Finding Forrester (2000)

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writer (WGA):

Mike Rich (written by)

Release Date:

19 December 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

In an ordinary place, he found the one person to make his life extraordinary.

Plot:

An afro-american teen writing prodigy finds a mentor in a reclusive author.

Plot Keywords:

School | Writing | Basketball | Inner City | Recluse

Awards:

5 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Sean Connery	...	William Forrester
Rob Brown	...	Jamal Wallace
F. Murray Abraham	...	Prof. Robert Crawford
Anna Paquin	...	Claire Spence
Busta Rhymes	...	Terrell Wallace
April Grace	...	Ms. Joyce
Michael Pitt	...	John Coleridge
Michael Nouri	...	Dr. Spence
Richard Easton	...	Prof. Matthews
Glenn Fitzgerald	...	Massie, Forrester's Delivery Man
Lil' Zane	...	Damon (as Zane Copeland Jr.)
Stephanie Berry	...	Janice Wallace
Fly Williams III	...	Fly
Damany Mathis	...	Kenzo
Damion Lee	...	Clay
Tom Kearns	...	Coach Garrick
Matthew Noah Word	...	John Hartwell
Charles Bernstein	...	Dr. Simon
Matt Malloy	...	David Bradley
Matt Damon	...	Steven Sanderson
Jimmy Bobbitt	...	Rapper
Capital Jay	...	Opposing Player
Jim Titus	...	Student (as James T. Williams II)
Cassandra Kubinski	...	Claire's Friend
Sophia Wu	...	Librarian
Gerry Rosenthal	...	Student Speaker
Tim Hall	...	Student Manager
Tom Mullica	...	Old Money Man
David Madison	...	Kid in the Hall
Joey Buttafuoco	...	Night Man
Jaime McCaig	...	Referee
William Modeste	...	Referee
Daniel Rodriguez	...	Hallway Boy
Samuel Tyson	...	Creston Player
Vince Giordano	...	Big Band Leader
Gregory Singer	...	Violinist
Dean Pratt	...	Trumpet Player
Kerry MacKillop	...	Trumpet Player
Harvey Tibbs	...	Trombone Player
Jack Stuckey	...	Sax Player
Mark Lopeman	...	Sax Player
Marc Phaneuf	...	Sax Player
Larry Wade	...	Sax Player
Conal Fowkes	...	Piano Player
Matt Munisteri	...	Guitarist
John Meyers	...	Drummer
Ron Morgan	...	Mailor Priest
Alison Folland	...	Jeopardy Contestant
Alex Trebek	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brett Barsky	...	Student (uncredited)
Alexander Conti	...	Little Boy (uncredited)
Joe Crosson	...	Student (uncredited)
Jessica Leshnower	...	(uncredited)
Randi Rosenholtz	...	Student (uncredited)
Gus Van Sant	...	Library Assistant (uncredited)

Directed by
Gus Van Sant

Writing credits (WGA)
Mike Rich		(written by)

Produced by
Sean Connery	....	producer
Jonathan King	....	executive producer
Laurence Mark	....	producer
Rhonda Tollefson	....	producer
Dany Wolf	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Harris Savides

Film Editing by
Valdís Óskarsdóttir		(as Valdis Oskarsdottir)

Casting by
Francine Maisler
Bernard Telsey
David Vaccari

Production Design by
Jane Musky

Art Direction by
Robert Guerra
Darrell K. Keister

Set Decoration by
Susan Bode		(as Susan Tyson)
Lynn Tonnessen		(as B. Lynn Tonnessen)

