Phenomenon is a
1996The year 1996 in film involved some significant events. Major releases this year included Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Independence Day, Twister, Scream, Jerry Maguire and Madonna's Evita.-Events:...
dramaA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves,...
,
romanceWhile most films have some aspect of romance between characters a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central plot revolves around the romantic involvement of the story's protagonists. Common themes include the characters making decisions based on a newly-found romantic...
, and
fantasy filmFantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap....
written by
Gerald Di PegoGerald Di Pego is an American screenwriter and producer.-Feature Film Screenplays:*W , Cinerama, 1974*Sharky's Machine, Orion, 1981*Phenomenon, Buena Vista, 1996...
, directed by
Jon TurteltaubJonathan Charles "Jon" Turteltaub is an American film director and producer. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the USC School of Cinematic Arts...
, and starring
John TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. He first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
,
Kyra SedgwickKyra Minturn Sedgwick is an American actress. In 2007, Sedgwick won Best Actress for lead role in a dramatic TV series at the Golden Globes for her role in The Closer.-Early life:...
,
Forest WhitakerForest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. Whitaker won an Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland. Whitaker has also won a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA...
, and
Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards....
.
In the film, an amiable, small-town
everymanIn literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
is inexplicably transformed into a
geniusA genius is a person, a body of work, or a singular achievement of surpassing excellence. More than just originality, creativity, or intelligence, genius is associated with achievement of insight which has transformational power. A work of genius fundamentally alters the expectations of its...
with telekinetic powers. The original music score is composed by
Thomas NewmanThomas Montgomery Newman is an American film score composer. Throughout his career, Newman has been nominated for ten Academy Awards for his work.-Life and career:...
. However, it included
I Have The Touch by
Peter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English musician and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. More recently he has focused on producing and promoting world music and pioneering...
and
Change the World"Change the World" is a song written by Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy and Wayne Kirkpatrick which was recorded by Eric Clapton with backing by Babyface for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Phenomenon. The song won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year , as well as Best Male Pop Vocal...
by
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
and Babyface. It was filmed in
AuburnAuburn is a city in the county seat of Placer County, California, United States. The current population is 13,106 as of March 2009, according to city signs. It is well-known for its California Gold Rush history. One of its most famous citizens was the poet and short-story writer Clark Ashton Smith,...
,
ColfaxColfax is a city in Placer County, California, at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and State Route 174. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,496 at the 2000 census. The town is named in honor of Vice President Schuyler...
,
DavisDavis is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to estimates published by the US Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 62,724 in 2007 . It is the largest city in Yolo...
,
SacramentoSacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive Central Valley. With a 2007 estimated population of 460,242, it is the seventh-largest...
,
Santa RosaSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. As of January 1, 2008, the population of Santa Rosa was approximately 161,496 residents...
,
Sonoma CountySonoma County, located on the northern coast of California, is one of the northernmost counties of the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area, U.S. Its population as of July 2008 is estimated at 466,741 by the United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Its population at the 2000...
, and
Treasure IslandTreasure Island is an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland. It is connected by a small isthmus to Yerba Buena Island. It was created in 1936 & 1937, from fill dredged from the bay, for the Golden Gate International Exposition...
, all in
Northern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose , Sacramento , as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern California coast, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada...
.
Two years later, Travolta and Duvall were paired up once more by
Touchstone PicturesTouchstone Pictures, established in 1984, is one of several alternate film labels of The Walt Disney Company. Its releases typically feature more mature themes than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner....
and
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
as Jan Schlichtman and Jerome Facher in the 1998 film,
A Civil Action.
George Malley (
John TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. He first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
) is an amiable auto mechanic whose "everyman" life is transformed by a strange flash of light he observes on the evening of his 37th birthday.
Over the course of the following days, George starts to experience an
extraordinary form of genius-level intelligenceA polymath is a person whose expertise fills a significant number of subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply refer to someone who is very knowledgeable...
, rapidly absorbing vast amounts of information, formulating new, revolutionary ideas, and even exhibiting
telekineticThe term psychokinesis , also known as telekinesis , sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term coined by publisher Henry Holt to refer to the direct influence...
abilities.
George tries to use his new intelligence
for the good of his communityAltruism is selfless concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Sikhism, and many others. Also, altruism is a key aspect of many...
.
Phenomenon is a
1996The year 1996 in film involved some significant events. Major releases this year included Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Independence Day, Twister, Scream, Jerry Maguire and Madonna's Evita.-Events:...
dramaA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves,...
