The Majestic (2001)

Set in 1951, a blacklisted Hollywood writer gets into a car accident, loses his memory and settles down in a small town where he is mistaken for a long-lost son.

Director:

Frank Darabont

Writer:

Michael Sloane

Stars:

Jim Carrey, Bob Balaban, Jeffrey DeMunn

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Carrey	...	Peter Appleton
Bob Balaban	...	Elvin Clyde
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Ernie Cole
Hal Holbrook	...	Congressman Doyle
Laurie Holden	...	Adele Stanton
Martin Landau	...	Harry Trimble
Brent Briscoe	...	Sheriff Cecil Coleman
Ron Rifkin	...	Kevin Bannerman
Gerry Black	...	Emmett Smith
David Ogden Stiers	...	Doc Stanton
James Whitmore	...	Stan Keller
Susan Willis	...	Irene Terwilliger
Catherine Dent	...	Mabel
Brian Howe	...	Carl Leffert / Head of the Studio
Karl Bury	...	Bob Leffert

Storyline

Peter Appleton is an ambitious young screenwriter working for HHS Studios during Hollywood's Golden Age, 1951 in particular. "Ashes to Ashes" is about to be released, and he's dating the attractive movie star, Sandra Sinclair. Just when everything seems to be going his way, it is discovered he (unwittingly) attended a Communist meeting during college when pulled there by his girlfriend at the time, and thus heavy suspicion settles over him and he'll have to stand before Congress. Afraid of what might happen if they don't, HHS cancels Appleton's contract and aborts the release date of the film. Appleton promptly begins to wallow in self-pity and spends nearly an entire night at a bar, then drives intoxicated through the streets of the California course until plummeting into a stormy river and getting knocked unconscious. Washing up on the beaches of a small town called Lawson. Although the people there are pleasant and likable, the town is depressed and lifeless due to having lost 62 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

small town | communist | california | amnesia | memory | 

---

Taglines:

Sometimes your life comes into focus one frame at a time.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and mild thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [uk] Warner Bros [de]

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Bijou

Filming Locations:

Falls Lake, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$72,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$7,366,207 (USA) (21 December 2001)

Gross:

$27,796,042 (USA) (8 March 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

152 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Matt Damon:  The first choice for the lead role, provides the voice of Albert Lucas "Luke" Trimble. Many of his lines were written in 1861 by Major Sullivan Ballou, 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers, to his wife in Smithfield, a week before he was killed at the First Bull Run Battle.

---

Goofs

The siren speaker on the police car is a Federal Signals electronic speaker that was not introduced on police cars until the mid-'60s. Sirens of the era of this movie would've been electro-mechanical wind sirens.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Studio Executive: What about the kid?
Studio Executive: What kid?
Studio Executive: You know, the kid who rings the bell.
Studio Executive: What kid? What bell? What are you talking about?
Studio Executive: The kid. After the mine caves in. The kid. He runs up the hill. He rings the bell to alert the town.
Studio Executive: Is that in the script? What page are we on?
Studio Executive: What if we gave the kid - a disease.
Studio Executive: A disease?
Studio Executive: A *disease*. Braces on the legs, that sort of thing.
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

The Hollywood executives heard in the first scene are briefly heard over the Castle Rock logo. Postcards of Lawson fall down around the opening credits.

---

Connections

Features A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

---

Soundtracks

"Over the Rainbow"
Written by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen
Performed by Chet Baker
Courtesy of BMG Ricordi S.P.A.
Under License from BMG Special Products

User Reviews

Jim Carrey can play any role he wants!!!!

By the end of this movie you will love the movies, love America, and love Jim Carrey. Every other movie staring Jim Carrey, no matter how serious, you could still see a little bit of Ace Ventura coming out. In this movie, it is a COMPLETE 180 degree performance. There were no outrageous facial expressions, gestures or body movements. It was just him, and he's awesome!

The story was good too, of course. Peter Appleton (Jim) is a movie writer during the time of the communist witch-hunt and he gets black-listed, loses his memory and winds-up in this town in which he looks like a guy that was lost in the war. He adopts this life because he doesn't know any better and he falls in love there. When he realizes who he is and is called to testify on his own behalf, he realizes that he needs to stand up against the committee because, "if a bully rises up, it's up to us all to beat them back down, no matter the cost."