Nick of Time (1995)

Director:

John Badham

Writer (WGA):

Patrick Sheane Duncan (written by)

Release Date:

22 November 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Within 90 minutes, someone is going to die... And the clock is ticking.

Plot:

Gene Watson is a public accountant who arrives on a train at Union Station in Los Angeles, accompanied by his 6-year-old daughter Lynn...

Plot Keywords:

Governor | Accountant | Hotel | Speech | Conspiracy

Cast

Johnny Depp	...	Gene Watson
Courtney Chase	...	Lynn Watson
Charles S. Dutton	...	Huey
Christopher Walken	...	Mr. Smith
Roma Maffia	...	Ms. Jones
Marsha Mason	...	Gov. Eleanor Grant
Peter Strauss	...	Brendan Grant
Gloria Reuben	...	Krista Brooks
Bill Smitrovich	...	Officer Trust
G.D. Spradlin	...	Mystery Man
Yul Vazquez	...	Gustino (Guest Services)
Edith Diaz	...	Irene (Domestic Maintenance)
Armando Ortega	...	Hector (Guest Services)
C.J. Bau	...	Mixologist
Cynthena Sanders	...	Beverage Server
Dana Mackey	...	Transport Reception Manager
Christopher Jacobs	...	Comestible Server
Charles Carroll	...	Sanitation Engineer
Miguel Nájera	...	Franco (Governor's Bodyguard)
Jerry Tondo	...	Chief Aide
Lance Hunter Voorhees	...	Weapons Security
John Azevedo Jr.	...	Security Associate
Lance August	...	Personal Security
Peter Mackenzie	...	JBN Reporter
Rick Zieff	...	JBN Videographer
Tom Bradley	...	Himself
Michael Chong	...	Asian Man
Cynthia Noritake	...	Asian Woman
Holly Kuespert	...	Physically Attractive Woman
Pamela Dunlap	...	Centerpiece Poacher
Jan Speck	...	Rally Orienter
Tom Lawrence	...	Personal Waste Facility User
Robert Buckingham	...	Illegal Security Access Carrier
Clark Johnson	...	Hackney Transportist (as J. Clark Johnson)
Antony Sandoval	...	Un Homme
Isabel García Lorca	...	Une Femme (as Isabel Lorca)
Nicole Mancera	...	Una Niña
Yolanda Gonzáles	...	Su Madre (as Yolanda Gonzalez)
Antonette Saftler	...	Mrs. Wentzel
Teddy Beeler	...	Union Station Security
Alison Stuart	...	Verbally Abusive Spouse
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ray Uhler	...	Reporter (uncredited)

Directed by
John Badham

Writing credits (WGA)
Patrick Sheane Duncan		(written by)

Produced by
John Badham	....	producer
D.J. Caruso	....	executive producer
Cammie Crier	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Arthur B. Rubinstein

Cinematography by
Roy H. Wagner		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Frank Morriss
Kevin Stitt

Casting by
Carol Lewis

Production Design by
Philip Harrison

Art Direction by
Eric Orbom

Set Decoration by
Julia Badham

Costume Design by
Mary E. Vogt

Makeup Department
Janice Alexander	....	hair stylist
Hazel Catmull	....	hair stylist
Clare M. Corsick	....	hair stylist: Johnny Depp (as Clare Corsick)
John M. Elliott Jr.	....	makeup artist (as John Elliott)
Sheila Evers	....	makeup artist
James R. Scribner	....	makeup artist (as Jim Scribner)
Patty York	....	makeup artist: Johnny Depp
Dale Miller	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Richard H. Prince	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
D.J. Caruso	....	second unit director
John Hockridge	....	first assistant director
Joseph J. Kontra	....	second assistant director (as Joe Kontra)
Jessica W. Leung	....	dga trainee (as Jessica Leung)
Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom	....	first assistant director: second unit (as Tracy Rosenthal)
Diana E. Williams	....	second second assistant director (as Diana Williams)

Art Department
Bryan Belair	....	construction coordinator
Giovanni Bianchini	....	assistant property master
Larry Clark Bird	....	property master (as Larry Bird)
Kai Blomberg	....	property person
Linda A. King	....	set designer (as Linda King)
Scott W. Leslie	....	property person (as Scott Leslie)
Nancy Mickelberry	....	set designer
Louis Montejano	....	set designer
Edward J. Protiva	....	property person (as Edward Protiva)
Eric Ramirez	....	property person
Brett C. Smith	....	lead person (as Brett Smith)
Tom Southwell	....	conceptual artist
Ken Zimmerman	....	assistant property master
Fred Apolito	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Jason Gondek	....	construction accountant (uncredited)
Fred O'Connor	....	propmaker (uncredited)