Costume Design by
Ann Roth

Makeup Department
Michal Bigger	....	key makeup artist
Mario Cacioppo	....	makeup artist: Toronto
Veronica Ciandre	....	hair stylist: Toronto
Linda Grimes	....	key makeup artist
Melanie Hughes	....	makeup artist: Mr. Connery (as Melanie R. Hughes)
John Quaglia	....	key hair stylist (as John D. Quaglia)
Lyndell Quiyou	....	hair stylist: Mr. Connery
James Sarzotti	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Michele Giordano	....	production supervisor
Jim Powers	....	production manager: Toronto (as James Powers)
Tom Razzano	....	unit production manager
Dany Wolf	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fareshta Ahmadi	....	dga trainee
Bruno Bryniarski	....	second assistant director: Toronto
Dylan Hopkins	....	second second assistant director
Amy Lynn	....	second assistant director
Kirsteen McLean	....	third assistant director: Toronto
Julie O'Neill	....	trainee assistant director: Toronto
John Sauvé	....	trainee assistant director: Toronto
David J. Webb	....	first assistant director (as David Webb)

Art Department
Ann Marie Auricchio	....	scenic artist
Roger Baron	....	property buyer
Tory Bellingham	....	property master: Toronto
Joseph Deluca	....	on-set dresser (as Joseph M. Deluca)
David Evans	....	on-set dresser: Toronto
Arvinder Grewal	....	art director: Toronto
Denise Gurkas	....	camera scenic artist
Thomas E. Halligan	....	key construction grip
Joanna Tracey Heaton	....	art department assistant: Toronto
Philip Kennedy	....	scenic artist
Carolyn 'Cal' Loucks	....	set decorator: Toronto
John Mackenzie	....	construction coordinator: Toronto
Vinny Mazzarella	....	assistant props
James Mazzola	....	property master (as James R. Mazzola)
Fred Merusi	....	construction coordinator
Rhonda Moscoe	....	art department coordinator
Louis J. Porzio	....	key carpenter
Jeff Poulis	....	assistant props: Toronto (as Jeffrey Poulis)
Reet Puhm	....	key scenic: Toronto
John Ralbovsky	....	scenic artist
Sandy Smirle	....	assistant art director: Toronto (as Sandra L. Smirle)
Eric Taylor	....	key carpenter: Toronto
Patricia Walker	....	scenic charge person
Dave Weinman	....	lead man
Joan Winters	....	graphic designer
Alexandre Athané	....	comic art (uncredited)
Mike Bundlie	....	graphic designer (uncredited)
Carlos Caneca	....	lead man: Toronto (uncredited)
Jay Durrwachter	....	production illustrator (uncredited)
Kathryn Freund	....	assistant props (uncredited)
Jamie Mullins	....	art department coordinator: New York (uncredited)

Sound Department
Peter Appleton	....	adr editor
Kelley Baker	....	supervising sound editor (as Kelley Baker)
Frank Canonica	....	supervising sound recordist: mix stage
Matt Cluett	....	sound transferer
David A. Cohen	....	dialogue editor
Steve Fontano	....	foley mixer
Michael 'Gonzo' Gandsey	....	sound effects editor (as Michael Gandsey)
Paul Koronkiewicz	....	boom operator
Owen Langevin	....	sound mixer: Toronto
Brian Miksis	....	production sound mixer
Marnie Moore	....	foley artist
Richard Moore	....	sound effects editor
Margie O'Malley	....	foley artist
David Parker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chris Potter	....	sound effects editor
Neil Riha	....	additional utility sound: New York
Frank Rinella	....	sound recordist
Dennis S. Sands	....	pre-mix engineer (as Dennis Sands)
Erika Schengili-Roberts	....	boom operator: Toronto
Burton Sharp	....	adr supervisor
Leslie Shatz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Concha Solano	....	assistant sound editor
Patti Tauscher	....	foley editor
Jim Thompson	....	boom operator: Toronto (as James L. Thompson Jr.)
Gus Van Sant	....	sound re-recording mixer
Alfredo Viteri	....	boom operator
Patrick Winters	....	sound effects editor
Howard London	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Michael Kavanagh	....	special effects coordinator
Derek Liscoumb	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Syd Dutton	....	additional visual effects: Illusion Art, Inc.
Caroline Gibb	....	production coordinator: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Dipankar Goswamy	....	digital compositor: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Nick Hsieh	....	digital compositor: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Mark Kenaston	....	digital artist
Shane Kinnear	....	visual effects executive producer: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Michael Kowalski	....	production manager: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Tanya Kuzmanovic-Howard	....	production coordinator: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Daniel Lee	....	digital compositor: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Bob Munroe	....	visual effects supervisor
Ken Ouellette	....	animation supervisor
Barbara Shaw	....	production coordinator: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
John A. Shaw	....	technical support: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Bill Taylor	....	additional visual effects: Illusion Art, Inc.
Claude Theriault	....	digital compositor: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Tracey Vaz	....	digital compositor: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Michael Wile	....	digital compositor: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Alphonso Young	....	digital compositor: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures

