3000 MILES TO GRACELAND (2001)

MORGAN'S RATING

As leaders of a gang who pull of a daring Las Vegas casino heist while disguised as participants in the town's International Elvis Week, Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner are armed, dangerous and sporting hunka-hunka sets of awesome sideburns. Get in, strap down, hold on. 3000 Miles to Graceland, directed and co-written by Demian Lichtenstein, is one kicky, volatile, heat-seeking missile of an action thriller.

Kurt Russell (Michael Zane), Kevin Costner (Thomas J. Murphy / Jonathan Liebling), Courteney Cox (Cybil Waingrow), Christian Slater (Hanson), Kevin Pollak (U.S. Marshal Damitry), David Arquette (Gus), Jon Lovitz (Jay Peterson), Howie Long (Jack), Thomas Haden Church (U.S. Marshal Quigley), Bokeem Woodbine (Franklin), Ice-T (Hamilton), David Kaye (Jesse Waingrow), Louis Lombardi (Otto Sinclair), Shawn Michael Howard (Roller Elvis), Mike Kopsa (Jefferson), Daisy McCrackin (Megan), Sharron Leigh (Naomi), J. Winston Carroll (Capt. Vanucci), Paul Anka, Eric James, Timothy Misney (Pit Bosses), Kimberly Hawthorne (Panel Operator), Craig March (Security Supervisor), Rod Lake (Mike), Norma Campbell (Elevator Old Lady), Gianni Russo (Money Cart Guard), John Casino (Federal Marshal), Hamilton von Watts (Announcer), Demian Lichtenstein (Shoplifter).

CRIME IS KING.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Demian Lichtenstein. WRITERS: Demian Lichtenstein and Richard Recco. PRODUCERS: Demian Lichtenstein, Eric Manes, Elie Samaha, Richard Spero and Andrew Stevens. ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: Sharron Leigh and Lynn Oddo. CO-PRODUCER: James A. Holt. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Don Carmody and Tracee Stanley. LINE PRODUCERS: Joseph Patrick Finn and Jefferson Richard. ORIGINAL MUSIC: George S. Clinton. DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros.

QUOTES

FACTS

Peterson: Are you gonna kill me? Murphy: Not until you get the safe open. [smiles] I'm just kidding. Open the safe.

RELEASE DATE: February 23rd, 2001 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $7.1 million (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $15.7 million (USA) BUDGET: $62 million (USA) SHOOTING DATES: March 2000 -- May 2000 - Kurt Russell made one of his early screen appearances in the Elvis movie It Happened at the World's Fair (1963) and later played Elvis in a TV-movie directed by John Carpenter (1979's Elvis). - The record album that Kurt Russell signs in the elevator is the soundtrack from It Happened at the World's Fair. - At the beginning of the movie, Kurt Russell's character (dressed as Elvis), steps out of a car, and a kid comes running up to him and kicks him in the shin. This is an inside joke which refers to It Happened at the World's Fair, in which Kurt Russell played a kid who runs up to (the real) Elvis, and kicks him in the shin. - When the film finished shooting, Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell disagreed about the way the film should feel. The studio let both stars edit their own versions which were then shown to test audiences. Russell's cut was more comedy oriented and focused on his character's relationship with Cybil, while Costner's was more action oriented. - In the Casino heist shootout, a bullet whizzes through Murphy's cape, missing his body entirely. In Wyatt Earp (1994), Earp (Costner) receives similar sartorial bullet damage. - The plates of the red caddie read: 3KMTG. - Nominated for five 2002 Razzie Awards for Worst Actor (Kevin Costner), Worst Picture, Worst Screen Couple, Worst Screenplay and Worst Supporting Actor (Courteney Cox).

Gus: What's great about dating homeless girls? Murphy: What? Gus: You can drop them off anywhere.

Michael Zane: Finish your fries. Jesse: You can't tell me what to do. You're not my dad. Michael Zane: Didn't anybody ever tell you about starving kids in Africa? Jesse: Why? Are you gonna send them my fries?

Hanson: I don't know what it is with those sideburns. I mean, I glued mine on. For you it's an actual lifestyle choice.

Murphy: You know the golden rule: fuck the gold. He who has a nickel-plated makes the rules.

Michael Zane: I've got good news and bad news. Jesse: What's the good news? Michael Zane: Your mom's in the truck. Jesse: What's the bad news? Michael Zane: She's still alive.

Quigley: Either quit smoking or get a new lighter.

Murphy: You want karma, asshole?

Damitry: Alright, Murphy, if you're not coming out, then we're coming in after you. Murphy: You don't want any of me!

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"An aggressive thrill ride. A rockin' good time." -- Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper and the Movies

"Lichtenstein grooves on bullets and blood and bedlam, but there's no grace, no drama, no sense to honor to the violence." -- Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com