En helt vanlig dag på jobben er en fantastisk og tragikomisk historie om et vennskap som oppstår og utvikles på absurde premisser. Samtidig er dette kanskje den mest vanvittige mediehistorien i moderne tid.

Fra wiki:

Theatrical poster
Directed by	Rob Zombie
Produced by	Malek Akkad Andy Gould Rob Zombie
Written by	Screenplay: Rob Zombie Characters by: John Carpenter Debra Hill
Starring	Malcolm McDowell Tyler Mane Sheri Moon Zombie Brad Dourif Danielle Harris Scout Taylor-Compton
Music by	Tyler Bates
Cinematography	Brandon Trost
Editing by	Glenn Garland
Studio	The Weinstein Company Dimension Films
Distributed by	Dimension Films
Release date(s)	United States August 28, 2009[1] Re-release October 30, 2009[2] United Kingdom October 9, 2009[3]
Running time	105 min.[4]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15,000,000[5]
Gross revenue	$37,524,851[6]
Preceded by	Halloween (2007)

Halloween II is a 2009 American horror film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a sequel to Zombie’s 2007 remake of Halloween (1978), and the tenth film in the Halloween film series. Picking up where Halloween ended, and then jumping ahead one year, Halloween II follows Laurie Strode as she deals with the aftermath of the previous year’s events, Dr. Loomis who is trying to capitalize on those events by publishing a new book that chronicles everything that happened, and Michael Myers as he continues his search for Laurie so that he can reunite with his sister. The film sees the return of lead cast members Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, and Tyler Mane, who portrayed Dr. Loomis, Laurie Strode, and Michael Myers in the 2007 film, respectively.

A sequel to the 2007 film was first announced at the 2008 30 Years of Terror Convention; at the time, Zombie passed on doing a sequel to his remake, feeling as though he had no energy left to make another Halloween film. Two years later, after unsuccessful attempts to draft a script for a sequel, the Weinstein brothers, Malek Akkad, and Rob Zombie, who had a renewed interest in the film, secured a deal for the director to return. For Halloween II, Zombie decided he wanted to focus more on the connection between Laurie and Michael, and the idea that they both share similar psychological problems. Zombie also wanted the sequel to be more realistic and violent than its 2007 predecessor. This time around, Zombie had trouble finding a place to include John Carpenter’s original Halloween theme music; although the score was used throughout Zombie’s 2007 film, the theme was only included with the final shot of the sequel.

Halloween II was officially released on August 28, 2009 in North America,^[1] and was met with a negative reception from critics.^[7]

Plot

In a short flashback, Deborah Myers (Sheri Moon Zombie) visits a young Michael Myers (Chase Wright Vanek) at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium where she gives Michael the gift of a white horse statuette. Michael explains that the horse reminds him of a dream he had of Deborah’s ghost, all dressed in white and leading a horse down the sanitarium halls toward Michael, telling him she was going to bring him home. Moving ahead fifteen years, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) is found wandering around in a state of shock and covered in blood after having shot Michael (Tyler Mane) until Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif) finds and takes her to the emergency room. Meanwhile, the paramedics pick up Annie Brackett (Danielle Harris) and Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell), who are still alive after their attacks by Michael, and take them to the hospital. Presumed dead, Michael’s lifeless body is loaded into a separate ambulance; when the driver wrecks the transport Michael awakens and escapes the ambulance, walking toward a vision of Deborah dressed in white and leading a white horse.

Michael appears at the hospital, and begins murdering everyone he comes across on his way to Laurie. Trapped in a security outpost at the gate, Laurie watches as Michael tears through the walls with an axe, but just as he tries to kill her Laurie wakes up from the dream. It is actually one year later and Laurie is now living with the Bracketts. Michael’s body has been missing since last Halloween—still presumed dead—and Laurie has been having recurring nightmares about the event. While Laurie deals with her trauma through therapy, Loomis has chosen to turn the event into an opportunity to write another book. Meanwhile, Michael has been seeing visions of Deborah’s ghost and a younger version of himself, who instructs him that with Halloween approaching it is time to bring Laurie home; so he sets off for Haddonfield.

As Michael travels to Haddonfield, Laurie begins having hallucinations that mirror Michael’s, which involve a ghostly image of Deborah and a young Michael in a clown costume. In addition, her hallucinations also begin to include her acting out Michael’s murders, like envisioning herself taping Annie to a chair and slitting her throat while dressed in a clown outfit—similar to how a young Michael murdered Ronnie White. While Laurie struggles with her dreams, Loomis has been going on tour to promote his new book, only to be greeted with outrage from the public who blame him for Michael’s actions and exploiting the deaths of Michael’s victims. When his book is finally released, Laurie discovers the truth: that she is really Angel Myers, Michael’s long lost sister. With the truth out, Laurie decides to go partying with her friends Mya (Brea Grant) and Harley (Angela Trimbur) to escape how she is feeling. Michael appears at the party and kills Harley, then makes his way over to the Brackett house and stabs Annie repeatedly.

When Laurie arrives, she finds Annie bloodied and dying. Michael kills Mya and then comes after Laurie, who manages to escape the house. While Laurie manages to flag down a passing motorist, Sheriff Brackett arrives home and finds his daughter dead. Before Laurie can escape, Michael kills the driver and flips the car over with Laurie in it. Michael takes the unconscious Laurie to an abandoned shed he has been camped out in. Laurie awakens to a vision of Deborah, and a young Michael, ordering her to say “I love you, mommy”. The police discover Michael’s location and surround the shed. Loomis arrives and goes into the shed to try to reason Michael into letting Laurie go. Inside, he has to inform Laurie, who believes that the younger Michael is holding her down, that no one is restraining her. Just then, Deborah instructs the older Michael that it is time to go home, and Michael grabs Loomis and begins to repeatedly slashing his face and stabbing him in the chest. Stepping in front of a window while holding Loomis’s body, Michael is shot twice by Sheriff Brackett and falls onto the spikes of some farming equipment. Apparently released of the visions, Laurie walks over and tells Michael she loves him, then she stabs him repeatedly in the chest and finally in the face. The shed door opens and Laurie walks out, wearing Michael’s mask. As she pulls the mask off, Laurie transitions to isolation in a psychiatric ward, grinning as a vision of Deborah dressed in white stands with a white horse at the end of her room.

Production

Development

In 2008, at the 30 Years of Terror Convention, Halloween producer Malek Akkad confirmed that a sequel to Rob Zombie’s 2007 film was in the works. French filmmakers Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Muary were in negotiations to direct the sequel in November 2008,^[9] but on December 15, 2008 Variety reported that Rob Zombie had officially signed on to write and direct the Halloween sequel.^[10] In an interview, Zombie expressed how the exhaustion of creating the first Halloween made him not want to come back for a sequel, but after a year of cooling down he was more open to the idea. The writer/director explained that with the sequel he was no longer bound by a sense of needing to retain any “John Carpenter-ness”, as he could do “whatever [he] wants to do”.^[11] Producer Malek Akkad said the original intention, when they believed Zombie was not returning, was to create a “normal sequel”. Akkad and his Trancus producing company hired various writers to come up drafts for a new film, but none worked. Akkad and the Weinstein brothers then turned to Bustillo and Muary, whose film Inside had recently been bought for distribution by the Weinstein Company. According to Akkad, the producers really wanted Rob to return, as Akkad felt that there was something “lost in the translation” when the French filmmakers took over the project. After his work on the 2007 remake, Zombie had earned the trust of Akkad, who informed him to ignore any rules they had set for him on the previous film. Akkad suggested that he wanted Zombie to move the franchise away from some of its established rules.^[12]

Casting

On February 2, 2009, Zombie confirmed through his official website that Tyler Mane would be returning as Michael Myers,^[13] as well as Malcolm McDowell in the role of Dr. Loomis, and Scout Taylor-Compton and Danielle Harris returning as Laurie Strode and Annie Brackett, respectively.^[14][15] Halloween II also saw the return of Sheri Moon Zombie as Deborah Myers, Michael’s mother,^[16] and Brad Dourif as Sheriff Brackett, Annie’s father.^[8] Daeg Faerch, who portrayed a young Michael Myers in the 2007 remake, was set to reprise his role for Halloween II. By the time production was getting started for the sequel Faerch had grown too big for the part. According to Zombie, the director had to recast the role, much to his own dismay, because Faerch’s physical maturity did not fit what was in the script. Although Faerch is not in the sequel, the first trailer for Halloween II contained images of Faerch, but Zombie pointed out that those images were test shots done and were not intended to be in either the trailer or the film.^[17]

The two main characters, Michael and Laurie, go through their own changes in the sequel. Taylor-Compton described her characters as having “these bipolar moments”, where her emotions are spontaneously changing from points of happiness to agitation. The actress stated that Zombie wanted to see Laurie Strode travel into “these really dark places”. Taylor-Compton clarified that when the film starts Laurie is still not aware that Michael is her older brother, and as the film progresses more and more pieces of information are given to her and she does not know how to deal with them. The actress explained that the darkness brewing inside Laurie is manifested externally, generally through her physical appearance and the clothes she chooses to wear—Zombie characterized the look as “grungy”.^[18]

Zombie clarified that after the events of Halloween, all of the characters have changed, but the sequel focuses on the emerging “insanity” from within Laurie. As the writer/director described it, Laurie and Michael are not that different psychologically, Laurie’s “insanity” just manifests itself later and to a different degree than Michael’s.^[8] Zombie further described Laurie as a “wreck”, who continually sinks lower as the film moves forward.^[19] Even Sheriff Brackett goes through his own changes. Brackett, who receives more screen time in this film, allows Laurie to move in with him and his daughter after the events of the first film. Zombie explained, “He’s old, he’s worn out, he’s just this beat-down guy with these two girls he can’t deal with.”^[20] Zombie characterized Loomis in the sequel as more of a “sellout”, who exploits the memories of those who were killed by Michael in the 2007 film. Zombie explained that he tried to channel Vincent Bugliosi into Loomis’s character for the sequel; noting that he wanted Loomis to seem more “ridiculous” this time.^[21] As for Michael Myers, the character is given almost an entirely new look for the film, which is being used, according to Taylor-Compton, as a means to illustrate a new emotion for the character as he spends much of his time trying to hide himself.^[18] Zombie pointed out that of all of the characters that return in the sequel, Michael is the only one that does not change: “All the other characters are very different. Laurie; Loomis; they’re having all kinds of problems in their life, but Michael just moves along. Michael is no different; he’s exactly the same as he was ten years old and he killed everybody [...] He has concept of the world around him, so he can never be affected by it.”^[22]

Filming

Production began on February 23, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia.^[23] Zombie acknowledged that filming in Georgia provided certain tax breaks for the company, but the real reason he chose that location was because the other locations he was planning to use were still experiencing snowy weather. For him, Georgia’s landscapes and locations provided the look that he wanted for his film.^[17] Zombie described the sequel as being very realistic and very violent.^[11] The writer/director has said that he is trying to create almost the exact opposite of what people will expect.^[24] Known for filming multiple sequences during production of his films, Zombie filmed an alternate ending to Halloween II. In the alternate ending, Loomis and Michael crash through the shed the police have surrounded, and out into the open air. As Loomis grasps at Michael’s mask, and pleads for him to stop, Michael stabs Loomis in the stomach as he tells Loomis to “Die!”.^[25]

Music

For the sequel, Zombie only used John Carpenter’s original theme music in the final scene of the film, though the director admits that he and music composer Tyler Bates did try to find other places to include it. According to Zombie, Carpenter’s music did not fit with what was happening in the film; whenever he or Bates would insert it into a scene it “just wouldn’t feel right” to the director. Zombie also utilized pop culture songs throughout the film, with “Nights in White Satin” appearing the most prominently. According to Zombie, he chose songs that he liked, and that would enhance a given scene within the film.^[22] An official soundtrack for the film was released on August 25, 2009.^[26] In addition, an album featuring the music of psychobilly band Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures is set to be released in conjunction with Halloween II on August 28, 2009. Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures is a fictional band that appears in Halloween II.^[27][28] Nan Vernon, who recorded a new version of the song “Mr. Sandman” for the end credits of 2007 remake,^[29] also performs “Love Hurts” for end credits of Halloween II.^[30]

Release

Dimension Films released Halloween II in North America on August 28, 2009 to 3,025 theaters.^[1] Following that, the film was released in the United Kingdom on October 9, 2009.^[3] Dimension re-released Halloween II in North America on October 30, 2009 to coincide with the Halloween holiday,^[2] across 1,083 theaters.^[31] The film is scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 12, 2010; a theatrical cut and an unrated version of the film will be released.^[32][33][34]

