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40-488: The film was released on April 3, 1998. It received mostly negative reviews and grossed $ 93 million at the box office. The film opens with a bank robbery hostage crisis in South Dakota. Undercover as one of the criminals, FBI agent Art Jeffries guards fourteen year old James while trying to convince the gang’s leader, Edgar Halstrom, to surrender. Despite pleading for more time to negotiate, an armed FBI task force storms

80-475: A Christmas party, Coen told Sonnenfeld about Blood Simple , a script that he had written with brother Ethan Coen, and hired him to be their cinematographer, with the resulting movie coming out in 1984. This film began his collaboration with the Coen brothers, who used him for their next two pictures, Raising Arizona (1987) and Miller's Crossing (1990). He also worked with Danny DeVito on Throw Momma from

120-512: A Neurotic Filmmaker , was published by Hachette Books in 2020. In 2024, his second book, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood , was published by Hachette. As of 2022, Sonnenfeld lives in Pemberton, British Columbia with his wife Susan. In 1999, Sonnenfeld was the sole passenger on a plane that crashed upon landing at Van Nuys Airport . He

160-481: A helicopter, but Jeffries, with Jordan and an FBI task force's help, sets a trap at the meeting spot. A gunfight ensues between Burrell and the FBI, ending with Burrell being fatally slashed by glass shards when plexiglass windows are blown inward, while Art fights Kudrow one-on-one, and Simon assists him by retrieving his gun. Kudrow attempts to throw Simon off the roof, but Jeffries shoots him multiple times, and he falls off

200-406: A hidden crawl space in his bedroom closet. Simon is taken to a protection ward at the hospital, where a nurse explains the nature of Simon's autism to Art, and why he cannot be interrogated. Burrell impersonates a doctor and makes another attempt on Simon's life. Art saves Simon and flees the premises, and tries unsuccessfully to convince Simon that he is a friend instead of a stranger. Later, while on

240-484: A lighting salesman, educator, and architectural lighting designer. He was raised in a Jewish family. After he received his bachelor's degree from Hampshire College , he graduated from New York University Film School in 1978. He began working on pornographic films before starting work as director of photography on the Oscar-nominated In Our Water (1982). When he met Joel Coen at

280-787: A novel by Elmore Leonard , the film won a Golden Globe for John Travolta (Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical). The film was also entered into the 46th Berlin International Film Festival . Following Tim Burton and the Coen brothers, Sonnenfeld's films would tell stories about unusual and unorthodox people who are into the unexpected and the strange. His films would often use his trademark filmmaking techniques such as his unusual camera angles, offbeat dialogue and, in certain films, strange behavior and weird creatures. In 1996, Steven Spielberg asked him to direct Men in Black (1997). Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith ,

320-466: A train, Shayes tries to kill Simon, but Art intervenes, knocking him off the train and onto the tracks as another locomotive passes, killing him. Under Kudrow's direction, the NSA frames Art as Simon's kidnapper. However, fellow agent and friend Tommy Jordan does not believe the story and assists Art, who borrows Jordan's car and takes Simon back to his house. Simon again calls the telephone number written into

360-674: A typewriter: one to Art and a carbon copy for the Senate Oversight Committee, but Burrell tracks Pedranski down and kills him as well, confiscating the letters. However, the assassin overlooks Pedranski's carbon copies, which his girlfriend, NSA analyst Emily Lang, takes to the FBI. Jordan discreetly arranges for her to meet with Art to show them the carbon copies; covered in Pedranski’s fingerprints, they become crucial evidence. Art then goes to Kudrow’s home during his birthday party, confronting him in his wine cellar. He berates

400-475: Is about a man working at a men's magazine who is reluctant to embrace adulthood and his friend who is an immersion journalist . Al Higgins ( Malcolm in the Middle ) is set to serve as showrunner / head writer if the project is picked up. He has become attached to a movie adaptation of The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz , about a family of private investigators. Sonnenfeld will direct the movie adaptation of

440-609: Is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as The Addams Family (1991) and its sequel Addams Family Values (1993), Get Shorty (1995), the Men in Black trilogy (1997–2012), and Wild Wild West (1999). Sonnenfeld was born and raised in New York City , the son of Irene "Kelly" (Kellerman), an art teacher, and Sonny Sonnenfeld,

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480-423: Is estimated that there are currently living fewer than a hundred prodigious savants, with skills so extraordinary that they would be considered spectacular even for a non-impaired person. Savant skills are usually found in one or more of five major areas: art, memory, arithmetic, musical abilities, and spatial skills . The most common kinds of savants are calendrical savants, "human calendars" who can calculate

520-629: Is not normally available to conscious awareness. In some cases, savant syndrome can be induced following severe head trauma to the left anterior temporal lobe . Savant syndrome has been artificially replicated using low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation to temporarily disable this area of the brain. There are no objectively definitive statistics about how many people have savant skills. The estimates range from "exceedingly rare" to one in ten people with autism having savant skills in varying degrees. A 2009 British study of 137 parents of autistic children found that 28% believe their children met