,
romanceWhile most films have some aspect of romance between characters a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central plot revolves around the romantic involvement of the story's protagonists. Common themes include the characters making decisions based on a newly-found romantic...
, and
fantasy filmFantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap....
written by
Gerald Di PegoGerald Di Pego is an American screenwriter and producer.-Feature Film Screenplays:*W , Cinerama, 1974*Sharky's Machine, Orion, 1981*Phenomenon, Buena Vista, 1996...
, directed by
Jon TurteltaubJonathan Charles "Jon" Turteltaub is an American film director and producer. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the USC School of Cinematic Arts...
, and starring
John TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. He first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
,
Kyra SedgwickKyra Minturn Sedgwick is an American actress. In 2007, Sedgwick won Best Actress for lead role in a dramatic TV series at the Golden Globes for her role in The Closer.-Early life:...
,
Forest WhitakerForest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. Whitaker won an Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland. Whitaker has also won a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA...
, and
Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards....
.
In the film, an amiable, small-town
everymanIn literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
is inexplicably transformed into a
geniusA genius is a person, a body of work, or a singular achievement of surpassing excellence. More than just originality, creativity, or intelligence, genius is associated with achievement of insight which has transformational power. A work of genius fundamentally alters the expectations of its...
with telekinetic powers. The original music score is composed by
Thomas NewmanThomas Montgomery Newman is an American film score composer. Throughout his career, Newman has been nominated for ten Academy Awards for his work.-Life and career:...
. However, it included
I Have The Touch by
Peter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English musician and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. More recently he has focused on producing and promoting world music and pioneering...
and
Change the World"Change the World" is a song written by Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy and Wayne Kirkpatrick which was recorded by Eric Clapton with backing by Babyface for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Phenomenon. The song won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year , as well as Best Male Pop Vocal...
by
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
and Babyface. It was filmed in
AuburnAuburn is a city in the county seat of Placer County, California, United States. The current population is 13,106 as of March 2009, according to city signs. It is well-known for its California Gold Rush history. One of its most famous citizens was the poet and short-story writer Clark Ashton Smith,...
,
ColfaxColfax is a city in Placer County, California, at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and State Route 174. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,496 at the 2000 census. The town is named in honor of Vice President Schuyler...
,
DavisDavis is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to estimates published by the US Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 62,724 in 2007 . It is the largest city in Yolo...
,
SacramentoSacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive Central Valley. With a 2007 estimated population of 460,242, it is the seventh-largest...
,
Santa RosaSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. As of January 1, 2008, the population of Santa Rosa was approximately 161,496 residents...
,
Sonoma CountySonoma County, located on the northern coast of California, is one of the northernmost counties of the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area, U.S. Its population as of July 2008 is estimated at 466,741 by the United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Its population at the 2000...
, and
Treasure IslandTreasure Island is an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland. It is connected by a small isthmus to Yerba Buena Island. It was created in 1936 & 1937, from fill dredged from the bay, for the Golden Gate International Exposition...
, all in
Northern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose , Sacramento , as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern California coast, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada...
.
Two years later, Travolta and Duvall were paired up once more by
Touchstone PicturesTouchstone Pictures, established in 1984, is one of several alternate film labels of The Walt Disney Company. Its releases typically feature more mature themes than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner....
and
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
as Jan Schlichtman and Jerome Facher in the 1998 film,
A Civil Action.
Plot summary
George Malley (
John TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. He first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
) is an amiable auto mechanic whose "everyman" life is transformed by a strange flash of light he observes on the evening of his 37th birthday.
Over the course of the following days, George starts to experience an
extraordinary form of genius-level intelligenceA polymath is a person whose expertise fills a significant number of subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply refer to someone who is very knowledgeable...
, rapidly absorbing vast amounts of information, formulating new, revolutionary ideas, and even exhibiting
telekineticThe term psychokinesis , also known as telekinesis , sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term coined by publisher Henry Holt to refer to the direct influence...
abilities.
George tries to use his new intelligence
for the good of his communityAltruism is selfless concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Sikhism, and many others. Also, altruism is a key aspect of many...
. At first local town folks are intrigued and amused by George's new abilities, but as they increase, community members gradually become afraid of him, with the only exceptions being love interest Lace Pennamin (
Kyra SedgwickKyra Minturn Sedgwick is an American actress. In 2007, Sedgwick won Best Actress for lead role in a dramatic TV series at the Golden Globes for her role in The Closer.-Early life:...
), town physician Doc Brunder (
Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards....
), and best friend Nate Pope (
Forest WhitakerForest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. Whitaker won an Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland. Whitaker has also won a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA...
