Hard Rain (film)

Infobox Film
name = Hard Rain


director = Mikael Salomon
producer = Ian Bryce
Mark Gordon
Gary Levinsohn
Art Levinson
writer = Graham Yost
starring = Morgan Freeman
Christian Slater
Randy Quaid
Minnie Driver
Dann Florek
distributor = Paramount Pictures (USA)
Mutual Films International (non-USA)
released = 1998
runtime = 97 min
country =
language =
amg_id = 1:154935
imdb_id = 0120696

"Hard Rain" is a 1998 action movie, produced by Mark Gordon, written by Graham Yost and directed by former cinematographer turned first-time director Mikael Salomon. It stars Christian Slater, Morgan Freeman, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver and Ed Asner. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures.

ynopsis

Set in a small town Huntingburg, Indiana beset by a huge rainstorm, armored truck drivers Tom (Christian Slater) and his uncle Charlie (Ed Asner) are collecting the money from the local banks affected by the flood. After driving into a ditch, they are ambushed by Jim (Morgan Freeman) and his gang of armed robbers. Tom gets away with the $3 million in cash and hides it. In a panic, Tom tells the local sheriff (Randy Quaid) about the area he hid the money in and the sheriff locks him up. Eventually, Tom and Jim form an ad hoc alliance to fight off the sheriff and his cronies and secure the money.

Tagline

A simple plan. An instant fortune. Just add water.

Trivia

*Third of a trio of films - starting with "Speed" and "Broken Arrow" - by producer Mark Gordon and screenwriter Graham Yost, and the first not financed by Twentieth Century Fox.

*Randy Quaid had been previously considered for the role of the villain in "Speed".

*Originally called "The Flood", the title was changed during production to distance itself from other disaster movies.

*The movie was partially filmed on location in the "real" Huntingburg in southwestern Indiana, a small, picturesque town known as the "Hollywood of the Midwest". Other films, such as "A League of Their Own" and an HBO film were made there. However, there is no large dam in that area.

*Also filmed inside an aircraft hangar in Palmdale, California where the B-1 Lancer bomber was manufactured, the $6 million waterlogged set featured one of the largest painted backdrops ever made.

*According to an interview with Michael Parkinson, Minnie Driver complained to the press that some members of the crew were urinating in the water tanks. The next day, the crew had filled her wellington boots with water in revenge.

*The original ending - including an epilogue which wrapped up the Slater/Driver love story - had to be changed after audiences objected to the death of a major character. A new ending was filmed, pushing the release date back by several months. Fact|date=February 2007

*Due to its poor domestic performance, this film was released straight to video internationally. However, a 2004 showing on BBC One was very well received, suggesting that the film would have been a financial success worldwide.

*The song "Flood" by Christian alternative band Jars of Clay plays over the end credits.

External links

*imdb title|id=0120696|title=Hard Rain
* [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=hardrain.htm Boxoffice information]
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/film.php?filmid=208 Movie stills]