Rising Sun (1993)

This 1993 film, starring Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes, centers on the world of corporate Japan in Los Angeles

Summary

-Los Angeles police detectives Web Smith and John Connor investigate the murder of an escort girl in the boardroom of a Japanese-owned corporation in Japan. They must act as the liaison between the investigating officer Tom Graham and the Japanese executives

Cast

-Sean Connery: Capt. John Connor

-Wesley Snipes: Lt. Webster "Web" Smith

-Harvey Keitel: Lt. Tom Graham

-Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa: Eddie Sakamura

-Kevin Anderson: Bob Richmond

-Mako: Yoshida-san

-Ray Wise: Senator John Morton

-Stan Egi: Ishihara

-Stan Shaw: Phillips

-Tia Carrere: Jingo Asakuma

-Tatjana Patitz: Cheryl Lynn Austin

Did You Know?

-Michael Crichton, who wrote the book this film is based on, wrote the character of John Connor with Sean Connery in mind. In fact, the name "John Connor" is an Anglicized version of the name "Sean Connery"

-Writer / director Philip Kaufman believed the lead role should go to a black man, which led to disagreements with author Michael Crichton and crew member Michael Backes

-Shelley Michelle was the woman lying nude on the floor while Eddie Sakamura (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) ate sushi off of her body. She said that scene took a few days to shoot, spending hours laying on the floor completely naked. On the first day, she noticed crew members kept looking at her. It stopped after a while because she thought they had gotten used to seeing her. Real SWAT team members were used to raid the place. They snuck looks at her, but it didn't bother her. When they bust through the windows, real glass was used. She was worried about being cut with the glass, but thankfully never got cut

-The red car Eddie drives is an American-made Vector V8, a supercar that can hit speeds of 242 mph

-When Smith and Connor go to Sakamura's house, they are confronted by two body guards, who proceed to tell them that Sakamura is not available and that they are also black belts in karate. Connor's response is "But of course you are." This is a nod to the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. It's from the scene where James Bond meets Plenty O'Toole and she says "Hi, I'm Plenty." And James responds "But of course you are."

-At the country club, Senator Morton says "If the battle can't be won, don't fight it." This is a quote taken from The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Ironically, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Wesley Snipes would star in The Art of War in 2000, based on Sun Tzu's book

-Mako and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa appeared together in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor