James Woods plays Michael Kitz, the National Security Advisor, a hostile man and a far more evil villain than Woods' other summer role, Hades. In addition to casting Rob Lowe, there are a few other inside jokes in the movie. When Ellie first meets Palmer Joss, she describes Venus' greenhouse effect, which just happens to be Sagan's Doctoral Thesis. Later, as Hadden runs through the highlights of Ellie's life, he points out that she turned down a teaching position at Harvard. The same Harvard that denied Sagan tenure.
Contact works on so many different levels that there is something in it for all audiences.
I recommend it to everyone. See it and you'll agree that even people who don't normally go in for SF films will really enjoy the movie. Bad science fiction films give him a rash.