Runaway Jury

This article is about the film. For the novel, see The Runaway Jury.

Runaway Jury
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gary Fleder
Produced by	Gary Fleder Christopher Mankiewicz Arnon Milchan
Written by	Novel: John Grisham Screenplay: Brian Koppelman David Levien Rick Cleveland Matthew Chapman
Starring	John Cusack Gene Hackman Dustin Hoffman Rachel Weisz Bruce Davison Bruce McGill Jeremy Piven Nick Searcy
Music by	Christopher Young
Cinematography	Robert Elswit
Editing by	William Steinkamp Jeff Williams
Studio	Regency Enterprises
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	October 17, 2003
Running time	127 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$60 million
Box office	$80,154,140

Runaway Jury is a 2003 American drama/thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz. It is an adaptation of John Grisham's novel The Runaway Jury.

Plot

In New Orleans, Louisiana, a failed day trader at a stock brokerage firm shows up at his former workplace and opens fire on his former colleagues, then turns the gun on himself. Among the dead is Jacob Wood (Dylan McDermott in an uncredited cameo). Two years later, armed with pro bono attorney Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), Jacob's widow Celeste (Joanna Going) takes Vicksburg Firearms to court on the grounds that the company's gross negligence led to her husband's death.

Jury consultant Rankin Fitch and his team at work.

During jury selection, jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman) and his team communicate background information on each of the jurors to lead defense attorney Durwood Cable (Bruce Davison) in the courtroom through electronic surveillance (a highly illegal practice).

In the jury pool, Nicholas "Nick" Easter (John Cusack), a happy-go-lucky electronics store clerk, tries to get himself excused from jury duty. Judge Frederick Harkin (Bruce McGill) decides to give Nick a lesson in civic duty and Fitch, despite having originally eliminated him from the list of potential jurors, tells Cable that the judge has sandbagged them, and that he must select Nick as a juror. Nick's congenial manner wins him acceptance from his fellow jurors, with the exception of Frank Hererra (Cliff Curtis), a hardened former Marine of Cuban descent who takes an instant dislike to him.

However, further to Frank's suspicions of Nick, it is revealed that he and his girlfriend Marlee (Rachel Weisz) do have an ulterior motive. The two seem to be grifters, and offer both Fitch and Rohr the verdict - to the first bidder. Fitch asks for proof that they can deliver. On the other hand, Rohr dismisses the offer, assuming it to be a defense tactic by Fitch to obtain a mistrial. Fitch orders Nick's apartment raided, unfortunately with unsubstantial result. Marlee retaliates by getting one of Fitch's jurors bounced. Fitch then goes after three jurors with blackmail, leading one of them, Rikki Coleman (Rhoda Griffis), to attempt suicide. Nick shows Judge Harkin (Bruce McGill) surveillance footage of his apartment being raided and the judge orders the jury sequestered.

Rohr loses a key witness (Stuart Greer) probably due to harassment, and after confronting Fitch, decides that he cannot win the case. He asks his firm's partners for $10 million. Fitch sends an operative, Janovich (Nestor Serrano), to kidnap Marlee, but she fights him off and raises Fitch's price to $15 million. On principle, Rohr changes his mind and refuses to pay. Despite knowing this, Fitch agrees to pay Marlee to be certain of the verdict. Nick receives confirmation of receipt of payment and he steers the jury deliberation in favour of the plaintiff, much to the chagrin of Herrera, who launches into a rant, confessing his contemptuous disregard of the law and case facts. Frank's tirade undermines any support he may have had for dismissal of the lawsuit. The gun manufacturer is found liable, with the jury awarding $110 million in general damages to Celeste Wood.

Meanwhile, Doyle tracks down Nick's history in the rural town of Gardner, Indiana, where he discovers that Nick is really Jeff Kerr, a talented former law student drop-out, and that Marlee's real name is Gabby Brandt. Gabby's sister died in a school shooting. The town of Gardner sued the gun manufacturer and Fitch helped to win the case for the defense, bankrupting the town of Gardner. Doyle concludes that Nick and Marlee's intent is a set-up, and he frantically calls Fitch, but it is too late.

Nick and Marlee blackmail Fitch with a receipt for the $15 million bribe; they demand that he retire immediately. They inform him that the $15 million will benefit the shooting victims in the town of Gardner.

Cast

• John Cusack as Nicholas Easter
• Rachel Weisz as Marlee
• Dustin Hoffman as Wendall Rohr
• Gene Hackman as Rankin Fitch
• Jeremy Piven as Lawrence Green
• Bruce Davison as Durwood Cable
• Bruce McGill as Judge Frederick Harkin
• Marguerite Moreau as Amanda Monroe
• Nick Searcy as Doyle
• Leland Orser as Lamb
• Lori Heuring as Maxine
• Nestor Serrano as Janovich
• Joanna Going as Celeste Wood
• Dylan McDermott as Jacob Wood
• Carol Sutton as Lou Dell
• Stanley Anderson as Garland Jankle
• Celia Weston as Mrs. Brandt.
• Stuart Greer as Kincaid
• Gerry Bamman as Herman Grimes
• Bill Nunn as Lonnie Shaver
• Cliff Curtis as Frank Herrera
• Nora Dunn as Stella Hulic
• Rusty Schwimmer as Millie Dupree
• Jennifer Beals as Vanessa Lembeck
• Guy Torry as Eddie Weese
• Rhoda Griffis as Rikki Coleman
• Luis Guzmán as Jerry Hernandez
• Corri English as Lydia Deets

Production

The film had been in pre-production since 1997. Directors slated to helm the picture included Joel Schumacher and Mike Newell, with the lead being offered to Edward Norton and Will Smith. The novel's focus on big tobacco was retained until the 1999 film The Insider was released, necessitating a plot change from tobacco to gun companies.

Revenue

The film grossed $49,440,996 in the United States and $80,154,140 worldwide.

Reception

Runaway Jury received generally positive reviews from critics, garnering a 73 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site calling the film "An implausible but entertaining legal thriller." Roger Ebert's critique of this film stated that the plot to sell the jury to the highest-bidding party was the most ingenious device in the story because it avoided pitting the "evil" and the "good" protagonists directly against each other in a stereotypical manner, but it plunged both of them into a moral abyss. John Grisham himself said it was a "smart, suspenseful" movie, and was disappointed it made so little money.

External links

• Runaway Jury at the Internet Movie Database
• Runaway Jury at AllRovi
• Runaway Jury at the TCM Movie Database
• Runaway Jury at Box Office Mojo
• Runaway Jury at The Numbers