USA: TOMMY LEE JONES ATTENDS THE PREMIERE OF "US MARSHALS"

Record ID: 545390

  • Title: USA: TOMMY LEE JONES ATTENDS THE PREMIERE OF "US MARSHALS"
  • Date: 4th March 1998
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) TOMMY LEE JONES SAYING OF FEELING THE PRESSURE TO OUT-DO THE FIRST FILM, "WELL IF YOU DID FEEL THAT WAY, THERE WOULDN'T BE ANYTHING YOU COULD DO ABOUT IT. THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO TAKE THE SCRIPT IN HAND AND DO THE BEST POSSIBLE JOB WITH IT THAT YOU CAN, WHICH MEANS UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE PRODUCER, THE DIRECTOR WANT TO SEE AND DOING EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO ARRANGE FOR THEM TO SEE IT." (ENGLISH) WESLEY SNIPES SAYING OF TOMMY LEE JONES, "I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FAN OF HIS, YOU KNOW. I MEAN, FOR ME, I REMEMBER TOMMY LEE WHEN HE DID A PIECE CALLED "THIS PARK IS MINE," AND I LIKED THAT HE HAD THAT INTENSITY. I LIKE INTENSE ACTORS. I LIKE ACTORS WHO HAVE A PHYSICAL PRESENCE, A GOOD VOICE AND ARE IMAGINATIVE AND CREATIVE, SPONTANEOUS. SO, YOU KNOW, TO SIT IN FRONT OF HIM OR STAND IN FRONT OF HIM AND WATCH HIM DO HIS THING, THAT'S LIKE A LEARNING, A TRAINING GROUND FOR ME." (ENGLISH)
  • Embargoed: 19th March 1998 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVABENGK58A3I4I0VPKE3RD7IZKJ
  • Story Text: Tommy Lee Jones revisits his Oscar-winning role in "The Fugitive" in its sequel "U.S.Marshals".
    Jones co-stars with Wesley Snipes and Robert Downey Jr in the new thriller from director Stuart Baird.
    The lead actor and director attended the film's world premiere in Los Angeles last week (March 4).
    Jones again plays U.S.Marshal Sam Gerard, a determined law enforcement officer who solved the case of the outlaw Dr Richard Kimble (played by Harrison Ford) in the original "Fugitive".
    This time, he's hot on the trail of a ruthless and mysterious assassin, played by Wesley Snipes.The bad guy has escaped from custody after a spectacular plane crash in the Ohio River.
    Gerard is again joined by his regular team of deputy marshals, including his closest associate, Cosmo Renfro, played by Joe Pantoliano.
    New to his team is a cocky government agent played by Robert Downey Jr., whom they don't completely trust.
    Veteran film producer Arnold Kopelson said he knew he wanted to make a sequel to "The Fugitive" but wasn't able to come up with a script that satisfied Ford.
    Instead, Kopelson hired Stuart Baird, who previously directed Kurt Russell in "Executive Decision", to direct a film that followed the exploits of Tommy Lee Jones' character.
    Aside from Ford, it was the character of Sam Gerard that attracted audiences to the first film, which was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture.It only won one, for Jones' Supporting Actor performance.
    The original film was based on the popular 1960's television series "The Fugitive" starring David Janssen.
    The centerpiece of "U.S.Marshals" is an elaborately staged plane crash that sets the plot in motion.It was designed to rival the train crash sequence that kicked off the first film.
    For the scene, an aircraft fuselage was set into the Ohio River on a metal rig with hollow tubes under it, which pumped either air or water in to raise and lower the plane.
    Once location shooting was finished, the filmmakers moved indoors to a warehouse in Chicago where they recreated the plane crash inside a giant tank of water.Interior scenes were filmed there.
    The other big stunt sequence comes near the end of the film and was performed by Wesley Snipes' longtime stunt double, Clay Fontenot.
    In the scene, Fontenot swings from a cable on the roof of a 12-story building.Eight cameras recorded the action as he dropped almost 70 feet onto the roof of an adjacent train station.In all, the stunt took six hours to prepare.
    Robert Downey Jr.was not at the film's premiere because he is still serving a six month prison sentence for violating his parole on earlier drug charges.
    "U.S.Marshals" is now playing across the United States.
    The film opens in Britain in April.
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