Enemy of the State is a 1998 thriller film about a group of rogue NSA agents who murder a Congressman, and then try to cover up the murder by destroying evidence and intimidating witnesses. It was written by David Marconi, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Tony Scott. The film stars Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet and Regina King. It grossed over $250,000,000 USD worldwide ($111,549,836 domestically). Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Anthony D. L. Tony Scott (born July 21, 1944) is a British film director. ... Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1945) is a film and television producer in the genre of action, drama, and science fiction. ... David Marconi is an American screenwriter and film director. ... “W. S.” redirects here. ... Eugene Allen Gene Hackman[1] (born January 30, 1930) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor. ... John Vincent Voight (born December 29, 1938) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Lisa Michelle Boney (born November 16, 1967), known professionally as Lisa Bonet (IPA: ), is an American actress. ... Regina King (born January 15, 1971 in Los Angeles, California) is an American film and television actress. ... For other persons named Jack Black, see Jack Black (disambiguation). ... Jason Michael Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American actor and professional skateboarder. ... Scott Caan Scott Caan (born August 23, 1976) is an American actor. ... Touchstone Pictures (also known as Touchstone Films in its early years) is one of several alternate film labels of The Walt Disney Company, established in 1984. ... is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... NSA redirects here. ... David Marconi is an American screenwriter and film director. ... Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1945) is a film and television producer in the genre of action, drama, and science fiction. ... Anthony D. L. Tony Scott (born July 21, 1944) is a British film director. ... “W. S.” redirects here. ... Eugene Allen Gene Hackman[1] (born January 30, 1930) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor. ... John Vincent Voight (born December 29, 1938) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Lisa Michelle Boney (born November 16, 1967), known professionally as Lisa Bonet (IPA: ), is an American actress. ... Regina King (born January 15, 1971 in Los Angeles, California) is an American film and television actress. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

Cast

Seth Green, Tom Sizemore, Jason Robards and Philip Baker Hall made uncredited appearances. “W. S.” redirects here. ... Eugene Allen Gene Hackman[1] (born January 30, 1930) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Alex Robert Pepper (born April 4, 1970 in Campbell River, British Columbia) is a Canadian-born actor. ... John Vincent Voight (born December 29, 1938) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Regina King (born January 15, 1971 in Los Angeles, California) is an American film and television actress. ... Ian Hart (born 8 October 1964) is an English actor. ... Lisa Michelle Boney (born November 16, 1967), known professionally as Lisa Bonet (IPA: ), is an American actress. ... Jascha Washington (born June 21, 1989 in California) is an American child television and film actor. ... Jake Busey (born June 15, 1971 in Los Angeles, California), is an American Actor/Film producer. ... Scott Caan Scott Caan (born August 23, 1976) is an American actor. ... This article is about the actor. ... Jason Michael Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American actor and professional skateboarder. ... Gabriel Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. ... For other persons named Jack Black, see Jack Black (disambiguation). ... Actor Loren Dean (born on 31 July 1969 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) starred in movies such as Billy Bathgate and Enemy of the State. ... Daniel Bruce Butler (born December 2, 1954 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is an American actor who is known for his role as Bob Bulldog Briscoe on the long-running TV series Frasier as well as D-pop on the television show Handsworth High Openly gay, he starred in Terrence McNally... Seth Benjamin Gesshel-Green (born February 8, 1974) is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. ... Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Philip Baker Hall (born September 10, 1931) is an American actor. ...

Plot

As the movie opens, the legislature is close to passing legislation to expand surveillance powers of law enforcement agencies. Republican Congressman Phil Hammersly (Jason Robards, uncredited) is trying to stop the bill because he believes it is an invasion of privacy, while Thomas Reynolds (Jon Voight), is trying to push the bill through to advance his career. Hammersly is then killed near a lake by two rogue NSA agents loyal to Reynolds, who plant a bottle of heart medication near the body to make the death seem like a heart attack. However, a video camera set up by wildlife researcher Daniel Zavitz (Jason Lee) to monitor geese migration caught the entire incident. Legislation (or statutory law) is law which has been promulgated (or enacted) by a legislature or other governing body. ... Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) is a generic term used for local and state police, as well as federal agencies (such as the FBI, the BATF, DHS, Europol, Interpol, etc. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Type Upper House President of the Senate Richard B. Cheney, R since January 20, 2001 President pro tempore Robert C. Byrd, D since January 4, 2007 Members 100 Political groups Democratic Party Republican Party Last elections November 7, 2006 Meeting place Senate Chamber United States Capitol Washington, DC United States... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Invasion of privacy is a legal term essentially defined as a violation of the right to be left alone. ... John Vincent Voight (born December 29, 1938) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ... NSA redirects here. ... Video cameras are used primarily in two modes. ... Jason Michael Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American actor and professional skateboarder. ...