Box office

On its opening day, the film grossed an estimated $7,640,000,^[35] which is less than the $10,896,610 Zombie’s 2007 remake pulled in during the same weekend of August.^[36] By the end of its opening weekend, Halloween II had grossed $16,349,565.^[6] The film’s opening weekend earned more than the entire box office performances of Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers ($11,642,254), Halloween III: Season of the Witch ($14,400,000), and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers ($15,116,634), in unadjusted dollars.^[37] The film dropped 64.9% in its second weekend, only grossing $5,745,206 and slipping from third to sixth place. Grossing just $2,114,486 in its third weekend, Halloween II dropped out of the box office top ten to fourteenth place.^[38] The re-release of the film was intended to take advantage of the Halloween holiday, but the film only brought in approximately $475,000.^[31] As of November 3, 2009, Halloween II has grossed a total of $33,268,563 in North American, and an additional $4,272,828 overseas for a worldwide total of $37,541,391.^[6] Compared to the other Halloween films, the 2009 sequel sits in fourth place, just behind the original Halloween.^[37]

Critical reception

Based on 65 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Halloween II had an overall 22% approval rating from critics, with an average score of 3.8 out of 10 as of September 3, 2009.^[7] Among Rotten Tomatoes’ Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs,^[39] the film holds an overall approval rating of 18%.^[40] By comparison, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 46, based on 15 reviews.^[41]

References

Fra wiki:

Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Richard Kelly
Produced by	Richard Kelly Dan Lin Sean McKittrick
Written by	Screenplay: Richard Kelly Short story: Richard Matheson
Starring	Cameron Diaz James Marsden Frank Langella
Music by	Win Butler Régine Chassagne Owen Pallett
Cinematography	Steven Poster
Editing by	Sam Bauer
Studio	Radar Pictures Media Rights Capital
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	November 6, 2009
Running time	116 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25-30 million[1]
Gross revenue	$14,008,761

The Box is a 2009 science fiction/horror film based on the 1970 short story “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson, which was previously adapted into an episode of the 1980s incarnation of The Twilight Zone. The film is written and directed by Richard Kelly and stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple who receive a box from a mysterious man who offers them one million dollars if they press the button sealed within the dome on top of the box. Production for the film began in November 2007 and concluded in February 2008.

Plot

The film begins with a CIA internal memo being typed across the screen. It states that a man named Arlington Steward has recovered from severe burn wounds and is delivering units related to the Mars project.

The film then opens up in 1976 Richmond, Virginia with Norma and Arthur Lewis cuddling in bed after a night of passionate lovemaking (this scene has been removed from screenings in North America to obtain a PG 13 rating), and awaking at 5:45 am as the doorbell rings. Norma goes downstairs and looks through the peephole seeing a black car drive off. Upon opening the door, she sees a package on her doorstep. Inside, she and her husband find a wooden box with a button protected by a glass dome, locked with a key, and a note, reading Mr. Steward will come at 5:00 pm.

Arthur goes to work at NASA, where he works in optics, and helped in designing the camera on the Viking Mars probe. He finds because he failed his psych exam, he has been rejected from the astronaut program despite good test scores and glowing recommendations. Norma goes to her job as a teacher at an elite private school teaching literature, where they are discussing Sartre’s vision of Hell. One of her students remarks on her limp, after which she shows her class her disfigured right foot, missing four toes. Later that day Norma returns home and confesses her fear of losing their home, due to lack of money. That is when Arlington Steward appears at their door. Norma looks at the clock and realizes it is 5:00 pm.

Arlington offers them one million dollars if they press the button sealed in the dome. The catch is that someone they do not know will die. Norma and Arthur contemplate whether or not they would be able to cope with someone’s death on their hands. After much discussion as to whether or not they should press the button, and some tinkering with the box (Arthur finds nothing inside it), Norma suddenly jerks forward and hits it.

Arlington returns and presents Norma and Arthur with the million, without asking whether they pressed the button or not. He informs the couple that whoever receives the offer next, they will surely not know them, implying that if the next people press the button, one of them, or their son, may be at risk. Arthur storms after Arlington and attempts to return the million, but Arlington drives off.

A 911 call is shown, where someone has been shot. The police enter the house and find a woman shot through the heart, and a little girl locked in the bathroom upstairs.

Arthur and Norma then attend a wedding rehearsal dinner, where Arthur is instructed to select a present from a table. A student of Norma’s, the one who prompted her to reveal her disfigurement, holds up two fingers to Arthur. Arthur then sees a box much like the one left on their doorstep, with the button in it, and chooses that one. He and Norma find a poor quality picture of Arlington inside.

Norma’s sister tells Arthur that the student Arthur saw was the one who made fun of his wife’s foot. Arthur meets and asks Norma’s dad (who is a police officer) to run the license plate number of Arlington’s car. Norma receives a phone call (she is informed by a waiter whose nose begins to bleed as he’s leading her to the phone). It is Arlington, who scolds her for allowing her husband to make contact with the police (Arlington somehow knows Arthur has spoken to Norma’s father). Arthur angrily approaches the student from Norma’s class and yells at him for making fun of Norma. He then storms out of the party, with Norma following him. As they start their car, they see “No Exit” (the title of the Sartre play they went to see earlier) written into the frost on their windshield.

When they get home, Arthur takes their babysitter, Dana, home. Dana had earlier gone down into the basement with their son Walter, to see Arthur’s Mars collection. As they are driving, Dana acts strangely, telling Arthur to “look into the light” to solve his problems. Her nose begins to bleed and she passes out. Arthur attempts to wake her up and finds her drivers license, which shows her name is not Dana, but Sara, and she is from Boston. He reaches the motel, where “Dana” has been staying and she wakes up with a start. She tells Arthur it’s not safe for him there, and to look in the mirror because that’s the only place with the answer. She then hurries away. In the motel, every door she passes opens and a startled looking person stares her down. She reaches her room, where she has a large map and pictures of Arthur, Norma, and Walter.

At a supermarket, Norma is approached by a panicked woman who tells her to look up a certain call number in the library, and not to trust her husband, before passing out with a bloody nose. Arthur finds out that Arlington’s license plate is registered to the NSA. He asks Norma’s father if he can go with him to see the house where the shooting mentioned earlier took place. Once there, he finds pictures of Arlington and a picture of a Human Resources book, and a library call number.

Norma and Arthur both visit the library, separately. Norma avoids Arthur, as instructed by the woman in the supermarket. Norma find a film reel, which shows Arlington prior to his disfigurement. Arthur is followed by a crowd of startled looking people. He finds himself in a large hall filled with more scared looking people. He approaches a woman he learns is Arlington’s wife, and she tells him to follow her. He is presented with three “gateways”, made of hovering water. Two lead to eternal damnation, one to salvation. Remembering the student who held up two fingers, Arthur picks gate two. He enters the water and finds himself whirling through whiteness.

Norma is also led by two hollow looking women to Arlington. He asks her how she felt when she saw his disfigurement, and she says she felt love, because of her foot. Many years ago, her brother dropped a barbell on her foot and when she went to the doctor he put it in an X-ray machine and forgot about her, destroying the tissue in four of her toes. Arlington informs Norma that he was struck by lightning, and can now communicate with “those who control the lightning”. Norma begins to cry and Arlington takes her hand.

Norma is suddenly laying on her bed, with Arthur suspended above her in the same hovering water he stepped into earlier. Norma moves away just before Arthur falls out of the water. The water falls too, going all the way down their stairs. When cleaning up, Walter demands to know what is going on. Norma and Arthur do not answer him.

More drama occurs and eventually, at the wedding of Norma’s sister, their son Walter is kidnapped. Arthur is taken away by a gun-toting former employee of NASA. He is the same man who shot his wife, as earlier seen in the 911 call. He reveals to Arthur that he had to choose between his wife or his daughter. He shows Arthur the book seen earlier in the picture, and the water portals or “triptychs”. They are then stopped by a man in a Santa Claus uniform, ringing a bell. As the two men are trying to figure out what is going on, they are hit by a large truck.

We then see Arthur emerge from a NASA warehouse, which has been surrounded by military. He is taken away and told by his NASA friend that everything that happens next will have great ramifications. Arthur and Norma return home and see Arlington in their kitchen. He informs them they face two final options. Their son, Walter, is now deaf and blind. They can either live on with their million dollars, and their disabled son, or Arthur can shoot Norma through the heart, at which point Walter’s sight and hearing will be restored and the million will be placed in a high interest bank account for Walter.

We learned earlier in a warehouse full of startled people, when Arlington’s minion questioned him, that Arlington’s employers are testing the human race to see if they are worth keeping.

Arlington leaves, telling Norma and Arthur on his way out that their son is in the bathroom, locked upstairs. The two of them run upstairs and try to get him out, but cannot. They decide that they must make a choice, and Norma leads Arthur downstairs. Arthur then shoots Norma through the heart, and runs upstairs to find Walter. Walter is passed out on the floor, and does not respond. Soon the police arrive, having been called about the gunshot. Walter wakes up and calls out, as Arthur is lead out of the house. While this is happening, we see another couple make the decision to push the button. As Arthur leaves, we see Arlington arrive at the new couples house. Arthur’s NASA friend informs him he and his son will be taken care of, as Arthur is escorted away by men in black uniforms, who put him into a black car before driving off. Arlington, waiting outside and seeing Walter looking out through the home’s window, tips his hat to the boy, and the film ends.

Cast

• Cameron Diaz as Norma Lewis
• James Marsden as Arthur Lewis
• Frank Langella as Arlington Steward
• Gillian Jacobs as Dana Steward
• Sam Oz Stone as Walter Lewis
• Ryan Woodle as Lucas Carnes
• James Rebhorn as Norm Cahill
• Holmes Osborne as Dick Burns
• Andrew Levitas as black ops Carson
• Bill Thorpe as NASA administrator
• Allyssa Maurice as Suzanne Weller
• Sal Lizard as Santa
• Mattew C. Flynn as Young Deputy
• Patrick Canty as Officer #3

Production

Director Richard Kelly wrote a script based on the 1970 short story “Button, Button” by author Richard Matheson, which had previously been turned into a Twilight Zone episode of the same name.^[2] The project had a budget of over $30 million provided by Media Rights Capital. Kelly described his intent for the film, “My hope is to make a film that is incredibly suspenseful and broadly commercial, while still retaining my artistic sensibility.”^[3] Actress Cameron Diaz was cast in the lead role in June 2007.^[4] Most of the filming took place in the Boston, Massachusetts area, with scenes shot in downtown Boston, South Boston, Waltham, Ipswich, Winthrop, Milton, Medfield, Quincy, Kingston, and North Andover, as well as other localities. Some filming took place on the Milton Academy campus, and a large indoor set was built inside a former Lucent Technologies building in North Andover to recreate a NASA laboratory. The production crew also journeyed to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to shoot a number of scenes for the film. Richard Kelly’s father had worked at NASA Langley in the 1970s and 80s.^[5] Many background extras were reused in different scenes, and people with period correct 60s and 70s cars were encouraged to participate. Actor Frank Langella was cast in October 2007, and production began on the film the following month.^[6] Prior to production, actor James Marsden was cast a lead role opposite Diaz.^[7] Production concluded by February 2008.^[8]

Music

In December 2008, it was announced that Win Butler, Regine Chassagne, and Owen Pallett of Canadian band Arcade Fire provided an original score for the film.^[9] Butler, Chassagne, and Pallett helped Kelly during the editing process by advising his decisions.^[10] As of November 2009, the soundtrack has not been released nor been set for release. Kelly stated in an interview with Collider.com that Butler, Chassagne, and Pallett plan on releasing the soundtrack but probably not until after Arcade Fire’s third album release in 2010.^[11]

Release

The film was originally scheduled for release on October 30, 2009, but on July 31, 2009, it was announced the release date was to be delayed to November 6, 2009.^[12] The film was shown at the Lund International Fantastic Film Festival on September 17, two months prior to its US release.^[13]

Reception

The Box recived mixed reviews and currently holds a 47% ‘Rotten’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 76 ratings from critics.^[14] American film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars overall saying, “This movie kept me involved and intrigued, and for that I’m grateful.”^[15]

Market research firm CinemaScore reported that the film receives very negative feedback. Films are given a grade, with A+ being the highest possible and F being the lowest. The Box received an F, which CinemaScore President Ed Mintz blamed the film’s ending and was quoted as saying “People really thought this was a stinker”.^[16]

References

Directed by	Shane Acker
Produced by	Tim Burton Timur Bekmambetov Jim Lemley Dana Ginsburg
Written by	Screenplay: Pamela Pettler Story: Shane Acker
Starring	Elijah Wood John C. Reilly Jennifer Connelly Christopher Plummer Crispin Glover Martin Landau Fred Tatasciore
Music by	Danny Elfman Deborah Lurie
Editing by	Nick Kenway
Distributed by	Focus Features Universal Pictures International
Release date(s)	September 9, 2009 (2009-09-09)
Running time	79 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30,000,000
Gross revenue	$41,239,631 (worldwide)[1]

9 is a 2009 animated fantasy film/action film directed by Shane Acker and produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov. The film, which expands on a short film of the same name, stars Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau and Christopher Plummer.^[2][3] It is based on Acker’s Academy Award-nominated 2005 short film of the same name.^[4] The screenplay for the film was written by Pamela Pettler. Casting for 9 was done by Mindy Marin, with production design by Robert St. Pierre and Fred Warter, and art direction by Christophe Vacher.

