The Second Civil War
| The Second Civil War | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Black comedy, political satire |
| Written by | Martyn Burke |
| Directed by | Joe Dante |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Hummie Mann |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Chip Diggins Barry Levinson |
| Producer | Guy Riedel |
| Cinematography | Mac Ahlberg |
| Editor | Marshall Harvey |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Production companies | Baltimore Pictures HBO Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | March 15, 1997 |
The Second Civil War is a satirical black comedy television film directed by Joe Dante for the HBO cable television network, first aired on March 15, 1997. The film details the build-up to an ethnically fueled civil war in an alternate future United States as a result of unsustainably excessive immigration, political self-interest, and ratings-pursuing news media.
The film stars James Earl Jones, Elizabeth Peña, and Denis Leary as reporters for a CNN-like cable network, "NewsNet" (referred to in on-screen graphics as "NN"); Beau Bridges as the governor of Idaho; Phil Hartman as the U.S. President; James Coburn as his chief advisor; and William Schallert as the Secretary of Defense. Brian Keith portrayed a general in one of his final movie roles.