Trivia for
The Hurricane (1999) More at IMDbPro »

• Director Norman Jewison showed the film uncompleted at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival, without credits or proper color. He had been working on the movie the night before it was shown, and submitted it to the festival with the film still splinted together in hundreds of pieces. Before showing the movie he said to the eager audience, "I'm so nervous that the splints may fall apart."
  
  
• Some of the plot and character points fictionalized or ignored include: - Carter was actually convicted of three muggings and served four years in prison prior to his murder trial - Carter and Lisa Peters eventually married and later divorced - In reality, there was no Det. Della Pesca - Carter did not give a speech in the courtroom when his conviction was overturned and Lesra was not in attendance - Carter was actually released from prison for 4 years between his two trial convictions - Carter was dishonorably discharged from the military after four court-martials (after just 21 months' service)
  
  
• Denzel Washington trained for over a year with a boxing coach.
  
  
• Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter was actually discharged from the military after four courts martial (after just 21 months' service), though the movie shows him as a returning hero.
  
  
• The real Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter is only 5'8" and 155 pounds, being about 4 inches shorter and nearly 40 pounds lighter than Denzel Washington (even when the actor slimmed down to play Hurricane). In actuality, Washington (and the actors who play his opponents in the ring) classify as heavyweights.
  
  
• The picture of Malcolm X in Hurricane's cell is actually a picture of Denzel Washington as Malcolm X from the movie Malcolm X (1992).
  
  
• Joey Giardello sued the film's producers for libel over the depiction of his fight with Carter. The case was settled out of court and Jewison agreed to make a statement on the DVD version that, "Giardello no doubt was a great fighter."
  
  

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