LIBERTY STANDS STILL (2002)

MORGAN'S RATING

Liberty Wallace, heiress and co-president of America's largest gun manufacturer is on the way to meet her lover at a theater. While passing through a public park, a series of events finds her chained to a hotdog car, the long-range laser sight of a gun aimed at her chest. The owner of the gun (Joe) calls her via cell phone to explain his agenda and let her know that there is a bomb in the hot dog cart that will detonate when her cell phone runs out. So begins a game of cat-and-mouse in which serious questions are raised concerning the issue of gun control.

Wesley Snipes (Joe), Linda Fiorentino (Liberty Wallace), Oliver Platt (Victor Wallace), Hart Bochner (Hank Wilford), Martin Cummins (Russell Williams), Fulvio Cecere (Burt McGovern), Tanya Allen (May), Greg Calpakis (Vince), Brian Markinson (Rex Perry), Roger R. Cross (Officer Miller), Terry Chen (Officer Tom), Jeff Seymour (Officer Pritchard), Suzette Meyers (Marsha J. Peters), Chiara Ohoven (Heidi), Honathan Scarfe (Bill Tollman), Ron Selmour (Dwayne), Rekha Sharma (Usherette), Michael David Simms (Sal), Ian Tracey (Mac Munro), Hilda van der Meulen (Emma Alderson), Connor Widdows (Robbie Tyson), Ed Anders (SWAT Officer), Brett Armstrong (SWAT Officer), Scott J. Ateah (Police Officer), Garvin Cross (CIA Henchmen), Keith Dallas (Young Man), Marrett Green (Gary P. Evans), Darcy Laurie (Drunk Guy), David Lewis (Businessman), Robert Lewis (Fireman Frank), Steve Pascal (Second in Command), Claire Riley (Patron).

IN THE GAME OF LIFE AND DEATH... YOU ONLY LOSE ONCE.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Kari Skogland. WRITERS: Kari Skogland. PRODUCERS: Ogden Gavanski and Gary Pearl. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Eberhand Kayser, Peter A. Marshall, Mario Ohoven, Michael Ohoven and William Vince. CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Michael Convertino. LINE PRODUCER: Michael P. Flannigan. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Stanley Clarke. DISTRIBUTOR: Lions Gate Films.

QUOTES

Joe: Tiananmen Square boiled down to one man standing in front of a tank, that couldn't move or shoot, because human dignity was stronger than steel or bullets. It changed a nation.

Joe: The one thing, that guarantees our freedom and independence, is responsiblity. We lost that somewhere between Vietnam and presidential blowjobs.

Joe: Many of the fathers of the constitution had slaves, but they wrote a document about freedom. Go figure! So you see, things are meant to change; we're all grown up now.

FACTS

RELEASE DATE: October 22nd, 2002 (USA) (VIDEO PREMIERE) BUDGET: $11 million (USA) SHOOTING DATES: February 2001 -- March 2001 - Although writer/director Kari Skogland originally conceived the story five years earlier, it was, the infamous Colombine high school killings which prompted her to complete the script for this film in early 2000. - Filmed on location in Vancouver, Canada in March of 2001 in only 19 days.

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"Liberty Stands Still is an intriguing story with some fantastic acting." -- DVD Verdict