). Matters are complicated further when the government begins to take an interest in his newfound genius.
While participating in a town fair, George wants to publicize his revolutionary findings to the community with the hopes to make people's lives better; instead, the townsfolk are more interested with seeing a display of his telekinesis, and a frenzied press conference ensues, overwhelming George, knocking him down. Soon after, another great flash of light appears to George and he loses consciousness. He awakens in a hospital where Dr. Brunder explains what's been causing his change. He has an
astrocytoma brain tumorAstrocytomas are cancers of the brain that originate in star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes.They account for roughly 75% of neuroepithelial tumors.-Grading:...
that has spread out like a hand, with threads of it everywhere. But, instead of destroying brain function, so far it's been stimulating it. Thus, George has more area of active brain use than anybody ever tested because of the
tentacleTentacles can refer to the elongated flexible organs that are present in some animals, especially invertebrates, and sometimes to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, they are used for feeding, feeling and grasping...
s from the tumor.
The tumor is claimed to be what caused the
dizzinessDizziness refers to an impairment in spatial perception and stability. It is considered imprecise. It can be used to mean vertigo, presyncope, disequilibrium, or for a non-specific feeling such as giddiness or foolishness....
and
illusionAn illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people....
of light experienced by George, rather than a mystical or extraterrestrial source, but this is never definitively concluded, and the telekinesis isn't explained either, leaving the viewer to speculate. As a result of the tumor, George doesn't have much time to live. Government-employed doctors propose cutting George's life even shorter by examining his brain before he can die a natural death, and argue that if he objects to their plan, the objection itself would be proof that he is mentally unfit to make such a decision, and that the government would then proceed with the examination anyway. Held against his will—allegedly just for observation, but really until the government can put its plan into action—George eventually escapes, hoping to continue his research. He hopes that seismologist Dr. Ringold (
Jeffrey DeMunnJeffrey DeMunn is an American theatre, film and television actor.DeMunn was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Violet and James DeMunn. He graduated from Union College with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He moved to England in the early 1970s, receiving theatrical training at the Old Vic Theatre...
) from UC Berkeley might continue his experiments and, ultimately, complete the research he'll never get to finish.
After returning home, George gives Nate notes which basically served as a journal and gives him some other notes to deliver to Doc Brunder. He then retrieves his scientific research and, literally, runs to Lace's house. There, he aims to give his final farewells to Lace and her children, Al and Glory (
David GallagherDavid Lee Gallagher is an American film and TV actor. He is best known for the role of Simon Camden on the long running television series 7th Heaven.-Personal life:...
and Ashley Buccille, respectively). When the children realize that George has basically returned there to die (in peace), they are emotionally overwhelmed by this and run off. George goes to them, and in one scene, comforts them by using an apple as a metaphor: no matter what, an apple will rot and decay if thrown on the ground, but if they were to take a bite out of it, the apple would become a part of them, and they would carry it with them forever. By doing this, he expresses the last wishes of a terminally ill man - that he hopes to leave those around him with some of his love and wisdom, as well as easing their sadness at his inevitable departure.
Later that day, George lays out a blanket in the shade of a tree, where he and Lace then lay down together to share a final emotional bond. Finally, George tells her that his moment of
deathDeath is the termination of the biological functions that define a living organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby. The true nature of the latter has for millennia been a central concern of the world's religious traditions and of philosophical...
is imminent. With tears in her eyes, Lace professes her love for him as he quietly dies in her loving embrace.
Dr. Ringold arrives the next morning to speak with George again, but he's too late. Lace then gives him George's incomplete research notebooks, indicating that he hoped Ringold would be able to finish the scientific work which George had started.
The movie ends at George's next birthday party with some of his friends.
Cast
- John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. He first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
- George Malley
- Kyra Sedgwick
Kyra Minturn Sedgwick is an American actress. In 2007, Sedgwick won Best Actress for lead role in a dramatic TV series at the Golden Globes for her role in The Closer.-Early life:...
- Lace Pennamin
- Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. Whitaker won an Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland. Whitaker has also won a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA...
- Nate Pope
- Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards....
- Doc Brunder
- Jeffrey DeMunn
Jeffrey DeMunn is an American theatre, film and television actor.DeMunn was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Violet and James DeMunn. He graduated from Union College with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He moved to England in the early 1970s, receiving theatrical training at the Old Vic Theatre...
- Prof. John Ringold, seismologist
- Richard Kiley
Richard Paul Kiley was an American stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for his voice work, as narrator of various documentary series, and for having played Don Quixote in the original 1965 production of the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha...