560-557: Is not recognized as a mental disorder within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), as it relates to parts of the brain healing or restructuring. Savant syndrome is estimated to affect around one in a million people. The condition affects more males than females, at a ratio of 6:1. The first medical account of the condition was in 1783. It is estimated that between 0.5% and 10% of those with autism have some form of savant abilities. It

600-599: Is possibly due to the lack of motivation to develop such skills among the general population, although mathematicians have developed algorithms that allow them to obtain similar skills. Calendrical savants, on the other hand, may not be prone to invest in socially engaging skills. No widely accepted cognitive theory explains savants' combination of talent and deficit. It has been suggested that individuals with autism are biased towards detail-focused processing and that this cognitive style predisposes individuals either with or without autism to savant talents. Another hypothesis

640-560: Is that savants hyper-systemize, thereby giving an impression of talent. Hyper-systemizing is an extreme state in the empathizing–systemizing theory that classifies people based on their skills in empathizing with others versus systemizing facts about the external world . Also, the attention to detail of savants is a consequence of enhanced perception or sensory hypersensitivity in these unique individuals. It has also been hypothesized that some savants operate by directly accessing deep, unfiltered information that exists in all human brains that

680-428: The 1999 Young Artist Awards for his portrayal of Simon. Autistic savant Savant syndrome ( / ˈ s æ v ə n t , s æ ˈ v ɑː n t / SAV -ənt, sə- VAHNT , US also / s ə ˈ v ɑː n t / sav- AHNT ) is a phenomenon where someone demonstrates exceptional aptitude in one domain, such as art or mathematics, despite significant social or intellectual impairment. Those with

720-459: The 2007 film Enchanted for Walt Disney Pictures that starred Amy Adams . In 2008, Sonnenfeld earned an Emmy for directing Pushing Daisies . Sonnenfeld returned for Men in Black 3 ; released in 2012, the third installment received positive reviews and became the highest-grossing film in the series worldwide. In 2007, his Right Coast production company has been signed with Sony. His memoir , Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother: Memoirs of

760-569: The NSA head for targeting Simon, demands that Kudrow announce on national TV that the Mercury Encryption Project is a failure, and kicks him for trying to justify his crimes on grounds of protecting American spies. Under Art's suggestion, Jordan arranges for Simon to go into the Witness Protection Program, but Kudrow, unwilling to reveal his failure and determined to kill Simon, forcibly takes charge of

800-570: The Train (1987) and Rob Reiner on When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and Misery (1990). Sonnenfeld gained his first work as a director from Paramount Pictures on The Addams Family , a box-office success released in November 1991. Its sequel, Addams Family Values (1993), was not as successful at the box office, but he received critical acclaim for his fourth directorial outing, Get Shorty (1995). Produced by Jersey Films and based on

840-581: The Witness Protection while revealing to Lomax, the FBI Special Agent in charge, that Jordan forged the witness protection documents. However, unknown to Kudrow, Tommy shows the carbon paper evidence to Lomax and confirms that the fingerprint markings on it were Pedranski's, validating the evidence against Kudrow. Stacey and Simon leave for the pick-up point at the top of a skyscraper, where Kudrow and Burrell prepare to take Simon away on

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880-408: The action hero as well as anyone in Hollywood, this particular outing leaves him marooned in situations that are characterized by too little tension and too much nonsense." Bruce Willis received the 1999 Golden Raspberry Award as Worst Actor for his performance (as well as for Armageddon and The Siege ). Miko Hughes won the category of Best Performance in a Feature Film—Leading Young Actor at

920-472: The boy and his parents, Martin and Jenny. Posing as a police detective, Burrell murders both Simon's mother and father, but is unable to find Simon himself. Upon finding that Martin dialed 911 before he died, Burrell stages a murder/suicide between him and his wife Jenny before exiting the Lynch residence. Shayes serves as his getaway driver. Jeffries is sent to investigate the crime scene and finds Simon in

960-415: The building, fatally shooting both James and the thieves. Art confronts his superior Hartley, punching him when the latter says they must answer to Washington. As a result of his outburst, Jeffries is demoted to desk duty. Years later, a nine-year-old autistic savant named Simon Lynch is given a sophisticated puzzle book by his teacher. Simon quickly solves a particular puzzle and phones a number encoded in

1000-464: The characters on the screen strain helplessly against the requirements of the formula." James Berardinelli rated it one and a half out of four stars, saying: "The script for Mercury Rising is exceptionally tiresome and hard-to-swallow. ... Once again, certain standby plot elements – the high-level government conspiracy and the maverick law enforcement agent – are recycled, and not to good effect. While Bruce Willis can play

1040-571: The code and Art is able to talk to Crandell and Pedranski. As Crandell arranges a meeting at the Wrigley Building by the next morning, Art goes to the meeting, leaving Simon under the care of a woman in a coffee shop, Stacey Siebring, who later agrees to help Art take care of Simon. Crandell tells Jeffries about Mercury and Kudrow, but is shot dead by Burrell before he can reveal everything. Pedranski, having learned Crandell's fate, tries to reveal Kudrow's unlawful actions by writing letters on

