Hard Rain (film)

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Hard Rain

Directed by	Mikael Salomon
Produced by	Ian Bryce Mark Gordon Gary Levinsohn Art Levinson
Written by	Graham Yost
Starring	Morgan Freeman Christian Slater Randy Quaid Minnie Driver
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures (USA) Mutual Films International (non-USA)
Release date(s)	1998
Running time	97 min
IMDb profile

Hard Rain is a 1998 action movie, produced by Mark Gordon, written by Graham Yost and directed by former cinematographer turned first-time director Mikael Salomon. It stars Christian Slater, Morgan Freeman, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver and Ed Asner. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures.

[edit] Synopsis

Set in a small town in Indiana beset by a huge rainstorm, armored truck drivers Tom (Christian Slater) and his uncle Charlie (Ed Asner) are collecting the money from the local banks affected by the flood. After driving into a ditch, they are ambushed by Jim (Morgan Freeman) and his gang of armed robbers. Tom gets away with the $3 million in cash and hides it. In a panic, Tom tells the local sheriff (Randy Quaid) about the area he hid the money in and the sheriff locks him up. Now Tom has to get to the money and keep himself alive battling the corrupt sheriff, Jim and the elements.

[edit] Trivia

Third of a trio of films - starting with Speed and Broken Arrow - by producer Mark Gordon and screenwriter Graham Yost, and the first not financed by Twentieth Century Fox.

Randy Quaid had been previously considered for the role of the villain in Speed.

Originally called The Flood, the title was changed during production to distance itself from other disaster movies.

Filmed inside a former aircraft factory used to make B-2 stealth bombers, the $6 million waterlogged set featured one of the largest painted backdrops ever made.

According to an interview with Michael Parkinson, Minnie Driver complained to the press that some members of the crew were urinating in the water tanks. The next day, the crew had filled her wellington boots with water in revenge.

The original ending - including an epilogue which wrapped up the Slater/Driver love story - had to be changed after audiences objected to the death of a major character. A new ending was filmed, pushing the release date back by several months.^{[citation needed]}