 volcano is a 1997 disaster movie directed by mick jackson and produced by andrew z. davis, neal h. moritz and lauren shuler donner. the storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by jerome armstrong and billy ray. the film features tommy lee jones, anne heche, and don cheadle. jones is cast as the head of the los angeles county office of emergency management (lac oem) which has complete authority in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. his character attempts to divert the path of a dangerous lava flow through the streets of los angeles following the formation of a volcano. a joint collective effort to commit to the film's production was made by the film studios of 20th century fox, moritz original and shuler donner/donner productions. it was commercially distributed by 20th century fox. volcano explores civil viewpoints, such as awareness, evacuation and crisis prevention. although the film used extensive special effects, it failed to receive any award nominations from mainstream motion picture organizations for its production merits. volcano premiered in theaters nationwide in the united states on april 25, 1997 grossing $49,323,468 in domestic ticket receipts, on a $90 million budget. it earned an additional $73.5 million in business through international release to top out at a combined $122,823,468 in gross revenue. despite its release and recognition, dante's peak (which was released 2 months before) gained more commercial success than volcano. it was also met with mixed critical reviews before its initial screening in cinemas. the region 1 code widescreen edition of the film featuring special features was released on dvd in the united states on march 9, 1999. ==plot== an earthquake strikes the city of los angeles. mike roark (tommy lee jones), the head of the city's office of emergency management, insists, passionately, on coming to work to help out with the crisis, even though 
1990s_action_thriller_films 1997_films 20th_Century_Fox_films American_action_thriller_films American_disaster_films English-language_films Film_scores_by_Alan_Silvestri Films_directed_by_Mick_Jackson Films_set_in_Los_Angeles,_California Films_shot_in_Los_Angeles,_California Rail_transport_films Works_about_natural_disasters