason Lee as Philip Messenger

External links

Weapons of Mass Distraction at IMDb

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