When Zavitz views Hammersley's murder, he realizes that the news reports of a sudden heart attack are false. Zavitz is unaware that an NSA agent saw him retrieve the tape from the video camera. He copies the tape onto a computer cartridge, and when NSA agents arrive, he hides the tape in a TurboExpress and escapes. Tracked by satellite and pursued by NSA agents, Zavitz bumps into an old friend from Georgetown University, labor lawyer Robert Clayton Dean (Will Smith) who is shopping for a gift for his wife. Heart attack redirects here. ... TurboExpress handheld, TV tuner, games The TurboExpress or (PC Engine GT in Japan) was a portable version of the TurboGrafx, released in 1990 for $249. ... IMINT, short for IMagery INTelligence, is an intelligence gathering discipline which collects information via satellite and aerial photography. ... Georgetown University is a Jesuit private university located in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Father John Carroll founded the school in 1789, though its roots extend back to 1634. ... “W. S.” redirects here. ...

Dean had just come from a meeting with mafia members who control a labor union he is representing. He had raised their ire by showing them a videotape of one of the mafia members consorting with union officials, in violation of his parole. The mafia threaten to kill Dean within a week if he does not give them the name of the source.

While Dean hands Zavitz his business card, Zavitz drops the cartridge with the murder footage into Dean's shopping bag and then flees. Pursued by NSA agents, Zavitz jumps onto a bike and rides down a busy street, where he is hit and killed by a firetruck. After finding Dean's business card on Zavitz' body, the agents visit Dean posing as detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia. Unaware that Zavitz gave him the video, Dean tells them he has no knowledge of their allegations that he was passed "sensitive materials", even denying them access to his bags without a warrant. Not to be confused with United States Capitol Police. ...

The next day the NSA agents break into Dean's house looking for the tape. While they do not find it, they plant tracking bugs in his clothes and personal items. The NSA smears him with a false story about a love affair with Rachel Banks, an old girlfriend who acted as an intermediary between Dean and her contact, the source of the mafia tape. He is fired from his law firm and thrown out of the house by his wife. When he attempts to check into a hotel for the night, he learns his credit cards have been canceled and somebody has stolen his attaché case. With Rachel's help, Dean meets her contact, retired NSA agent Brill (Gene Hackman), who shows him the bugs that have been planted in his belongings, and tells him the NSA is after him. Dean heads home and is able to convince his wife that he never had an affair with Rachel and after telling her everything he realizes that his son must have gotten ahold of what Zavitz was trying to give him and quickly retrieves it. After Dean finds out that Rachel had been killed by Reynold's team to frame him for murder, he and Brill make contact and finally discover that they possess the murder video - just minutes before it is destroyed in an attack by the NSA. Reynolds' team tracked them down after Dean made a phone call at a nearby convenience store. A typical briefcase. ... Eugene Allen Gene Hackman[1] (born January 30, 1930) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor. ...

While on the run, Brill reveals that he served as Rachel's contact because her late father was his partner prior to his retirement. Deciding to finish what they started, Dean and Brill use methods on Congressman Sam Albert (Stuart Wilson), similar to those used on Dean, to expose details of the illegal NSA operation to the NSA's top brass to get Reynolds attention and arrange a meeting with him. Their plan is to incriminate Reynolds by recording his conversation with Brill about the conspiracy on tape, but it fails due to Dean's inexperience.