Sound Department
Rick Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer
Petra Bach	....	adr editor
Bob Baron	....	adr mixer
John Benson	....	supervising sound editor
Willie D. Burton	....	sound mixer (as Willie Burton)
David B. Cohn	....	sound effects editor (as David Cohn)
Ken Dufva	....	foley artist
Tammy Fearing	....	dialogue editor
David Lee Fein	....	foley artist
Christopher Flick	....	supervising foley editor
Sarah Goldsmith	....	dialogue editor (as Sarah Rothenberg)
Robert W. Harris	....	utility sound technician (as Robert Harris)
Stephen Janisz	....	adr editor
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
Marvin E. Lewis	....	boom operator (as Marvin Lewis)
Anthony Milch	....	sound effects editor (as Tony Milch)
Karen Minahan	....	assistant sound editor
Kevin O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeffrey R. Payne	....	dialogue editor
Randy Singer	....	foley mixer
Thomas W. Small	....	foley editor (as Thomas Small)
Frank Smathers	....	foley editor
Greg Stacy	....	sound effects editor
Robert Ulrich	....	supervising adr editor
David F. Van Slyke	....	sound effects editor
Patrick J. Foley	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Scott G.G. Haller	....	foley editor (uncredited)
Mark L. Mangino	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)
Jeffrey Perkins	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Kenneth C. Clark	....	special effects foreman (as Ken Clark)
Jeff Jarvis	....	special effects coordinator
Mike Reedy	....	special effects foreman

Visual Effects by
Reggie Jackson	....	visual effects assistant (uncredited)
Don Lee	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Jeff Matakovich	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Stuart Mintz	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Tony Noel	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Edson Williams	....	visual effects supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Shane Dixon	....	stunt coordinator
Kiante Elam	....	stunts
Marian Green	....	stunts
Freddie Hice	....	stunts
Kevin L. Jackson	....	stunts
Matt Johnston	....	stunts
Maria R. Kelly	....	stunts (as Maria Kelly)
John Meier	....	stunts (as John C. Meier)
Eddie L. Watkins	....	stunts (as Eddie Watkins)
Scott Wilder	....	stunts
Duane Matthews	....	utility stunts (uncredited)
Scott Wilder	....	stunt double: Johnny Depp (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Dale Alexander	....	first company grip
John S. Beyers	....	rigging lighting technician (as John Beyers)
David Buchanan	....	dolly grip
Joseph P. Clem	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Joseph Clem)
Brian Crane	....	chief lighting technician
Vito DePalma	....	first assistant camera
Ed Giovanni	....	second assistant camera
Bob Gorelick	....	Steadicam operator (as Robert Gorelick)
Bob Gorelick	....	camera operator: "a" camera (as Robert Gorelick)
John Hatchitt	....	second company grip
Gary Huddleston	....	camera operator: "b" camera
E. Scott Mayhugh	....	rigging grip
Todd Slyapich	....	first assistant camera
Bruce W. Talamon	....	still photographer (as Bruce Talamon)
Wayne Tidwell	....	video assist operator (as Wayne R. Tidwell)
John Wagner	....	first assistant camera
Grover Austin	....	grip (uncredited)
Troy Kohrs	....	grip (uncredited)
Jon Kranhouse	....	director of photography: opening credits (uncredited)
Michael Lyon	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	voice casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dan Bronson	....	costume supervisor
Danielle Feller	....	costumer
Bob Moore Jr.	....	costumer (as Robert Moore)
Elaine Ramires	....	costumer
Kenn Smiley	....	costumer: Mr. Depp
Mary Elizabeth Still	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Phil Hetos	....	color timer
Holly Howard	....	assistant editor: avid
Theresa Repola Mohammed	....	negative cutter
David Tweet	....	first assistant film editor

