USA/CANADA: ETHAN HAWKE AND UMA THURMAN TEAM UP WITH BRITISH NEWCOMER JUDE LAW IN "GATTACA", A BLEAK LOOK AT GENETIC ENGINEERING

Record ID: 387254

  • Title: USA/CANADA: ETHAN HAWKE AND UMA THURMAN TEAM UP WITH BRITISH NEWCOMER JUDE LAW IN "GATTACA", A BLEAK LOOK AT GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • Date: 16th October 1997
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 16) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) UMA THURMAN SAYING, "ANYTHING THAT'S MEDDLESOME WITH NATURE HAS ALWAYS BEEN FRIGHTENING AND MOST OFTEN DETRIMENTAL." (ENGLISH) TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA (RECENT) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) ANDREW NICCOL SAYING, "WELL, IT'S A CAUTIONARY TALE, I MEAN, THERE'S GOING
  • Embargoed: 31st October 1997 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA401P53L5D76V1YR5CXBYIP2IR
  • Story Text: In the tradition of George Orwell's "1984" and Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" comes "Gattaca," a futuristic film starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and British newcomer Jude Law.

    Hawke and Thurman attended the film's Los Angeles premiere on October 16.

    Hawke stars as Vincent Freeman, a young man determined to break out of his imperfect genetic destiny and see his dreams come true.

    He lives in a time when, thanks to scientific advances, parents are able to choose the genetic makeup of their children and the authorities are able to keep close watch over all citizens by tracking their DNA.

    The smallest piece of hair, sweat, flake of skin or drop of saliva can give you away.

    But Vincent Freeman's parents had other plans for their son.

    They decided on a natural, or "Faith" birth, and let fate decide the genetic attributes of their son.

    In the world of "Gattaca," such genetic imperfections can hinder a person and make him unqualified to hold certain jobs, live in certain areas, even love certain people.

    Freeman is labeled an "In-Valid," a stigma attached to those who are not up to genetic snuff. He is prone to passions, vulnerable to emotions and believes in the possibility of achieving his dreams.

    He is also fiercely determined to do whatever is neccessary within reason to achieve his ambitions to go into outer space aboard the ships of the mighty Gattaca corporation.

    But to reach this honoured position, he must fool a society that can read a person's identity with a drop of blood.

    Freeman dreams up an intricate scheme to use the genetically-superior Jerome Morrow, played by Jude Law, to pass the barrage of identity testing every employee of Gattaca faces every day.

    The plot includes substituting Morrow's blood, urine, and hair samples to make the authorities believe their star pilot is, in fact, Jerome, not Vincent.

    Freeman's plan is disrupted by two elements he has no control over: an unexpected romance with fellow worker Irene, played by Uma Thurman, and a brutal murder within the Gattaca offices that threatens to expose him and his fraudulent identity.

    "Gattaca" was written and directed by New Zealand-born filmmaker Andrew Niccol, who established himself in London by directing a series of acclaimed commercials.

    Actor Danny DeVito serves as one of the film's producers in his capacity as one of the founders of Jersey Films, a production company responsible for such films as "Get Shorty," "Pulp Fiction" and "Fierce Creatures." Ethan Hawke is a veteran of films including "Reality Bites," "Before Sunrise" and "Dead Poets Society," and will soon star opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert DeNiro in a modern-day reworking of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations." Uma Thurman was nominated for an Oscar for her role in "Pulp Fiction" and also starred in such films as "Beautiful Girls," "The Truth About Cats and Dogs," and this past summer's "Batman and Robin." She will next be seen in the film re-make of "Les Miserables" and the big screen version of the vintage television series "The Avengers." "Gattaca" is Jude Law's first big budget American film. He most recently was seen starring opposite Kathleen Turner in the controversial Broadway play "Indiscretions," which won him a Tony nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Law recently completed filming roles in the much anticipatedfilms "Wilde," starring Stephen Fry and Vanessa Redgrave and "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," directed by Clint Eastwood.
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