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 Life of David Gale is a 2003 American 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.
Pay It Forward is a 2000 American romantic drama film directed by Mimi Leder. The film is based loosely on the novel of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde. It is set in Las Vegas, and it chronicles 11- to 12-year-old Trevor McKinney's launch of a goodwill movement known as "pay it forward". It stars Haley Joel Osment as Trevor, Helen Hunt as his alcoholic single mother Arlene McKinney, and Kevin Spacey as his physically and emotionally scarred social studies teacher Eugene Simonet. The film was released on October 20, 2000 to mixed-to-negative reviews, but grossed $55.7 million worldwide against a $40 million budget.
The Big Kahuna is a 1999 American business comedy-drama film directed by John Swanbeck, and produced by Kevin Spacey, who also starred in the lead role. The film is adapted from the 1992 play Hospitality Suite, written by Roger Rueff, who also wrote the screenplay. John Swanbeck makes few attempts to lessen this film's resemblance to a stage performance: the majority of the film takes place in a single hotel room, and nearly every single line of dialogue is spoken by one of the three actors. The famous 1997 essay Wear Sunscreen is featured at the end of the film.
Consenting Adults is a 1992 American mystery crime-thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula, and stars Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Kevin Spacey and Rebecca Miller. The original music score was composed by Michael Small. The film's tagline is: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife."
Jack Allan Abramoff is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. 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 neo-noir crime drama 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, James Garner, Victoria Rowell, Grant Shaud, Kevin McCarthy, Charles S. Dutton, Victor Rivers, Chi McBride, Sonny Jim Gaines, and Noble Willingham.
"Team Abramoff" is the team of lobbyists assembled by Jack Abramoff when he worked at Greenberg Traurig, primarily of former aides to prominent Congressional politicians. Their work is embroiled in the Jack Abramoff scandals.
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.
The Man from Elysian Fields is a 2001 American drama film directed by George Hickenlooper, and starring Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Olivia Williams, Julianna Margulies, and James Coburn.
Walking Tall is a 2004 American vigilante action film directed by Kevin Bray. It is the remake of the 1973 film of the same name, and stars Dwayne Johnson and Johnny Knoxville. The film revolves around a discharged U.S Army soldier, who returns to his hometown only to become the town's sheriff, when he finds that the town is laced with heinous crimes and corruption.
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 was directed by Jonas Pate, written by Thomas Moffett, and stars Kevin Spacey along 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 were critical of the film's scripting and direction.
Casino Jack and the United States of Money is a 2010 documentary film directed by Alex Gibney.
In Time is a 2011 American science fiction action film written, directed and produced by Andrew Niccol. Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake star as inhabitants of a society which uses time from one's lifespan as its primary currency, with each individual possessing a clock on their arm that counts down how long they have to live. Cillian Murphy, Vincent Kartheiser, Olivia Wilde, Matt Bomer, Johnny Galecki, and Alex Pettyfer also star. The film was released on October 28, 2011, and grossed $174 million against a $40 million budget. It received negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which praised the premise but called it heavy-handed. On Metacritic, it received mixed reviews.
Elvis & Nixon is a 2016 American comedy-drama film directed by Liza Johnson and written by Joey Sagal, Hanala Sagal, and Cary Elwes. The film stars Michael Shannon as singer Elvis Presley and Kevin Spacey as President Richard Nixon, and focuses on the December 21, 1970, meeting between the two men at the White House. The film also stars Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville, Colin Hanks, and Evan Peters. The film was released on April 22, 2016, by Amazon Studios and Bleecker Street.
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.
