Kate's recovery. Detective Frank visits briefly, whereupon Whitney suggests to Kate that Frank join them for supper sometime. Cast Clint Eastwood as Luther Whitney Gene Hackman as President Alan Richmond Ed Harris as Detective Seth Frank Laura Linney as Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Kate Whitney Scott Glenn as Secret Service Agent Bill Burton Dennis Haysbert as Secret Service Agent Tim Collin Judy Davis as Presidential Chief of Staff Gloria Russell E. G. Marshall as Walter Sullivan Melora Hardin as Christy Sullivan Kenneth Welsh as Sandy Lord Penny Johnson as Laura Simon Richard Jenkins as Michael McCarty Mark Margolis as Red Brandsford Production The worldwide book and film rights to the novel were sold for a reported $5 million. William Goldman was hired to write the screenplay in late 1994. He worked on several drafts through 1995, which he later described in his memoir Which Lie Did I Tell? When Eastwood first heard of the book being turned into a film, he liked the basic plot and the characters, but disliked that most of those he considered interesting were killed off. He requested that Goldman make sure that "everyone the audience likes doesn't get killed off." Absolute Power was filmed between June and August 1996. Among the Washington, D.C. locations used for filming was the apartment of journalist Christopher Hitchens. Reception Critical reception Absolute Power was met with mixed reviews from critics. In her review in The New York Times, Janet Maslin gave it a mixed review, writing, "Mr. Eastwood directs a sensible-looking genre film with smooth expertise, but its plot is quietly berserk." Maslin goes on to write, "Mr. Eastwood's own performance sets a high-water mark for laconic intelligence and makes the star seem youthfully spry by joking so much about his age." On the aggregate reviewer web site Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a "Rotten" 56% rating from top film critics based on 57 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Absolute Power collapses under its preposterous plotting despite an all-star cast and Clint Eastwood's deft direction." Box office The film was not a box office success domestically, grossing $16,770,220 on its opening weekend. The film earned a total domestic box office gross of $50,068,310, and $82,007,168 worldwide. Soundtrack The soundtrack to Absolute Power was released on March 11, 1997. References Citations Bibliography External links 1997 films 1997 action thriller films 1997 crime thriller films 1990s English-language films 1990s political thriller films