Plot

The film begins with the Scientist creating a little mechanical humanoid stitchpunk (9) (Elijah Wood) as he tells how humanity, in its blind pursuit of science and technology, went to its doom. He finally gives life to the doll with a talisman. Then he dies.

9 awakes, unable to speak. He takes the talisman, depositing it on the opening of his body under the closure. He opens the windows and sees a terrifying post-apocalyptic world, and someone walking. He leaves the building to see who it is. Outside, he sees several human corpses. 9 hears someone close, and then he meets 2 (Martin Landau), another, highly intelligent and inventive, stitchpunk created by the Scientist, who inserts a speaking device in 9 and becomes his friend. 2 tells 9 that there are others like themselves. 9 shows 2 the talisman, when suddenly the Cat Beast appears and attacks 2. 9 accidentally rocks the can he is hiding in, drawing the attention of the Cat Beast. The Cat Beast searches the can 9 hides in, but 2 distracts the Cat Beast allowing 9 to escape, tearing his shoulder in the process. The Cat Beast takes 2 to a towering factory in the horizon. 9 lies unconscious.

9 awakes in a church, the shelter of the rest of the stitchpunk tribe. He meets one-eyed 5 (John C. Reilly), another of the stitchpunk who fixes 9’s shoulder. 1 (Christopher Plummer), the leader of the group, appears along with the much bigger and stronger 8, and tells 9 that they have hid ever since the machines won the war. Unintroduced, 6 (Crispin Glover) is seen drawing the Talisman over and over. 9 explains what happened to 2 and insists they save him, but 1 refuses to risk jeopardizing their safety. 5, on the other hand, is convinced to help 9. The two enter the factory and save 2 from the Cat Beast, which is decapitated thanks to the timely arrival of brave and nimble 7 (Jennifer Connelly). Noticing a socket shaped like the talisman, 9 inserts the talisman into it out of curiosity, only to have it open and instantly absorbs 2’s soul, leaving 2 lifeless. This awakens the long-dormant Fabrication Machine, forcing 9, 5 and 7 to flee.

Seeking answers about the Fabrication Machine and the talisman, 9 is taken to meet 3 and 4, who reveal details about the machine’s past, though they know nothing about the talisman. 5 tells 9 that 6 might have answers and return to the hideout, where 6 states they must “go back to the source,” where the talisman’s secrets can be found. However, they are caught by 8, who brings them to 1. 1 berates 9 for awakening the Fabrication Machine and argues that 9 will just lead them to more trouble. Suddenly, the hideout is attacked by the Winged Beast, a new machine created by the Fabrication Machine. Through a combined effort, the stitchpunks destroy the Winged Beast, though the hideout is burned down in the process. They seek refuge in a ruined library, but are attacked by another new machine, the Seamstress[1], which kidnaps 7 and 8 and nearly kidnaps 1 as well, using 2’s dead body as a hypnotic lure.

9 infiltrates the machine factory where he is able to save 7 and destroy the Seamstress, though he arrives too late to prevent the Fabrication Machine from absorbing 8’s soul with the talisman. 9 and 7 escape while the others ignite a barrel of oil and roll it into the gas-filled factory, causing the building to explode, thus leaving the stitchpunks to presume that the Fabrication Machine was destroyed as well. As the stitchpunks celebrate by listening to “Over the Rainbow“, 5 wanders off to chase an errant record. He finds that the Fabrication Machine survived the explosion and, though damaged it is still active and no longer stationary. 5 barely manages to warn the others before the machine grabs him and absorbs his soul. During the protracted chase while crossing a very unstable bridge, 6 tells 9 that they shouldn’t destroy the machine because the souls of the dead stitchpunks are trapped inside the Fabrication Machine. Suddenly the Fabrication Machine reaches out from below the bridge and grabs 6. While 6 is being pulled down by the machine, he tells the other stitchpunks to go back to the source, where 9 awoke. Then the Fabrication Machine absorbs his soul leaving him lifeless, and drops him into a deep chasm. Despite this, 1, 7, 3 and 4 decide to destroy the Fabrication Machine anyway, believing the dead souls cannot be saved. 9 decides to heed 6’s final words and returns to the laboratory where he first awoke and found the talisman, determining that it is “the source”.

Back in the laboratory, 9 finds a holographic message from the Scientist explaining how to use the talisman, why the stitchpunks were created and that they contain parts of his life force. When the others begin their attack on the Fabrication Machine, 9 returns with a plan to take the talisman back from the machine and use it to retrieve the souls, intending to bait himself to the machine and sacrifice his soul. 1, however, ultimately makes the sacrifice instead, allowing 9 to steal back the talisman and use it to retrieve the souls of the fallen stitchpunks, thus destroying the Fabrication Machine in the process. Afterward, 9, 7, 3 and 4 set up a memorial for 1, 2, 5, 6 and 8. 9 opens the talisman and releases the souls, which rotate up the sky. A rainstorm begins with each raindrop having a part of the stitchpunk’s soul (the appearance of which seem to be a bacterium in the raindrops, meaning the other stitchpunks might have been reincarnated into bacteria and that the bacteria would soon evolve into multi cellular organisms), leaving the future in the hands of 3, 4, 7 and 9 and the spark of life renewed. The film ends with 7 asking 9 what happens next, 9 replies that he’s not quite sure, but he also says that “This is our world now, it’s what we make of it”.

Cast and characters

• Elijah Wood as 9, the last creation of the scientist.
• Fred Tatasciore as 8, who came into being for the purpose of protecting the rag dolls from the evil machine uprising. He wields a meat cleaver and half a scissor. The none-too-bright muscle and enforcer of the group, 8 was created to help the others physically survive the dangerous, post-apocalyptic world. He is the second one to die.
• Jennifer Connelly as 7. A brave and self-sufficient warrior, 7 is the group’s sole female. A fiercely independent adventuress, she has been out patrolling the wasteland. To survive, she has adapted, finding the bones of a deceased bird and crafting her signature skull helmet. 9 manages to save her from the winged beast and the seamstress and she later develops feelings towards him.
• Crispin Glover as 6. He repeatedly tells the group to go back to the source but the others are confused and decide to ignore him. His hands are made with pen nibs, he is striped and has one eye bigger then the other. There is a key around his neck which he protects with his life, no one knows what it unlocks. He is the fourth one to die.
• John C. Reilly as 5, who is a caring, nurturing, one-eyed engineer – the loyal, big-hearted “common man” who always tries to play the peacemaker. He is also an apprentice of 2, with whom he shares a special bond. He lost his left eye during the war of the machines, but says “Having one eye helps me concentrate on one thing at a time”. He is the healer of the group. He is the third one to die.
• 3 and 4 are the scholarly twins who voraciously catalog everything they can see and find, recording and building a database of the world that surrounds them and the history that led up to their creation. Unlike the other Stitchpunks, 3 and 4 are unable to speak, so they communicate to each other by flashing lights from their eyes and using them as film projectors.
• Martin Landau as 2, the scientist’s second creation. 2 is a kindly but now frail inventor and explorer who embodies the Scientist’s strong creative spirit he is fearless. An inquisitive personality. He is the first one to die.
• Christopher Plummer as 1, is the Scientist’s first creation. As the elder, he is the self-declared leader of the group. He ostensibly sent 2 out to scout but he really sent him out to die. He is the fifth and last one to die.
• Alan Oppenheimer as The Scientist, a former toy maker who created the stitchpunks and also invented the B.R.A.I.N. Each of the stitchpunks is a component of the Scientist’s soul. He used the talisman to transfer his soul out and supply 9 with life. At the beginning of the film, one of the first things 9 comes across is the Scientist’s lifeless body sprawled on the floor.

Production

9 was produced in part by Tim Burton, Timur Bekmambetov and Jim Lemley, and released on September 9, 2009. Animation began in Luxembourg at Attitude Studio, but subsequently moved to Starz Animation in Toronto, Canada.^[5] The film was released by Focus Features.

Director Shane Acker at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International

Shane Acker directed the film and wrote the story. Pamela Pettler and Ben Gluck wrote the script.

Marketing

On December 25, 2008, a trailer was released on Apple.com, featuring The Knife’s “The Captain” and Coheed and Cambria’s “Welcome Home“.^[6]

In the trailer there were several machines up against the stitchpunk group: the Cat Beast, an ape-like ambush predator that appeared in the short film of the same title; The Winged Beast, a raptor-like with movable blades of various types in its mouth; the Seamstress, a hypnotic serpent; Mech Walkers, large two-legged machines armed with a machine gun and poison gas missiles which can kill in a matter of seconds; the Fabrication Machine, a cyclopic, spider-like machine with many multi-jointed arms; and Seeker, several flying zeppelin machines with searchlights.^[6] Later trailers also reveal the existence of several small ant-like machines.

Part of the film’s marketing strategy was its release date of September 9, 2009 (“9/9/09″).

9 is the second animated feature film to be released by Focus Features, the first being Coraline, based on the book by Neil Gaiman. The trailer for 9 preceded the film Coraline when it was shown in theaters and released on DVD.

A second trailer for 9 first appeared on G4’s Attack of the Show. It is an extensive trailer which includes a bit of the background story behind the existence of the stitchpunks.

In April 2009, the film’s “Scientist” began making journal entries on a Facebook page called “9 Scientist”. Daily thoughts and images of his inventions are updated frequently. The “9 Scientist” Facebook page seemingly references events leading up to the release of the film.^[7]

Most recently, a new viral campaign promotional website for 9 has been launched. It sheds some light upon the background of the 9 world.^[8]

Home video

9 will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 29, 2009.^[9]

Reception

Critical

9 has received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with its visuals being the most highly praised aspect. Based on 150 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall “Rotten” approval rating of 56% from critics, with the Top Critics ranking it slightly higher, giving it a “Fresh” rating of 65% and the film having an average score of 6/10.^[10] On Metacritic, it currently holds a score of 60 out of 100 indicating mixed or average reviews.^[11] The general sentiment by critics is that the film is “long on imaginative design but less substantial in narrative.”^[12] Variety‘s Todd McCarthy says “In the end, the picture’s impact derives mostly from its design and assured execution.”^[13]

Box office

On opening day, the film made #1 with $3,115,775. Its opening weekend landed it at #2 behind I Can Do Bad All By Myself with approximately $10,856,000 and $15,264,000 for its 5-day opening.^[14] As of November 19, 2009, the film has grossed US$41,239,631 worldwide.^[1]

See also

• List of American films of 2009
• 9 (2005 film) – The original short film on which 9 is based.
• Steampunk
• Rag doll

References

Toronto-pris til Precious

Cadillac-prisen stemmes fram av folket og ble i fjor tildelt Oscar-vinneren “Slumdog Millionaire.”

“Precious” er basert på Sapphire-romanen “Push” og er produsert av Oprah Winfrey. Debutanten Gabourey Sidibe innehar hovedrollen.

Mariah Carey i Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Filmen forteller historien om tenåringen Precious i Harlem i New York som ikke kan lese og skrive og venter sitt andre barn.
Rockestjernen Lenny Kravitz har også en rolle i filmen, der også Mariah Carey er med.
– Filmen er for alle som har sett seg i speilet og følt seg usikre på personen som ser tilbake, sier regissør Lee Daniels ifølge BBC.

Mer fra wiki:

Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lee Daniels
Produced by	Lee Daniels Oprah Winfrey Tyler Perry Sarah Siegel-Magness Gary Magness
Written by	Novel: Sapphire Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher
Starring	Gabourey Sidibe Mo’Nique Paula Patton Mariah Carey
Music by	Mario Grigorov
Cinematography	Andrew Dunn
Editing by	Joe Klotz
Studio	Lee Daniels Entertainment Smokewood Entertainment Group Harpo Productions 34th Street Films
Distributed by	Lions Gate Entertainment
Release date(s)	November 6, 2009
Running time	109 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10,000,000
Gross revenue	$21,403,000 [1]

Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire is a 2009 American drama/thriller film directed by Lee Daniels. Precious is a film adaption of the award-winning 1996 novel Push: A Novel by Sapphire. The film’s cast, which primarily consist of females, features Gabourey Sidibe as the title character, and Mariah Carey, Mo’Nique and Paula Patton in supporting roles. The film marks the acting debuts of Sidibe and Kravitz.

