Eraser
Short description
Eraser centres on John Kruger, a federal marshal whose job is to make witnesses disappear. He gives people whose testimony puts them in danger new identities and hides them until they are needed in court. His latest assignment is Lee Cullen, an employee at a defence contractor who has uncovered an illegal arms deal involving senior figures in politics and the intelligence community. When she becomes a target, Kruger takes her under his protection, and the two are hunted as they try to stay alive and expose what she knows.
Chuck Russell directed the film, which followed The Mask in his filmography. The screenplay is credited to Walon Green, Tony Puryear and Michael S. Chernuchin, and Arnold Kopelson and Anne Kopelson produced it for Warner Bros. Pictures. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Kruger, with Vanessa Williams as Lee and James Caan, James Coburn, Robert Pastorelli and James Cromwell in supporting roles. Around 90 cast members and 240 crew are credited.
The film was released in June 1996 and runs 115 minutes. Made for about 100 million dollars, it took roughly 242 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 6.2 out of 10 from about 124,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.1 from just over 2,000. A critics' score of 5.3 from 55 reviews places it close to those audience figures, with neither group rating it highly.
What's left behind the scenes
- Arnold Schwarzenegger genuinely freefell nearly 20 meters. Immediately after filming this scene, director Chuck Russell told the actor that something had gone wrong with the camera and the scene needed to be reshot, but almost immediately confessed that it was a joke.
- Schwarzenegger personally chose Adam Greenberg as the film's cinematographer (he had worked with him on the first two films in the 'Terminator' franchise).
- Singer Vanessa Williams recorded the title track “Where Do We Go from Here?,” which was successful and reached number 71 on the main “Billboard Hot 100” chart and number 5 on the “Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks” chart. The music video for the song used clips from the film, as well as specially filmed scenes with Vanessa and Schwarzenegger.
- During Kruger's conversation with Castiglione in the club, Johnny takes off his vest. In the next shot, it's back on him. A few seconds later, he's standing without the vest again.
- Initially, a romantic ending to the film was shot, but audiences at test screenings were dissatisfied with it.
- There was constant friction between director Chuck Russell and producer Arnold Kopelson (1935-2018). Filming was only completed because Schwarzenegger maintained excellent relationships with each of them individually, and in cases where the two didn't speak to each other at all, he acted as a negotiator.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
