Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009)

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers (WGA):

Peter Hyams (screenplay)
Douglas Morrow (1956 screenplay)

Release Date:

10 July 2009 (Spain)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Why would a man frame himself... for murder?

Plot:

Remake of the 1956 film noir film "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" in which a writer's plan to expose a corrupt district attorney takes an unexpected turn.

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Remake Of American Film

Cast

Jesse Metcalfe	...	C.J. Nicholas
Amber Tamblyn	...	Ella Crystal
Michael Douglas	...	Mark Hunter
Joel David Moore	...	Corey Finley
Orlando Jones	...	Ben Nickerson
Lawrence P. Beron	...	Lieutenant Merchant (as Lawrence Beron)
Sewell Whitney	...	Martin Weldon
David Jensen	...	Gary Spota
Sharon K. London	...	Judge Sheppard (as Sharon London)
Krystal Kofie	...	Taieesha
Randal Reeder	...	Survivalist Man (as Randel Reeder)
Ryan Glorioso	...	Animal Shelter Attendant
Jon McCarthy	...	Detective Rawley
Grant James	...	Aaron Wakefield
Eric Gipson	...	Allen
Gerry May	...	Anchorman
Carl Savering	...	Bailiff
Kelvin Payton	...	Cameraman
Michele Williams	...	Danielle
Arlando Smith	...	Dell
Dan Harville	...	Deputy
Fred Ellis	...	Forensics Expert
Wallace Merck	...	Gilbert Romans
Michlle White Lafitte	...	Kelly Gertner
Robert Larriviere	...	Kevin Tarlow
Juli Erickson	...	Madalyn Urlanger (as Juli Erickerson)
Edrick Browne	...	Manager
Carrie Slaughter	...	Marsha (as Carri Slaughter)
Ron Flagge	...	Property Clerk (as Ron Flagg)
David Born	...	Property Sergeant
Michael P. Flannigan	...	Reporter #1 (as Michael Flannigan)
Jeff Ferrell	...	Reporter #2
Darcel White Moreno	...	Reporter #3 (as Darcel Moreno)
Derek Wayne Johnson	...	Reporter #4 (as Derek Johnson)
Megan Brown	...	Roberta
Tony Bentley	...	Roger Milner (as Tony Bently)
Andrei Constantinescu	...	Bruce Stern
John McConnell	...	Vernon Green
Meade Patton	...	Detective Riddick
Sarah Kearney	...	Anchorwoman
Robin McGee	...	Soundman
Sigal Diamant	...	Maralyn
Illana Diamant	...	Mrs. Hunter (as Illana Shoshan)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael C. 'Mike' Allen	...	Couple W / Dog - Animal Shelter Scene (uncredited)
Stephanie Brown	...	Courtroom Clerk (uncredited)
Crystal Brown-Tatum	...	Newsroom Reporter (uncredited)
Michael Byrnes	...	Cop (uncredited)
Kip Cummings	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Gary D. Earl	...	Bass Pro Shop Patron (uncredited)
Ron Fagan	...	Newspaper Man (uncredited)
Deborah R. Jones	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Lori Knighton	...	Newsroom / Counsilman (uncredited)
Mike Martindale	...	Juror (uncredited)
Krystal Mayo	...	Newsroom Reporter (uncredited)
Lee Ann McDade	...	Audience Member at Dog Show (uncredited)
James B. McDaniel	...	Juror #1 (uncredited)
Dina Merrill	...	Woman in Courtroom (uncredited)
Dennis W. Murphy	...	Newsroom Reporter / Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Mysti Nash	...	Court Goer (uncredited)
James Palmer	...	News Cameraman (uncredited)
Ashley-Anne Parker	...	Court Goer (uncredited)
Jeannie Perrin	...	Federal Employee (uncredited)
Cynthia Riser	...	Juror (uncredited)
Chuck Vail	...	Juror #6 (uncredited)
Lawrence Varnado	...	Detective Hollis (uncredited)
Amanda Smoak Weisner	...	Spota's Assistant (uncredited)
Brent Weisner	...	Asst. District Attorney (uncredited)
Steven Whitemon	...	Himself (uncredited)
Steven E. Williams	...	Courthouse Attorney / Court Goer (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Hyams

Writing credits (WGA)
Peter Hyams		(screenplay)
Douglas Morrow		(1956 screenplay)