Music Department
Jason Arnold	....	music editor
Bob Bornstein	....	music preparation
Greg Broadous	....	choral director: "Locke High School Band"
Ralph Gingery	....	music arranger: "Firestar"
Denise Okimoto	....	assistant music editor
John E. Oliver	....	music production set supervisor
John Richards	....	score mixer
Arthur B. Rubinstein	....	conductor
Abby Treloggen	....	music editor
Brad Warnaar	....	orchestrator
Patti Zimmitti	....	orchestra contractor

Transportation Department
Frank Mejerski	....	transportation coordinator
Jan Ostermann	....	transportation co-captain
Michael Young	....	transportation captain
Brenda Ryan	....	driver (uncredited)
Aaron Skalka	....	transportation co-captain (uncredited)

Other crew
Lark Bernini	....	production office coordinator
Beverly Burton	....	craft service
Jack Cannon	....	production assistant
Christi Dembrowski	....	assistant: Mr. Depp
Alexandra Dickson	....	production assistant
Mark Hager	....	assistant production office coordinator
Crystal Hawkins	....	production auditor
Buck Holland	....	assistant: Mr. Depp
Karen Jarnecke	....	production assistant
Stephen Mapel	....	assistant location manager
Duane Matthews	....	production assistant
Helen Medrano	....	assistant production auditor (as Helen Ruiz)
Susie Peterson	....	associate to producer
S.W. Schuster	....	assistant: Mr. Badham
Susan Steinlauf-Pascal	....	unit publicist (as Susan Steinlauf)
David Tain	....	production assistant
Barbara Thaxton	....	script supervisor
Veronique Vowell	....	location manager
Matthew Walsh	....	assistant: Mr. Badham
Trevor Waterson	....	assistant production office coordinator
Joseph Aspromonti	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Denise Blasor	....	voice-over artist (uncredited)
Reggie Jackson	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Huey Redwine	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Patrick R. Siembieda	....	second assistant accountant (uncredited)

Thanks
Tom Buckley	....	thanks
Stacey Litz	....	thanks
Clinton Rilley	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1995) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1999) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1996) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1996) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (199?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (199?) (Australia) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)

Special Effects

• Optical Illusions (digital visual effects)
• Composite Image Systems (CIS) (digital visual effects)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color
• Greenberg/Schluter  titles
• Home on the Range  catering
• J.L. Fisher  cranes and dollies rental
• Milan Records  soundtrack
• Panavision  cameras and lenses
• Paramount Pictures Scoring Stage M  score recorded and mixed at
• Paramount Pictures  digital sound editing
• Technocrane Ltd.  remote cranes

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:12 | Brazil:12 | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | USA:R (certificate #34003) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The bulk of the movie was shot almost entirely hand-held using combinations of multi-camera and Steadicam set-ups. Even during the few actual dolly tracking sequences, the camera was hand-held and operated from a dolly by a seated cameraman.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Huey actually blows his cover for pretending to be deaf in front of Mr. Smith, and gets away with it. When Smith tells Huey that he remembers a shoe shine to cost two bits, Huey responds with a head nod and a slight grunt.

Quotes:

Gene Watson: You're out of your mind.
Mr. Smith: What's your point?

Movie Connections:

References "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Surfin' Ary

A good if far fetched premise makes this movie oddly watchable.

An young accountant Gene Wilson (Johnny Deep) arrived at L.A.'s Union Station with his daughter (Courtney Chase). From the moment, they arrived, two mysterious strangers (Oscar-Winner:Christopher Walken and Roma Maffia) separate him from his daughter. One of them proposed Gene to assassinate a government official (Marsha Mason) or else, they will murder his daughter.

Directed by John Badham (The Hard Way, Short Circuit, Stakeout) made an entertaining, clever if barely believable. suspense thriller that was filmed in "real time". Which it doesn't always paid off, especially the director used endless close-up of clocks. Which does at times makes this movie claustrophobic but not enough. This was one of the major box office flops and critical disappointments of 1995. But the picture plays surprisingly better on video and went on to have a sort of a cult following years later.

DVD has an fine anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an good-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD's only extra is the theatrical trailer. What makes this flawed movie watchable is a game cast, sometimes amusing dark sense of humour and a few good moments of genuine suspense. But at times, the film nearly falls apart from the unlikely false plot moment near the third act and an unsatisfying conclusion. Despite all this, this is a well directed picture that certainly worth a look of this truly real mixed bag film. Written by Patrick Sheane Duncan (Courage Under Fire, A Home of Our Own, Mr. Holland's Opus). (*** ½/*****).