Stunts
G.A. Aguilar	....	stunt coordinator (as George Aguilar)
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunts
Tom Farr	....	stunts
Richard Hughes	....	stunts
Jamie Jones	....	stunts
Carl Paoli	....	stunt driver
Paul Rutledge	....	stunts
Al Thompson	....	stunts
Dave Van Zeyl	....	stunts
Cort Hessler	....	stunts (uncredited)
Stephen A. Pope	....	stunts (uncredited)
Al Thompson	....	stunt double: Robert Brown (uncredited)
Kym Washington	....	utility stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Scotty Allan	....	gaffer: Toronto
Sam Bojin	....	best boy electric: Toronto (as Samuel Bojin)
Bob Brennan	....	best boy grip (as Robert A. Brennan)
Craig Bulmer	....	electrician
Michael Cambria	....	second assistant camera: New York
Caesar Carnevale	....	film loader: New York (as Caeser S. Carnevale)
Mark Cyre	....	assistant camera: Toronto
Cesare DiGiulio	....	rigging best boy: Toronto
Thomas Dolan	....	best boy electric (as Thomas W. Dolan)
Gregory Farrell	....	best boy
Gregory Farrell	....	rigging electrician
Jay Fortune	....	gaffer
Roland Gauvin	....	rigging grip: Toronto
Heinz Gloss	....	rigging electric best boy: Toronto (as Heinz D. Gloss)
Glen Goodchild	....	best boy grip: Toronto
Wayne Goodchild	....	key grip: Toronto
Craig Haagensen	....	camera operator: New York
Steve Kolodziej	....	24 frame video operator
Jim Krauter	....	dolly grip: Toronto
George Kraychyk	....	still photographer: Toronto
James Malone	....	rigging gaffer (as James V. Malone)
Larry McConkey	....	Steadicam operator
Kevin McKenna	....	video assist operator
Phil Oetiker	....	camera operator: Toronto (as Philip W. Oetiker)
Billy Patsos	....	key rigging grip (as William Patsos)
George Patsos	....	key grip (as George Patsos Jr.)
James Pollard	....	dolly grip (as James H. Pollard)
Eric Swanek	....	first assistant camera: New York
Davidson Tate	....	rigging electric: Toronto
Demmie Todd	....	still photographer
Neil Trafford	....	assistant camera: Toronto
Greg Williams	....	video assist operator: Toronto
Richard Gioia	....	camera operator: "b" camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Kathy Driscoll	....	casting associate (as Kathleen Driscoll-Mohler)
Lori Eastside	....	extras casting
Emily Palmer	....	extras casting assistant
Victoria Pettibone	....	casting associate: New York
Nancy Safran	....	casting assistant
Jon Scott Strotheide	....	casting associate (as Jon Strotheide)
Bill Woods	....	casting associate: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joanna Brett	....	wardrobe supervisor
Cori Burchell	....	wardrobe: Toronto
Barrett Hong	....	wardrobe supervisor: Mr. Connery (as Barrett P. Hong)
Iris Horta Lemos	....	set costumer (as Iris H. Lemos)
Donna Maloney	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Donna M. Maloney)
Amy Roth	....	key costumer (as Amy T. Roth)
Andre Schulz	....	costumer: Toronto
Marcia Scott	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Clare Bambrough	....	assistant film editor (as Clare Mara Bambrough)
Angela Barton	....	assistant film editor
Kent Blocher	....	assistant film editor
Helen Hand	....	first assistant editor
Berenicci Hershorn	....	apprentice film editor
Kathy LaCommare	....	assistant film editor
Eric Rigney	....	avid technician
Stephen R. Sheridan	....	color timer (as Steve Sheridan)
Dawn M. Stoliar	....	assistant film editor
Tim Wilson	....	assistant film editor
Paul Zucker	....	assistant film editor
Tim Fox	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Bill Holley	....	colorist (uncredited)
Barry Malawski	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Bill Brown	....	music arranger
Bill Frisell	....	composer: additional score
Charlie Haden	....	musician: bass
Lisa Jaime	....	music editor
Kenneth Karman	....	supervising music editor (as Ken Karman)
Lesley Langs	....	assistant music editor
Hal Willner	....	music supervisor
Hal Willner	....	original score producer
Herbie Hancock	....	musician (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Ron Annabelle	....	driver
Steven R. Hammond	....	transportation captain
Stuart Mitchell	....	transportation co-captain: Toronto
Eugene O'Neill	....	transportation co-captain
Steven Sacrob	....	driver
Dave Staples	....	transportation captain: Toronto
Mitchel Stewart	....	driver captain

