Trivia / Judgment Night

• Box Office Bomb: Budget: $21 million. Gross: $12,136,938.
• Direct to Video: Happened in the UK.
• Executive Meddling:
  • Screenwriter Kevin Jarre wrote the original script around the late 80s, which was more darker and more violent than the final product. He then sold the script to producer Lawrence Gordon in January 1990. It was then moved from studio to studio, constantly being rewritten. People who read Jarre's script noted not a single word from it made the final film. By the time it finally went into production, it had been rewritten so much, only Lewis Colick was the sole credited writer.
  • Composer Alan Silvestri originally made an electronic synth soundtrack from the film, which was rejected by director Stephen Hopkins, who wanted a more orchestral soundtrack, just like Silvestri did for Predator 2 (in which both Silvestri and Hopkins worked on). Three tracks of the rejected score can be heard on the Intrada score album (the 1993 soundtrack album had no Silvestri on it), which can be viewed here. Also, the theatrical trailer of the film has some bits of the original soundtrack.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Both Tom Cruise and Christian Slater turned down the lead role. In fact, Emilio Estevez was low on the list of actors the filmmakers wanted. By the time he was cast, it was a situation where if he wasn't, the studio would have pulled the plug on the production. As a result, Estevez got a big pay day, receiving $4 million for his role.
  • According to Stephen Hopkins, he wanted John Travolta in the lead role and Kevin Spacey in the main villain role; other actors, including Ray Liotta, Samuel L. Jackson and Christian Slater were either offered or had turned down roles in the film.

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