The film, without a distributor, premiered to praise at both the 2009 Sundance Film Festival as Push: Based On The Novel By Sapphire,^[2][3] where it won the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize for best drama, as well as a Special Jury Prize for supporting actress Mo’Nique,^[4] and received praise at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. After the film’s screening at Sundance, in February 2009, Tyler Perry announced that he and Oprah Winfrey would be providing promotional assistance to the film and helped get the film released through Lions Gate Entertainment. The film’s title was changed multiple times; notably from Precious to, its current titling, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire to avoid anyone confusing it with the 2009 action film Push.^[5]

Lions Gate released the film only in North America on November 6, 2009 in limited release, and gave the film a wider release November 20. The film was released to mainly positive reviews from critics; the film’s cast’s acting and the film’s plot and message were generally praised, while criticism mainly consisted of the film’s content sending a negative message, with some reviewers feeling that the film was a disappointment compared to the film’s anticipation. In the film’s opening weekend, in limited release, it grossed $1.8 million, placing it at 12 place at the box office and in the film’s third weekend, with a wider release, it made an estimated $11 million. The film, as of November 21, 2009, has made an estimated $21 million.

Contents [hide] 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production and distribution 4 Release 4.1 Strategy 4.2 Box office 5 Reception 5.1 Critical Reception 5.2 Awards and nominations 6 Music 6.1 Score 6.2 Soundtrack 7 References 8 External links

Plot

Further information: Plot of the novel

In 1987, obese, illiterate 16-year-old Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) lives in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem with her dysfunctional family; she has been impregnated twice by her father, Carl, and suffers constant physical and mental abuse from her unemployed mother, Mary (Mo’Nique). The family resides in a Section 8 tenement and subsists on welfare. Her first child, known only as “Mongo” (short for “Mongoloid”), has Down’s Syndrome and is being cared for by Precious’s grandmother. After Precious becomes pregnant for the second time, she is suspended from school but her high school principal, Mrs. Lichtenstein (Nealla Gordon), arranges to have her attend an alternative school, which she hopes can help Precious change her life’s direction.^[6]

Precious fights to find a way out of her traumatic daily existence through imagination and fantasy. While she is being raped by her father, she looks at the ceiling and imagines herself in a music video shoot; in the video, she is the superstar and the focus of attention. While looking in photo albums, she imagines the pictures talking to her. When she looks in the mirror, she sees a pretty, white, thin, blonde girl. In her mind there is another world, one in which, unlike her real one, she is loved and appreciated.

Inspired by her new teacher, Precious begins learning to read. She gives birth to her second child and names him Abdul. After Precious’s mother deliberately drops three-day-old Abdul and beats Precious, she leaves her home. Precious finds new confidence with the help of her teacher, and begins raising her son in a half-way house while she continues to improve academically. However, her mother comes back into her life to inform Precious that her father has died of AIDS. Later, Precious finds out that she is HIV positive, but Abdul is not. The film ends with Precious still resolved to improve for herself and for her children. She severs ties with her family and makes plans to complete a General Educational Development test.

Cast

Carey at the premiere of Tennessee in 2008. Daniels stated he cast her in the role of Mrs. Weiss based on her performance in this film.

• Gabourey Sidibe as Claireece “Precious” Jones
• Mo’Nique as Mary Lee Johnston
• Paula Patton as Ms. Blu Rain
• Mariah Carey as Mrs. Weiss
• Lenny Kravitz as Nurse John McFadden
• Sherri Shepherd as Cornrows
• Nealla Gordon as Mrs. Lichtenstein
• Stephanie Andujar as Rita
• Chyna Layne as Rhonda
• Amina Robinson as Jermaine Hicks
• Xosha Roquemore as Jo Ann
• Angelic Zambrana as Consuelo
• Grace Hightower as Social Worker
• Kimberly Russell as Katherine
• Bill Sage as Mr. Wicher
• Sapphire as Day Care Woman

Daniels, who is known for his inventive casting,^[7] began casting for the film in September 2008. Sidibe was cast as Clareece “Precious” Jones, “an overweight, illiterate African-American teen in Harlem, just as she’s about to give birth to her second child. Jones is accepted into an alternative school”.^[6] Sidibe was awarded the role of Precious over 300 young girls who had auditioned in casting calls around the country.^[6] At the time of casting, Sidibe was an untrained actress, with no acting experience.^[8] In October 2008, Andujar, 23, was cast as Rita, a 16-year-old former heroin addict and prostitute, who attends the same alternative school in Harlem as Precious and later befriends her.^[9] Andujar stated that while auditioning for her character, Daniels had been so impressed that he interrupted her during her dialogue and stated, “I want you in my movie.”^[9]

Sapphire, the author of the book that the film is based on, makes a brief appearance in the film.

Helen Mirren was originally cast as Mrs. Weiss, Precious’s social worker who supports her during her journey. Mirren dropped out before production started for unspecified reasons, and Mariah Carey, whose acting experience is limited, was then cast in the role.^[10] In September 2008,^[11][12] Carey described her character as being a “not really a likable person, but she does bring this to the surface” and referred to her character as being “the answer.”^[12][13] Carey and Daniels had previously worked together on Tennessee.^[6] Daniels stated that he’d cast Carey because he was “so impressed” by her performance in Tennessee.^[11] The author of the novel on which the film is based makes a cameo appearance as a woman at a day care center near the end of the film.

Patton was cast as Ms. Blu Rain, Precious’ middle school teacher.^[14] Patton stated that her character teaches Precious to “learn and read and write from the very beginnings, and pushes her to believe in herself, and pushes her to realize that anything is possible.”^[14] Mo’Nique was cast as Mary Lee Johnston, Precious’ sadistic mother, who’s verbally and physically abusive.^[8] Mo’Nique and Daniels had previous worked together on the 2005 film Shadowboxer.^[10] Sage was cast as Mr. Wicher. Sage had co-starred with Carey and previously worked with Daniels on Tennessee. Patton was cast as Ms. Rain, Precious’ teacher who helps her find an alternative path in life.^[6] Kravitz was cast as John McFadden; a nurse who shows kindness to Precious.^[6][11] This film is Kravitz’s feature film acting debut.^[6]

Production and distribution

In September, 2008, Carey confirmed that the film’s writer, Barsocchini, was still working on the script, and that the script was still in its early stages.^[11] The film is directed by Lee Daniels and co-produced by Daniels’ company, Lee Daniels Entertainment, and Smokewood Entertainment Group, which is owned by Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness; the two production companies also collaborated on Tennessee.^[15] Due to the mature subject matter of the film, it was rated “R” by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in the United States because the film’s content contains “child abuse including sexual assault, and pervasive language.”^[16]

Precious was picked up for distribution by Lionsgate and received promotional assistance from Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and Tyler Perry’s 34th Street Films.^[17] Precious marks the first theatrical film to be affiliated with Perry’s 34th Street Films, in the companies history.^[18] The film was released nationwide in North America on November 6, 2009.^[19] In February 2009, both Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company filed lawsuits contesting ownership of the rights to release the film.^[20]

Release

Strategy

Precious was screened during the 2009 25th Sundance Film Festival from January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah.^[21] Precious appeared in competition at the 2009 62nd Cannes Film Festival in May, 2009.^[22] Precious was Daniels’ third film to enter competition at the festival, the first being Monster’s Ball in 2001 and the second being The Woodsman in 2004. Both film’s contained controversial material.^[7] At Cannes, the film received a fifteen minute standing ovation from the audience after the film was screened.^[7] Daniels stated that, at first he was “embarrassed” to show Precious at Cannes because he didn’t want “to exploit black people” and wasn’t sure if he “wanted white French people to see our world.”^[7] After the great success at the film’s screenings at Sundance, reporters took note that the film could mirror the success of other films that had been screened and praised at the festival.^[23][18] James S. Synder, compared Precious’s success at Sundance to that of The Wrestler (2008) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008); both films later were nominated for multiple Academy Awards‘.^[18]

Winfrey, a producer of the film, used her status as both a celebrity and a media personality to give the film a “high-profile promotional push”.^[24][18] At a press conference, with the film’s cast, regarding the film, Winfrey announced her intention to lead a promotional campaign on behalf of Precious along with her other various platforms, hoping to be able to “bring in different audiences” by promoting the film on her show, in her magazine and on her satellite-radio channel.^[18] Katie Walmsley of CNN, stated, based on the film’s positive reception at the Toronto Film Festival, that the film “at the very least, [because of] the [Toronto] award will guarantee “Precious” substantial distribution, as well as exposure for two-time director Daniels.”^[23] The trailer for Precious was shown during previews for, the film’s producer Perry’s film I Can Do Bad All By Myself in September 2009.^[25]

Box office

The film was given a limited-theatre release and is scheduled to be released only in North America. During the opening weekend release of Precious, the film was only shown on 18 screens nationwide yet earned over $1,872,458, averaging over $104,000 per theater. This placed the film twelfth place at the box office.^[26][19] The film saw a 213.7% increase in its second week of release, earning $5,874,628 at 174 theatres, with a per-theatre average of $33,762. The film moved up from twelfth to third place in box office grosses for the week, slightly edging out The Men Who Stare at Goats, which was released widely yet made only $5,861,753.^[19] On November 20, 2009, the film received a wider release, playing at 629 theater’s since Novemeber 20, 2009; tripling the number of theatre showing the film.^[19] Studio estimates predicted that during the film’s third week of release (first in wide release) that the film was expected to take sixth place at the box office with, an 87.4% increase from the previous week, with $11,008,000.^[27]

Based on the films opening weekend, it currently holds the record as the highest grossing film that opened on fewer than 100 theaters, and also holds the record for the highest grossing average per screen for films shown in fewer than 50 theaters.^[28] Brandon Grey, of Box Office Mojo described Precious as having had a “robust expansion” in its second week of release, and confirmed that the film holds the record for having the second-highest grossing weekend for a movie playing at fewer than 200 sites, behind only Paranormal Activity, which was released several weeks earlier.^[29] The film had grossed over $9.6 million in under two weeks of release;^[30] and by November 18 2009, thirteen days after the film’s initial release, the film had recouped its $10 million budget by grossing $13.9 million.^[30]

Reception

Critical Reception

The film currently has a 91% “Fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 122 professional reviews^[31] and “generally favorable” reviews on Metacritic, with a score of 78, based on 27 reviews.^[32] John Anderson, of Variety, said “to simply call it harrowing or unsparing doesn’t quite cut it” having felt that the film is “courageous and uncompromising, a shaken cocktail of debasement and elation, despair and hope.”^[33] Anderson cited Carey’s performance as “pitch perfect” and that her role as Ms. Wiess is disarming.”^[33] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, praised Carey’s performance, describing it as having been “an authentically deglammed compassion” and praised the film for ‘capturing’ “how a lost girl rouses herself from the dead” and for Daniels’ showing “unflinching courage as a filmmaker by going this deep into the pathologies that may still linger in the closets of some impoverished inner-city lives.”^[34] Gleiberman described the film as being a movie “that makes you think, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’ [...] It’s a potent and moving experience, because by the end you feel you’ve witnessed nothing less than the birth of a soul” and felt that the “final scene of revelation” between Sidibe and Mo’Niques characters was strong enough to be able to leave viewers “tearful, shaken, [and] dazed with pity and terror.”^[34]

Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, praised Mo’Nique and Sidibe’s performances.^[35] Ebert described Mo’Nique’s performance as being “frighteningly convincing” and felt that “the film is a tribute to Sidibe’s ability to engage our empathy” because she “completely creates the Precious character.” He also noted that Carey and Patton “are equal with Sidibe in screen impact”.^[35] Ebert also praised Daniels because he didn’t cast the actors for their names, because “he was able to see beneath the surface and trust that they had within the emotional resources to play these women, and he was right.”^[35] Betsey Sharkey, of the Los Angeles Times describes the film as being a “rough-cut diamond… [A] rare blend of pure entertainment and dark social commentary, it is a shockingly raw, surprisingly irreverent and absolutely unforgettable story.”^[36] Claudia Puig, of USA Today says that while there are “melodramatic moments” in the film, the cast gives “remarkable performances” to show the audiences the film’s “inspiring message.”^[37]