Produced by
Faisal S. Al-Saud	....	executive producer (as Faisal S.M. Al Saud)
Stephanie Caleb	....	executive producer
Kevin Cornish	....	co-producer
Mark Damon	....	producer
Limor Diamant	....	producer
Michael P. Flannigan	....	co-producer
Ted Hartley	....	producer
Michael A. Helfant	....	executive producer (as Michael Helfant)
John Hyams	....	associate producer
Laura Ivey	....	executive producer
Jonathan S. Marshall	....	co-producer
James Portolese	....	co-producer
Aaron Ray	....	executive producer
Steven Saxton	....	executive producer
Courtney Solomon	....	executive producer
Tamara Stuparich de la Barra	....	co-producer
Joshua Throne	....	line producer
Olga Tymshan	....	associate producer
Allan Zeman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
David Shire

Cinematography by
Peter Hyams		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jeff Gullo

Casting by
Ryan Glorioso

Production Design by
James A. Gelarden

Art Direction by
Kevin Hardison

Set Decoration by
Hannah Beachler

Costume Design by
Susanna Puisto

Makeup Department
Kimberly Amacker	....	key makeup artist
LaToya Henderson	....	makeup artist (as LaToya Green)
Rose Librizzi	....	makeup department head (as Rose Librizzi-Davis)
K.G. Ramsey	....	department head hair
Tony Ward	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Jerry Gilbert	....	post-production supervisor
Diego J. Martinez	....	production supervisor
Louise Runge	....	post supervisor
Joshua Throne	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gary Hymes	....	second unit director
Tom Martin	....	second assistant director
Daniel Shultz	....	second second assistant director
Franklin A. Vallette	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Cook Allender	....	on-set dresser
Chris Britt	....	leadman
Gloria Hardison Clark	....	art department coordinator
Dennis Collins	....	stand-by painter
Lisa Akes Crouch	....	on-set greensperson
Stanford Gilbert	....	property master
Sam Jacobs	....	on-set dresser pa
Ashley N. MacMillan	....	props
Elizabeth Mire	....	set dressing buyer
William Nutt	....	key greensman
Eric Orr	....	prop assistant
Janna Roach	....	first assistant prop master
Jason Wilson	....	propmaker

Sound Department
Joshua Adeniji	....	foley editor
Michael Baird	....	supervising sound designer
Robert Dehn	....	sound studio manager
Jason Dotts	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Levent Erdogan	....	foley editor
J. Alex Faucheux	....	foley
Brent Findley	....	sound effects editor
Allie Fitz	....	sound effects editor
Jason Gaya	....	sound recordist
Judah Getz	....	adr mixer
Jerry Gilbert	....	sound re-recording mixer
Corey J. Grasso	....	assistant sound editor
Dennis Grzesik	....	sound mixer
Steven Huerstel	....	sound utility
Richard Kitting	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gus Koven	....	sound effects designer
Tiffany Lentz	....	assistant sound editor
Andrew Morgado	....	adr mixer
Scott Sanders	....	sound effects designer
Tula Snoeck	....	boom operator
Jonathan Wales	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Jason Babin	....	special effects technician
Blake Le Vasseur	....	technician
Jack Lynch	....	special effects coordinator
Richard E. Perry	....	special effects foreman
Bob Trevino	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
John Lands	....	visual effects supervisor
Michael Mansouri	....	technical consultant
Kevin Stevenson	....	computer graphics

Stunts
Laura Albert	....	stunt performer
James Armstrong	....	stunt double: Finley
Dickey Beer	....	stunt driver
Jeremy Fry	....	stunt driver
Tanner Gill	....	stunts
Jim Henry	....	stunts
Collin Hymes	....	stunts
Gary Hymes	....	stunt coordinator
Kathy Jarvis	....	stunt double: Amber Tamblyn
Steve Kelso	....	stunt double driver
Jeff Milburn	....	stunt driver
Rick Miller	....	stunt driver
Eric Norris	....	stunt coordinator
Tim J. Smith	....	stunt double: orlando jones
Greg Tracy	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Patrick Barnes	....	remote head technician
Joseph Barto	....	camera operator: video camera
Amanda Bruce Parker	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera (as Amanda G. Bruce)
Jacob Bynum	....	second assistant camera: "c" camera
Andy Colvin	....	Steadicam operator
Andy Colvin	....	camera operator
Duane Cooper	....	best boy grip
Bill Daimant	....	dolly grip
Mark Shane Davis	....	key grip
Bryan Delorenzo	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera, second unit
Marque DeWinter	....	camera consultant
John Gregory Edwards	....	electrician
Rowland Egerton	....	best boy rigging grip
Erika Enquist	....	camera production assistant
Sean P. Fickert	....	key grip: second unit
John Gorman	....	electrician
Richard Lacy	....	first assistant camera
Kenji Luster	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Kenji Luster	....	steadicam operator
Michael Mansouri	....	digital imaging technician
Christopher Nash	....	grip
Myron Parran	....	additional assistant camera
Max Pomerleau	....	gaffer
Nick Pomerleau	....	best boy electrician
Anthony Schrader	....	rigging grip
Michael Sheely	....	media manager
Kevin Stevenson	....	video playback supervisor
Jeff Taylor	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Rico Torres	....	still photographer
Greg Travis	....	rigging electrician
Earl Woods	....	rigging gaffer