Dean and Brill are captured, and it is apparent that they will be killed to eliminate any witnesses. Dean turns the tables by claiming that the leader of the Pintero mafia family has the tape Reynolds is after. This leads the conspirators back to the Italian restaurant that Dean visited earlier in the movie, which he knows is under surveillance by the FBI. Dean then convinces Pintero that Reynolds is after the tape of his meeting with the union leaders. Reynolds believes that the tape in question is of the Hammersley murder. The situation quickly becomes a Mexican standoff between the agents and mobsters, and escalates into a firefight. This article is about the criminal society. ... A photomanipulation depicting a mexican standoff. ...

Dean and Brill are among the few survivors. Reynolds, nearly all of the rogue agents involved in the conspiracy, and most of the mobsters – including Pintero – are killed. The FBI sweeps in and the plot behind the legislation is soon exposed. The only two surviving conspirators, NSA technicians Fiedler (Jack Black) and Jamie (Jamie Kennedy) are taken into custody by the FBI. Dean is cleared of all charges and returns home with his wife, and Brill, who escapes to exile in a tropical locale, sends a friendly message to Dean via his television set. For other persons named Jack Black, see Jack Black (disambiguation). ... This article is about the actor. ...

Production

Although set in Washington DC, most of the film was done in the neighboring city of Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore redirects here. ...

Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise were considered for the part that went to Will Smith. George Clooney was also considered for a role in the film. Sean Connery was considered for the role that went to Gene Hackman. The film's crew included a Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures consultant who also had a minor role as a spy shop merchant. Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, AO (born January 3, 1956) is an American-Australian actor, historian, Academy Award-winning director, producer and screenwriter. ... Tom Cruise (born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV on July 3, 1962) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and film producer. ... “W. S.” redirects here. ... George Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, who gained fame as one of the lead doctors in the long-running television drama, ER (1994–99), as Anthony Edwardss characters best friend and partner, Dr... TSCM (Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures) is the original military abbreviation provided to the trade of bug-sweeping or electronic counter-surveillance. ...

Trivia

• Reynolds, the antagonist and foremost proponent of the anti-privacy bill, was born on September 11, 1940 which was the date Bell Labs researcher, George Stibitz, demonstrated the first remote operation (i.e. over a phone line) of a computer machine.
• Shots of the NSA satellite, seen frequently during the movie, were re-used in the pilot episode of the TV series 24.
• In the making-of video documentary on the 2006 DVD release of the film , it is revealed that "The Jar", the copper-mesh Faraday cage that surrounds Brill's workstation, was so effective in blocking transmissions as accurately depicted that audio technicians were forced to put the receivers for Hackman's and Smith's wireless microphones inside the cage.
• The shot where Fiedler rotates the security image of Dean ninety degrees to discover the location of the tape is physically impossible and could not be achieved without some sort of 3-D recording technology, let alone a security camera.
• The movie's claim that the federal government possesses the ability to spy on individuals through virtually all electronic means is based upon conspiracy theories surrounding the government's ECHELON program.
• A screen shot of Hackman photograph from The Conversation was used in Enemy of the State, precisely when the surveillance experts of Enemy of the State get the digital ID photo of Gene Hackman
• When Brill's laptop is shown in the Faraday cage, it is using Microsoft Windows 95. It is also running an early version of Apple's Quicktime for the Windows operating system. For some reason, just before beginning to 'decrypt' a video, Brill opens an image of a powerboat in Paint.

is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... George Stibitz George Robert Stibitz (April 20, 1904 – January 31, 1995) is internationally recognized as a father of the modern digital computer. ... 24 is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American action drama television series. ... Entrance to a Faraday room A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure formed by conducting material, or by a mesh of such material. ... Look up echelon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Conversation is an Academy Award nominated 1974 mystery thriller about audio surveillance, written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Teri Garr, and Cindy Williams; it also features an early performance by Harrison Ford and an uncredited appearance from Robert Duvall. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. ... This article is about the fruit. ... QuickTime is a multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc. ...

Box Office

The film opened at #2, behind The Rugrats Movie, grossing $20,038,573 over its first weekend in 2,393 theaters and averaging about $8,374 per venue. The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 animated film, produced by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. ...

See also

• Conspiracy thriller
• The Conversation