RUNAWAY JURY @moviebus

RUNAWAY JURY

John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Jennifer Beals, Bruce McGill, Melora Walters, Marguerite Moreau, Nick Searcy, Nestor Serrano, Rusty Schwimmer

Director: Gary Fleder
Written by: Brian Koppelman and David Levien
Production Company: New Regency Productions
Distributor: 20th Century Fox

US: 10/17/03
UK: 16/01/04

The premise of the movie has changed significantly from the John Grisham best seller on which it is ostensibly based. The novel being about tobacco companies. Now set in New Orleans, this is the story of a mysterious man, Nick Easter (Cusack) gets himself not only on the jury of a landmark case against a gun manufacturer, but as the foreman, in an attempt to influence the other jury members to vote a certain way (in partnership with his girlfriend, Marlee, played by Weisz, who tries to swindle the attorneys outside the jury). The case involves the widow of a man killed in an office shooting suing the gun manufacturer of the weapon that was used, under the claim that they knew the store that sold it was not obeying the laws about firearm sales. (Hoffman plays the plaintiff's lawyer; Hackman plays the cunning advisor to the gun company's lawyer; Searcy plays Hackman's assistant)

You either like or loathe Court Room dramas. The basic problem being the lack of action. How many times can you shoot for drama in a static Jury Room? The cast is first rate. The novel was a best seller - but the 16-24 movie demographic is wildly different from the Grisham reading public. Jury's Out on this! Except for one thing: we find Weitz guilty of being a great acting talent and a total babe.

MEDIA BUZZ

8 March 2003/Moviebus: Cushack in Stepford Wives remake with Nicole Kidman

REVIEWS
Boston Globe/Chicago Sun-Times
NY Daily News/Cincinnati Enquirer
New York Post/New York Times
USA Today/Washington Post
E! Online/Film Critic
Reel reviews/Seattle Post
SF Chronic/Miami Herald

Ebert & Roeper

Dave Reviews Out Loud

This Jury votes to convict Rachel Weisz guilty of being both gorgeous and brainy

Yahoo Modem

Teaser/Modem

Modem
DSL
Broadband

"What Did You Do To My Witness?"
"Just Not Me"
"It's The Madden Challenge"
"This Isn't A Trial"
"The Landlord Let Me In"
"I Can't Protect You"

N/A YET