- Dr. Wellin, brain specialist
- Brent Spiner
Brent Jay Spiner is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation.-Early life:...
- Dr. Bob Niedorf
- Vyto Ruginis
Vyto Ruginis is an American Actor known for playing the vampire Russell Winters in the cult TV series Angel in its first episode City Of, as well as for his appearances in CSI, House MD, The X-Files, ER, Law & Order and other television programs....
- Ted Rhome
- Bruce A. Young
Bruce A. Young is an American television and film actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Capt. Simon Banks in the UPN sci-fi police drama The Sentinel. He also played mercenary M.B. Nash in Jurassic Park III. In addition, he played the character of Moselle, a pool player who loses to...
- FBI Agent Jack Hatch
- Michael Milhoan - Jimmy
- Sean O'Bryan - Banes
- David Gallagher
David Lee Gallagher is an American film and TV actor. He is best known for the role of Simon Camden on the long running television series 7th Heaven.-Personal life:...
- Al Pennamin
- Ashley Buccille - Glory Pennamin
- Tony Genaro - Tito
- Troy Evans
Troy Evans is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Desk Clerk Francis "Frank" Martin in the television drama series ER. He has also appeared in the movies Tiger Cruise , Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Under Siege', Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Black Dahlia, among...
- Roger
- Ellen Geer
Ellen Ware Geer is an American actress, professor, screenwriter, film director and theatre director.-Personal life:Geer was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of actors Herta Ware and Will Geer. She is currently married to children's musician Peter Alsop, and was previously married to...
- Bonnie
- James Keane - Pete
Box Office and Reception
Similarities between the words and actions of the character George and those of the
Church of ScientologyThe Church of Scientology is the largest organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination...
, a group to which John Travolta, who played George, belongs, have been remarked upon in the press. The film was a box office success earning more than $ 16,000,000 on its opening weekend debuting on third position, later climbing up to second. It finally took $ 104,636,382 domestically and $ 47,400,000 worldwide making it to approximately $ 152,000,000 worldwide.
Awards and Nominations
Travolta and Whitaker both won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for their performances in 1997. Moreover Whitaker received an Image Award. In the same year the film was nominated for a
Saturn AwardThe Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
. Travolta was nominated for a MTV Movie Award for his performance as well as for Best Kiss with
Kyra SedgwickKyra Minturn Sedgwick is an American actress. In 2007, Sedgwick won Best Actress for lead role in a dramatic TV series at the Golden Globes for her role in The Closer.-Early life:...
.
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
was nominated for his song "Change the World" and won an ASCAP Award and the BMI Film & TV Award.
Thomas NewmanThomas Montgomery Newman is an American film score composer. Throughout his career, Newman has been nominated for ten Academy Awards for his work.-Life and career:...
also received a BMI Film & TV Award for the score.
Phenomenon II
On November 1, 2003 a
television movieA television movie is a feature film that is produced for and originally distributed by a...
titled
Phenomenon II was broadcast on the
ABC NetworkThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
. It was directed by
Ken OlinKenneth Edward "Ken" Olin is an American actor, director and producer. He first became well known for his starring role on the television series Thirtysomething, and is currently a television producer and director.-Career:...
and starred
Terry O'QuinnTerrance "Terry" O'Quinn , né Quinn, is an American actor. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year." Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet, Places in the Heart and Between...
,
Jill Clayburgh-Early life:Clayburgh was born in New York City to Julia , a theatrical production secretary for David Merrick, and Albert Henry "Bill" Clayburgh, a manufacturing executive. Clayburgh's family was Jewish and upper class; she was raised in a "fashionable" neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side,...
and Christopher Shyer as George Malley.
Although it was billed as a
sequelA sequel is a work in literature, film, or other media that chronologically portrays events following those of a previous work.In many cases, the sequel continues elements of the original story, often with the same characters and settings. A sequel can lead to a series, in which key elements appear...
to the film,
Phenomenon II is actually a partial-
remakeA remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the original film, essentially retelling the original story while adding new characters and introducing a sub-plot involving the
NSAThe National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States government, administered as part of the United States Department of Defense. Created on November 4, 1952 by President Harry S...
. The open ending of the telefilm suggests that it may have served as a
pilotA television pilot is a test episode of an intended television series. It is an early step in the development of a television series, much like pilot lights or pilot studies serve as precursors to the start of larger activity, or pilot holes prepare the way for larger holes. Networks use pilots to...
for a new TV series, though a
Phenomenon series has not materialized.