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Eraser
Eraser movie poster
Directed by	Charles Russell
Produced by	Anne Kopelson Arnold Kopelson
Written by	Tony Puryear Walon Green Michael S. Chernuchin
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger Vanessa Williams James Caan James Cromwell James Coburn Robert Pastorelli
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	June 21, 1996
Running time	115 min.
Language	English
Budget	$100,000,000 US (est.)
IMDb profile

Eraser is a 1996 action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams. It was directed by Charles Russell. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Effects Editing in 1996.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Box Office and Reaction 3 Production History 3.1 Background and Casting 3.2 Stunts and "Hardware" 3.3 Shooting Locations 4 Cast 5 Trivia 6 References 7 External links

Arnold Schwarzenegger is elite federal marshal John Kruger, who works for the Federal Witness Security Protection Program (WITSEC). Kruger must do anything to keep witnesses he protects safe. When Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams) sees what she is not meant to, a powerful force wants her dead. Cullen works for a leading defense contractor - she uncovers a scheme to deliver an advanced weapon known as the rail gun into the hands of the wrong people. Marshal John Kruger must protect Cullen, as her greatest threat comes from within the government. Kruger comes up against someone of equal skill as he tries to guard Cullen against conspirators and Robert Deguerin (James Caan), his former mentor. Kruger himself comes under suspicion and sets out to prove his innocence to Bellor (James Coburn), the head of the Witness Protection Program.

Eraser had an opening weekend of $24,566,446 in the US during the summer season of 1996.^[1] Final US gross would be $101,228,120 and final UK gross was £4,700,340.^[1] Following its cinematic run, worldwide box office came to $234,400,000, earning a further $46,032,666 in US video rentals alone.^[1] The film achieved a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [1]

Director Charles Russell and star Arnold Schwarzenegger were originally working on another project together when Eraser was brought to their attention.^[2] Russel was excited about the possibilities the film could bring between actor and the character: "I see Arnold the way a lot of people do -- as a mythic, bigger-than-life character -- and that's who Kruger is. The character and the scenario are based firmly in reality, but I liked the mythic proportions of this man with a strong sense of duty, a strong sense of honor, who will literally do anything to protect a noble witness. I was excited about doing a film that had heroic proportions." ^[2] Producer Arnold Kopelson was also keen to cast Schwarzenegger in the role of "Eraser", having talked with the actor about working on a projects before. ^[2] Vanessa Williams would be cast as the lead female character, Lee Cullen, the key witness Eraser must protect. Williams came to the attention of the Kopelsons when Maria Shriver, the wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger, suggested her for the role.^[2] To play the character of Deguerin (Kruger's mentor), the filmmakers wanted an actor who could "convey intelligence, skill and magnetism - a more mature version of the Kruger character", they would cast James Caan in this role.^[2] The screenplay was initially the work of Tony Puryear, who had a background in advertising, rap videos. Another writer, Walon Green, also receives credit as well. ^[3]

One of the most demanding action sequences in the film, featured the character of Kruger, forced to flee from a jet speeding through the skies at 250 miles per hour. Speaking about this scene, director Russell says: "These things are jigsaw puzzle pieces not only within shooting sequence but within each shot. You had elements that were live action, elements that were miniature, sometimes computer-generated, and they're all married together in the final processing." ^[2] Some of the physical stunts were performed by Schwarzenegger himself. For the "aerial" stunt Arnold was required to fall 65 feet in vertical descent and perform a back flip in mid-flight. The shot took seven takes to get - in the final film, Kruger appears to drop along the length of the fuselage and past the flaming engine of the Jet thanks to inventive camera angles and special effects. The "Rail-gun" featured in the film as a key plot device, Schwarzenegger talks on the subject: "We paid a lot of attention to making the audience feel the danger of this weapon, that anyone can be outside of your house, looking right through the walls. It really leaves you nowhere to hide," he explains. "But, on top of that, we show the sophistication of the weapon in a lot of fun ways: you not only see through a building, you see a person's skeleton and even their heart beating inside. There are some great visual effects there."^[2]

Eraser began principal photography in New York City, locations would include The Harlem Rail Yard in the South Bronx, Central Park's Sheep Meadow and Chinatown.^[2] Following shooting in New York production moved to Washington D.C..^[2] For the action sequence which takes place in the Reptile House of New York City Zoo, interiors were built on the soundstages of the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank,California.^[2]

• Arnold Schwarzenegger as John Kruger
• Vanessa Williams as Dr. Lee Cullen
• James Caan as Robert Deguerin
• James Coburn as Chief Beller
• James Cromwell as William Donohue
• Andy Romano as Daniel Harper
• Robert Pastorelli as Johnny C.
• Joe Viterelli as Tony Two-Toes

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The lead role of Kruger was originally intended for Robert De Niro, with Deguerin intended for a younger actor.
• The company name "Cyrez" was originally scripted and filmed as "Cyrex", but the real-life computer chip manufacturer Cyrix objected. Since the movie had already been shot, the relevant dialogue was dubbed over and company logos were digitally altered during post-production.
• The movie is thought to have popularized the use of railguns in video games. There was a computer game released that was loosely based on the film and featured a first person perspective as the player shot various armed enemies as he moved through various locations from the film.
• Unlike Schwarzenegger's previous five films, Eraser was given a prohibitive 18 certificate on its UK release in the summer of 1996 after 27 seconds of violence was cut. For its video and DVD release, distributor Warner Bros. opted for a 15 certificate and the BBFC ordered a further 3 minutes and 22 seconds of cuts. Most notably, the demise of the villains at the end has been removed; the viewer sees the car abandoned, but has to guess what happened next.
• The Laserdisc version of this release is considered to have the worst case of LaserRot.
• In the video game Hitman: Blood Money, one of the ratings that can be achieved at the end of the level is The Eraser, obviously a nod to the film.
• Portions of Alan Silvestri's score uses material he had previously written for his unused score to Mission: Impossible.

• Eraser at the Internet Movie Database
• Site highlighting cuts made to UK DVD