Why did Gene Hackman remove his name from Tom Cruise’s marketing materials?

Sidney Pollack’s 1993 thriller “The Firm” was the first in a long line of successful films based on… Literary production of John Grisham. Grisham, for those who don’t know him, was a lawyer-turned-writer who authored several best-selling legal thrillers throughout the 1990s, including “The Pelican Summary,” “The Client,” “The Chamber,” and “A Time to… Kill”, and “A Time to Kill”. “And ‘The Runaway Jury.'” There was a time when no one was at the airport without a Grisham novel on hand. Most of Grisham’s books were about a cocky young lawyer, new to the profession, who uncovers a vast legal conspiracy. To date, Grisham’s books About 50 novels and four non-fiction books, and many of his successful works have been published. It has been adapted into equally successful films.

Bullock’s $42 million production of “The Firm” stars Tom Cruise as Mitch McDeere, a recent law school graduate who finds a money laundering and tax fraud scheme — and possible acts of violence — connected to the firm where he got a job. It had an impressive cast, including Holly Hunter, Ed Harris, Gene Tripplehorn, Hal Holbrook, Wilford Brimley, Gary Busey, and David Strathairn. Gene Hackman appeared as a character named Avery Tolar who served as Mitch’s mentor in the titular company. The company has generated more than $270 million. Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $590 million today. The film was the fifth highest-grossing film of that year, behind Jurassic Park, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Fugitive, and Schindler’s List.

Hackman plays a major role in The Firm, but his name does not appear on the poster. From a propaganda point of view, this was an odd choice. Why not sell the fact that you have an actor of Hackman’s stature in your movie? Hackman’s name appears to have been left out of promotional materials for “The Firm” due to some last-minute casting, and a somewhat messy contract tangle. The story was covered by 1993 article in the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Times noted that Hackman was not the original choice to play Avery in The Firm. The filmmakers were actually hoping to gender-flip the character from the book and cast Meryl Streep in the role. Streep was still part of the project when production officially began, but John Grisham voiced his objections. He did not want Streep to play the role, as he felt that Avery should remain a male character. Hackman was brought in as a replacement late in the production process.

However, Hackman’s late joining caused some advertising snags. Cruise, the undisputed star of The Firm, had already negotiated with Paramount to have his name appear first on posters, billboards and other advertising materials. Look at the label He actually reveals that his name is listed prominently at the top. However, Hackman also wanted top billing for the title, as he felt he was somewhat of a co-star to Cruise. One publicist at the time said, “This is a city of precedent and (Mr. Hackman) is firmly established above the title, so why should he be below the title?”

But Paramount apparently rejected Hackman’s request due to bad timing. Hackman’s rep noted, “He came to the project late, after they had started filming, and was offered the role after they put together a marketing plan centered around Tom. He had the option of saying ‘no’ or resolving another billing issue.”

Rather than force the issue, Hackman merely requested that his name be removed from any promotional materials altogether. In the same film, Hackman had second place in the opening and closing credits. But his name does not appear anywhere in the “company” advertisement. The Los Angeles Times article was written to reassure the public that yes, Gene Hackman is already in “The Firm.”

Hackman went on to appear in the John Grisham adaptations The Chamber in 1996 and Runaway Jury in 2003. He appeared on posters for both.