A Civil Action
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Civil Action is a 1998 film, starring John Travolta (as plaintiff's attorney Jan Schlichtmann) and Robert Duvall, based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Harr. Both the book and the film are based on real-life events that took place in Woburn, Massachusetts in the 1980s.
| A Civil Action | |
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| Directed by | Steven Zaillian |
| Produced by | Scott Rudin Steven Zaillian David Wisnievi Robert Redford Rachel Pfeffer David McGiffert Henry J. Golas |
| Written by | Novel: Jonathan Harr (based on a true story) Screenplay: Steven Zaillian |
| Starring | John Travolta Robert Duvall Tony Shalhoub William H. Macy Kathleen Quinlan Bruce Norris John Lithgow Bob Venturini |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
| Cinematography | Conrad L. Hall |
| Editing by | Wayne Wahrman |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures (USA) Paramount Pictures (non-USA) |
| Release date(s) | 25 December 1998 (USA) |
| Running time | 125 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $60,000,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
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[edit] Plot summary
Jan Schlichtmann (John Travolta) is a successful lawyer who is practically his own entrepreneur. He is an eligible bachelor with a nice car, a nice house, and a career that has amassed huge rewards. Not to mention being the founder and practice of the lucrative law firm he runs with his Boston partners, all in a case's settlement. However, one day he receives a call from a woman, Anne Anderson, who informs Jan his firm is handling the case of the town's deceased children against a giant food conglomerate, with the accusation of their companies are responsible for poisoning their children and afflicting them fatally with cancer or leukemia otherwise. Hesitant at first, he almost turns the case away. But after some accidental detective work, he realizes he has a potential case.
Jan believes this is one more case he can easily win and make a fortune, as well as a name for him and his firm. With a class action lawsuit to file, Jan willingly puts himself and his firm as representatives of those families. However, it is a tort so expensive and huge, that it could ruin Jan: ruin his pride, his ambition, and ultimately, his career. As the pressures of the case begin to take their toll on both the plaintiff and defense attorneys (as well as the families of course), Jan is about to realize that he has taken on the biggest case of his life, and there is a price to pay. But the defense (Robert Duvall) is unwilling to capitulate so easily to this ambulance chasing lawyer.
All in all, it comes down to a settlement, with one dismissal, and a hopeful appeals process.
[edit] Music
The music score was written by Danny Elfman.
Other songs include:
- "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder"
- "Hard Workin' Man" (featured on the opening credits)
- Written by Jack Nitzsche, Ry Cooder, Paul Schrader
- Performed by Captain Beefheart
- Courtesy of MCA Records; under license from Universal Music Special Markets
- "Little Drummer Boy"
- Written by Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone
- Performed by Vienna Boys Choir; London Symphony Orchestra
- Courtesy of Sony Music Special Products, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
- "Take Me To The River"
- Written by Al Green and Mabon Hodges
- Performed by Talking Heads
- Courtesy of Sire Records Company, by arrangement with Warner Special Products and licensed courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.
- "Theme From A Summer Place"
- Written by Max Steiner
[edit] Certification
- MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some strong language (certificate #36309)
- Iceland:L
- Argentina:13
- Australia:M (original rating)/Australia:PG (TV rating)
- Chile:14
- Finland:K-12
- France:U
- Germany:12 (w)
- Norway:7
- Peru:14
- Portugal:M/12
- Spain:T
- Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) /Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud)
- UK:15
- Singapore:PG
[edit] Awards
- Academy Awards, USA
- Nominated: Oscar Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Robert Duvall)
- Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall)
- Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
- Nominated: Favorite Actor - Drama (John Travolta)
- Favorite Supporting Actor: Drama (Robert Duvall)
- Boston Society of Film Critics Awards
- Won: BSFC Award Best Supporting Actor (William H. Macy, also for Pleasantville (1998) and Psycho (1998).)
- Tied with Billy Bob Thornton for A Simple Plan (1998).
- Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- Nominated: CFCA Award Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall)
- Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
- Won: FFCC Award Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall)
- Golden Globes, USA
- Nominated: Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Robert Duvall)
- Political Film Society, USA
- Won: PFS Award Human Rights
- Satellite Awards
- Nominated: Golden Satellite Award Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Drama (Robert Duvall)
- Screen Actors Guild Awards
- Won: Actor Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Robert Duvall)
- USC Scripter Award
- Won USC Scripter Award (Jonathan Harr (author), Steven Zaillian (screenwriter))
- Writers Guild of America, USA
- Nominated: WGA Award (Screen) Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
[edit] Trivia
This is the second Paramount/Touchstone co-production to star Travolta, after 1997's Face/Off.
The real life case at the heart of the book and film is Anne Anderson, et al., v. Cryovac, Inc., et al.. The first reported decision in the case is at 96 F.R.D. 431 (denial of defendants' motion to dismiss).
[edit] External links
- A Civil Action at the Internet Movie Database
- A Civil Action: Before the book and before the movie (early newspaper articles by reporter Charles C. Ryan)
- Beyond A Civil Action hosted by W. R. Grace & Co.
- In Toxic Tort Litigation, Truth Lies at the Bottom of a Bottomless Pit by Eric Asimow, Picturing Justice: The On-Line Journal of Law & Popular Culture, Feb. 1999
- Woburn Toxic Trial, mock trial based on the case, Ohio State University
- Anderson v. Beatrice Foods Index and copies of every pleading filed in the Woburn suit, maintained by Florida State University College of Law
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