| Elizabethtown | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Elizabethtown |
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| Directed by | Cameron Crowe |
| Produced by | Cameron Crowe, Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner |
| Written by | Cameron Crowe |
| Starring | Orlando Bloom Kirsten Dunst Susan Sarandon Alec Baldwin |
| Music by | Nancy Wilson |
| Editing by | David Moritz |
| Studio | Cruise/Wagner Vinyl Films |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 14, 2005 |
| Running time | 123 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $45,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $52,034,889 |
Elizabethtown is a 2005 American film written and directed by Cameron Crowe starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. Alec Baldwin has a small role as a CEO of an athletic shoe company and Susan Sarandon appears as a grieving widow.
Contents |
Plot
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This plot summary may be too long or overly detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (May 2009) |
Industrial designer Drew Baylor[1]works for an important international shoe company. He is here to see his boss Phil, who discusses the tremendous failure of Drew's project and its effects on the company overall, costing the company $972 million.
After he is fired, Drew's beautiful girlfriend Ellen breaks up with him. Drew goes to his apartment, defeated, and attempts to commit suicide (by modifying an exercise bike and attaching a kitchen knife with duct tape so he would be stabbed to death when activating the bike). However, his sister Heather phones at just that moment to tell Drew that their father has just died and he needs to go to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, to bring the body back home.
At the airport, Drew's sister and mother tell him they wish to cremate his father's body. On a nearly empty plane, a quick-witted flight attendant, Claire, gives him a free seat in First Class. He declines but she insists because she doesn't want to have to walk all the way back to Coach just for him.
Claire knows Kentucky well and draws him a map to Elizabethtown. She also jots her phone number on the map.
Drew nevertheless gets lost. He arrives hours late. A boy leads him to the funeral home, where Drew's cousin is waiting for him.
Various members of his family greet him as the "California boy", although his family had only lived in California for 18 months before moving to Oregon. After viewing his father's body, Drew meets with relatives near the burial plot where they would like the body buried. Drew insists on honoring his mother's wish for a cremation.
Drew attempts to call home but receives no answer. He remembers that Claire gave him her number. They talk for most of the night and meet in the early morning. They begin to spend time together, including visiting the mortuary where Drew's father is.
While visiting relatives to explain the choice of cremation, Drew sees a photo of his father near a flame from his Aunt Dora's stove. Feeling guilty, he runs to the mortuary to stop the cremation but arrives too late and is given an urn containing his father's ashes. Drew returns to the hotel to find Claire there. They talk about their feelings and conclude they are not right for each other. However, they kiss and end up sleeping together.
Drew tells her his plan to finish his business in Kentucky and then return home to commit suicide. They decide to meet up one last time at Drew's father's memorial.
Drew's mother and sister arrive in Kentucky for the service. After various acquaintances speak in memory of Drew's father, his mother Hollie talks about him and does a tap-dance to his favorite song. Drew's cousin, along with his band "Ruckus" (consisting of members of Kentucky band My Morning Jacket), begin to play the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Free Bird." A stage prop, a large paper dove, catches on fire, setting off alarms and causing emergency water sprinklers to go off, while everyone flees.
Drew decides to drive back to Oregon rather than fly. Claire once again gives Drew a map, this time an elaborate one with instructions and CDs, guiding him "home." There are notes of places along the way he should visit. At each one, he spreads some of his father's ashes.
During the trip, Drew comes to terms with his father and begins to talk to him, stating that they should have taken this trip together years ago. Finally, the directions come to a point where he is given two choices -- to continue home or to finish the journey Claire laid out for him. Drew chooses to use her route.
He is instructed to go to the "Second Largest Farmer's Market in The World." There is a note telling him to "look for the girl with a red hat." After looking desperately for a few minutes, he finds Claire.
Cast
- Orlando Bloom as Drew Baylor
- Kirsten Dunst as Claire Colburn
- Susan Sarandon as Hollie Baylor
- Alec Baldwin as Phil DeVoss
- Bruce McGill as Bill Banyon
- Judy Greer as Heather Baylor
- Jessica Biel as Ellen Kishmore
- Paul Schneider as Jessie Baylor
- Loudon Wainwright III as Uncle Dale
- Gailard Sartain as Charles Dean
- Jed Rees as Chuck Hasboro
- Paula Deen as Aunt Dora
- Dan Biggers as Uncle Roy
- Alice Marie Crowe as Aunt Lena
- Tim Devitt as Mitch Baylor
- Ted Manson as Sad Joe
- Shane Lyons as Charlie Bill
- Emily Rutherfurd as Cindy Hasboro
Production
Jane Fonda was cast in Susan Sarandon's role, but had to bow out. Ashton Kutcher, Seann William Scott, Colin Hanks, Chris Evans, and James Franco all auditioned for Orlando Bloom's part. Kutcher was actually hired to play Drew, but director Cameron Crowe decided during filming that the chemistry between him and Dunst wasn't right and Kutcher left the project. Jessica Biel auditioned for the female lead, but was given a smaller role as Drew's girlfriend.
There is a character named Ben who is mentioned as a love interest of Claire. In the original cut of the film, Ben is revealed to be Claire's brother.
Recognizable settings for scenes shot in Louisville, Kentucky include the Brown Hotel and Cave Hill Cemetery. Although the exterior, lobby, and corridors of the Brown Hotel are seen, a passable replica of the Brown Hotel's Crystal Ball Room was re-created on a soundstage. However, while Orlando Bloom is supposedly traveling to "Elizabethtown" by car, he is going the incorrect direction on the road. Hr is also pictured going through the Cherokee Park tunnel, which happens to be on I-64. Elizabethtown is on I-65, about 60 miles in the other direction
Although the title of the movie is Elizabethtown, most of the small town scenes were actually filmed in Versailles, Kentucky. A few scenes were filmed in LaGrange, and scenes portraying distinctive landmarks were filmed in Elizabethtown itself. Filming also took place in Scottsbluff, Nebraska[2] and Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
In the original cut of the film, an epilogue reveals that the shoe designed by Drew turns out to be a hit, as it whistles with every step. This was cut from the release version of the film to prevent the ending seeming overly-drawn out.[3]
Joni Mitchell's painting Hyde Park appears in this film. Previously, one of her paintings had appeared in Crowe's Vanilla Sky.
Release
Critical reception
Elizabethtown currently has a 27% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Box office
Elizabethtown was commercially released on October 14, 2005 in the United States. It was distributed to 2,517 theaters, and grossed $4,050,915 on its opening day. At the end of its opening weekend, the film had grossed $10,618,711. Overall, the film grossed $52,034,889 worldwide within its release of 68 days.[4]
Soundtrack
The film features dozens of contemporary rock songs, and Kentucky natives My Morning Jacket portray a fictional rock group named Ruckus who reunite during the film.
References
External links
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