The Contender (2000)

Senator Laine Hanson is a contender for U.S. Vice President, but information and disinformation about her past surfaces that threatens to derail her confirmation.

Director:

Rod Lurie

Writer:

Rod Lurie

Stars:

Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridges

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gary Oldman	...	Shelly Runyon
Joan Allen	...	Laine Hanson
Jeff Bridges	...	President Jackson Evans
Christian Slater	...	Reginald Webster
Sam Elliott	...	Kermit Newman
William Petersen	...	Jack Hathaway
Saul Rubinek	...	Jerry Tolliver
Philip Baker Hall	...	Oscar Billings
Mike Binder	...	Lewis Hollis
Robin Thomas	...	William Hanson
Mariel Hemingway	...	Cynthia Charlton Lee
Kathryn Morris	...	Paige Willomina
Kristen Shaw	...	Fiona Hathaway
Douglas Urbanski	...	Makerowitz
Noah Fryrear	...	Timmy

Storyline

A political thriller about Laine Hanson, a Senator who is nominated to become Vice President following the death of the previous office holder. During the confirmation process, Laine is the victim of a vicious attack on her personal life in which stories of sexual deviancy are spread. She is torn as to whether she should fight back, or stick to her high principles and refuse to comment on the allegations.

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Plot Keywords:

larry king character | president | vice president | governor | bridge | 

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Taglines:

Welcome To The Greatest Show On Earth

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content and language

Details

Country:

USA Germany UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

La conspiración

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,363,900, 15 October 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$17,872,723

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$22,361,811

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG,Cinecontender,Battleground Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gary Oldman and Christian Slater appeared in True Romance (1993) and Murder in the First (1995).

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Goofs

When Runyon and his cronies are plotting on how to reject Senator Hanson's nomination, Runyon's cigar goes from smaller to larger as the scene progresses.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jack Hathaway: Well, I bet you've been getting a lot of Churchills. Probably Mandela. Some DeGaulles. But I'd have to go with Anwar Sadat.

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Crazy Credits

For our daughters

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Connections

References The American President (1995)

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Soundtracks

Ring Of Fire
Written by June Carter Cash (as June Carter) and Merle Kilgore
Performed by Jeff Bridges and Kim Carnes
Courtesy Of Ramp Records, LLC.

User Reviews

Pleasant surprise, excellent performances

Excellent political thriller-drama with a great cast which certainly delivered. The story isn't very original, but that doesn't bother. Jeff Bridges was very good and funny as the president of the United States. He was always very relaxed and human during his role. The attitude, the way of thinking, the nonchalance... it made his performance quite amazing. Jeff Bridges is one of my favourite actors. He capable of playing every role. Be honest, who would have thought "the dude" would make an excellent president as well?

Furthermore I loved Joan Allen's and Gary Oldman's performance as well. Both were excellent. As well as Christian Slater playing the young idealist. "The Contender" certainly deserves this rating and I'm convinced it even deserves a higher rating, something like 7.3.

"The Contender" is political thriller-drama which is certainly worth watching. Although this movie doesn't want to make a certain (moral) statement, I loved the following quote by Joan Allen's character: "Principles only mean something when you stick to them when its inconvenient."

9/10