Peter Travas, of RollingStone cited Mo’Nique’s performance as being “dynamite” and felt that during the climactic scene with Sidibe and Carey’s characters, that her performance is be able to bring “tears at your heart.”^[38] Mary Pols, of Time praised the film’s sequences for being able to show the audience a “joyous Wizard of Oz energy” that is able to “open the door into Precious’ mind in a way even [the author] Sapphire couldn’t.”^[39] Pols felt that, while not implying that the film has “a lack of compelling emotional material” but that the film’s “few weak moments” are the “ones that dovetail with typical inspirational stories.”^[39] Marshall Fine, of Huffington Post, referred to the film as being “almost a deal-breaker for many filmgoers”.^[40] Fine praised the film as being “a film that doesn’t shy away from the depths to which human beings can sink, but it also shows the strength and resilience of which we are capable, even at our lowest moments.”^[40] Scott Mendelson, also of the Huffington Post, felt that when you put the “glaring issues aside,” the film “still works as a potent character study and a glimpse inside a world we’d rather pretend does not exist in America.” But while film “succeeds as a powerful acting treat and a potent character study, there are some major narrative issues that prevent the film from being an accidental masterpiece.”^[41] Mendelson described the film as being “an acting powerhouse” based on its many emotional themes.^[41]

While the film’s critical reception consisted mostly of praise, the film has also received negative feedback. In two separate articles, The New York Times cited Armond White, critic for The New York Press as initiating the most powerful negative review. White compared the film to The Birth of A Nation as “demeaning the idea of black American life” and as the “con job of the year.” Courtland Milloy, of The Washington Post said Precious was “a film of prurient interest that has about as much redeeming social value as a porn flick.”^[42] David Edelstein, of New York Magazine, stated that while the film has “elements” that are “powerful and shocking”, he felt the movie was “programmed” and that the film had “its own study guide.”^[43] Keith Uhlich, of Time Out New York, felt that the film didn’t live-up to its “long hype”, and felt that it was “bewildering” to discover the film’s praise at the Sundance Film Festival because Uhlich characterized the film as having “shrug-worthiness.”^[44] Dana Stevens of Slate felt that the film’s “eagerness” to “drag” the audience “through the lower depths of human experience” leaves the audience with no space to be able to come to their own “conclusions.”^[45] Stevens noted that while the film is about improvement and self-actualization, “it wields an awfully large cudgel.”^[45]

Awards and nominations

The film’s director, Daniels, has received a great deal of praise through awards and nominations.

The film, has received eight nominations and has won six awards. The film has been nominated in categories ranging from the performance of the cast to the film’s direction to the film itself. Daniels won the People’s Choice Award, an award given by audience members at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival for his directing for the film.^[46][47][48] The film was also a 2008 nominee in the Golden Trailer Awards in the category of “Best Trailer”.^[2][3][4] The cast and crew won all three of their three nominations at the Sundance Film Festival,^[49] Daniels was the recipent of the “Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic,” and the Audience Award. Mo’Nique received the “Special Jury Prize” for her acting.^[4] Daniels won both awards for which he was nominated at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, in the categories of “TVE Otra Mirada Award” and “Audience Award,” and was nominated in the category of “Bronze Horse” at the Stockholm Film Festival.^[4]

Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2008 Golden Trailer Awards	Best Trailer	Precious	Nominated
2009 Sundance Film Festival	Audience Award	Lee Daniels	Won
	Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
	Special Jury Prize	Mo’Nique
2009 Toronto International Film Festival	People’s Choice Award	Lee Daniels
2009 San Sebastián International Film Festival	TVE Otra Mirada Award
	Audience Award
2009 Stockholm Film Festival	Bronze Horse		Nominated

Music

Score

There are currently no plans for the score of the film to be released. While there is no music score for the film, recording artist still recorded music for the film. The film’s original theme song was suppose to be entitled “Push”; which was written and produced by Robin Thicke.^[50] The song Carey recorded “one-hundred percent” was to be used for the promotion of the film. The song serves as the film’s theme song and is featured in the film’s trailer.^[51] Leona Lewis’ song, “Happy” (from her album Echos) is featured in the film’s trailer.^[52]

Soundtrack

Precious
Soundtrack by Various Artists
Released	November 3 2009 (digital download) November 23 2009 (CD)
Length	51:30
Label	Lionsgate Music, Matriarch/Geffen Records
Producer	Raphael Saadiq, Mary J. Blige[53]
Professional reviews
Rolling Stone (positive)[54]
Singles from Precious
“I Can See In Color” Released: 2009

Daniels stated that the artists featured on the film’s soundtrack were selected because they “resonate not only in Precious’s world, but speak to your soul no matter who you are.”^[55] Lionsgate Music confirmed that, United States’ recording artist; Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah and Mahalia Jackson have recorded songs that will appear on the film’s soundtrack.^[55] The soundtrack also features, Donna Allen, Jean Carn, Sunny Gale, and MFSB.^[54] In addition, the soundtrack features new music from Carey and Blige. Lionsgate, in association with Matriarch/Geffen Records released the soundtrack online as a digita download on November 3, 2009,^[53] and are set to release the soundtrack in stores on November 23.^[55][54]

Daniels confirmed that, as part of promotion from the soundtrack, the first single released will be Blige’s “I Can See in Color”.^[55] The song was written by Blige, Raphael Saadiq and LaNeah Menzies and is produced by Raphael Saadiq.^[53] People Magazine Daily noted that the film “mainly had a music supervised soundtrack but not much of a score, so there were popular songs placed in the movie.”^[56] Rolling Stone described the song, “I Can See In Color” as being “…a knockout song…expressing the goal of Precious to see the world in color.”^[54]

Precious[57]
#	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	“I Can See In Color”	Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq and LaNeah Menzies	Mary J. Blige	5:33
2.	“He Is The Joy”		Donna Allen	7:45
3.	“Was That All It Was”		Jean Carn	3:43
4.	“Did You Ever See A Dream Walking”		Sunny Gale	2:27
5.	“Come Into My House”		Queen Latifah	4:12
6.	“Just A Closer Walk With Thee”		Mahalia Jackson	1:51
7.	“Love Is The Message”		Mfsb	4:06
8.	“Now That I Know Who I Am”		Nona Hendryx	4:17
9.	“System”		Labelle	5:33
10.	“Somethin’s Comin’ My Way”		Grace Hightower	4:33
11.	“It Took A Long Time”		Labelle	4:03
12.	“Letters”		Mario Grigorov	3:54

References

1. ^ “Movie Precious Box Office Data“. TheNumbersBoxOfficeData.com. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2009/PRCUS.php. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
2. ^ ^{a b} Todd McCarthy (2008-12-03). “Sundance unveils competition lineup“. Variety.com. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=story&id=2470&articleid=VR1117996739&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
3. ^ ^{a b} Jenni Olson (2009-01-13). “2009 Sundance Q Preview“. Travel.Gay.com. http://travel.gay.com/2009/01/2.html. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire: Awards“. IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929632/awards. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
5. ^ Tatiana Siegel (2009-02-20). “When ‘Push’ comes to shove“. Variety.com. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118000415.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Michael Flemming (2007-10-29). “Lee Daniels to direct ‘Push’“. Variety.com. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117974944.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
7. ^ ^{a b c d} Lynn Hirschberg (2009-10-25). “The Audacity of ‘Precious’“. NYTimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/magazine/25precious-t.html?_r=1. Retrieved 2009-11-.
8. ^ ^{a b} Eric Ditzian (2009-08-26). “Mariah Carey And Gabourey Sidibe Became ‘Besties’ On ‘Precious’ Set“. MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1619596/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
9. ^ ^{a b} Erasmoe Guerra (2009-11-04). “A ‘Precious’ opportunity for young nuyorican actress“. NYDailyNews.com. http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2009/11/04/2009-11-04_a_precious_opportunity_.html. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
10. ^ ^{a b} “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire: Trivia“. IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929632/trivia. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
11. ^ ^{a b c d} Molloy Rush (2008-09-22). “Mariah Carey makes new ‘Push’ into acting“. NYDailyNews.com. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/09/22/2008-09-22_mariah_carey_makes_new_push_into_acting.html. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
12. ^ ^{a b} Karen Bliss (2009-9-18). “Mariah Carey’s Hardest “Precious” Challenge: Going With No Makeup“. RollingStone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/09/18/mariah-careys-hardest-precious-challenge-going-with-no-makeup/. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
13. ^ Madeleine Kuhns (2009-11-06). “Mariah Carey Speaks Out on Her Precious Mustache“. NyMag.com. http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/11/mariah_carey_speaks_out_on_her.html. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
14. ^ ^{a b} Michael J. Lee (2008-08-12). “Paula Patton on ‘Push’“. Radio Free Entertainment. http://radiofree.com/profiles/paula_patton/interview05.shtml. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
15. ^ Davis, Joyzelle (2008-01-22), “Billionaires behind the camera“, Rocky Mountain News, http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/22/billionaires-behind-the-camera/
16. ^ “Precious (Based On The Novel ‘Push’ By Sapphire)“. MPAA.com. http://www.mpaa.org/FlmRat_SrchReslts.asp. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
17. ^ Pamela McClintock (2009-02-02). “Lionsgate, Winfrey, Perry push ‘Push’“. Variety.com. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999429.html?categoryId=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
18. ^ ^{a b c d e} James S. Snyder (2009-09-21). “Can Oprah Lead Precious All the Way to Oscar?“. Time.com. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1925070,00.html. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
19. ^ ^{a b c d} “PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL “PUSH” BY SAPPHIRE“. BoxOfficeMoJo.com. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=preciouspush.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
20. ^ John Horn (2009-02-05). “‘Push’ comes to shove in movie rights fight“. LATimes.com. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-push6-2009feb06,0,603425.story. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
21. ^ Brooks Addicott. “Press & Industry — Sundance Film Festival (festival dates)“. Sundance.org. http://www.sundance.org/festival/press_industry/press_industry.asp. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
22. ^ “Festival de Cannes: Precious“. Festival.Cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/10885446/year/2009.html. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
23. ^ ^{a b} Katie Walmsley (2009-09-21). “Oprah flick ‘Precious’ wins top award at Toronto“. CNN.com. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/21/toronto.film.festival.wrap/. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
24. ^ Ben Child (2009-09-21). “Oprah Winfrey helps Precious find love in Toronto“. Guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/sep/21/oprah-winfrey-precious-toronto. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
25. ^ William Gross (2009-02-20). “‘Push’ Shoved; ‘Precious’ is the New Title for Sundance Smash“. Cinematical .com. http://www.cinematical.com/2009/02/20/push-shoved-precious-is-the-new-title-for-sundance-smash/. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
26. ^ “November 6-8, 2009“. BoxOfficeMoJo.com. http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?view=&yr=2009&wknd=45&p=.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
27. ^ “November 20-22, 2009: Weekend Studio Estimates“. BoxOfficeMoJo.com. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2009&wknd=47&p=.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
28. ^ Pamela McClintock (2009-11-07). “‘Precious’ on path to indie success“. Variety.com. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011024.html?categoryid=2199&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
29. ^ Branon Grey (2009-11-16). “Weekend Report: ‘2012’ Plagues the Box Office“. BoxOfficMojo.com. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2624&p=.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
30. ^ ^{a b} “PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL “PUSH” BY SAPPHIRE: November 2009“. BoxOfficeMoJo.com. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=daily&id=preciouspush.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
31. ^ “Precious“. Rotten Tomatoes. http://au.rottentomatoes.com/m/precious/. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
32. ^ “Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire“. Metacritic.com. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/precious. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
33. ^ ^{a b} John Anderson (2009-01-18). “Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire“. Variety.com. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=review&id=2471&reviewid=VE1117939367. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
34. ^ ^{a b} Owen Gleiberman (2009-11-11). “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (2009)“. EntertainmentWeekly.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20317518,00.html. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
35. ^ ^{a b c} Roger Ebert (2009-11-04). “PRECIOUS (R)“. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091104/REVIEWS/911059999. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
36. ^ Betsey Sharkey (2009-11-06). “‘Precious’ cuts deep“. LATimes.com. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-precious6-2009nov06,0,6535473.story. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
37. ^ Claudia Puig (2009-11-06). “‘Precious’ is raw and painful but poignant“. USAToday.com. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2009-11-06-precious06_ST_N.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
38. ^ Peter Travas (2009-1105). “Precious Review“. RollingStone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/25457970/review/30792742/precious. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
39. ^ ^{a b} Mary Pols (2009-11-16). “Precious Review: Too Powerful for Tears“. Time.com. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1935116,00.html#ixzz0XQwx5gH3. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
40. ^ ^{a b} Marshall Fine (2009-11-05). “Movie review: Precious: From the Novel PUSH by Sapphire“. HuffingtonPost.com. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marshall-fine/movie-review-iprecious-fr_b_346569.html. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
41. ^ ^{a b} Scott Mendelson (2009-11-10). “HuffPost Review: precious (2009)“. HuffingtonPost.com. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-mendelson/huff-post-review-precious_b_352425.html. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
42. ^ Courtland Milloy (2009-11-18). “A film as lost as the girl it glorifies“. WashingtonPost.com. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111703465.html. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
43. ^ David Edelstein (2009-11-01). “When Push Comes to Shove“. NYMag.com. http://nymag.com/movies/reviews/61750/. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
44. ^ Keith Uhlich (2009-11-04). “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire“. NewYor.Timeout.com. http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/film/80310/precious-based-on-the-novel-push-by-sapphire-film-review. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
45. ^ ^{a b} Dana Stevens (2009-11-05). “Precious: Sorry I Didn’t Like This Movie“. Slate.com. http://www.slate.com/id/2234728/. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
46. ^ “Precious film takes Toronto prize“. BBC.com. 2009-09-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8265281.stm. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
47. ^ Simon Reynolds (2009-09-21). “‘Precious’ scoops top Toronto prize“. DigitalSpy.com. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a178373/precious-scoops-top-toronto-prize.html. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
48. ^ Cameron French (2009-09-21). ““Precious” wins top Toronto film festival prize“. Reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE58I15F20090919. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
49. ^ Wilson Morales (2009-02-20). “Lee Daniels Film Renamed ‘PRECIOUS’“. BlackVoices.com. http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2009/02/20/lee-daniels-film-renamed-precious/. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
50. ^ Gail Mitchell (2008-08-29). “Robin Thicke reflects on race, music and Something Else“. Reuters.com. http://www2.canada.com/travel/health-information/motown+50th+birthday/1168649/story.html?id=801015. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
51. ^ “NEW MUSIC: MARIAH CAREY – ‘100 PERCENT’ (SNIPPET)“. Rap-Up.com. 2009-08-19. http://www.rap-up.com/2009/08/19/new-music-mariah-carey-100-percent-snippet/. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
52. ^ ““Happy” Featured in Precious Movie Trailer“. LeonaLewis.com. 2009-11-10. http://www.leonalewismusic.co.uk/us/news/detail/happy_featured_in_precious_movie_trailer/. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
53. ^ ^{a b c} “Precious Soundtrack“. InterScope.com. http://www.interscope.com/artist/news/default.aspx?nid=23468&aid=1147&cmnt=1. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
54. ^ ^{a b c d} Press Release (2009-11-05). “Lionsgate Music, in Association With Matriarch/Geffen Records, Announces Release of Soundtrack to Lee Daniels’ Highly Anticipated Film PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE“. Reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS25402+06-Nov-2009+PRN20091106. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
55. ^ ^{a b c d} “Blige performs on ‘Precious’ soundtrack“. UPI.com. 2009-11-09. http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2009/11/09/Blige-performs-on-Precious-soundtrack/UPI-14131257785271/. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
56. ^ Editorial Staff (2009-11-17). “Precious Movie Review: Mo’Nique Shines Wickedly, but Characters Fail to Connect; Tiny Roles for Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd“. PeopleMagazineDaily.com. http://peoplemagazinedaily.com/?p=2980. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
57. ^ IGA (2009-11-03). “Precious Soundtrack“. Interscope.com. http://www.interscope.com/artist/news/default.aspx?nid=23505&aid=1147. Retrieved 2009-11-20.

