IMDb > Spellbound (2002/I)
Spellbound
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Spellbound (2002/I) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 7 | slideshow) Videos (see all 4)
Spellbound (2002) -- Spellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee.
Spellbound (2002) -- MovieMaze.de - Trailer (Quicktime)

Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   6,716 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Jeffrey Blitz
Contact:
View company contact information for Spellbound on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 October 2003 (UK) more
Genre:
Documentary more
Tagline:
EVERYONE WANTS THE LAST WORD more
Plot:
Spellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 14 wins & 7 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Big Beach Films gamble on Jeffrey Blitz's new docu
 (From ioncinema. 20 December 2007)
Interview: Jeffrey Blitz
 (From ioncinema. 7 August 2007)
User Comments:
Jon Monsarrat review: flawless more (100 total)

Cast

  (in credits order)
Angela Arenivar ... Herself - Spelling Bee Participant
Ubaldo Arenivar ... Himself - Angela's Father (as Ubaldo)
Jorge Arenivar ... Himself - Angela's Brother (as Jorge)
Mr. Scott McGarraugh ... Himself - Ranch Owner (as Mr. McGarraugh)
Mrs. Lindy McGarraugh ... Herself - Ranch Owner (as Mrs. McGarraugh)
Concepción Arenivar ... Herself - Angela's Mother (as Concepción)
Mrs. Slaughter ... Herself - Angela's Teacher
Neelima Marupudi ... Herself - Potter County Champion (as Neelima)
Nupur Lala ... Herself - Spelling Bee Participant
Ms. Whitehurst ... Herself - Nupur's Teacher
Parag Lala ... Himself - Nupur's Father (as Parag)
Meena Lala ... Herself - Nupur's Mother (as Meena)
Kuna Lala ... Himself - Nupur's Brother (as Kuna)
Ted Brigham ... Himself - Spelling Bee Participant
Ms. Blair ... Herself - Tes's Teacher
Dan Brigham ... Himself - Ted's Brother
Tim Brigham ... Himself - Ted's Brother (as Tim)
Earl Brigham ... Himself - Ted's Father (as Earl)
Dorothy Brigham ... Herself - Ted's Mother (as Dorothy)
Emily Stagg ... Herself - Spelling Bee Participant
David Stagg ... Himself - Emily's Father (as David)
Suzanne Stagg ... Herself - Emily's Mother (as Suzanne)
Ashley White ... Herself - Spelling Bee Participant
Angela White ... Herself - Ashley's Mother (as Angela)
Ms. Williams ... Herself - Ashley's Teacher
Sigourney White ... Herself - Ashley's Sister (as Sigourney)
Neil Kadakia ... Himself - Spelling Bee Participant
Rajesh Kadakia ... Himself - Neil's Father (as Rajesh)
Darshana Kadakia ... Herself - Neil's Mother (as Darshana)
Shivani Kadakia ... Herself - Neil's Sidter (as Shivani)
Samye Hill ... Herself - Neil's Spelling Coach
April DeGideo ... Herself - Spelling Bee Participant
Al DeGideo ... Himself - April's Father (as Al)
Gale DeGideo ... Herself - April's Mother (as Gale)
Mr. Miller ... Himself - April's Teacher
Harry Altman ... Himself - Spelling Bee Participant
Fay Sharit ... Herself - Harry's Mother (as Fay)
Paige Kimble ... Herself - National Spelling Bee Director and 1981 National Champion
Alex Cameron ... Himself - National Spelling Bee Pronouncer
Mona Goldstein ... Herself - Mother of Last Year's 4th Place Speller
Frank Neuhauser ... Himself - 1925 National Champion
Jonathan Knisely ... Himself - 1971 National Champion
Balu Natarajan ... Himself - 1985 National Champion
Janaky Natarajan ... Herself - Balu's Mother
George Thampy ... Himself - Spelling Bee Participant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jacques Bailly ... Himself (uncredited)
William Dolan ... Himself (uncredited)
Katie Kerwin McCrimmon ... Herself (uncredited)

