Sacramento Observer
12-22-1993
THE PELICAN BRIEF.
Darby Shaw sits alone in a Washington, D.C. hotel room, still alive, still waiting. She has just seen another man murdered, only inches from her -- the second in less than a week.
The killers are closing in on her and Darby knows she can no longer run and hide. She'd survived for days in the anonymous shadows and tourist-filled crowds of New Orleans' French Quarter, but this last murder was too frightening, too close.
Terrified and exhausted, Darby has decided to put her faith in a stranger, Gray Grantham, an investigative reporter whom Callahan had admired -- Callahan, her lover and mentor, now a fatality in this deadly chase.
Darby will tell Grantham exactly what's in the speculative legal brief -- "the pelican brief" -- she wrote about the Supreme Court justice assassinations -- about the man behind it all, about the growing cover-up that extends to the highest levels of government.
Darby had given Grantham very specific instructions. She'd told him to assume they're always watching and following.
She hopes by now he'll understand how dangerous they are -- that this isn't a game for anyone involved.
And perhaps, if Grantham can confirm the information and break the story before the killers figure out where she is -- perhaps she and Grantham will both survive.
The story is played out in Warner Bros.' "The Pelican Brief," starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington.
For two-time Oscar nominee Julia Roberts, the dual attractions of a strong heroine and director Alan J. Pakula himself convinced her to play the lead role of Darby Shaw, whose insight into a troubling series of murders targets her as the killer's next victim. Grisham had visualized Roberts as Darby even as he wrote his novel, but it was Roberts' meetings with Pakula that cemented her commitment to the picture.
"When I first agreed to the project, I had read the book and liked it," she recalled.
Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington is cast opposite Roberts in the role of Gray Grantham, a top Washington investigative reporter who finds himself teamed with Darby as the two work to confirm the information in Darby's revelatory legal brief -- while staying ahead of the assassins.
Washington said he spent time with several reporters and editors at the Washington Post while researching his role. The actor added that he was somewhat surprised to discover that newsmen and actors have more in common than making -- or writing -- the headlines.
"It's interesting that both reporters and actors are, in a sense, investigative, trying to figure out human behavior," said Washington.
"To play a part, I get with real people and find out how they feel and think and live, which is much like what a reporter does. We look for motivations and understanding," he added.
The movie is now showing locally.
Ethnic NewsWatch SoftLine Information, Inc., Stamford, CT
THE PELICAN BRIEFJ.W. Robinson Horne
Sacramento Observer
12-22-1993
THE PELICAN BRIEF.
Darby Shaw sits alone in a Washington, D.C. hotel room, still alive, still waiting. She has just seen another man murdered, only inches from her -- the second in less than a week.
The killers are closing in on her and Darby knows she can no longer run and hide. She'd survived for days in the anonymous shadows and tourist-filled crowds of New Orleans' French Quarter, but this last murder was too frightening, too close.
Terrified and exhausted, Darby has decided to put her faith in a stranger, Gray Grantham, an investigative reporter whom Callahan had admired -- Callahan, her lover and mentor, now a fatality in this deadly chase.
Darby will tell Grantham exactly what's in the speculative legal brief -- "the pelican brief" -- she wrote about the Supreme Court justice assassinations -- about the man behind it all, about the growing cover-up that extends to the highest levels of government.
Darby had given Grantham very specific instructions. She'd told him to assume they're always watching and following.
She hopes by now he'll understand how dangerous they are -- that this isn't a game for anyone involved.
And perhaps, if Grantham can confirm the information and break the story before the killers figure out where she is -- perhaps she and Grantham will both survive.
The story is played out in Warner Bros.' "The Pelican Brief," starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington.
For two-time Oscar nominee Julia Roberts, the dual attractions of a strong heroine and director Alan J. Pakula himself convinced her to play the lead role of Darby Shaw, whose insight into a troubling series of murders targets her as the killer's next victim. Grisham had visualized Roberts as Darby even as he wrote his novel, but it was Roberts' meetings with Pakula that cemented her commitment to the picture.
"When I first agreed to the project, I had read the book and liked it," she recalled.
Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington is cast opposite Roberts in the role of Gray Grantham, a top Washington investigative reporter who finds himself teamed with Darby as the two work to confirm the information in Darby's revelatory legal brief -- while staying ahead of the assassins.
Washington said he spent time with several reporters and editors at the Washington Post while researching his role. The actor added that he was somewhat surprised to discover that newsmen and actors have more in common than making -- or writing -- the headlines.
"It's interesting that both reporters and actors are, in a sense, investigative, trying to figure out human behavior," said Washington.
"To play a part, I get with real people and find out how they feel and think and live, which is much like what a reporter does. We look for motivations and understanding," he added.
The movie is now showing locally.
Ethnic NewsWatch SoftLine Information, Inc., Stamford, CT
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