Fra wiki:

Teaser poster
Directed by	Jorge Blanco Co-Directer Javier Adad Marcos Martinez
Produced by	Ignacio Perez Dolset Guy Colins
Written by	Joe Stillman
Starring	Dwayne Johnson Jessica Biel Justin Long Seann William Scott Gary Oldman John Cleese
Music by	James Seymour Brett
Editing by	Alex Rodriguez
Studio	Ilion Animation Studios HandMade Films
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures
Release date(s)	November 20, 2009
Running time	91 minutes
Country	Spain United States
Language	English
Budget	$60 million
Gross revenue	$12,6 million (at Nov 22, 2009)

Planet 51 is an animated film directed by Jorge Blanco, written by Joe Stillman and starring Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Seann William Scott, Gary Oldman and John Cleese. Produced by Madrid-based Ilion Animation Studios and HandMade Films for $60 million, it was acquired for US distribution by New Line Cinema in November 2007. Planet 51 was released on November 20, 2009, by Sony Pictures Worldwide via TriStar Pictures. It was originally titled Planet One,^[1] but re-named Planet 51 as all “Planets” from 1 to 50 were trademarks. Planet 51 is the most expensive movie produced in Spain.

Plot

The film follows a NASA astronaut, Captain Charles “Chuck” Baker (Dwayne Johnson) who lands on Planet 51 thinking he’s the first to set foot on it. However, he discovers it’s inhabited by little green people who live in a white picket-fenced world reminiscent of 1950s America. This frightens the aliens, who think he’s an invader.

Cast

• Dwayne Johnson as Captain Charles “Chuck” Baker
• Jessica Biel as Neera
• Justin Long as Lem
• Seann William Scott as Skiff
• Gary Oldman as General Grawl
• John Cleese as Professer Kripple
• Ryan Rosenfeld as Marv

Production and release

The film, which cost approximately $60 million, finished production by June 2009.^[2] It was scheduled for release on November 20, 2009 by Sony Pictures Worldwide via their TriStar Pictures division.^[3] In November 2007, TriStar Pictures had picked up the film’s domestic distribution rights; the studio itself was to release the film in the summer of 2009. However, the film’s producers insisted on a November release. TriStar Pictures became the film’s home after New Line Cinema became a division of Warner Bros.

The film is directed by Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez.

Reception

Criticial reaction

The film has received generally unfavorable reviews from critics. ^[4] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 19% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 53 reviews with an average score of 4.1/10. ^[5]. Another review aggretator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating from 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film an average score of 39% based on 19 reviews. ^[6]

Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly graded the film a B regarding the film “delivers a few pleasant surprises, including a smart story”. ^[7] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2½ stars, but positively wrote of the film being “perfectly pleasant as kiddie entertainment, although wall-to-wall with pop references to the American 1950s.” ^[8] However, some critics such as Markovitz ^[7], Steven Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer ^[9], and Brain Miller of Village Voice ^[10] acknowledged the film is “an E.T. in reverse”.

Box Office

The film opened #4 behind 2012, The Blind Side and New Moon respectively with a $12.6 million debut. ^[11]

Cultural References

The film contains many cultural references, mostly to other science fiction films and, fifties pop culture, and the cold war.

References to Alien:

• The pet resembles the creature from Alien.
• The pet shoots out its tongue and attaches to astronaut Baker’s helmet. This is a reference to the scene in Alien where the creature shoots itself out of the egg onto Kane’s face.
• The pet’s urine is acidic as is the alien’s blood in Alien
• The pet sneaks on board astronaut Baker’s ship before he leaves. This is a reference to the final scene in Alien where the alien sneaks on board Ripley’s escape pod.
• The scene in the vault at Base 9 where probes and satellites from Earth are stored resembles the panoramic view of alien egg pods in the hold of the ship in Alien.

Other film references:

• Astronaut Baker performs lines of dialogue from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and The Terminator.
• The name of astronaut Baker’s robot assistant, “rover”, is a reference to the Mars rover, which it resembles. It also resembles WALL-E.
• The scene where the postman teases the pet into running to the end of its leash resembles a similar running gag between Foghorn Leghorn and George P. Dog in Looney Tunes cartoons.
• Astronaut Baker collides with a bicycle rider and flies through the air past a background shot of the full moon. The shot is an homage to a similar image in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
• The film’s plot could be described as a reverse-ET
• The warehouse area in Base 9 resembles Hangar 51 in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
• The “humaniac” movies resemble fifties science fiction movies.
• The “right stuff” is a reference to the film about the space program.
• When astronaut Baker first steps onto the surface of the planet to plant the American flag, the musical score quotes from Richard Strauss‘ Also sprach Zarathustra, which was featured prominently in the score of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Baker hums the theme from the work, indicating the he has seen the film.
• There is a running joke about anal probes, probably a reference to the South Park episode Cartman Gets an Anal Probe, but which was also an alien abduction story cliche long before it was written into South Park.
• There are frequent running jokes about alien mind control, as in Invasion of the Body Snatchers

UFO references:

• The name of the film refers to Area 51, an area rumored to contain crashed UFOs.
• The region “Base 9″ is an analogue to Area 51.
• The architecture of the homes, pieces of furniture, figures on the blackboard at school, and the layout of the city all resemble crop circles – a phenomenon believed by some to be the work of extraterrestrials

Cold war references:

• The children at school are shown doing Duck and cover drills.
• Some of the natural features in the area outside of town resemble mushroom clouds, commonly associated with nuclear explosions.

Video game

A video game based on the film was announced in November 2007. The game was published by Sega and available on Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in November 17, 2009. The console versions was developed by Pyro Studios and the Nintendo DS version is developed by Firebrand Games.

Zed Worldwide has developed a (F2P) online (MMORPG) for PCs^[12] aimed for the younger audience.

References

Fra wiki:

Release poster featuring Flint, Sam, and Steve.
Directed by	Phil Lord Christopher Miller
Produced by	Pam Marsden
Written by	Screenplay: Phil Lord Christopher Miller Book: Judi Barrett Ron Barrett
Starring	Bill Hader Anna Faris Neil Patrick Harris James Caan Bruce Campbell Andy Samberg Mr. T Bobb’e J. Thompson Benjamin Bratt Al Roker Lauren Graham Will Forte
Music by	Mark Mothersbaugh “Raining Sunshine” performed by Miranda Cosgrove
Studio	Sony Pictures Animation
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	September 18, 2009 (2009-09-18)
Running time	81 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$100 million
Gross revenue	$179,705,097[2]

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, a 2009 computer-animated film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures, was released on September 18, 2009, and is relatively based on the children’s book of the same name by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett.

The film features the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, James Caan, Bobb’e J. Thompson, Andy Samberg, Mr. T, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, Lauren Graham, and Will Forte. It was written and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who both are best known for the animated TV series Clone High.

The film is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is shown in 3D in select theaters using RealD Cinema and IMAX 3D systems.

Plot

Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) has always wanted to invent something awesome. His first invention was “Spray-on Shoes”, which eventually led to his feet being imprisoned for life, and added to people already making fun of him when he was younger. As he grew, all of his experiments seem to have a downside as well, such as “The Flying Car”, “Hair-On-Bald-er”, a television with legs, and “ratbirds.” At times, Flint believed that he was a failure, but his mother Fran Lockwood (Lauren Graham) always encouraged him to succeed. However, when she passes away, Flint is left with his non-supportive father, Tim Lockwood (James Caan). Flint lives in a small island town called Swallow Falls, which is famous for sardines, and located under the “A” in “Atlantic Ocean” on the atlas. The problem started for Swallow Falls when the world figured out that sardines are “super gross”, which sent the town into a state of economic depression, and leaving sardines as the only food available on the island. The citizens, including the local superhuman policeman Earl (Mr. T), Cal (Bobb’e J. Thompson), who is Earl’s son, the town’s sardine mascot, ‘Baby’ Brent (Andy Samberg) are often aggravated with Flint and his annoying inventions.

However, Flint finally comes up with an invention that can actually help the townspeople in a positive way. The creation converts water into food and is named “The Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator” (FLDSMDFR for short), but he doesn’t have enough electricity to power the process. When his father discovers Flint’s newest failure, he suggests Flint should quit working at being an inventor and come work with him at the family-owned fishing shop. Shrugging off his father’s offer, during the next day after Flint finishes an unpleasant shift, he and his pet monkey, Steve (Neil Patrick Harris), which communicates through the assistance of a thought translator/speaker, decide to charge up the machine using the town’s power station. Meanwhile, Mayor Shelbourne (Bruce Campbell) is unveiling Sardine Land, which is a theme park he built using the town’s entire budget, in hopes it will make him widely recognized and bring publicity to the small town. Sam Sparks (Anna Faris), a weather intern from New York City, along with her cameraman Manny (Benjamin Bratt), is given her big break in reporting about the grand opening of Sardine Land. Nonetheless, when Flint powers up the invention, it goes haywire and zooms through the theme park and up into the air, destroying Sardine Land.

Humiliated, Flint flees to the docks, where he inadvertently meets Sam and the sky starts to rain cheeseburgers from the giant purple clouds that are cast over the island. Flint realizes that the FLDSMDFR is suspended in the middle of the clouds and has finally worked. He then takes Sam to his lab to show her the process, and keeps her occupied with a video of a kitten and ducklings singing “Fight the Power,” as he builds a communication device that allows him to send food orders to the FLDSMDFR. People begin to praise Flint’s invention and start to make specialized requests of the food they want to rain down, such as the ice cream for Cal’s birthday, and a giant Jell-O mold for Sam before Flint goes out on a date with her (which he has a horrible and comedic time trying to ask her out on). He also builds the Out-Of-Sighter, a device that launches the leftovers out of town into a huge pile, called “Mount Leftovers”, which is held in place by a “nearly indestructible” dam. The town is then renamed Chewandswallow and the mayor plans a grand re-opening of the town, hoping the food weather will attract plenty of tourists, and make him more recognizable than ever before.

