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Public Access Movie Poster
Plot, Details & Awards

Public Access

Rated R for language, brief sexuality and violence.

R In Theaters 01/20/1998 , 87min.
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Plot & Details

Before making their Oscar-winning film The Usual Suspects, director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie made their first film -- this low-budget independent feature and Grand Jury Prize winner at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. Public Access examines the power and dangers of mass media consumption upon a small-town community. Ron Marquette plays Whiley Pritcher, a stranger in the small community of Brewster, who lands a job as the host of a local public access call-in show. On his program he asks the simple question "What's wrong with Brewster?" and gets all manner of call-in complaints -- from discrimination at the school to political corruption at the town hall. Soon, Whiley becomes a local celebrity and an arbiter of public opinion. As his power grows, he makes a pact with Bob Hodges (Burt Williams), Brewster's mayor, and begins an affair with Rachel (Dina Brooks), the town librarian.
  • MPAA Rating: R
  • Genre(s): Drama,Thriller
  • Run Time: 87min.
  • Theatrical Release Date: 01/20/1998
  • DVD Release Date: 08/31/1999
  • Distributor(s): Vanguard
  • Director(s): Bryan Singer
  • Starring: Ron Marquette , Larry Maxwell
  • Themes: Small-Town Life
  • Tone: Talky,Chilly,Menacing,Cerebral,Enigmatic
  • Keywords: celebrity,corruption,discrimination,job,stars [celebrities],stranger
  • Language: English
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