USA: THE SUMMER MOVIE SEASON GETS UNDERWAY IN HOLLYWOOD THIS WEEK WITH "DEEP IMPACT" STARRING ROBERT DUVALL

Record ID: 387621

  • Title: USA: THE SUMMER MOVIE SEASON GETS UNDERWAY IN HOLLYWOOD THIS WEEK WITH "DEEP IMPACT" STARRING ROBERT DUVALL
  • Date: 19th April 1998
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (APRIL 19) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) TEA LEONI SAYING, (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) " WHAT ATTRACTED ME TO THE PROJECT WAS THAT I UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS WOULD BE A SPECTACULAR, SPECIAL-EFFECTS FILM, 'A' BECAUSE STEVEN SPIELBERG WAS PRESENTNG IT AND 'B' BECAUSE IT'S THE COMET HITTING THE EARTH AND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THAT, THE PHYSICAL RAMIFICATIONS
  • Embargoed: 4th May 1998 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA8UKPHQ22QLQMJ59LZZZKMLEOB
  • Story Text: Hollywood's all-important summer movie season got underway in Hollywood this week (April 29) when Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks held the world premiere of what's shaping up to be the first big-budget, special effects-driven thriller of the summer.

    "Deep Impact", starring Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell and Morgan Freeman, is about a rogue comet on a collision course with Earth.

    David Duchovny's real-life partner Tea Leoni takes the leading role of a rising, ambitious television newswoman named Jenny Lerner.

    She stumbles onto the story of a lifetime while covering a Washington sex scandal.

    During a secret meeting with the President of the United States (played by Freeman), Jenny learns the government is preparing for an "E.L.E.", otherwise known as an "Extinction Level Event".

    It seems a 14-year-old boy named Leo Beiderman (Elijah Wood) and his girlfriend Sarah, (Leelee Sobieski), have discovered a comet that scientists determine is on a fatal collision course with the earth.

    Former astronaut Spurgeon Tanner, played by recent Oscar nominee Robert Duvall, is brought out of retirement to command a space mission to travel to the comet, land on its surface, and plant nuclear charges to change its course.His crew includes "Sleepers" star Ron Eldard and "Swingers" star Jon Favreau.

    In case they fail, a plan is set in motion to build a series of underground shelters in which a fortunate few may survive the impact -- even if all other life on Earth is wiped out.

    As the day of cataclysm grows nearer, all the range of human reactions is evoked, from panic to resignation to fate.

    Behind the camera is Mimi Leder, who made her name directing epsiodes of the hit television series "E.R." before moving onto feature films with the recent Dreamworks production of "The Peacemaker".

    Also in the cast are veteran actors Vanessa Redgrave and Maximilian Schell, who play Jenny Lerner's estranged parents.

    Supporting cast members include "E.R." co-star Laura Innes as a rival television reporter, Blair Underwood as another of the space mission's astronauts and Mary McCormack, who was last seen playing Howard Stern's wife in the comedy "Private Parts." Although "Deep Impact" is science fiction, it is rooted in fact.Earth has repeatedly been battered by comets and asteroids over the ages.But most of these have been small enough to avoid worldwide destruction.

    Depending on its size, if a large astral object hit the earth, it could destroy an area the size of Washington D.C.

    It could also trigger mass extinction and long-term global climate change.Were it to hit the ocean, it could cause tidal waves of unprecedented size and impact, flooding much of the world's land mass.

    In order to ensure the film's authenticity, Leder brought in Don Yeomans and Chris Luchini, two scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to advise on the technical details of comets and asteroids.

    The film is made more timely by the recent announcement that scientists have predicted an asteroid is on a near-collision course with Earth.That claim was later debunked when it was learned the asteroid will pass further outside of Earth's orbit than previously estimated.

    In the course of its three-month production, the filmmakers uses locations throughout Washington D.C., Maryland, New York City, and Los Angeles.The logistically-complex scenes included a massive traffic jam using more than 1,800 vehicles and 2,100 extras, a high speed chase across Washington's busy Francis Scott Key Bridge and the destruction of New York City by a massive tidal wave, which required shutting down Fifth Avenue and Washington Square Park and filling them with panic-stricken extras.

    "Deep Impact" isn't the only film this summer dealing with comets hurtling towards Earth.In July, Disney's Touchstone Pictures is planning to release "Armageddon," a similarly-themed film starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler.

    In the meantime, "Deep Impact" opens in theatres throughout the United States on May 8.So far, it's on schedule to open in Europe in the summer.
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