If there’s one thing you should know about Morning Glory, the new comedy from Notting Hill director Roger Michell, screenwriter Alina Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada) and producer J.J. Abrams (!), is that it’s neither a romantic comedy nor a “chick flick,” or at least not really.
Anyone who has been home on a weekday is likely to have at least once switched on the television and caught one of the many morning news shows where the hosts try to keep things light as they interview guests and take part in a variety of “fun activities” meant to entertain their barely-awake audience.
In the case of this movie, we see that world through the eyes of ambitious Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) who gets a job at New York network IBS producing “Daybreak,” the worst-rated morning show on the air. Trying to bring a bit more credibility to the program, Becky hires the network’s crusty former new anchor Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) to co-host “Daybreak” with its difficult longtime host Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton). She hopes that the pairing will boost ratings, and in fact, audiences get quite a thrill from the duo’s on-air fighting just like audiences will enjoy the squabbling between the two veteran actors. Even so, Becky has to struggle to boost the show’s ratings to avoid cancellation while at the same time trying desperately to have some kind of social life.
Morning Glory, opening in theaters today, is an impressive return to studio comedies for Michel, as well as a return to New York City where he shot the 2002 thriller Changing Lanes, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Affleck, something we spoke to him about four years prior for his previous movie Venus.
Recently, ComingSoon.net had a chance to chat with Michell about his new film, and in the exclusive video interview below, we talk about:
* Being back in New York City filming a movie
* Why he wanted to do the movie
* Whether he was familiar with the American version of the morning news/talk show
* Differences between American and British morning shows
* The dumbing down of news and turning news into entertainment
* Whether the morning show hosts were based on real people
* How he works with the cast before filming
* Why audiences, both men and women, like Rachel McAdams so much
* Ernie the weatherman!
* Getting a PG-13 rating
And more!