1080-408: The condition generally have a neurodevelopmental condition , such as autism , or have experienced a brain injury . About half of cases are associated with autism, and these individuals may be known as autistic savants . The other half often have some form of central nervous system injury or disease. While the condition usually becomes apparent in childhood, some cases develop later in life. It

1120-490: The criteria for a savant skill, defined as a skill or power "at a level that would be unusual even for 'normal' people". As many as 50 cases of sudden or acquired savant syndrome have been reported. Males diagnosed with savant syndrome outnumber females by roughly 6:1 (in Finland ), slightly higher than the sex ratio disparity for autism spectrum disorders of 4.3:1. The term idiot savant ( French for "learned idiot")

1160-453: The current time down to the minute. Down noted that they were all male, none had a family history of similar talents, and that the extraordinary memory was usually associated with "very great defect of reasoning power". The term idiot savant was later described as a misnomer because not all reported cases fit the definition of idiot, originally used for a person with a very severe intellectual disability . The term autistic savant  

1200-443: The day of the week for any given date with speed and accuracy, or recall personal memories from any given date . Advanced memory is the key "superpower" in savant abilities. A calendrical savant (or calendar savant ) is someone who – despite having an intellectual disability – can name the day of the week of a date, or vice versa, on a limited range of decades or certain millennia. The rarity of human calendar calculators

1240-445: The edge and to his death. Art and Siebring later visit Simon, now living with foster parents, at his school. Simon embraces Art as a welcome friend, having accepted him as a person he trusts. Barry Sonnenfeld was initially slated to direct the film, but due to commitments to Men in Black dropped out and was replaced with Harold Becker. Prior to Bruce Willis being cast, Nicolas Cage and George Clooney were also considered for

Mercury Rising - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-537: The fantasy novel Gil's All Fright Diner in partnership with DreamWorks Animation . He is also developing a sitcom for ABC , Funny in Farsi , based on the book of the same name . In 2012, it was stated that he was appointed to direct Lore , an adaptation based on the comic by T.P. Louise and Ashley Wood of the same name. But, in 2013, Indie director Dave Green has signed on to replace Barry Sonnenfeld as director, Sonnenfeld will take part as executive producer on

1320-420: The film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four, writing: " Mercury Rising is about the most sophisticated cryptographic system known to man, and about characters considerably denser than anyone in the audience. Sitting in the dark, our minds idly playing with the plot, we figure out what they should do, how they should do it, and why they should do it, while

1360-533: The film grossed $ 32,935,289 in the United States and $ 60,172,000 internationally for a total of $ 93,107,289. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 21% based on reviews from 57 critics with an average rating of 4.37/10. The consensus states: " Mercury Rising lays the action on thick, but can never find a dramatic pulse to keep viewers – or Bruce Willis – engaged with its maudlin story." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave

1400-560: The film was a critical and financial success. In 1998, Jon Peters asked him to direct Wild Wild West (1999). Starring Smith and Kevin Kline , the film was a critical and financial flop. He also directed the comedy Big Trouble (2002), after which he made his most successful film sequel to that point, Men in Black II (2002). He is also a contributing editor for Esquire . He also co-produced (alongside his partner Barry Josephson )

1440-635: The lead. Mercury Rising was released for VHS and DVD on September 15, 1998, followed by LaserDisc on September 22. The Collector's Edition and DTS versions for DVD were released in 1999. A Blu-ray with Multi-Format was released on September 14, 2010, and the Double Feature with the film and The Jackal was also released for Blu-ray on March 22, 2011. The film earned $ 10,104,715 in its opening weekend in 2,386 theaters, ranking in third place behind Lost in Space and Titanic . Altogether,

1480-450: The solution. This call reaches two National Security Agency cryptographers, Dean Crandell and Leo Pedranski, who created the new cypher Simon has cracked. Pedranski and Crandell report the situation to their boss, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kudrow, who severely rebukes the pair for their unauthorized actions, describing Simon and his abilities as a national security threat. Two assassins, Peter Burrell and Shayes, are sent by Kudrow to terminate

1520-417: Was also used as a description of the disorder. Like idiot savant , the term came to be considered a misnomer because only half of those who were diagnosed with savant syndrome were autistic. Upon realization of the need for accuracy of diagnosis and dignity towards the individual, the term savant syndrome became widely accepted terminology. Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953)

1560-429: Was first used to describe the condition in 1887 by John Langdon Down , who is known for his description of Down syndrome . Down described approximately ten cases of youth he had known with unusual mental powers, like "verbal adhesion" (eg. memorizing books read once), photographic memory for artistic drawing or model-building or music, autobiographical memory, arithmetic & calendrical calculation, & always knowing

1600-520: Was unhurt. Producer As cinematographer Acting roles As cinematographer He is working on new projects, among them include Things a Man Should Never Do Past 30 : a single-camera comedy from executive producer /director Sonnenfeld, the Tannenbaum Company and Sony Pictures Television . The project mostly is based on the personal experiences of Esquire writer David Katz and Esquire editor at large A. J. Jacobs . The show

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