Sydney Pollack's 1993 thriller The Firm was the first in a long series of mega-hits based on the literary production of John Grisham. Grisham, for those unfamiliar, was a lawyer-turned-writer who authored many super-selling legal thrillers during the 1990s, including "The Pelican Brief," "The Client," "The Chamber," " A Time to Kill," and "Jury to Escape." There was a time when no one was at the airport without a Grisham novel in hand. Most of Grisham's books were about a young, seasoned lawyer, new to the profession, who uncovers a vast legal conspiracy. To date, Grisham has written around 50 novels and four non-fiction books, and many of his biggest hits have been adapted into equally successful films.

Pollock's The Firm was made for $42 million and starred Tom Cruise as Mitch McDeer, a recent law graduate who discovers a money-laundering and tax-fraud scheme — and possible violence — connected to the firm he hires for. It boasted an impressive cast including Holly Hunter, Ed Harris, Gene Tripplehorn, Hal Holbrook, Wilford Brimley, Gary Busey and David Strathearn. Gene Hackman appeared as a character named Avery Tolar who served as Mitch's mentor at the titular firm. "The Firm" grossed over $270 million. Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $590 million today. It was the fifth highest-grossing film of that year, behind Jurassic Park, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Runaway, and Schindler's List.

Hackman plays a significant role in The Firm, but his name does not appear on the poster. From a publicity point of view, this was an odd choice. Why not sell the fact that your movie has an actor of Hackman's stature? Hackman's name appears to have been left out of The Firm's publicity materials due to last-minute casting and a messy contract deal. The story was covered by a 1993 article in the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Times noted that Hackman was not the original choice to play Avery in The Firm. The filmmakers actually hoped to reverse the gender of the character from the book and cast Meryl Streep. Streep was still part of the project when production officially began, but John Grisham voiced his objections. He did not want Streep in the role, feeling that Avery should remain a male character. Hackman was brought in as a replacement, late in the production process.

However, Hackman's late arrival caused a bit of a publicity stunt. Cruise, the undisputed star of "The Firm," has already negotiated with Paramount to have his name appear first on posters, billboards and other advertising materials. A look at the poster it really reveals that his name is prominently displayed at the top. However, Hackman also wanted billing above the title, as he felt he was more or less Cruise's co-star. A publicist said at the time that "this is a city of precedents and (Mr. Hackman is) so firmly set above the title, why should he be below the title?"

But it appears that Hackman was denied his request by Paramount due to poor timing. Hackman's representative noted that “he came on board late after they started shooting, and was offered the role after they did a marketing plan built around Tom. He had the choice to say "no" or resolve some other billing situation. "

Instead of forcing the issue, Hackman simply asked that his name be completely removed from any publicity materials. In the film itself, Hackman is second in both the opening and closing credits. But his name does not appear anywhere in the advertisement for "The Firm". The LA Times article was written to convince the audience that yes, Gene Hackman is indeed in The Firm.

Hackman went on to appear in the John Grisham adaptations The Chamber in 1996 and Runaway Jury in 2003. He was on the posters of both.