''Shooter'' is a 1988 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

action drama film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...

based on the book ''Shooter'' by and about

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning photographer David Hume Kennerly, who had been a combat photojournalist during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and later the White House photographer for President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

. The film was produced as a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

which was not picked up as a series by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

and originally aired on September 11, 1988.

Summary

The film followed the adventures in Vietnam of a fictional photo journalist named Matt Thompson, played by Jeffrey Nordling in his debut role. It was made shortly after ''Good Morning Vietnam'' had been a success in theaters, and it borrowed two actors from the ''Good Morning Vietnam'' cast, Noble Willingham and Cu Ba Nguyen, as well as having a similar free-spirited protagonist who is constantly clashing with his superiors. The television pilot was filmed on location in Thailand. David Hume Kennerly served as executive producer and writer. Gary Nelson directed the film.

Cast

Jeffrey Nordling Jeffrey Richard Nordling (born March 11, 1962) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jake Manning in ''Once and Again'', Larry Moss in '' 24'', Nick Bolen in ''Desperate Housewives'', and Gordon Klein in '' Big Little Lies'', as wel ...

as Matt Thompson / Grunwald * Noble Willingham as Rizzo * Kario Salem as Rene *

Helen Hunt Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an American actress. Her accolades include an Academy Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Hunt rose to fame portraying newlywed Jamie Buchman in the sitcom '' Mad Abou ...

as Tracey *

Alan Ruck Alan Douglas Ruck (born July 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Cameron Frye in John Hughes' film '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), as well as television roles as Stuart Bondek on the ABC sitcom '' Spin City'' (1996� ...

as Stork O'Connor * Jerry Alan Chandler as Klaus *

Carol Huston Carol Huston is an American actress and singer. Early life Carol Huston was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in Des Plaines, Illinois. Huston attended Forest View High School in nearby Arlington Heights, where she participated in its ...

as Cat *

Rosalind Chao Rosalind Chao (born September 23, 1957) is an American actress. She appeared as Soon-Lee Klinger in the mid-1980s CBS show '' AfterMASH'', Rose Hsu Jordan in the 1993 movie '' The Joy Luck Club'', the recurring character Keiko O'Brien on '' Sta ...

as Lan *

Nick Cassavetes Nicholas David Rowland Cassavetes (born May 21, 1959) is an American actor, director, and writer. He has directed such films as '' She's So Lovely'' (1997), '' John Q.'' (2002), '' The Notebook'' (2004), ''Alpha Dog'' (2006), and '' My Sister's K ...

as Tex *

Grace Zabriskie Grace Zabriskie (née Caplinger; born May 17, 1941) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Sarah Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Lois Henrickson in ''B ...

as Sister Marie *

Adrian Paul Adrian Paul Hewett (born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, martial artist and director best known for the title role of Duncan MacLeod on the television series '' Highlander: The Series''. In 1997, he founded the Peace Fund charitable organis ...

as Ian * Louis Roth as Garth Andrews *

Steven Ford Steven Meigs Ford (born May 19, 1956) is an American actor, and the youngest son of former U.S. President Gerald Ford and former First Lady Betty Ford. He is perhaps best known for playing Andy Richards in the soap opera ''The Young and the Res ...

as Capt. Walker

Awards

Shooter won an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

for cinematography.

References

External links

* * 1988 television films 1988 films 1980s action drama films American action drama films NBC original films Television films as pilots Television pilots not picked up as a series Films directed by Gary Nelson Films scored by Paul Chihara 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language action drama films {{action-drama-film-stub