Bandslam
Bandslam | |
---|---|
Directed by | Todd Graff |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Josh A. Cagan |
Produced by | Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Eric Steelberg |
Edited by | John Gilbert |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Summit Entertainment[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 111 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $20 million |
Box office | $12.2 million |
Bandslam is a 2009 American
Principal photography took place in Austin, Texas. During filming, the film underwent multiple title changes, including Will and Rock On.
Bandslam premiered at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, Los Angeles, on August 6, 2009, and was released in the United States on August 14, by Summit Entertainment. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising the acting and soundtrack. However, the film was a commercial failure, grossing only $12.2 million worldwide against a $20 million budget. Insiders panned the film's marketing, which many cited as a primary reason for the film's underperformance at the box-office. In a brief cameo appearance, this was David Bowie's final film appearance before his death in 2016.
Plot
Will Burton is a music enthusiast and a David Bowie fan. When Will's mother Karen finds a new job, he switches to a new school, which he is eager to do since he was bullied at his previous one. During lunch one day at his new school, he meets a girl who says her name is written Sa5m (pronounced Sam; the 5 is silent). She tells him about Bandslam, an annual music competition in which the winning band gets a recording contract. Will and Sa5m quickly become friends but, shortly after, he is sought after by an older girl named Charlotte Barnes. Impressed by his eclectic knowledge of music, Charlotte, who is a gifted singer-songwriter, asks Will to manage her rock/ska band.
Will agrees to help Charlotte's band (later called I Can't Go On, I'll Go On) which includes Bug and Omar, eventually expanding it with more like-minded outcasts. The group's sound starts to come together and their prospects for success look bright. Will starts losing his "loser-status", but the band gets in the way of completing a class project he was doing with Sa5m. After spending a day with Sa5m, Charlotte teaches Will how to properly kiss a girl, by demonstrating on him that night. Will takes Sa5m to the overlook and, after an awkward start, successfully kisses her, after which Sa5m shyly asks Will to accompany her to a movie screening, to which he agrees. However, Will stands up Sa5m, instead going to a concert with Charlotte. After that, Sa5m starts ignoring Will at school; so he visits her house, hoping to apologize. Her mom shows him a video of a younger Sa5m performing "Everything I Own", but when Sa5m arrives home she is outraged and orders Will to leave. As an apology, he makes a touching documentary short about her for his Human Studies project and she eventually forgives him.
After Will accidentally ruins Ben's attempt to reconcile with Charlotte, Ben decides to do a little research on him, in order to ruin his image. He finds out about Will's father, who was sent to prison years ago when he accidentally killed a child while
On the night of Bandslam, Charlotte comes backstage to apologize to the band for her behaviour. Will and the band accept her apology. Right before going on stage, however, they see Ben's band (the "Glory Dogs") playing the same song that I Can't Go On, I'll Go On were planning to perform, forcing them to change their act at the last minute. Will suddenly remembers the video Sa5m's mother showed him earlier and suggests that they perform "Everything I Own", since it is the only other song Sa5m knows. To buy some time, Will comes out first onstage, but at first he is embarrassingly silent. The students begin to chant "Dewey". He starts to walk off the stage, but then comes back and decides to chant with them instead. After carrying the chant for a while, he finally changes it to, "Do we wanna ROCK?!". The band then takes the stage and performs "Everything I Own".
Although they fail to win the competition, a YouTube video of their performance gains the band popularity at school. David Bowie sees the video and sends an e-mail to Will, explaining that he is starting an indie music label and is interested in having the band as one of their first acts. Will is so excited and overwhelmed that he falls down in the middle of the school hallway.
Will and Sa5m, happily together, attend Charlotte's graduation ceremony.
Cast
- Aly Michalka as Charlotte Barnes
- Vanessa Hudgens as Sa5m “The 5 is silent”
- Gaelan Connell as Will Burton
- Scott Porter as Ben Wheatley
- Lisa Kudrow as Karen Burton
- Ryan Donowho as Basher Marti
- Charlie Saxton as Bug
- Tim Jo as Omar
- Lisa Chung as Kim Lee
- Elvy Yost as Irene Lerman
In addition, David Bowie has a cameo appearance as himself.
