The Negotiator is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by F. Gary Gray. It stars Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey as Chicago police lieutenants who are expert hostage negotiators. The film was released in the United States on July 29, 1998, receiving generally positive reviews from critics and grossing $88 million worldwide. The film is considered by many to be one of Jackson’s most underrated films.
The Life of David Gale is a 2003 crime thriller film directed and co-produced by Alan Parker, written by Charles Randolph, co-produced by Nicolas Cage, and starring Kevin Spacey as the title character, a college professor and longtime activist against capital punishment who is sentenced to death for killing a fellow capital punishment opponent; Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, and Gabriel Mann co-star. The film, an international co-production between the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom, was Parker's final film before his retirement, and subsequent death in 2020.
Outbreak is a 1995 American medical disaster film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by Laurence Dworet and Robert Roy Pool. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland, and co-stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey and Patrick Dempsey.
Jack Allan Abramoff is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, and writer. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction and 21 other people either pleading guilty or being found guilty, including White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional aides.
Heartburn is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed and produced by Mike Nichols, starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. The screenplay, written by Nora Ephron, is based on her novel of the same name, a semi-biographical account of her marriage to Carl Bernstein. The film marked the debut of Kevin Spacey.
Croupier is a 1998 British thriller film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Clive Owen. The film attracted a strong critical following in North America and helped to launch Owen's acting career there. It uses interior monologues in the style of many early noir detective films.
The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal was a United States political scandal exposed in 2005; it related to fraud perpetrated by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on Native American tribes who were seeking to develop casino gambling on their reservations. The lobbyists charged the tribes an estimated $85 million in fees. Abramoff and Scanlon grossly overbilled their clients, secretly splitting the multi-million dollar profits. In one case, they secretly orchestrated lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services.
The Distinguished Gentleman is a 1992 American political comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. The film was directed by Jonathan Lynn. In addition to Murphy, the film stars Lane Smith, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Joe Don Baker, Victoria Rowell, Grant Shaud, Kevin McCarthy, and Charles S. Dutton.
A Time to Kill is a 1996 American legal drama film based on John Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name. Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, and Kevin Spacey star with Donald and Kiefer Sutherland appearing in supporting roles and Octavia Spencer in her film debut. The film received mixed reviews but was a commercial success, making $152 million worldwide. It is the second of two films based on Grisham's novels directed by Joel Schumacher, with the other being The Client released two years prior.
K-PAX is a 2001 science fiction mystery film based on Gene Brewer's 1995 novel of the same name. An American-German co-production, it was directed by Iain Softley, starring Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack, and Alfre Woodard. The film tells the story of a psychiatric patient who claims to be an alien from the planet K-PAX. During his treatment, the patient demonstrates an outlook on life that ultimately proves inspirational for his fellow patients and especially for his psychiatrist.
Kevin A. Ring is a former American attorney and congressional staffer; he served Republicans in both the House and the Senate, including U.S. Representative John T. Doolittle (R-CA). He also served as a counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee's Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights Subcommittee.
Emily Miller is an American political communications strategist, journalist and author. She has worked as the senior political correspondent at One America News Network, and before that as chief investigative reporter for WTTG, the local Fox affiliate in Washington, D.C., and was senior editor of The Washington Times' opinion pages. She also worked as deputy press secretary for Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, and as communications director for House Majority Whip Tom DeLay. In 2012, she was awarded the Clark Mollenhoff Award for Investigative Reporting from the conservative Institute on Political Journalism for her column series "Emily Gets Her Gun".
The federal investigations into Jack Abramoff and his political and business dealings are among the broadest and most extensive in American political history, involving well over a dozen offices of the FBI and over 100 FBI agents tasked exclusively to the investigation. Given the extent and complexity of the suspected corruption, an entire inter-governmental task force, involving many federal government departments and agencies, has been established to aid the federal investigation. The U.S. Justice Department has announced that it will not reveal the details of the investigation, or who specifically has been targeted for investigation until indictments are issued. Under his plea agreements, Abramoff is required to answer all questions by federal investigators and prosecutors.
Chelsea Walls is a 2001 American drama film directed by Ethan Hawke in his directorial debut and written by Nicole Burdette, based on her 1990 play of the same name. It stars Kris Kristofferson, Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson, Natasha Richardson, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Robert Sean Leonard. The story takes place in the historic Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan.
Recount is a 2008 political drama television film about Florida's vote recount during the 2000 United States presidential election. Written by Danny Strong and directed by Jay Roach, the television film stars Kevin Spacey, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Laura Dern, John Hurt, Denis Leary, Bruce McGill, and Tom Wilkinson. It premiered on HBO on May 25, 2008. The television film was nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, winning three for Outstanding Made for Television Movie, Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special, and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie. It was also nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and winning Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.
Shrink is a 2009 American independent black comedy-drama film about a psychiatrist who treats members of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, California. It is directed by Jonas Pate, written by Thomas Moffett, and stars Kevin Spacey with an ensemble cast. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and includes music by Jackson Browne. Shrink received negative reviews from critics, praising Spacey's performance but critical of the film's scripting and directing.
Todd Boulanger is an American lobbyist. He was senior vice president of Cassidy & Associates and was a figure in the Jack Abramoff scandal.
Casino Jack and the United States of Money is a 2010 documentary film directed by Alex Gibney.
Margin Call is a 2011 American drama film written and directed by J. C. Chandor in his feature directorial debut. The principal story takes place over a 24-hour period at a large Wall Street investment bank during the initial stages of the 2007–2008 financial crisis. It focuses on the actions taken by a group of employees during the subsequent financial collapse. The title comes from a finance term for when an investor must increase the securities or other assets used as collateral for a loan when their value falls below a certain threshold. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci.
Miss Sloane is a 2016 political thriller film directed by John Madden and written by Jonathan Perera. The film stars Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alison Pill, Jake Lacy, John Lithgow, and Sam Waterston. The film follows Elizabeth Sloane, a fierce lobbyist, who fights in an attempt to pass gun control legislation.
