People I Know (2002)

A New York press agent must scramble when his major client becomes embroiled in a huge scandal.

Director:

Daniel Algrant (as Dan Algrant)

Writer:

Jon Robin Baitz

Stars:

Al Pacino, Téa Leoni, Ryan O'Neal

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Pacino	...	Eli Wurman
Kim Basinger	...	Victoria Gray
Ryan O'Neal	...	Cary Launer
Téa Leoni	...	Jilli Hopper
Richard Schiff	...	Elliot Sharansky
Bill Nunn	...	The Reverend Lyle Blunt
Robert Klein	...	Dr. Sandy Napier
Mark Webber	...	Ross
Eldon Bullock	...	Washroom Attendant
Juliet Papa	...	Radio Announcer (voice)
Ramsey Faragallah	...	David Fielding
Brian McConnachie	...	Jamie Hoff
Frank Wood	...	Michael Wormly
Rex Reed	...	Himself
Lewis Dodley	...	Himself

Storyline

Eli Wurman is a decadent drug addicted New Yorker public relation, who is promoting a social event on behalf of Afro-Americans. Along two days of his crazy life, the day of the event and the day before, he makes contacts and favors, 'kissing asses', using drugs etc. Victoria Gray is his widow sister-in-law and passion in the past. Cary Launer is an Oscar winner actor and principal client of Eli. On the day before of the event, Eli finds out secrets that evolve powerful men of America.

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Plot Keywords:

scandal | new york | actor | protection | corruption | 

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Taglines:

He thought he'd seen it all, until the night he saw too much

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug use and brief sexual images

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2002 (Peru)

Also Known As:

Influences

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$34,211, 27 April 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$121,972, 18 May 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Myriad Pictures, Wildwood Enterprises, Galena

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As one of the subplots was fairly critical about the mayor of New York, this film sat on the shelves for two years following the terrorist attacks on the USA of 11 September 2001, a time when the city's mayor Guiliani redeemed himself in many peoples' eyes.

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Quotes

Eli Wurman: I've got a starlet in here with more drugs than I've ever seen. We could start a cartel.

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Connections

Features Home Again with Bob Vila (1990)

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Soundtracks

Bye Bye Blackbird
Music by Ray Henderson
Lyrics by Mort Dixon
Performed by Rickie Lee Jones
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

FAMILIAR NEW YORK STORY

Inspired by the SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS and THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES, this labour of love is the sort of film made for New Yorkers by New Yorkers. While not being particularly fresh in it's ideas and story, PEOPLE I KNOW more than makes up for it's short comings due in large part to another strong turn by Al Pacino.

Pacino is surprisingly gentle and small as a has-been impresario who is desperate for one last benefit to do some good in the city. Why exactly this benefit means so much to him is never really explained but Pacino, with that wonderful expressive face of his, is content to carry the drama with subtly and grace, using those great bags under his eyes to convey a sense of pleading exhaustion throughout the film. In many scenes, his character seems so fatigued that we expect Pacino to expire on the spot, so heavy is the burden of his life lived as a heel.

The script, by New York playwright Jon Robin Baitz, knows it's world well, as demonstrated by the excellent lead characters and the numerous small, but equally well conceived characters that pepper the screenplay. Plot-wise the Baitz's script is less than successful. The screenplay suffers from two well-meaning maguffins - Pacino's big benefit and the `toy' Tea Leoni finds - which don't really pay dividends and lead the film to a somewhat flat finale.

The direction by SEX IN THE CITY helmer Daniel Algrant is unobtrusive and safe, with no real effort made to assemble this film in anything higher than TV movie quality. Algrant is content to keep attention on his cast, which - when dealing with Al Pacino - is never a bad idea.