Classic Trailer Rewatch: 1998’s ‘The Negotiator’ with Samuel Jackson
by Alex Billington
September 27, 2024
Source: YouTube
“Make me believe why I should deal with you ever again!” Time for yet another Classic Trailer Rewatch session. Back to the 90s for another big summer movie from that era. The Negotiator was one of the big summer movies in 1998, opening at the end of July after lots of early hype. I remember being very excited to watch it and find out what was going on, and I recall everyone else being into it, too. Strangely checking the box office numbers, it only ended up earning $44M on a $43.M budget. I thought it was a bigger hit – but I guess not! In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth. I love the twist in this – the expert negotiator becomes the hostage taker and flips things on the cops. Samuel L. Jackson stars across from Kevin Spacey, with a cast including David Morse, Ron Rifkin, John Spencer, and J.T. Walsh. It was F. Gary Gray’s third feature after making his debut with Friday in 1995. This is a good trailer! Makes me want to rewatch it right away find out (again) how he’s going to get out of this real pickle.
Here’s a few vintage trailers (+ original poster) for F. Gary Gray’s film The Negotiator, from YouTube:
In the midst of an elaborate conspiracy, an expert police negotiator (Samuel L. Jackson) is driven to the edge when he’s framed for the murder of his partner, as well as embezzling money from his department’s pension fund. His only chance to prove his innocence is to take hostages himself, acquire the services of another expert negotiator, and find out who’s running the conspiracy before it’s too late. The Negotiator is directed by American filmmaker F. Gary Gray, his third feature film after directing Friday and Set It Off before, and then the movies A Man Apart and The Italian Job a few years later. The screenplay is written by James DeMonaco & Kevin Fox. And it’s produced by David Hoberman and Arnon Milchan. The Negotiator originally opened in theaters on July 29th, 1998 in the middle of the summer season. It ended up earning $44 million at the box office and currently has 74% on RT and got two nominations for Best Sound Editing from the Motion Picture Sound Editors. You can find it on VOD or get the Blu-ray. Any fans of this movie?
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