DATE=10/16/2003

TYPE=ENGLISH PROGRAMS FEATURE

NUMBER=7-37952

TITLE=HOLLYWOOD HIGHLIGHTS 2003-41b (Runaway Jury)

BYLINE=ALAN SILVERMAN

TELEPHONE=260-1623 (EDITOR)

DATELINE=HOLLYWOOD

EDITOR=FAITH LAPIDUS

CONTENT=

( INSERTS AVAILABLE FROM AUDIO SERVICES; VOICED VERSION 5:17vo, 8:12mo )

Intro: American film icons Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman co-star in the new courtroom thriller based on a best seller by lawyer-turned-novelist John Grisham. Alan Silverman has a look at "RUNAWAY JURY:"

AUDIO CUT ONE "RUNAWAY JURY" CLIP

"Thirty years in the trenches have taught me this: everybody has a secret they don't want you to find. Find something on every one of them. Pull their files. Review every word, every photo and every medical record."

TEXT: In high profile American court trials, especially those with huge business interests at stake, the jury consultant has taken on increasing importance. These experts use psychological profiles and background investigations in an attempt to craft a jury that will favor the client paying them:

/// OPT /// AUDIO CUT TWO "RUNAWAY JURY" CLIP

"Look, without reviewing his questionnaire or a formal Q and A I don't think I can trust this."

"Well, you're only lead counsel for the defense, Mr. Cable. You shouldn't pretend to know very much about jury selection. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: In "RUNAWAY JURY" Gene Hackman plays Rankin Fitch, a ruthless expert hired by gun manufacturers when the widow of a shooting spree victim files suit claiming the companies are liable for the damages caused by their firearms. It's an important departure from the 1996 John Grisham novel in which the liability trial involved cigarette manufacturers; but director Gary Fleder contends the core remains unchanged:

AUDIO CUT THREE FLEDER

I made a movie about jury tampering, n-o-t about gun control. I did feel that the case in the film should make sense, but the case is only the backdrop for the bigger story about jury tampering, surveillance and privacy issues. As a filmmaker you always want to say that you've captured the essence of the book and I think we did. I like the book a lot and I think we got the sense of it being smart and conspiratorial, but also with surprising turns like the book. I think we've captured that.

AUDIO CUT FOUR "RUNAWAY JURY" CLIP

"How much do you think it's worth?"

"Ten or 15 million . . . maybe more."

"We only need eight of them for a verdict."

"Everybody has a button. We just have to find out where and push."

TEXT: John Cusack and Rachel Weisz play characters with their own agenda for the trial. Cusack's Nick Easter has manipulated his way onto the jury itself and Weisz, as a mystery woman named Marlee, contacts both sides promising a verdict in favor of the highest bidder:

/// OPT /// AUDIO CUT FIVE CUSACK

These two characters become vigilantes at the end of the day and vigilantes are usually very compromised, damaged people. They are basically saying 'the system itself isn't going to work so we're going to become as corrupt as the evil that's corrupting the system in order to fight it.'

AUDIO CUT SIX WEISZ

It's fun to play a role where you have a secret and you have masks that you can take off and have a reveal. It gives you something interesting to play. That coupled with the fact that this story had some substance to it I thought it was an interesting combination. /// END OPT ///

AUDIO CUT SEVEN "RUNAWAY JURY" CLIP

"What's your price?"

"Ten million . . . non-negotiable."

"(This check) is made out to cash for 500-thousand dollars to walk away from my jury."

"I wouldn't drop off your dry cleaning for that."(laughs)

TEXT: Jury consultant Fitch is the latest despicable screen character brought to life by Gene Hackman:

AUDIO CUT EIGHT HACKMAN

It's part of me. We always try to use various things in our personalities that we may n-o-t find attractive, but we find them useful. /// OPT /// I always try to find in these bad guys something that's human and that makes them even more diabolical. If you see somebody that is all bad you can put them in the 'monster category' and forget about them; but if you somebody that is really bad and is also a father and a grandfather, that's even worse, I think. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: On the other side of the case is plaintiff's attorney Wendall Rohr, played by Dustin Hoffman, a longtime friend of fellow Oscar-winner Hackman (the two were roommates 40 years ago during their struggling actor days). Ironically, Hoffman explains, a confrontation scene between the two characters marks the first time they have acted together in a film:

AUDIO CUT NINE HOFFMAN

We show up for the scene and we admit to each other that we hadn't slept the night before, how nervous we were . . . So we did the first take and we were terrible and yet we embraced and said 'we got through it!' It was intimidating.

AUDIO CUT TEN "RUNAWAY JURY" CLIP

"I get it now. You are a moral man living in a world of moral relativity. It's just so quaint . . . so precious."

"Hey! Don't do that. This is about my witness. This is about you messing with my client, my case and the rules of law that govern our country."

"Our country? If you're relying on testimony to win this case, you've already lost it. Do you think this jury cares anything about negligent distribution or product liability?"

"You bet!"

"Most of them can't even say the words let alone understand the meaning. Do you think your average juror is King Solomon? No, he's a roofer with mortgage. He wants to go home, sit in his Barcalounger and let the cable TV wash over him. This man doesn't give a single, solitary drop about truth, justice or your American way."

TEXT: "RUNAWAY JURY" is shot on location in and around historic New Orleans. (signed)

MUSIC: by Christopher Young from "RUNAWAY JURY" soundtrack