Other crew
Trish Adlesic	....	location manager
Casey Affleck	....	assistant: Gus Van Sant
Casey Affleck	....	technical consultant
Chad Ahrendt	....	assistant: Mr. Mark
Petra Alexandria	....	executive: Imp
Gerry Alfonso	....	payroll accountant
John 'Frenchie' Berger	....	armorer
Luc Bernard	....	assistant production accountant: Toronto
David F. Bianculli	....	production assistant
Tami Cassell	....	adr loop group
Noreen R. Cheleden	....	production assistant
Lee Ann Cotton	....	office production assistant: Toronto
Marty Dejczak	....	location manager
Rob Dickerson Jr.	....	production assistant (as Robert Dickerson Jr.)
Rebecca Donaghe	....	assistant: Ms. Tollefson
Roy Emerson	....	stand-in: Mr. Connery
David Farr	....	accounting clerk
Kerin Ferallo	....	production coordinator
James Fraser	....	production secretary: Toronto
Cliff Fuller	....	assistant production coordinator
Ginger Gonzalez	....	production assistant
David Graham	....	assistant location manager
Rodrigo Guerrero	....	production assistant
Jay Hernandez	....	assistant: Dany Wolf
Dan Jones	....	production assistant
Larry Kaplan	....	unit publicist
Santena Jenaris King	....	second assistant accountant
Danna Kinsky	....	production assistant
Amanda Ladd	....	payroll accountant
Sam Lisenco	....	pre-production coordinator
Sean Longley	....	key craft service
Francis Maiorino	....	location scout
Eric Mansur	....	assistant: Mr. Mark
Pamela S. Marshall	....	production secretary
David McIlroy	....	location manager: Toronto
Tim Monich	....	dialect coach: Anna Paquin (as Tim F. Monich)
Nancy Neumann	....	studio teacher
Murphy Occhino	....	production assistant
Julie Oppenheimer	....	script supervisor
Barry Papick	....	acting coach
Kwame Parker	....	assistant production coordinator: Toronto (as Kwame L. Parker)
Antonia Proscia	....	assistant production accountant
Gary S. Rake	....	production assistant
Lynnette Ramirez	....	assistant: Ms. Tollefson
Tim Ray	....	office production assistant
Jeremy Rizzi	....	assistant: Mr. Van Sant
Lin Saunders	....	assistant location manager
Kevin Michael Schembri	....	second assistant accountant
Burton Sharp	....	adr group coordinator
Sue Sparling	....	second assistant accountant
Beverly Sutton	....	production coordinator: Toronto
Joyce Tollefson	....	assistant: Mr. Connery
Ajamu Walker	....	production assistant
Jeff Wallace	....	assistant: Mr. King
Cassidy Watkins	....	assistant: Mr. Connery, Toronto
Elson Williams III	....	production assistant (as Elson C. Williams III)
Nadine F. Wilson	....	production accountant (as Nadine Wilson)
Tomoko Yamamoto	....	assistant accountant
Wendy Ann Zellea	....	office production assistant: Toronto
Frank Cattano	....	location assistant (uncredited)
Howard Samuelsohn	....	dialect coach (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Finding Forrester Productions
• Fountainbridge Films
• Laurence Mark Productions