While on a date with Sam, Flint discovers that she was once a “nerd” as well. She was a “nerd” for the weather, and wore her hair in a ponytail and a large pair of glasses. She changed her look later in life to get away from the mocking and criticism, but Flint reveals that he likes her for the way she used to be. Sam then agrees to go out in public with her original look after he gets her to put her glasses on and tie her hair back. Right before leaving, Flint nervously (and awkwardly) tries to kiss Sam but gets interrupted by a phone call. The call is from Mayor Shelbourne, asking Flint to cut the ribbon at the town’s grand re-opening. Afterwards, Flint runs into problems with his father, who can’t admit that he is proud of his son, and Flint storms off angry and disappointed. He then comes across giant hot dogs, realizing that the food is starting to become unusually large. Noting that the food molecules are mutating, and that the FLDSMDFR is becoming unstable, Flint goes to turn it off, but the Mayor (who is now morbidly obese from all the food he ate) deceives him and says he shouldn’t and no one would like him anymore if he did. Flint, realizing this is the only time people weren’t scolding him for a mishap, orders spaghetti for the next day’s menu for the tourist’s arrival to town at the grand re-opening. This causes the FLDSMDFR, which is now covered in a meat-like growth, to become sentient.

The next day at the town’s grand re-opening, the previously ordered spaghetti forms a twister, which proves the idea of food mutation. Flint goes to turn off the FLDSMDFR, but the Mayor is seen ordering a Vegas-style buffet, and accidentally destroys the communication device. Sam, using her weather computer tries to warn the world through the news that an apocalyptic food storm will strike, but they disconnect her off the air at first for her “nerdy” appearance. Luckily, she gets re-aired and warns everyone about the events that could destroy the world. Flint gives up believing that he truly is a failure, through a talk with his father, who now encourages him to save the town. Flint puts a kill code in a USB Drive then builds “The Flying Car 2 with Wings” and Steve, Sam, Manny, and ‘Baby’ Brent (Brent going along trying to find a new “self image” since his old one was destroyed after Flint became famous) give chase to the FLDSMDFR, while the citizens and tourists build sandwich boats to escape to the sea.

The FLDSMDFR has formed a giant meatball around itself, and Flint, Sam, and Brent enter the meatball while Manny and Steve stay behind in the flying car. Flint loses the USB Drive on the way and calls his father to send the kill code to his cellular phone. Tim hesitantly enters Flint’s lab, and has trouble using Flint’s computer. While trying to send him the kill code, Mount Leftovers collapses and covers the town with massive amounts of food, and it seems that Tim had been crushed, but he successfully pulls himself out of the wreckage and sends the kill code to Flint. Flint, Brent, and Sam then uncover sentient food, which has undergone high mutations of physicality and developed artificial intelligence so it is able to protect the FLDSMDFR; nevertheless, they fight their way through giant man-eating baked chickens. Brent is seemingly eaten by one, but is able to control the chicken from the inside and fight the rest off as his new self, ‘Chicken’ Brent. Flint and Sam then head off alone, but she must leave him after she has an allergic reaction to a long tunnel lined with peanut brittle barbs. Now alone, Flint encounters the FLDSMDFR while Sam and Brent escape with Manny and Steve. Flint jams the phone into the machine to release the code, however it appears that his father sent the wrong document and the the video of the kitten and ducklings singing “Fight the Power” opens. The FLDSMDFR fights back physically, but Flint clogs the food extraction hole with his Spray-on Shoes spray, which causes the FLDSMDFR and the outer-lining meatball to explode, ending the catastrophic food weather. Down below in the town, which is covered by giant food, Sam, Steve, and Brent arrive unharmed. Seeing Flint is not with them, Tim and the other citizens mourn for Flint, whom they believe is dead, but Flint returns unharmed and saved by the ratbirds he originally created. His father finally admits that he is proud and loves his son, just before Flint receives the kiss from Sam he has always been waiting on. Meanwhile, Mayor Shelbourne is shown to have sunk in the ocean, due to the fact that he ate his sandwich boat.

Main Titles Sequence

During the end credits, a 2D skit animated by Duck Studio reveals many last minute events.

• The town is renamed Chewandswallow 2,and the citizens reside in bread and other foods. They also use food for transportation, such as cars and boats.
• Flint and his father open up a new business where they sell the “Spray-On Shoe” formula to fix roofs.
• The mayor’s obesity is gone, and he is arrested by Earl and Cal.
• Famous landmarks are repaired and transformed into a food paradise (with the exception of the Palace of Westminster).

Logo

This was the first Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation film to have an altered logo sequence. When the Columbia Pictures logo appears, a banana hits the Torch Lady and knocks her out of the image. During the Sony Pictures Animation logo sequence, dark clouds uncover the end of the logo.

Cast

• Bill Hader as the voice of Flint Lockwood, a young inventor, Sam’s love interest, and the main protagonist. Max Neuwirth voices his younger self.
• Anna Faris as the voice of Samantha “Sam” Sparks, a weather intern from New York City and Flint’s love interest.
• Neil Patrick Harris as the voice of Steve the Monkey, Flint’s pet monkey who can communicate through a speak and spell thought-translating device.
• James Caan as the voice of Tim Lockwood, Flint’s technophobic father.
• Bruce Campbell as the voice of Mayor Shelbourne, the selfish mayor of Swallow Falls and the primary antagonist. The mayor is unhappy with his size in the beginning, and when food falls from the sky, he eats a lot of the food, and later becomes obese.
• Andy Samberg as the voice of Brent “Baby Brent” McHale, a celebrity mascot of Baby Brent’s Sardines and Flint’s school rival, later friend.
• Mr. T as the voice of Officer Earl Devereaux, the town’s athletic cop.
• Bobb’e J. Thompson as the voice of Cal Devereaux, Earl’s son.
• Benjamin Bratt as the voice of Manny, Sam’s Guatemalan cameraman and former doctor, comedian and pilot.
• Al Roker as the voice of Patrick Patrickson, the anchorman of the weather station.
• Lauren Graham as the voice of Fran Lockwood, Flint’s mother who always believed in her son.
• Will Forte as the voice of Joe Towne, a redneck citizen of Chewandswallow who appears on numerous occasions throughout the film.

Production

On August 15, 2006, Sony Pictures Animation announced it would produce a film adaptation of the book, attempting to tell the origins of Chewandswallow’s weather.^[3] On September 18, 2008, Variety announced that Bill Hader and Anna Faris had signed on to voice the two lead characters, with James Caan, Bruce Campbell, Mr. T, Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Bobb’e J. Thompson, Benjamin Bratt, Al Roker, Lauren Graham, and Will Forte also in the voice cast.^[4] Co-writers and co-directors Philip Lord and Chris Miller said later that year that it would be a homage to, and a parody of, disaster movies such as Twister, Armageddon, and The Day After Tomorrow.^[5]

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is the second animated film to be made using Sony’s animation rendering software, Arnold,^[6] and the open source image toolkit OpenImageIO.^[7]

Marketing and release

The first trailer was released online on March 18, 2009 and was planned to premiere with DreamWorks Animation’s Monsters vs. Aliens, in 3-D. The second trailer was released on July 1, 2009 with 20th Century Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. The film released on September 18, 2009 in the US and in Japan on September 19, 2009.

The film’s second trailer and some of its commercials feature Journey’s Any Way You Want It and Europe’s The Final Countdown.^{[citation needed]} The Japanese version of the commercial and the trailer of the movie features the song by Shoko Nakagawa titled “Rainbow Forecast”.^{[citation needed]}

Blu Ray and DVD Release

The DVD and Blu Ray disc will be released on January 5th, 2010.

Reception

Critical Reaction

The film has received favorable reviews from critics. ^[8] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 86% of critics gave positive reviews based on 105 reviews (90 “Fresh”, 15 “Rotten”) with an average score of 7.3/10. ^[9] Another review aggretator, Metacritic which normalizes a rating from mainstream critics, gave the film an approval rating of 66% based on 22 reviews. ^[8]

Ernest Hardy of LA Weekly stated the film “is smart, insightful on a host of relationship dynamics, and filled with fast-paced action.” Hardy also appluaded the 3-D effects which “are wonderful, full of witty sight gags that play out both center-screen…” ^[10] At the Movies host Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film a mixed review stating that “Crazy doesn’t always equal funny, and the gigantism of this 3-D offering’s second half puts a damper on your enjoyment. But look: This film wasn’t made for you, or me. It was made for dangerously, easily distracted 9-year-olds.” ^[11] Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film 2 stars stating that the animated movie “greatly expands on the kids’ book on which it’s based in a clever and engaging first half. But the second half leaves a foul aftertaste.” ^[12]

Box Office

The film earned $8,137,358 on its opening Friday, and ranked #1 at the box office^[13] with a total of $30,304,648 for the first weekend. On its second weekend, it remained #1 even though an 18% decrease occurred. It currently holds the record for third largest opening weekend in the month of September. It has made a worldwide total of, $178.8 million.^{[14] [15]}

Songs

• Raining Sunshine by Miranda Cosgrove
• Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows by Lesley Gore
• Fight the Power by Public Enemy
• Any Way You Want It by Journey
• Sirius by The Alan Parsons Project

The film’s main soundtrack was recorded by Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh.

Video Game

Ubisoft announced the game based on the film and it was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable on September 15, 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Art Book

In August 2009, Insight Editions published a companion book to the film called The Art & Making of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

References

Fra wiki:

Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tyler Perry
Produced by	Tyler Perry
Written by	Tyler Perry
Starring	Taraji P. Henson Adam Rodriguez Brian J. White Mary J. Blige Gladys Knight Marvin Winans and Tyler Perry
Music by	Alexander Gruszynski
Cinematography	Alexander Gruzynski
Editing by	Maysie Hoy
Distributed by	Lionsgate Tyler Perry Studios
Release date(s)	September 11, 2009
Running time	113 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$13,000,000
Gross revenue	$51,707,000 [1]
Preceded by	Madea Goes To Jail

I Can Do Bad All By Myself is a romantic comedy-drama film adaptation which was released on September 11, 2009. The movie was written and directed by Tyler Perry,^[2] and was inspired by Perry’s play of the same name. The film centers on a selfish alcoholic named April who raises her sister’s three kids and falls in love with a Colombian immigrant who works for her.

Plot

April (Taraji P. Henson), a selfish alcoholic singer, is performing at a nightclub where she works. On the other side of town, Madea (Tyler Perry) and Uncle Joe (Perry) catch Jennifer (Hope Olaide Wilson), Manny (Kwesi Boakye), and Byron (Frederick Siglar) breaking into their house. After hearing the children’s troubles, Madea welcomes them and feeds them. Jennifer tells Madea that they’re living with their Grandmother who they have not seen in four days. They tell Madea that their only other relative is their aunt, April. April shares her home with her shady boyfriend, Randy (Brian J. White), who’s married with children. The next morning, Madea brings the kids to April’s house but April doesn’t want to be bothered. Meanwhile, Pastor Brian (Marvin Winans) sends a Colombian immigrant named Sandino (Adam Rodriguez) to her house for work and a place to stay. April puts Sandino in her basement and wants to lock him down there because she doesn’t know him that well. While working around the house, Sandino surprises April by cleaning himself up and becoming very handsome. When Randy arrives, he sees April with the kids and Sandino and heckles him while making makes subtle advances at Jennifer.

Shortly after, Pastor Brian and Wilma (Gladys Knight), a church member, comes to inform April that her mother died from a fatal brain aneurysm while riding on a bus. April is devestated by the news and seeks comfort from Randy, however he is sleeping and shruggs off April’s attempt to seek comfort. Later Sandino comforts April as she tells him about her mother’s death and the last time she spoke with her. Depressed, Jennifer goes to Madea wanting to know how to pray. However, Madea, inexperienced with prayer, attempts to instruct in a scene that plays out comically. The same night, Wilma sings “The Need to Be”, an uplifting song for women and Tanya (Mary J. Blige), the nightclub bartender, sings “I Can Do Bad”. After singing the song, Tanya is fed up with April’s attitude and tries to help her friend despite that she can’t help April if she can’t help herself. Over time, Sandino and April become friends and Sandino fixes a ruined bedroom in her house making Manny and Bryon happy except Jennifer who feels April doesn’t want them there. While on a date, Sandino tells April he doesn’t understand why she is with Randy and askes if she loves Randy. He tells her what true loves is to him. One Sunday morning, Sandino eagerly knocks on April’s bedroom door to get April ready for church, but Randy threatens to kill Sandino if he continues to spend time with April.

