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MINORITY REPORT |
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Year: 2002
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Philip K Dick; Scott Frank (screenplay)
Producers: Jan de Bont, Bonnie Curtis, Gerald R Molen and Walter F Parkes
Cast
Tom Cruise...........Detective John Anderton
Max von Sydow........Director Lamar Burgess
Steve Harris.........Jad
Neal McDonough.......Officer Fletcher
Patrick Kilpatrick...Knott
Jessica Capshaw......Evanna
Samantha Morton.......Agatha
Colin Farrell.........Detective Ed Witwer
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When it came to finalising the script for Minority Report, arguably Steven Spielberg's edgiest action movie to date, actor Tom Cruise tapped into his own fears as a parent to define his role. It was the Mission Impossible star who suggested that his character – the head of a police force responsible for detecting murders before they happen – should have a missing son.
The subject of a safe society is one close to the heart of the actor, who has two adopted children with his ex-wife Nicole Kidman and has made no secret of his concerns over their wellbeing. “You only have to look at the state of affairs in America. I do worry about my children,” he has said. "I want them to live in a world that's safe."
In the film, which is based on a 1956 story by acclaimed science fiction writer Philip K Dick, Tom plays John Anderton, the leader of an elite Precrime squad which uses psychic mutants known as “precogs” to detect murders before they take place. The lawman has a darker side, however, resorting to the emotional oblivion offered by illegal drugs to escape the grief over the loss of his son. The police chief’s world changes forever, however, when he is accused of the very crime he is dedicated to preventing.
"I think Minority Report is an old-fashioned story, a film noir, but I've found a new way to tell it," says Spielberg. That new telling, however, also includes an old trick – the product branding he first explored in ET with Reese’s pieces. In his latest flick Spielberg takes the exercise to a whole new level. The action plays out against a backdrop filled with high tech billboards, which scream for attention – literally. As the fugitive police chief tries to evade his would-be captors one calls out: "John Anderton, you look like you could use a Guinness!". And the Irish stout manufacturer is just one of a total of 15 companies, including fashion retailer The Gap, Pepsi and Reebok, which contributed $25 million to the film’s budget.
"I use products in science fiction to ground the audience," explains Spielberg. "There are certain iconic images that will pull you back down to earth."
Minority Report is on general release in the US and opens countrywide in the UK on July 5.
Click on photos below to enlarge
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