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Star Cast
The Pelican Brief
- Darby Shaw
- Gray Grantham
- Thomas Callahan
- Gavin Vereek
- Fletcher Coal
- FBI Director Denton Voyles (as James B. Sikking)
- Bob Gminski
- President
- Khamel
- Justice Rosenberg
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Plot
The Pelican Brief
Two Supreme Court Justices have been killed. Now a college professor, who clerked for one of the two men, who's also having an affair with one of his students, is given a brief by her, that states who probably, wanted to see these two men dead. He then gives it to one of his friends, who works for the FBI. When the FBI director reads it, he is fascinated by it. One of the preseident's men who read it, is afraid that if it ever got out, the president could be smeared. So, he adivises the president to tell the director to drop it, which he does. But later the professor and the girl were out and he was drunk and when he refused to give her the keys she stepped out of the car. When he started it, it blew up. She then discovers that her place has been burglarized and what was taken were her computer and her disks. Obviously, her brief has someone agitated. She then turns to her boyfriend's friend at the FBI, he agrees to come meet her but before he does someone shoots him and takes his place. At the meeting, he was about to kill her when someone shoots him. She then decides to turn to Gray Grantham, an investigative reporter, who was contacted by someone who says he has info on the killings but backed out at the last minute. He then meets her and tells her what her brief is, and basically, the man she suspects is a good friend of the president, who is trying to manipulate the outcome of a trial that is now before the Supreme Court.
Goofs
The Pelican Brief
- Continuity: When Darby Shaw and Thomas Callahan are in class Darby's hair changes between shots.
- Continuity: The recording of Darby's phone call does not match the actual conversation.
- Continuity: When Darby and Gray are being chased through the parking garage, the manilla envelope and papers in her hand change position repeatedly between shots.
- Continuity: As the president is getting into his limo after the judge's funeral, Fletcher Coal is holding the door open for him. In the next shot from inside the limo, Fletcher Coal is already in the limo as the president sits down.
- Revealing mistakes: In the videotape the oil and gas lawyer Curtis Morgan leaves for his wife, he says that he lifted an incriminating memo from the desk of a lawyer at White and Blazovitch dated September 28th. But when Gray Grantham calls around confirming the facts before running the story on the memo, he says it was dated April 11th.
- Factual errors: In the end of the film, where the jet is shown flying through the clouds, blinking white lights are on each wingtip. These lights should in fact be a red one on the left wingtip and a green one on the right. This is shown properly when a real shot of the plane landing is shown.
- Continuity: Darby and Gray are in the car after retrieving the video tape from the bank and are being watched by the villain that planted the bomb. After Darby senses the car bomb, they go on the run and climb up several levels in the parking garage. As they emerge from the staircase the villain that watched them from several levels below, comes racing toward them from the garage level above.
Taglines
The Pelican Brief
- From the author of "The Firm" and "The Client" and the director of "Presumed Innocent" and "All The President's Men."
- Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story.
Trivia
The Pelican Brief
- The rights to "The Pelican Brief" were bought before the book was even written, John Grisham had written a sample from the book and the rights were bought on the spot.
- John Grisham wrote the part of Darby Shaw with 'Julia Roberts' in mind.
- F. Denton Voyles is the FBI Director in most of John Grisham's books, when the FBI plays a part.
- Although the Tulane Law School has moved to a new building since this film was released, the room where 'Julia Roberts' and Sam Shepard meet for class early in the move is still a classroom: Jones Hall Rm. 102.
- The President questions Cole's idea of addressing the nation while wearing a cardigan sweater; this is based on a real-life incident in which then-president Jimmy Carter addressed the nation in a cardigan during the height of the fuel shortages in the 1970s.
- F. Denton Voyles also appeared in 1993 John Grisham adaptation, The Firm (1993) in which he was played by Steven Hill.
- Victor Mattiece, the main villain, never appears in the film.
Quotes
The Pelican Brief
No quotes found.
Awards
The Pelican Brief
- ASCAP Award
Event: ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards
Result: Won
Category: Top Box Office Films
Recipient(s): James Horner - MTV Movie Award
Event: MTV Movie Awards
Result: Nominated
Category: Most Desirable Male
Recipient(s): Denzel Washington - MTV Movie Award
Event: MTV Movie Awards
Result: Nominated
Category: Best Female Performance
Recipient(s): Julia Roberts