2002
Character: Brad/Himself
Release Date: 2 August 2002 (limited)
Directed By: Steven Soderbergh
Written By: Coleman Hough
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
Tagline: Everybody Needs A Release
MPAA Rating: R
Produced by: Allied Filmmakers, Kushner-Locke Company, The Mad Chance, Miramax Films, NPV Entertainment, Section Eight, Village Roadshow Pictures
Distributed by: Miramax Films
Budget: $2,000,000 (estimated)
Filming Dates: 6 November 2001 – 30 November 2001
Cast:
…David Duchovny…Bill/Gus
…Nicky Katt…Hitler
…Catherine Keener…Lee
…David Hyde Pierce…Carl
…Julia Roberts…Catherine/Francesca
…Blair Underwood…Nicholas/Calvin
…Terence Stamp…Man on Plane/Himself
…Brad Rowe…Sam Osbourne
…David Fincher…Film Director
…Jerry Weintraub…Jerry
Filming Locations:
Beverly Blvd. at Vista, Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA
L’Ermitage Hotel – 9291 Burton Way, Beverly Hills, California, USA
Los Angeles, California, USA
Synopsis:
Arty film-within-a-film revolves around seven people with little in common whose lives collide.
Trivia & Facts:
• Steven Soderbergh attached the following list of rules to the screenplay to his low budget ($2 M) film with a huge list of stars:
1. All sets are practical locations.
2. You will drive yourself to the set. If you are unable to drive yourself, a driver will pick you up, but you will probably become the subject of ridicule. Either way, you must arrive alone.
3. There will be no craft service, so you should arrive on set “having had”. Meals will vary in quality.
4. You will pick, provide, and maintain your own wardrobe.
5. You will create and maintain your own hair and make-up.
6. There will be no trailers. The company will attempt to provide holding areas near a given location, but don’t count on it. If you need to be alone a lot, you’re pretty much screwed.
7. Improvisation will be encouraged.
8. You will be interviewed about your character. This material may end up in the film.
9. You will be interviewed about the other characters. This material may end up in the finished film.
10. You will have fun whether you want to or not. If any of these guidelines are problematic for you, stop reading now and send this screenplay back where it came from.
• After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, Soderbergh dropped a plot element about placards telling How to Survive a Hotel Room Fire, a phrase that he had also intended to use as the film’s title.
• After a pitch meeting with some studio execs, Blair Underwood’s character complains, “We brought them a china cup and they told us to go back and make a beer mug.” This is almost a direct quote from director David Fincher; he was describing his experience making _Alien3_ (1992)_ to Premiere Magazine.
• Hanging in Lee and Carl’s apartment is a poster for the Godard film, _Disprezzo, Il (1963)_ , a film with some similar themes about the film/entertainment industry, as well as (vaguely) some scenes and plot points.
• Steven Soderbergh used mostly hand-held cameras. Filming took 18 days.
• Steven Soderbergh pays homage to his own film, The Limey (1999). In one of the airplane scenes, Blair Underwood turns around and sees Wilson (Terence Stamp) doing a scene from The Limey (1999). Also, Soderbergh has David Fincher making fun of his own movies by having him shoot 49 takes of one line, a typical Fincher trademark.
• The crew member whose face is covered by the black square is actually Steven Soderbergh. They were unable to find another director to play the part so he stepped in, reluctantly, and shows this by covering his face in post production with a black square.
• To keep costs down, a large portion of the film was shot digitally using Canon’s XL1s MiniDV series cameras. Scenes involving Blair Underwood’s interview with ‘Julia Roberts’ were shot on film. See also: 28 Days Later… (2002).
From the gallery
Quotes
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External Links
…Official website
…IMDB
SB Store (US)
…Full Frontal (DVD)
SB Store (UK)
…Full Frontal (DVD)
