ing the film as both director and star. His power as an actor has been considerable for many years, and the great success of his Dirty Harry films in particular made him a bankable star. As a director, he has produced a number of films over the years that have made a good deal of money, and more recently he has extended himself into more difficult material that has also been financially successful, such as Unforgiven and The Bridges of Madison County. It is clear that his participation in the production of Absolute Power had much to do with getting it made and with attracting the supporting cast that served the film so well.
The film thus has several of the elements necessary to gain studio financing--it has a major star attached, a story derived from a best-selling novel, and is in a genre that is favored because it attracts audiences. Additionally, the film as it proceeded attracted several more actors with a strong following and a good track record--Gene Hackman, Ed
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