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2000) (worldwide) (all media)
• Columbia Pictures (2000) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2001) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de España (200) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2001) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (200?) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Net5 (2004) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)

Special Effects

• C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures (digital visual effects)
• Illusion Arts (additional visual effects)

Other Companies

• By David's  catering
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes
• Columbia Records  soundtrack
• Legacy Records  soundtrack
• Lightnin' Production Rentals  transportation equipment
• Robert Rosenblatt Esq.  Business Affairs, Music Licensing:
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound post-production services
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound re-recording
• Sony Music Soundtrax  soundtrack
• William F. White International  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual references

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37271) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:Livre | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Norway:A | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Star Rob Brown got the role after initially auditioning as an extra. Brown had no aspirations of being an actor and was only hoping to make some money to pay his $300 cell phone bill. But Gus Van Sant invited him to audition for the role of Jamal and liked his natural ability.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): At one point in the film Jamal mentions to Claire that, "It was Stamford... At the bar in London... He was the one who introduced Watson to Holmes", alluding to the Sherlock Holmes novels and stories. However, it wasn't at a bar in London where Stamford introduced Watson to Holmes but at a hospital's chemical laboratory near the bar.

Quotes:

Forrester:I have an homeland that I have not seen for too long.
Jamal:Oh, you mean Ireland?
Forrester:Scotland, for God's sakes!
Jamal:I'm messing with you, man.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Game K N B: Episode dated 28 November 2006" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World

Derivative but enjoyable that is made much better by the two strong performances

Jamal Wallace is a black highschool student living in the Bronx, New York. He has a talent for basketball, which is popular with his friends and a talent for writing that he tends not to talk up. His test scores bring him to the attention of an exclusive private school with offers of a scholarship, starting immediately. Meanwhile he gives in to his friend's challenges and breaks into the flat of a man known as "the window" because he never leaves his flat but just stares out at the world passing outside. When he is confronted by the man, Wallace flees but forgets his bag, but it is given back later, with all his note book scribbled on and critiqued. He goes back to the flat and tries to get the man to help him further with his writing.

Has it been so many years since Good Will Hunting that Van Sant felt the need to remake it with elements changed? And if so did he feel so insecure about doing it that he delivered with such little originality and blandness so that the audience knows just what they are getting and feels comfortable (if unimpressed)? I guess the answers to both those questions is yes because Finding Forrester is very much a version of Good Will Hunting with the basics kept the same and other bits changed around. Of course this does not mean that it is a bad film because I actually quite enjoyed it; although I knew just where it was going and what it was doing from start to finish. In this way it is a bit annoying that director and writer should be so uninterested in doing anything other than trudging out such obvious material.

The story, although familiar is well enough told though to make it worth seeing. What made it much better for me though were the two genuinely engaging performances in the lead. Given fairly obvious characters to work with, I felt that both Brown and Connery took it, worked it and made it more than the sum of the words in the script. Brown is impressive by how much seems to be going on behind his eyes and I was more impressed when I learnt that this was his acting debut. Connery is equally as good in a role that he could have slummed off his famous voice and natural presence; but instead he works with a vulnerability that is convincing and makes his character and the story so much more interesting. Neither of them can make this a wonderful film but they both do a lot of work to make it an enjoyable and engaging one. Support from Abraham is by-the-numbers but effective (although his final scene is unconvincing); I didn't understand why Paquin bothered (or why they bothered to have her character in the story) while Rhymes is just what you expect and only looks weak at the end when he is asked to emote.

Overall this is a solid and enjoyable film despite the fact that it seems determined to do just what you expect it to do. That said the story is still interesting but what really does the business are the two great performances from Brown and Connery – both as individuals but also together; they take the obvious material and make it somehow much more convincing and engaging. Not a great film by any stretch of the imaginative and too derivative to really stick in the mind but does enough to entertain.