Runaway Jury
Runaway Jury (2003) is an American drama/thriller film.
- Tagline: Trials are too important to be decided by juries.
The film adaptation of The Runaway Jury, which drops the "The" and is simply titled Runaway Jury, makes one big departure from the book. Grisham's novel pits the plaintiff, Celeste Wood, against a large, fictional tobacco company on the grounds that the company's cigarettes sent her husband to a premature death. The scriptwriters substitute a major firearms manufacturer for the tobacco company and firearms for the cigarettes because the recent film The Insider had been about tobacco companies.
Other significant changes from the book include the circumstances surrounding the husband's death, an increased role for the plaintiff's attorney (and thus for Dustin Hoffman), and more angelic motives on the part of the protagonists.
Trivia
- Hoffman when told that the movie producers wanted him asked for the part of Rankin Fitch however he was already told that Gene Hackman was cast for the part so he then accepted the part of Wendel Rohr HBO first look
- This is the first movie to feature both Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, who were classmates at the Pasadena Playhouse.
- In the movie's various stages of development, Edward Norton was originally slated to play Nick Easter alongside Gwyneth Paltrow as Marlee and Sean Connery as Rankin Fitch. Philip Kaufman and Joel Schumacher considered directing the film.
- One of the replacement jurors is a young, "alternative"-looking woman named Lydia Deetz. This is possible in homage to the character of Lydia Deetz from the movie (and tv show) Beetlejuice.
List of characters
- Nicholas Easter (John Cusack) - protagonist; juror and manager of an electronics store in the mall. Easter is also the man on the inside, working with girlfriend Marlee to get the verdict for the case.
- Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman) - jury consultant for the defense; a hard nosed man who will never lose a verdict, often through ruthless tactics like blackmail and bullying.
- Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) - plaintiff's attorney and a crusader for tobacco (and in the movie gun) control.
- Durwood Cable (Bruce Davison) - defense attorney
- Celeste Wood (Joanna Going) - widower; plaintiff
- Marlee (Rachel Weisz) - protagonist's partner working on the outside as a direct contact to both Fitch and Rohr. Like Easter, she has ulterior motives that have yet to be revealed.
- Herman Grimes (Gerry Bamman) - jury foreman
- Judge Harkin (Bruce McGill) - judge
Film credits
- Director - Gary Fleder
- Screenwriters - Brian Koppleman, David Levien, Rick Cleveland, Matthew Chapman
External links
- Runaway Jury at IMDb