Directed by
Jeffrey Blitz 
 
Produced by
Jeffrey Blitz .... producer
Ronnie Eisen .... additional producer
Sean Welch .... producer
 
Original Music by
Daniel Hulsizer 
 
Film Editing by
Yana Gorskaya 
 
Art Department
Adam Byrne .... graphics designer
Yana Gorskaya .... graphics designer
 
Sound Department
Greg Brazel .... additional sound recordist: Washington D.C.
Peter Brown .... sound re-recording mixer
Joe Dzuban .... sound effects editor
Sean Welch .... sound recordist
Peter Brown .... supervising sound editor (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Jeffrey Blitz .... camera operator
Greg Brazel .... additional camera: Washington DC
Mac Carter .... additional camera: Washington DC
David Gruenberg .... additional camera: Washington DC
Rob Lyall .... additional camera: Washington DC
Sheila Smith .... additional camera: Washington DC (as Shiela Smith)
 
Editorial Department
Chris Perkel .... editorial support
 
Other crew
Andy Blitz .... funding provided by
Sally Steele .... publicist
Winston Emano .... publicist (uncredited)
David Magdael .... publicist (uncredited)
 
Thanks
Kate Amend .... special thanks
Jacques Bailly .... special thanks
Diane West Blitz .... special thanks
Alex Cameron .... special thanks (as Alex J. Cameron)
Mac Carter .... special thanks
Melissa Simon Disharoon .... special thanks (as Melissa Disharoon)
Michael Donaldson .... special thanks
Breck Eisner .... special thanks
Arturo Everitt .... special thanks
Bradley Feldman .... special thanks
Hugh Flick .... special thanks
Ed Gildred .... special thanks
David Gruenberg .... special thanks
Mark J. Harris .... special thanks
Adrian Herrera .... special thanks
Claire Husted .... special thanks
Martin Hynes .... special thanks
Paige Kimble .... special thanks (as Paige P. Kimble)
Jonathan Knisely .... special thanks (as Jonathan Knisley)
Eve Lindeman .... special thanks
Linda Loeffler .... special thanks
Greg McCambridge .... special thanks
Frank Neuhauser .... special thanks
Jean-Michel Richaud .... special thanks
Harvard L. Weiss .... special thanks
Chad Wilson .... special thanks
Robyn Wilson .... special thanks
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies

Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
97 min | Canada:95 min (Toronto International Film Festival)
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Spanish
Colour:
Colour
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Stereo
Certification:
Iceland:L | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-3 | Australia:G | Singapore:G | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G
Filming Locations:
Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Company:
Blitz/Welch more

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Harry Altman: [pointing to the boom microphone] Is this thing edible? more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The 50 Greatest Documentaries (2005) (TV) more

FAQ

Recognising the spellers
Chapter Headings, a semi-official version
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
16 out of 17 people found the following comment useful.
Jon Monsarrat review: flawless, 20 May 2004
10/10
Author: Jon Monsarrat (jonmon) from United States

Spellbound is a surprisingly moving film, because it is not really about spelling, but about hopes and dreams. There's a lot of love in the film, and it's interesting how different families have different approaches... all the way from hands-off parents to parents hiring drill coaches. The film does a good job of showing the backgrounds of the kids and presenting their personalities. I found myself trying to spell right along with them (unsuccessfully).

Spelling bees promote the worst kind of rote learning, especially when the kids are faced with words they will never use in real life. That's thousands of hours either totally wasted or to be less critical, hours that could have been put to better use, for example, learning creative writing or public speaking. Even so, as one parent says, this is practice to form a habit of perseverance for the future.

The pacing and music were perfect, the way the challenge was presented was clear and straightforward. Excellent film.

Who should see this film:

-- Kids of all ages

-- Everyone else. It's not at all boring.

I'll give Spellbound a perfect 10 out of 10.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (100 total)

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