Conspiracy Theory (1997)

A taxi driver with a penchant for conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of these theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.

Director:

Richard Donner

Writer:

Brian Helgeland

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, Patrick Stewart

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Jerry Fletcher
Julia Roberts	...	Alice Sutton
Patrick Stewart	...	Dr. Jonas
Cylk Cozart	...	Agent Lowry
Steve Kahan	...	Wilson (as Stephen Kahan)
Terry Alexander	...	Flip
Alex McArthur	...	Cynic
Rod McLachlan	...	Justice Guard
Michael Potts	...	Justice Guard
Jim Sterling	...	Justice Guard
Rich Hebert	...	Public Works Man
Brian J. Williams	...	Clarke
G.A. Aguilar	...	Piper
Cece Neber Labao	...	Finch's Secretary
Saxon Trainor	...	Alice's Secretary

Storyline

Jerry Fletcher is a man in love with a woman he observes from afar. She works for the government. Fletcher is an outspoken critic of that government. He has conspiracy theories for everything, from aliens to political assassinations. But soon, one of his theories finds itself to be accurate. But which one? Some dangerous people want him dead, and the only person he trusts is the woman he loves, but does not know.

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Plot Keywords:

biting someone's nose | hospital | talking while driving | on the run | surveillance | 

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Taglines:

Jerry Fletcher sees conspiracies everywhere. One has turned out to be true. Now his enemies want him dead. And she's the only one he can trust.

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Genres:

Action | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Richard Donner, Mel Gibson improvised the opening scenes in which his character expounds his conspiracy theories to a succession of passengers.

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Goofs

When Jerry escapes from the hospital, he waits inside Alice's car. He tells her to leave right away and when she does there is a reflection of a few crew members, especially the boom operator.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jerry Fletcher: July eighth, 1979, all the fathers of Nobel Prize winners were rounded up by United Nations military units, all right, and actually forced at gunpoint to give semen samples in little plastic jars, which are now stored below Rockefeller Center underneath the ice skating rink...

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Crazy Credits

The initial Warner Bros. logo with the clouds behind is shown - the camera then pulls back to show the logo as a billboard on the side of a bus.

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Connections

Referenced in Payback (1999)

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Soundtracks

Just Maintain
Written by Xzibit (as Alvin Joiner), Gloriree Rodriguez and Eric Brooks
Performed by Xzibit
Courtesy of Loud Records

User Reviews

Inconsistent

Conspiracy Theory is a fairly good movie, it's entertaining sure but it did tend to drag in parts for me and felt inconsistent as a whole. Mel Gibson's crazy performance waffles between brilliance and just plain over-the-top and I had a hard time believing any part of the romancy thing going on between him and Julia Roberts as he was just a little too certifiable for anyone to fall for. And while the whole conspiracy theory/Manchurian Candidate aspect was super interesting there were also sections explaining this storyline that just went on too long and ended up being really boring. Enjoyed Patrick Stewart as the bad guy 08.13

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 August 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Conspiracy Theory

Filming Locations:

Orpheum Theater - 842 South Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,313,566, 10 August 1997

Gross USA:

$75,982,834

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$136,982,834

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Silver Pictures, Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1