Casting Department
Trena Edwards	....	extras casting assistant
Kate Warren	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jacqueline Aronson	....	costume supervisor
Caryn Frankenfield	....	set costumer
Vanessa Nirode	....	set costumer
Sommer Terry	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Ray Boniker	....	assistant editor
Lawles Bourque	....	digital conformist
Michael Cioni	....	post-production consultant
Joe Finley	....	digital film colorist
Samantha Housman	....	post-production coordinator
Harry Muller	....	color timer
Guy Ross	....	assistant editor
Amber Taylor	....	DI Post Supervisor
Larry D. Webster	....	post-production

Music Department
Bryan Carrigan	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Charles Coulter	....	generator operator/driver
Sam Craytor	....	driver: honeywagon
Randy Kinyon	....	transportation captain
Aaron D. Moore	....	driver
Beverly Reeves	....	driver: van
Ronnie Reeves	....	picture car coordinator
Hank Van Apeldoorn	....	driver: grip truck
Marti Wells	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Danny 'Dano' Anderson	....	key set production assistant
Ginger Attaway	....	assistant: M. Flannigan
Michael R. Baker	....	location assistant
Robbie Banfitch	....	office production assistant
Ken Beggs	....	animal trainer
Ryan Belenzon	....	assistant: Mr. Hyams
Wendy Benge	....	finance attorney
Erik Bright	....	unit publicist: Insignia Public Relations
Dottie Buck	....	craft service production assistant
Allen Burry	....	assistant: M. Douglas
Matt Carroll	....	assistant: J. Metcalfe
Sean Carville	....	first assistant accountant
Scott Collette	....	assistant to Tamara Stuparich De La Barra
Bobbi Colorado	....	animal wrangler
Mona Coulter	....	travel agent
Trang Dang	....	production coordinator
Lindsey Dean	....	accounting intern
Brooke Estrada	....	production assistant
Jen Evans	....	assistant: A. Tamblyn
Ashley Fabre	....	post production coordinator (as Ashley Wilks Day)
Tal Fiala	....	account executive
Danielle Frankl	....	first assistant accountant
Ashley Franklin	....	assistant production coordinator
Fred Gabrielli	....	chef: Gala Catering
Beau J. Genot	....	production executive
Michael Good	....	office production assistant
Salvador Hernandez	....	caterer: Gala Catering
Ali Jazayeri	....	vice president finance
Jan Elizabeth Johnson	....	location coordinator
Bre Landers	....	craft service assistant
Liz Landers	....	craft service
Brooke Lehman	....	assistant to producers
Ed Lipscomb	....	location manager
Ernesto Lopez	....	caterer: Gala Catering
Eric Majette Jr.	....	base camp manager
Mokym Major	....	stand-in
Gregory McNamara	....	key assistant location manager
John A. Metoyer	....	assistant location manager
Terry Milam	....	utility stand-in: male
Lucy Mukerjee	....	creative executive
Jennifer Nguyen	....	assistant: Mark Damon
Buckley Norris	....	insurance broker: AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services
Vickie O'Hara	....	craft service assistant
Jose Orozco	....	caterer: Gala Catering
Manuel Ortega	....	caterer: Gala Catering
Jeff Overcash	....	craft service assistant
Corinna Pieloch	....	unit publicist
Stephen H. Porter	....	production assistant
Edward Poveda	....	payroll accountant
Guy Ross	....	craft service production assistant
Vicki L. Sawyer	....	post-production accountant
Vicki L. Sawyer	....	production accountant
C.J. Schoofield	....	assistant: J.D. Moore
Suzanne Tierney	....	legal services
Sonia Torres	....	set production assistant
Shea Walsworth	....	craft service production assistant
Matt Warren	....	completion guarantor: Film Finances
Greg Washington	....	production assistant
Diane Wilson	....	craft service assistant
Matthew Wright	....	production assistant
Anthony Yuse	....	set production assistant
Jason Kay	....	intern (uncredited)

Thanks
Elisabetta Canalis	....	special thanks (as Elisabetta Canali)
Lisa Ranier-Iemanuel	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Autonomous Films (presents)
• Foresight Unlimited (presents)
• RKO Pictures (presents)
• Signature Entertainment
• Aramid Entertainment Fund (in association with)
• Millennium Studios (Stage Rentals)