Production
Development
In January 2007, Walden Media and Summit Entertainment announced that they would co-finance the film at the time titled Will, written by Josh A. Cagan and Todd Graff, who would also serve as director.[2][3][4][5] Before filming, the cast had two weeks of music rehearsals, with the actors and actresses designated to play their instruments. Ryan Donowho and Aly Michalka had extensive experience with the drums and guitar, respectively, so they were used to their instruments, but Lisa Chung, Scott Porter, and Vanessa Hudgens were not. Hudgens revealed she didn't expect there to be as much music, and "they are like, 'We are going to have two weeks of music rehearsals,' and I was like, 'What?' But it was really cool. It's definitely not the kind of music I do normally."[6]
Casting
David Bowie began talks in early January 2007 to be in the film. Bowie had a vital role as Will Burton's idol, to whom Burton frequently wrote e-mails. He makes a short cameo in the end of the film.[7] Liam Aiken was originally chosen to play Will, but ultimately the role was given to Gaelan Connell.[8] When Connell auditioned for Will, he was recommended to try out for the cellist because of his background playing cello. Graff watched his cello audition, and decided to give him the starring role.[9] Originally, Hudgens wanted to play the role of Charlotte, but she was cast for the role of Sa5m. Hudgens sang "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse for her audition,[6] and was inspired by Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family to portray her character.[10]
Filming
Principal photography began on February 9, 2008, in Austin, Texas.[11][12] Although the film is set in New Jersey, Graff felt strongly that it was important to shoot in a place with a wide array of great live music to choose from.[13][14]
Because Aly Michalka was on tour with her sister
Release
Bandslam held its world premiere in
Marketing
Summit Entertainment spent an estimated $10 million to produce and market Bandslam.[21] The full-length trailer was released in the internet on March 25, 2009.[22] On June 3, 2009, the official poster was released.[23] A novelization of the movie written by Aaron Rosenberg was released by Penguin Books on July 9, 2009.[24] Michalka, Hudgens and Connell hosted a Bandslam Reel Thinking event at the Grammy Museum to promote the importance of music to middle-schoolers.[25][26] In partnership with Magic 106.7, Summit Entertainment conducted a band contest in Boston's Burlington Mall. Hudgens and Connell attended the contest as judges. Mike Ryan won the contest and performed his original song on August 1, 2009.[27] On August 7, 2009, Hudgens and Michalka were inducted as an honorary girl scouts by the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles. During the induction, a special screening was held for the scouts present.[28] In the United Kingdom, browser game Stardoll started a campaign which lets users dress Vanessa Hudgens in Bandslam outfits, view the film trailer, and create their own band using Stardoll scenery and virtual guitars to gift friends.[29]
Summit Entertainment's marketing strategies have been criticized. The studio apparently received calls and e-mails from other studios' heads of marketing, saying the film's campaign may be the worst job they have seen from positioning, title, marketing tie-ins, and targeting audiences.
Home media
Bandslam was released on DVD on March 16, 2010.[32]
Reception
Box office
Despite receiving positive reviews, the film was not a box office success. Debuting at 2,121 theaters, the film only grossed $890,000 on its first day and failed to chart in the top 10.[33] In its opening weekend, Bandslam grossed $2,231,273 in the United States and Canada, ranking #13 at the box office. The film eventually reached the top 10 and grossed $50,000 more on the same day.[34] By the end of its run, Bandslam grossed $5,210,988 domestically and $7,014,035 internationally, totaling $12,225,023 worldwide.[35]
Critical response
Bandslam was well-received critically, before and after it was released. The
Variety said that "Bandslam" will make its cracking voice heard amid the summer's boy-based blockbuster clique[42] while Joe Williams remarked, "Although it's the wimpy teen musical that prevails, it's the misfit coming-of-age story that leaves an impression."[43] Roger Ebert wrote on his review, that though this isn't a breakthrough movie, it's charming, and not any more innocuous than it has to be.[44] Fort Worth Weekly revealed in their review, "The comedy subsides into some unusually heavy drama in the second half, and only Graff's assured direction keeps it from tipping over into weepiness."[45] Empire and Digital Spy all gave Bandslam a three out of five rating[46][47] while Independent Weekly and the Deseret News both gave the film two out of four.[48][49]
Rene Rodriguez of
Bandslam was
Hudgens received an amount of praise from reviewers, emphasizing her transition from being associated with her previous commercial character,
Reviewers asserted that the film's music mainly lifted to the success of Bandslam from reviews, especially the ska version of "Everything I Own", that the film is full of unexpected pleasures set to a surprisingly retro soundtrack.[64][65][66] Similarly, Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter emphasized the effect of the film's music-driven comedy set against the backdrop of a high school battle of the bands competition which manages to come up with a fresh backbeat for the familiar alienated teen refrain, boosted by a talented cast and authentic soundtrack.[67][68]
Accolades
Awards | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
2009 | 11th Annual Golden Tomato Awards[69] | Best Musical | Bandslam | Nominated |
2010 | Scribe Awards[70] | Young Adult Novel – Best Adaption | Bandslam: The Novel | Won |
Gabriel Awards[71] | Family Film of the Year | Bandslam | Won | |
Recognitions | ||||
Year | Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
2009 | indieWIRE[72] | Best Film | Bandslam | 10th |
Best Supporting Performance | Aly Michalka | 5th |
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released under
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External links
- Official website
- Bandslam at IMDb
- Bandslam at AllMovie
- Bandslam at Rotten Tomatoes
- Bandslam at Metacritic
- Bandslam at Box Office Mojo