Runaway Jury (2003)

A juror on the inside and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer.

Director:

Gary Fleder

Writers:

John Grisham (novel), Brian Koppelman (screenplay)

Stars:

John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Gene Hackman

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	Nicholas Easter
Gene Hackman	...	Rankin Fitch
Dustin Hoffman	...	Wendell Rohr
Rachel Weisz	...	Marlee
Bruce Davison	...	Durwood Cable
Bruce McGill	...	Judge Harkin
Jeremy Piven	...	Lawrence Green
Nick Searcy	...	Doyle
Stanley Anderson	...	Henry Jankle
Cliff Curtis	...	Frank Herrera
Nestor Serrano	...	Janovich
Leland Orser	...	Lamb
Jennifer Beals	...	Vanessa Lembeck
Gerry Bamman	...	Herman Grimes
Joanna Going	...	Celeste Wood

Storyline

Wendell Rohr is a torts lawyer taking on the gun lobby. Rankin Fitch is the jury consultant for the Defendants and between them the battle is for the hearts and minds of the jury. But there is someone on the inside. Nicholas Easter is a juror with a girlfriend, Marlee, on the outside. they have a past ..... and their own agenda.

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Plot Keywords:

voir dire | watching tv | woman murders a man | french | french quarter new orleans | 

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Taglines:

Trials are too important to be decided by juries.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, language and thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

17 October 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le maître du jeu

Filming Locations:

Louisiana Supreme Court, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,836,705, 19 October 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$49,443,628

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$80,154,140

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Epsilon Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joel Schumacher was originally attached to direct, largely at the insistence of John Grisham. The author had been pleased with the way Schumacher had handled two of his properties, A Time to Kill (1996) and The Client (1994).

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Goofs

In the beginning, a photographer is shooting Nick from a second-floor balcony. However, the black & white stills produced are shot at street level.

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Quotes

Nicholas Easter: [talking about a dead friend] Listen, I dunno if it would be inappropriate, but do you think we could do something today to remember him?
Rikki Coleman: We could say the Lord's Prayer.
Nicholas Easter: Well, I don't want to ask people to pray...
Millie Dupree: How about "God Bless America"?
Nicholas Easter: [with more conviction] Oh, I couldn't ask people to *sing*!

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Connections

Featured in The Ensemble: Acting (2004)

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Soundtracks

Heart of Mine
Written by Bob Dylan
Performed by The Peter Malick Group featuring Norah Jones
Courtesy of Koch Entertainment
By special arrangement with Sugaroo!

User Reviews

An Entertaining Thriller

Nicholas Easter (John Cusack) is desperate to get on this jury. With a high powered Gun Manufacturer, at risk of being held responsible for selling the guns that are used in crime, the question is why.

Gene Hackman is brought in for the defence as a jury consultant, who is at ease with digging up dirt and manipulating jurors, to get the results he wants.

And Rachel Weisz is an outsider, pulling Easters strings. As the stakes get higher, there is no doubt that this Jury is For Sale, but will the highest bidder win.

Hackman, Weisz and Cusack are all on top form for this one, but Hoffman's Character seemed to lack a little depth.

Basically a good thriller, that is worth watching, but don't expect too much, you might feel let down.

7/10