Late one night, Manny needs his insulin shot and Jennifer gets it for him in the kitchen. There, Randy attempts to rape Jennifer, but is fought off by Sandino. April walks in on the fight and Randy claims that Jennifer offered sex with him for money. April sends Randy to take a bath and while bathing, she threatens to electrocute him with a plugged-in radio. Sandino tries to stop her, but April is enraged and drops the radio into the water causing Randy to receive a severe shock. Randy jumps out and barely survives, but is ordered to leave the apartment by Sandino. April goes to the bar for a drink and blames the incident on herself for not seeing the signs. Sandino tries to stop her from drinking, but she pushes him away. She then ask Sandino if he is a child molester because of all the attention he gives the children . Sandino tells April of his childhood as a child laborer and that he loves the children so much that he sees himself in them. Feeling hurt, Sandino says farewell to Jennifer, Manny, and Byron and leaves. Jennifer and April begin to get along and connect after April tells Jennifer about her bad experience as a child. Jennifer tells April that she should recognize Sandino as a good man. Also, that April needs a good man and maybe Sandino is the one for April. Sandino returns and April apologizes to him and admits that she “loves” him like a friend. Sandino tells her that she can’t love anyone until she learns to love herself. He tells April that he is in love with her but he wants April to love him back the same way he loves her. He shows her by kissing her.

Time passes and April and Sandino get married. They hold a block party for their reception with Tanya sings “Good Woman Down” dedicated to April with the new couple embracing and kissing each other.

Cast

• Tyler Perry as Madea / Joe
• Taraji P. Henson as April
• Adam Rodriguez as Sandino
• Brian J. White as Randy
• Mary J. Blige as Tanya
• Gladys Knight as Wilma
• Marvin Winans as Pastor Brian
• Hope Olaide Wilson as Jennifer
• Kwesi Boakye as Manny
• Frederick Siglar as Byron

Differences from Stage Play

• Tyler Perry’s famous characters, Mr. Brown and Cora had main roles in the stageplay. They are absent in this film. Cora is mentioned briefly by Madea but Mr. Brown is not.

• The original plot focused on two sisters feuding because one sister is dating the other’s ex-husband. But the ex-husband is holding her back from her parental responsibilities.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film features 13 tracks ^[3]:

Reception

Criticial reaction

The film has received mixed or average reviews from critics. ^[4] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 64% of critics gave positive reviews based on 19 reviews with an average score of 6.0/10. ^[5] By comparison, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating from mainstream critics, gave the film a 55% approval rating of critics based on 13 reviews. ^[4]

Box Office

On its opening weekend, the film opened at #1 with more than $24 million. “Tyler Perry has a special way of speaking to his audience, and it’s unbelievable,” David Spitz, Lionsgate’s executive vice president and general sales manager said. ^[6] On its second weekend, the film dropped an estimated 57% to gross another $10 million for a third place finish. ^[7] As of October 25, the film has grossed $51,707,000. ^[1]

References

Fra wiki:

Theatrical poster
Directed by	Robert D. Siegel
Produced by	Jean Kouremetis Elan Bogarin
Written by	Robert D. Siegel
Starring	Patton Oswalt Kevin Corrigan Michael Rapaport Marcia Jean Kurtz Matt Servitto Serafina Fiore Gino Cafarelli Jonathan Hamm Polly Humphreys Scott Ferrall
Music by	Philip Watts
Cinematography	Michael Simmonds
Editing by	Joshua Trank
Distributed by	First Independent Pictures
Release date(s)	August 28, 2009
Running time	91 min.
Country	United States
Language	English

Big Fan (2009) is a independent drama film written and directed by Robert D. Siegel, and starring Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Michael Rapaport, and Scott Ferrall. The story revolves around the bleak yet amiable life of the self-described “world’s biggest New York Giants fan”,^[1] Paul Aufiero (Oswalt). Big Fan garnered positive reviews at this year’s 2009 Sundance Film Festival,^{[citation needed]}. The film had a limited release in the United States beginning on August 28, 2009.

Plot summary

Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt) is a parking garage attendant who dwells with his mother (Marcia Jean Kurtz) in Staten Island, New York. Paul relentlessly follows the New York Giants football team and his favorite pastimes include going to Giants Stadium with his friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan) and watching the games on television in the stadium parking lot as well as calling the Sports Dogg’s (Scott Ferrall) radio talk show as “Paul from Staten Island”, where he rants in support of his beloved team, often against his mysterious on-air rival, Philadelphia Eagles fanatic “Philadelphia Phil” (Michael Rapaport). His family berates him for doing nothing with himself, but Paul disregards the scorn and happily makes football the focus of his life and crux of his identity.

One day, Paul and Sal happen upon Giants star player Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) and his entourage in Staten Island. They follow him into a strip club in Manhattan. Paul introduces himself to Quantrell, and all goes well until he discovers that Paul and Sal followed him all the way from Staten Island. Enraged, Bishop brutally beats Paul, who is hospitalized for his injuries.

After the incident, Bishop is suspended from playing indefinitely. Paul is pressed by his personal injury attorney brother Jeff (Gino Cafarelli), who files a multimillion dollar lawsuit on behalf of him, and NYPD Detective Velarde (Matt Servitto) into pressing charges against Bishop, but he refuses, due to the fact that it would adversely affect the Giants’ performance on the field if he did so. The charges against Bishop are eventually dropped, and he is able to play again.

When Philadelphia Phil reveals on the Sports Dogg’s show that the victim of the Quantrell Bishop beating is in fact “Paul from Staten Island”, Paul heads for Philadelphia to confront Phil. Disguised as an Eagles fanatic, Paul meets Phil in a local bar and gains his trust as they watch the Giants and Eagles play in the pivotal final game of the season. As the Eagles dominate the Giants, the crowd in the bar begins to deride the Giants in increasingly enthusiastic fashion, to Paul’s considerable consternation. As time runs out and the Eagles fanatics celebrate their victory, Paul follows Phil into the bath-room and pulls a gun on him, shooting Phil multiple times. It is revealed that Paul is actually wielding a paintball gun and Phil is covered in red and blue paint, the colors of the New York Giants.

Paul is arrested and imprisoned for the assault. Sal visits Paul in jail and reveals to him the Giants’ schedule for the following season, and pointing out the week he gets released, much to the delight of Paul.

Cast

• Patton Oswalt as Paul Aufiero
• Kevin Corrigan as Sal
• Michael Rapaport as Philadelphia Phil
• Marcia Jean Kurtz as Theresa Aufiero
• Matt Servitto as Detective Velarde
• Serafina Fiore as Gina
• Gino Cafarelli as Jeff
• Jonathan Hamm as Quantrell Bishop
• Polly Humphreys as Christine
• Scott Ferrall as Sports Dogg

Reception

Big Fan has earned mostly positive reviews from critics. As of August 29, 2009, Rotten Tomatoes reported that 85% of critics gave the film a positive review.^[2]

External links

• Official website
• Big Fan at the Internet Movie Database

References

Fra wiki:

Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Neal Brennan
Produced by	Adam McKay Will Ferrell Kevin Messick Chris Henchy
Written by	Adam Stock Rick Stempson
Starring	Jeremy Piven Ving Rhames James Brolin David Koechner Kathryn Hahn Ed Helms Jordana Spiro Craig Robinson
Music by	Lyle Workman
Cinematography	Daryn Okada
Editing by	Michael Jablow Kevin Tent
Studio	Gary Sanchez Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Vantage
Release date(s)	August 14, 2009
Running time	89 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10 million[1]
Gross revenue	$15,142,571[1]

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard is a 2009 comedy film directed by Neal Brennan, starring Jeremy Piven and Ed Helms. The movie was released on August 14, 2009.

Plot

Ben Selleck’s car dealership is failing and he is forced to hire a mercenary, Don Ready. They have 211 cars to sell over the 4th of July weekend. Don’s team of Babs, Jibby, and Brent promise Ben that they will make the dealership a profit after the weekend.

On the first day the crowds gather outside for hot dogs and other gimmicks. Don notices that the naturally talented salesman, Blake, could be his son. The sales team sell the cars by any means necessary and finish the day selling 71 cars. Before they can leave the lot Stu and his son Paxton from the opposing dealership offer to purchase the lot. Since Paxton is marrying Ben’s daughter, Ivy, he is trying to put his future father-in-law out of business. Paxton only wants practice space for his “man-band”, Big Ups, and eventually wants to take them worldwide. Ben is about to finalize a deal with Stu but Don promises to sell every car on the lot.

The second day starts off poorly with a dishonest commercial that Ben is dying of testicular cancer. When it is time for Eric Bice, Bo Bice’s brother to take the stage he backs out at the last minute and Don takes the stage. The crowd riots when they find out Don is an atrocious singer. Taking advantage of all the cameras on the lot from the riot, the team starts a sale for 20% off.

Don is taking stock in his life when Ivy questions him about one of his jobs in Albuquerque. Don tells her that he killed his best friend and team DJ, McDermott, by giving him a bag with sex toys instead of a parachute. Don was more focused on having sex with his customer than selling cars. He then reveals to Ivy that he is falling for her and it is all happening again. That night Ivy comes to Don’s hotel room and they have sex.

Ivy reveals that it was a one night stand and is not breaking up with Paxton. Don is furious and storms out yelling that he only loves cars. The team searches but cannot find Don, they get pumped up to sell the the 105 cars left on the lot without him. While wandering the desert Don sees the deceased McDermott with two angels. McDermott tells Don that everything is about the team, people you love, and that he should get off the road. In the time it takes Don to get back to the dealership the team sells every car on the lot.

Don parachutes onto the lot but Stu and Paxton inform him the “bandit car” (an expensive prop that was used in the Smokey and the Bandit films) is not sold and the dealership is theirs. Don convinces Paxton to buy the bandit car, which saves the lot, and Paxton leaves Ivy to tour with his band. Don announces that he is going to get off the road so he can care for his friends and family more. Don marries Ivy and adopts Blake (despite the fact that Blake knows he is not, in fact, Don’s son) but they get divorced two years later.

Cast

• Jeremy Piven as Don Ready
• Ving Rhames as Jibby Newsome
• James Brolin as Ben Selleck
• David Koechner as Brent Gage
• Kathryn Hahn as Babs Merrick
• Ed Helms as Paxton Harding
• Jordana Spiro as Ivy Selleck
• Tony Hale as Wade Zooha
• Ken Jeong as Teddy Dang
• Rob Riggle as Peter Selleck
• Alan Thicke as Stu Harding
• Charles Napier as Dick Lewiston
• Jonathan Sadowski as Blake
• Noureen DeWulf as Heather
• Wendie Malick as Tammy Selleck
• Craig Robinson as D.J. Request
• Bryan Callen as Jason Big Ups!
• Joey Kern as Ricky Big Ups!
• Matt Walsh as Captain Ortiz
• Ian Roberts as Selleck Customer – Gary
• Will Ferrell as Craig McDermott (uncredited)

Production

Originally titled, The Goods: The Don Ready Story, Adam McKay was originally interested in casting Mary Steenburgen. The film was to have a number of cameos.^{[citation needed]} McKay aknowledges similarities between this film and the Robert Zemeckis directed, Steven Spielberg produced film Used Cars, which he thinks the “regular people have forgotten about”, and he compares this film to a funny Glengarry Glen Ross in tone.^[2]

The song Fox On The Run, originally by British band Sweet, covered by Ace Frehley is featured in the movie as well as the trailer.

Reception

Critics

Reception of the film has been mixed to negative. On the film review website Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a 27% rating with an average score of 4.2/10 based on 56 reviews, and a 22% rating based on 18 “Top Critic” reviews, giving it the status of “Rotten”.^[3] On similar review website Metacritic, the film holds an average score of 40 based on 18 reviews.^[4]

Citizens

On August 17, the Japanese-American Citizens League demanded an apology due to a scene depicting the mob beating of an Asian American man, as well as the usage of the racial slur “Jap” in the movie and, acknowledging it was a hate crime, asked employees to say the Asian American was attacking them with a samurai sword.^[5]

Box office

The film opened at #6 in 1,838 theaters making $5,642,137 behind District 9, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Julie & Julia , and G-Force. The Goods stayed in the theater for seven weeks only staying in the top 10 for its first two weeks. The film has grossed $15,122,676 domestically and $19,895 abroad for a total of $15,142,571 so far. This has placed it at number 97 for all films released in 2009.^[1]

Home Video

The Goods was released on DVD as a rental only with no special features Nov. 17, and for sale Dec. 15.

References