Ghosts of Mississippi - wikipedia Ghosts of Mississippi Ghosts of Mississippi Theatrical release poster Directed by Rob Reiner Produced by Nicholas Paleologos Rob Reiner Andrew Scheinman Frederick M. Zollo Charles Newirth Jeff Stott Written by Lewis Colick Starring Alec Baldwin Whoopi Goldberg James Woods Craig T. Nelson Lucas Black Virginia Madsen Susanna Thompson Diane Ladd Bill Cobbs William H. Macy Music by Marc Shaiman Cinematography John Seale Edited by Robert Leighton Production company Castle Rock Entertainment Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release date December 20, 1996 ( 1996 - 12 - 20 ) Running time 130 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $36 million Box office $13,323,144 Ghosts of Mississippi is a 1996 American biographical courtroom drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg and James Woods. The plot is based on the true story of the 1994 trial of Byron De La Beckwith, the white supremacist accused of the 1963 assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. James Woods was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role of Byron De La Beckwith. The original music score was composed by Marc Shaiman and the cinematography is by John Seale. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Music 4 Reception 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Plot Medgar Evers was a black civil rights activist in Mississippi who was murdered by an assassin on June 12, 1963. It was suspected that Byron De La Beckwith, a white supremacist, was the murderer. He had been tried twice and both trials ended in hung juries. In 1989, Evers ' widow Myrlie, who had been trying to bring De La Beckwith to justice for over 25 years, believed she had what it takes to bring him to trial again. Although most of the evidence from the old trial had disappeared, Bobby DeLaughter, an assistant District Attorney, decided to help her despite being warned that it might hurt his political aspirations and despite the strain that it caused in his marriage. DeLaughter becomes primarily involved with bringing De La Beckwith to trial for the third time 30 years later. In 1994, Byron De La Beckwith was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, giving justice to the family of Medgar Evers. Cast Alec Baldwin as Bobby DeLaughter Whoopi Goldberg as Myrlie Evers James Woods as Byron De La Beckwith Virginia Madsen as Dixie DeLaughter Susanna Thompson as Peggy Lloyd Craig T. Nelson as Ed Peters Lucas Black as Burt DeLaughter Alexa Vega as Claire DeLaughter William H. Macy as Charlie Crisco Benny Bennett as Lloyd `` Benny '' Bennett ( Himself ) Diane Ladd as Grandma Caroline Moore Margo Martindale as Clara Mayfield Darrell Evers as Himself Yolanda King as Reena Evers Jerry Levine as Jerry Mitchell James Van Evers as Himself Michael O'Keefe as Merrida Coxwell Bill Smitrovich as Jim Kitchens Terry O'Quinn as Judge Hilburn Rex Linn as Martin Scott James Pickens Jr. as Medgar Evers Richard Riehle as Tommy Mayfield Bonnie Bartlett as Billie DeLaughter Brock Peters as Walter Williams Wayne Rogers as Morris Dees Bill Cobbs as Charles Evers Jerry Hardin as Grandpa Barney DeLaughter Jim Harley as Delamar Dennis Music The soundtrack of the film, with a score by Marc Shaiman, featured two versions of the Billy Taylor composition `` I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free '' -- one sung by Dionne Farris and the other by Nina Simone -- as well as numbers by Muddy Waters, Tony Bennett, Robert Johnson and B.B. King. Reception The movie received mixed reviews from critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 46 % rating. The film was not a theatrical success, making only half of its budget back. See also African - American civil rights movement ( 1954 - 68 ) in popular culture References Jump up ^ Steve McDonald, `` Marc Shaiman : Ghosts of Mississippi '', AllMusic Review. Jump up ^ `` Ghosts of Mississippi ( 1996 ) - Box Office Mojo ''. www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 04. External links Ghosts of Mississippi on IMDb Ghosts of Mississippi at AllMovie Ghosts of Mississippi at Rotten Tomatoes Ghosts of Mississippi at Box Office Mojo Ghosts of Mississippi at Virtual History Films directed by Rob Reiner This Is Spinal Tap ( 1984 ) The Sure Thing ( 1985 ) Stand by Me ( 1986 ) The Princess Bride ( 1987 ) When Harry Met Sally... ( 1989 ) Misery ( 1990 ) A Few Good Men ( 1992 ) North ( 1994 ) The American President ( 1995 ) Ghosts of Mississippi ( 1996 ) The Story of Us ( 1999 ) Alex & Emma ( 2003 ) Rumor Has It ( 2005 ) The Bucket List ( 2007 ) Flipped ( 2010 ) The Magic of Belle Isle ( 2012 ) And So It Goes ( 2014 ) Being Charlie ( 2015 ) LBJ ( 2016 ) Shock and Awe ( 2017 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ghosts_of_Mississippi&oldid=840177657 '' Categories : 1996 films English - language films 1990s drama films African - American biographical dramas American films American drama films American legal films Courtroom films Films about racism Films about activists Films about lawyers Films about miscarriage of justice Films based on actual events Films directed by Rob Reiner Films scored by Marc Shaiman Films set in Mississippi Films shot in Mississippi African - American civil rights movement ( 1954 -- 68 ) in film Castle Rock Entertainment films Columbia Pictures films Hidden categories : Pages using div col without cols and colwidth parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Italiano 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Svenska 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 8 May 2018, at 06 : 29. 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Question: what is the movie ghost of mississippi about
Answer: the true story of the 1994 trial of Byron De La Beckwith, the white supremacist accused of the 1963 assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers