Casting

There was unanimous and enthusiastic agreement that Jodie Foster was the solitary choice to play Dr. Ellie Arroway. Druyan remembers, "Carl's and my first meeting with Jodie was an unforgettable experience. She flew up to Seattle to talk with us about who Ellie was. It was so thrilling because we had never imagined anyone else but Jodie playing Ellie. We knew she would have that compelling sense of intelligence, of independence, of courage and a willingness to stand up for her ideas. Once we met Jodie and saw how thoughtful and how intellectually curious she was, it was a confirmation of what we had hoped."

Foster remembers, "There are times in your life where you meet somebody who has a particularly powerful impact on your life. I had one of those great moments when I met Carl, where we sat down and three hours went by and it seemed like ten minutes. I know what I do in my work, which is also true for Carl and Annie, is to try in my very imperfect way to hope that people will accept what I do, and that they will get better instead of worse. That's very much a part of what his work was about, and a lot of what our conversations were about."

Jodie Foster first read a draft of "Contact" several years ago and admits she became somewhat obsessed with the story of an impassioned astronomer who, despite the scorn of her professional peers, holds ardently to her belief that the world will someday receive an intelligent extraterrestrial transmission.

"There are so many things about Ellie that I love," says Foster. "She is in some ways a prodigy, which means she stands on this side of our generation and says, 'No, two plus two equals five.' You have to wade through the fact that everybody's going to laugh at you, that nobody's going to have any respect for you, and that you have to believe consistently and independently that what you're going for is more important," Foster concludes.

Orphaned in her childhood, Ellie's life and professional pursuits are lonely ones, which are her deliberate choices. Zemeckis explains, "Because Ellie loses her parents as a young child, she throws her whole being into science. She's looking out into the universe for some answers through meticulous and realistic science. Without sounding too melodramatic, she's searching for something."

Screenwriter Michael Goldenberg views Ellie's passion and loneliness as a necessary complexity for bringing her character to life.

"Ellie is someone who grapples with the line between passion and obsession and the dangers of using your passion in your work and not dealing with the other aspects of your life. She looks out as a way of avoiding looking in," he says.

Zemeckis concurs, "I can't imagine another actress who can bring both the emotion and the intellect to the character. She is able to play someone who is a brilliant scientist and also a complete human being. Jodie grounds the movie in an emotional place where the audience is able to identify and comprehend a strange, fantastic story."

With Foster as Ellie, the filmmakers found the actress who could espouse the story's humanist views filtered through the logical mind of a scientist. The dramatic conflict between science and religion so thoroughly explored in the novel comes into Ellie's life in the form of Palmer Joss, a charismatic spiritual leader. Ellie and Palmer find themselves drawn to one another, yet unable to span the wide chasm that exists in their seemingly exclusive and passionately-held beliefs.

"Palmer is a mix of a New Age spiritual leader with the folk truth of a Bruce Springsteen. There's an obvious physical and romantic attraction between Palmer and Ellie, even though their ideologies are completely at opposites," says the director.

For the role of Palmer Joss, filmmakers cast Matthew McConaughey, who had recently completed a star-making performance in "A Time to Kill," playing a lawyer fervently committed to freeing his client.

Zemeckis says, "Matthew brings a great relish to his role as well as a very serious talent. He has an incredible ability to ground his work in reality and find the truth in his dialogue as it relates to his character's story."

For McConaughey, the key to "Contact" lies in the tension between fact and belief, in the questions both raised and answered by faith. He states, "I think the film is about science and God, the likenesses and the differences. My character believes in God. There are obvious doubts there because you can't prove anything. Religion doesn't have a formula, whereas in science and technology, you can prove it, it's right there -- a to b to c."

Foster adds, "But the great thing 'Contact' does is tell you religion isn't on the other side. We are all involved in the same quest, which is to find out about our origins. The idea of the question of wanting to know is the same one for both scientists and people of religions."

"The story really takes a look at the common ground between science and religion, where they differ and what they share. Ultimately, both of these characters have something to learn from each other," agrees writer Goldenberg.

Many factions and groups come into play once Ellie alerts the world that she has received "the message" -- as the extraterrestrial signal comes to be called. The world's response is as varied as its population, and a myriad of characters vie to be the single voice of reason in the global cacophany that ensues. Filmmakers assembled a first-rate ensemble cast to give each viewpoint a particular voice.

Two-time Academy Award nominee James Woods portrays National Security Advisor Michael Kitz. Woods says a man like Kitz is quite believable as a likely participant if such an event took place.

"One of the strengths of the movie is that everyone would respond differently to the notion that there might be intelligent life in outer space. Each one of the points of view is a reasonable one," says Woods. "My character is understandably concerned that it's quite possible these aliens might not necessarily have the most benevolent intentions."

While Kitz is not a supporter of Ellie's, she does find much-needed assistance from an eccentric billionaire named S.R. Hadden, played by John Hurt. Stricken with a terminal illness and obsessed with making a historic contribution before his demise, Hadden becomes a key ally for Ellie in her search.

"He can provide the money. It's really as simple as that," says Hurt. "Anybody that powerful has made many enemies over the years, so in some ways, he needs an ally as much as she needs his money. Ellie is absolutely the right person to make things work for him."

The character who seems the most interested in making things work for himself is David Drumlin, the President's national science advisor and former mentor to Ellie. Tom Skerritt gets an opportunity to play a role unlike any he's played in the past.

"Drumlin represents extreme science -- science for technological advancement," says Skerritt. "He's a very ambitious guy who moves through the power ranks by saying and doing what those in power want."

William Fichtner portrays Dr. Kent Clark, a lifetime colleague of Ellie's, whose nurturing and support of her continue to foster her zealous pursuit of knowledge. Fichtner comments, "Since the loss of her father, Ellie fills those parts of herself that are missing with her pursuit of science. All of the people in her life contribute to that drive. Kent has always been there for her, professionally and personally. In some ways, I substitute for her father, whether she is cognizant of that or not."

Ellie's father Ted is played by David Morse. He is the first source of Ellie's love and the one who instills in her the passionate quest that consumes her adult life. Morse says, "Ted is Ellie's first best friend. Because he's an English teacher, his love for the universe comes from a literary point of view. He provides a bigger view of the universe for her than just one of pure science. He opens her mind up to limitless possibilities."

Making sure everyone's opinions are heard and protecting the Oval Office is the responsibility of Rachel Constantine, a high level advisor to the President of the United States. Academy Award-nominee Angela Bassett portrays this strong and devoted woman, who must attempt to interpret the meaning of the message for all the world while keeping its negative impact under control.

"There's a part of Rachel that is a cheerleader for Ellie," Bassett says. "But, as a woman who had to earn the position she holds, Rachel also isn't going to let Ellie slide. If anything, she's going to make it a little bit more difficult so that when Ellie rises to the challenge, everyone will know just exactly how much she's worth."

Rob Lowe plays Richard Rank, the right-wing leader of a conservative religious coalition. Lowe recalls watching conservative coalition leader Ralph Reed on "Nightline" and assuring his wife he would portray a figure like Reed someday. Unbelievably, the next day Zemeckis called with an offer for the role of Rank.

"The idea that extraterrestrial contact is made could put everyone's beliefs in terms of the Bible into question and be incredibly threatening to organized religion," says Lowe. "My character wants to make sure that his interest in maintaining the status quo is met."

©1997 Warner Bros.