Zero Effect

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Zero Effect
theatrical poster
Directed by	Jake Kasdan
Produced by	Lisa Henson Jake Kasdan Janet Yang
Written by	Jake Kasdan
Narrated by	Bill Pullman
Starring	Bill Pullman Ben Stiller Ryan O'Neal Kim Dickens Angela Featherstone
Music by	The Greyboy Allstars
Cinematography	Bill Pope
Editing by	Tara Timpone
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	January 30, 1998
Running time	116 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$5,000,000
Gross revenue	$1,980,338 (USA)

Zero Effect is a 1998 film directed by Jake Kasdan (son of famed Hollywood writer/director Lawrence Kasdan) starring Bill Pullman as 'the world's most private detective' Darryl Zero and Ben Stiller as his assistant Steve Arlo.

The film features Ryan O'Neal as Stark and Kim Dickens as Sullivan. Written by Jake Kasdan, the film is to some extent inspired by A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle.

The film was scored by The Greyboy Allstars.

Plot

Zero, a brilliant but reclusive private detective for hire, traditionally works from afar with Arlo as his representative in the field. Socially awkward and inept (but extraordinarily confident in his deductive abilities), Zero keeps himself locked in his apartment, where he composes awful songs on his guitar and subsists on a diet of tuna, Tab, pretzels, Campbell's soup, and amphetamines. Zero and Arlo are retained by Gregory Stark to investigate who is blackmailing him. During the investigation, Zero takes to the field and encounters Gloria Sullivan, an equally mysterious young woman with a possible connection to the case. Throughout the film, Arlo is torn between his loyalty to Zero and his affection for his girlfriend Jess.

Filmed in Portland, Oregon.

Cast

• Bill Pullman as Darryl Zero, detective
• Ben Stiller as Steve Arlo, Zero's assistant
• Ryan O'Neal as Gregory Stark, Zero's client, who is being blackmailed
• Kim Dickens as Gloria Sullivan; in Zero's words, "the only woman"

Soundtrack

Released in January 1998, the official soundtrack for the film included:

1. "Mystery Dance" - Elvis Costello
2. "One Dance" - Dan Bern
3. "Starbucked" - Bond
4. "Into My Arms" - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
5. "Some Jingle Jangle Morning" - Mary Lou Lord
6. "Emma J" - Brendan Benson
7. "The Method Pt. 2" - The Greyboy Allstars
8. "Drifting Along" - Jamiroquai
9. "Till You Die" - Candy Butchers
10. "Lounge" - Esthero
11. "Blackmail Drop" - The Greyboy Allstars
12. "Three Days" - Thermadore
13. "Rest My Head Against the Wall" - Heatmiser
14. "The Zero Effect" - The Greyboy Allstars

Unreleased (and not appearing in the film) was 'Zero Effect', a song that Dan Bern wrote after reading the script and contemplating the plot from Kim Dickens' character's perspective. Bern has played the song in concert and referenced its connection to the film.

Television pilot

In 2001, Kasdan attempted to resurrect the character of Daryl Zero for the NBC television network.^[1] He would share the screenwriting duties with Walon Green and direct the pilot. The series was intended to be a prequel, tracing the early adventures of Zero as he and Arlo became a team.^[1] Kasdan produced a pilot featuring Alan Cumming as Darryl Zero. NBC did not pick up the pilot, which also featured Krista Allen and Natasha Gregson Wagner.^[2]

References

External links

• Zero Effect at the Internet Movie Database
• Zero Effect at Allmovie
• Zero Effect at Rotten Tomatoes
• Zero Effect at Box Office Mojo
• Zero Effect TV Pilot at the Internet Movie Database
• Zero Effect: Tenth Anniversary of Daryl Zero (1998 - 2008)