BROADCAST NEWS & AS GOOD AS IT GETS
Epix, 5:45 p.m. ET
Two of writer-director James L. Brooks’ classic comedies are shown tonight as an Epix double feature, and they show both the consistency and maturation of an artist who made these films a decade apart. Broadcast News was made in 1987, and showcased Holly Hunter (pictured, with Albert Brooks and William Hurt); As Good As It Gets was made in 1997, and won a Best Actress Oscar for Helen Hunt. Oh, and Jack Nicholson won a Best Actor Oscar for As Good As It Gets as well – and had appeared in a small supporting role in Broadcast News a decade before. Brooks didn’t win Oscars for either of these films, but don’t feel bad for him. Before either of these films, he already had won a Best Picture Oscar in 1984 for Terms of Endearment, and two additional Oscars for directing and writing the film. Oh, and Shirley MacLaine won an Oscar for Terms of Endearment as well – and so, in the Best Supporting Actor category, had Jack Nicholson.