Read more about Joe Miller at: Wikipedia Official Site: Sony Pictures Philadelphia is a 1993 American legal drama film directed and produced by Jonathan Demme, written by Ron Nyswaner, and starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. Filmed on location in its namesake city, it tells the story of attorney Andrew Beckett (Hanks) who comes to ask a personal injury attorney, Joe Miller (Washington), to help him sue his former employer, who fired him after discovering he was gay and that he had AIDS. The cast also features Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas, and Joanne Woodward. Philadelphia is one of the first mainstream Hollywood films not only to explicitly address HIV/AIDS and homophobia, but also to portray gay people in a positive light. It premiered in Los Angeles on December 14, 1993 in a benefit for the AIDS Project, and opened in limited release on December 22, before expanding into wide release on January 14, 1994. It grossed $206.7 million worldwide, becoming the 9th highest-grossing film of 1993. The film was positively received by critics for its screenplay and the performances of Hanks and Washington. For his performance as Andrew Beckett, Hanks won Best Actor at the 66th Academy Awards, while the song "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen won Best Original Song. Nyswaner was also nominated for the Best Original Screenplay, but lost to Jane Campion for The Piano. Andrew Beckett is a senior associate at the largest corporate law firm in Philadelphia. He conceals his homosexuality and his status as an AIDS patient from others in the office. A partner in the firm notices a lesion on Beckett's forehead. Although Beckett attributes the lesion to a racquetball injury, it indicates Kaposi's sarcoma, an AIDS-defining condition. No Regular Play Records Available No Fantasy Draft Records Available |