Hardcore

Hardcore is a 1979 American neo-noir thriller crime-drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, and Dick Sargent. Its plot follows a conservative Midwestern businessman whose teenage daughter goes missing in California. With the help of a prostitute, his search leads him into the illicit subculture of pornography and, later, snuff films. Schrader had previously written the screenplay for Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976), and began developing Hardcore with executive producer John Milius the same year for Warner Bros. After Warner bought out Schrader's contract and took control of the project, Warren Beatty became attached as the star and producer of the film. Clashes between Beatty and Schrader resulted in Beatty dropping out of the production, after which Scott was cast in the lead role. The film was shot on location in several California cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, as well as in Schrader's hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Hardcore was released in February 1979 by Columbia Pictures. Plot In November 1977 Jake Van Dorn is a prosperous local businessman in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who has strong Calvinist convictions. A single parent, Van Dorn is the father of a seemingly quiet, conservative teenaged girl, Kristen, who inexplicably disappears when she goes on a church-sponsored trip to Bellflower, California. With the help of his brother-in-law, Wes, Van Dorn hires Andy Mast, an eccentric private investigator in Los Angeles, to locate Kristen.