Lost Capitol Hill: Hollywood on the Hill on East Capitol

In the second installment of Films on the Hill, as listed in Mike Canning’s Hollywood on the Potomac, we’ll look at one of my favorite films: Broadcast News, which came out just as I was starting to become interested in nuance in film. It also has lots of DC locations, a great cast, and an important role played by a house on Capitol Hill.

Broadcast News came out in 1987. Written and directed by James L. Brooks, it starred Holly Hunter, fresh from her breakout performance in Raising Arizona, Albert Brooks, and William Hurt. It follows the three of them as they make their way in the cutthroat world of TV production, with both Brooks and Hurt trying for a spot in front of the calendar – and in Hunt’s heart.

The use of DC by the film is unique in that it was almost completely shot on location in DC. Even the interiors were shot in a building on Pennsylvania Avenue, instead of a soundstage in LA, and Mike Canning praises the producers for “generally eschew[ing] the familiar DC landmarks.” Well, except for one scene shot in front of the Jefferson Memorial.

The Hill connection is the house that Albert Brooks (no relation to James L. In fact, Albert’s birth name is Albert Einstein, a name he was loathe to use in film for the obvious reasons) lives in. Many of the scenes between he and Hunter are shot there, including one memorable scene on the front stoop.

The house used for this is on the 600 block of East Capitol Street, and can still be seen today. Since the interior was used as well as the exterior, it took some time to find a house that fit the bill. One of the houses scouted, but ultimately discarded, was in fact Mike Canning’s. It was dropped from the list for being too small.

The house used in Broadcast News (RSP)

The film doesn’t get everything right, with Hurt giving an address that simply doesn’t exist in DC, Hunter telling a cabbie to take a completely ludicrous route (though this may have been an inside joke on the part of the writer/director) and Hurt taking a Dulles mobile lounge from BWI airport.

None of this detracts from a movie that really managed to get DC right, as well as the nitty-gritty of TV news production, as well as getting into the complications of interpersonal relationships. Broadcast News remains high on a number of best movie lists – with good reason.