Directed by: Costa-Gavras
Writing credits: Tom Matthews, Eric Williams
Movie Genre: Drama/Thriller
Released: 1997
Running Time: 114 minutes
Rating: PG13
Investigative TV journalist Max Brackett suffers setbacks and winds up filing routine reports from Madeline, California.
Max and his eager intern Laurie are doing a story at the local Museum of Natural History when a bigger story erupts.
The Museum's director, Mrs. Banks, refuses to talk to former museum security guard Sam Baily about his firing due to budget cuts.
Angered, Sam shoots a shotgun, accidentally hitting another security guard. Realising he's in the middle of breaking news, Max phones his supervisor and goes to live coverage.
A class of young children is visiting the Museum, and Sam holds them hostage.
Sam's link to the outside world is the opportunistic Max, who manipulates the situation, telling Sam what to say on camera.
Within hours, as the event escalates to national interest, vendors arrive to hawk products at the museum grounds, while the entire country tunes in to the ongoing coverage.
Tagline: One man will make a mistake. The other will make it a spectacle.