Distributors

• After Dark Films (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Films (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Autonomous Films (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Entertainment Film Distributors (2009) (UK) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Innoform Media (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Medusa Distribuzione (2009) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Village Films (2009) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Viva International Pictures (2009) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• DeA Planeta Home Entertainment (2009) (Spain) (all media)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Fundamental Films (2009) (China) (all media)
• Future Film (2009) (Finland) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2010) (Thailand) (all media)
• Koch Media (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• MG Film (2009) (Croatia) (all media)
• Midget Entertainment (2009) (Denmark) (all media)
• Noble Entertainment (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Noble Entertainment (2009) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Prisvídeo - Edições Videográficas (2009) (Portugal) (all media)
• VVS Films (2009) (Canada) (all media)
• Veronica (2012) (Netherlands) (TV)

Special Effects

• Louisiana Media Services (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Law Offices of Joanne L Hoffman  production legal services
• Team Shark  grip equipment
• Cinelease  grip equipment
• DeLuxe Laboratories  film laboratory (as Deluxe Laboratories)
• Kodak Motion Picture Film  film stock
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix: Dolby Digital
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)
• American Humane Association, The  animal action monitoring: AHAD 01098 (as American Humane Film & TV Unit)
• Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)  acknowledgement
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color (as deluxe)
• Aramid Entertainment Fund  funding
• AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services  insurance provided by (as AON Albert G Ruben)
• ARSONAL  poster design (uncredited)
• Barnstormer  camera equipment (uncredited)
• Canali  wardrobe: Mr. Douglas
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies (as Chapman Leonard)
• Cinelease  electrical equipment provided by
• Fairfield Studios  post-production: additional video crew (uncredited)
• Film Finances  completion guarantor (as Film Finances, Inc.)
• HD Camera Rentals.com  camera equipment provided by (as HD Camera Rentals)
• Hollywood Trucks  entertainment transportation (uncredited)
• Hollywood-DI  HD screening services (uncredited)
• Insignia Public Relations  unit publicity (as Insignia, Inc.)
• Louisiana Media Productions  production services (uncredited)
• Louisiana Media Services  post-production facilities
• Media Magik Entertainment  post-production services (uncredited)
• Modern VideoFilm  digital intermediate (as Modern Videofilm, Inc.)
• NT Audio  optical soundtrack negative
• Panavision Remote Systems  Supertechno crane provided by (uncredited)
• Pfaff Protective Group  thanks (uncredited)
• Radiant Images  thanks (uncredited)
• Red Camera Rentals.com  camera equipment (uncredited)
• Red Digital Cinema  camera equipment provided by
• Sessions Payroll Management  extras payroll services (uncredited)
• Sonic Magic  sound post-production (uncredited)
• Upload Films  post-production (uncredited)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for a sex scene, violence and brief strong language

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-13 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Benton, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Autonomous Films

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Peter Hyams] [character]One of the characters is called Spota.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the end of the trial, a reporter said the DA announced he would seek the death penalty. In fact, the DA would have had to serve notice prior to the trial that he was going to seek the death penalty and the jury would have had to been qualified for a death penalty case, i.e. jury members must agree they would return the verdict of death if they felt it was warranted.

Movie Connections:

References The Mask (1994)

Soundtrack:

Mallorca

Interesting but severely unconvincing movie

'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt' is a remake of 1956 film noir (and they really knew how to make them back then), casting looked good, plot seemed very interesting and there was plenty of reason for me to watch this movie. First thing i realized when i started watching is that the production is kind of poor, when you watch this movie you get the feeling that you're watching some B-movie. And the only case in which B-movie can be good and considered a classic is when its original and strange, and you can figure out that this one isn't, because as i said it's a remake of then totally ordinary and often film noir. The cast looked good to me at first, main star of course is Michael Douglas, but the acting in this movie was surprisingly poor to me, considering the script they were given these actors should've been a lot more convincing than they were. Jesse Metcalfe, pretty-boy known from several TV series (including soap operas...) just didn't seem cut out for his role ever since the first scene he was in. Other than poor acting, the script that was taken from 53 year old movie is basically interesting and effective, but it was poorly executed and some events were really forced which is never good in these kind of dramas that are most effective when they are slow-paced. I still wouldn't blame the main failure on actors, in my opinion Peter Hyams, the director and the (re)writer of the screenplay did a very sloppy job and denied something better to happen with this movie.

Still, 'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt' being what it is, it's still good, very watchable and somewhat suspenseful, although i would call this movie a fairly big letdown, because i simply hoped for something much better. If you are craving for these kind of investigative dramas, then i suggest you better watch 'State of Play' or 'Nothing But the Truth', these movies are much better in terms of acting and production and unlike 'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt' they are somewhat thought-provoking, while after watching this movie you will simply forget it in the next five minutes.