Dave (1993)

Director:

Ivan Reitman

Writer (WGA):

Gary Ross (written by)

Release Date:

7 May 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

In a country where anybody can become President, anybody just did

Plot:

To avoid a potentially explosive scandal when the U.S. President goes into a coma, an affable temp agency owner with an uncanny resemblance, is put in his place.

Plot Keywords:

First Lady | Stroke | Chief Of Staff | U.S. President | Secret Service

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Kevin Kline	...	Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell
Sigourney Weaver	...	Ellen Mitchell
Frank Langella	...	Bob Alexander
Kevin Dunn	...	Alan Reed
Ving Rhames	...	Duane Stevenson
Ben Kingsley	...	Vice-President Nance
Charles Grodin	...	Murray Blum
Faith Prince	...	Alice
Laura Linney	...	Randi
Bonnie Hunt	...	White House Tour Guide
Parley Baer	...	Senate Majority Leader
Stefan Gierasch	...	House Majority Leader
Anna Deavere Smith	...	Mrs. Travis
Charles Hallahan	...	Policeman
Tom Dugan	...	Jerry
Alba Oms	...	Lola
Steve Witting	...	Secret Service #1
Kellen Sampson	...	David
Lexie Bigham	...	White House Guard
Frederic W. Barnes	...	Himself
Ronald Brownstein	...	Himself
Eleanor Clift	...	Herself
Chris Dodd	...	Himself (as Senator Christopher Dodd)
Tom Harkin	...	Himself (as Senator Tom Harkin)
Bernard Kalb	...	Himself
Larry King	...	Himself
Michael Kinsley	...	Himself
Morton Kondracke	...	Himself
Jay Leno	...	Himself
Frank Mankiewicz	...	Himself
Chris Matthews	...	Himself (as Christopher Matthews)
John McLaughlin	...	Himself
Howard Metzenbaum	...	Himself (as Senator Howard Metzenbaum)
Abner J. Mikva	...	Himself (as Justice Abner J. Mikva)
Robert D. Novak	...	Himself
Thomas P. 'Tip' O'Neill	...	Himself
Richard Reeves	...	Himself
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Himself
Paul Simon	...	Himself (as Senator Paul Simon)
Alan Simpson	...	Himself (as Senator Alan Simpson)
Ben Stein	...	Himself
Oliver Stone	...	Himself
Kathleen Sullivan	...	Herself
Jeff Tackett	...	Himself
Helen Thomas	...	Herself
Nina Totenberg	...	Herself
Sander Vanocur	...	Himself
John Yang	...	Himself
Stephen Root	...	Don Durenberger
Catherine Reitman	...	Girl at Durenberger's
Dawn Arnemann	...	Mom at Durenberger's
Marianna Harris	...	Clara
Sarah Marshall	...	Diane
Ralph Manza	...	White House Barber
George Martin	...	President's Physician
Laurie Franks	...	White House Nurse
Tom Kurlander	...	Trauma Doctor
Dendrie Taylor	...	Trauma Nurse
Joe Kuroda	...	Japanese Prime Minister
Geneviève Robert	...	Vice-President's Wife
Jason Reitman	...	Vice-President's Son
Ruth Goldway	...	Secretary of Education
Frank Birney	...	Director of OMB
Paul Collins	...	Secretary of Treasury
Peter White	...	Secretary of Commerce
Robin Gammell	...	Postmaster General
Heather Hewitt	...	Judy
Gary Ross	...	Policeman #2
Jeffrey Joseph	...	Ellen's Aide (as Jeff Joseph)
Bonnie Bartlett	...	Female Senator
Robert Walsh	...	Speaker of the House (as Robert V. Walsh)
William Pitts	...	Congressional Doorkeeper
Dan Butler	...	Reporter
Wendy Gordon	...	Announcer
Ben Patrick Johnson	...	Announcer
Steve Kmetko	...	Announcer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bob Bergen	...	Additional Voices (voice) (uncredited)
F. Pierre Gatling	...	Social Worker Greeter #1 (uncredited)
Ryal Haakenson	...	Man at Banquet / Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Kirk Jordan	...	Man (uncredited)
Mary Kircher	...	Congressional Member (uncredited)
Aaron Michael Lacey	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Keith Lewis	...	Secret Service Agent (uncredited)
Melissa S. Markess	...	Politician (uncredited)
Michael Noel	...	Reporter (uncredited)
William Shipman	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Paul Speaks	...	Secret Service (uncredited)
Debbie Tsamoudakis	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Sam Wells	...	Political Adviser (uncredited)

Directed by
Ivan Reitman

Writing credits (WGA)
Gary Ross		(written by)

Produced by
Sherry Fadely	....	associate producer
Michael C. Gross	....	executive producer
Joe Medjuck	....	executive producer
Ivan Reitman	....	producer
Lauren Shuler Donner	....	producer (as Lauren Shuler-Donner)
Gordon A. Webb	....	associate producer (as Gordon Webb)

Original Music by
James Newton Howard

Cinematography by
Adam Greenberg		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Sheldon Kahn

Casting by
Michael Chinich
Bonnie Timmermann

Production Design by
J. Michael Riva

Art Direction by
David F. Klassen		(as David Klasson)

Set Decoration by
Michael Taylor

Costume Design by
Richard Hornung

Makeup Department
Ron Berkeley	....	makeup artist
Linda DeVetta	....	makeup artist (as Linda De Veta Richmond)
Robert Norin	....	makeup artist
Stephen Robinette	....	hair stylist
Christopher Shihar	....	hair stylist (as Christofer Shihar)
Marlene D. Williams	....	hair stylist (as Marlene Williams)

Production Management
Gordon A. Webb	....	unit production manager (as Gordon Webb)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kate Davey	....	second assistant director
Peter Giuliano	....	first assistant director
Michael C. Gross	....	second unit director
John M. Morse	....	dga trainee (as John Morse)
Rebecca Strickland	....	second second assistant director
Robert Webb	....	first assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Steve Arnold	....	set designer
Frank L. Brown	....	assistant property master (as Frank Brown)
John Dexter	....	set designer
Bill 'Kauhane' Hoyt	....	standby painter (as Bill Hoyt)
C.J. Maguire	....	property master
Lee Orlikoff	....	leadman
Joseph G. Pacelli Jr.	....	set designer (as Joseph Pacelli Jr.)
Doug Rosenberger	....	construction foreman
Terry Scott	....	construction coordinator
Darrell L. Wight	....	set designer (as Darrell Wight)
Charles William Breen	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Michael Denering	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Sara Gardner-Gail	....	set decoration buyer (uncredited)
William H. Phen Jr.	....	propmaker gangboss (uncredited)
Darin Raney	....	assistant art department coordinator (uncredited)
Frank White	....	propmaker (uncredited)

Sound Department
George H. Anderson	....	dialogue editor (as George Anderson)
John H. Arrufat	....	dialogue editor (as John Arrufat)
Anna Behlmer	....	sound re-recording mixer
Stu Bernstein	....	sound effects editor
Gary C. Bourgeois	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Gary Bourgeois)
Gene S. Cantamessa	....	production sound mixer (as Gene Cantamessa)
Steve Cantamessa	....	boom operator
Carmen Flores De Tanis	....	assistant adr editor (as Carmen Flores)
Joe Dorn	....	adr editor
Michael Dressel	....	foley editor
Alison Fisher	....	dialogue editor
Richard Friedman	....	adr editor (as Dick Friedman)
Jessica Gallavan	....	supervising adr editor
David Giammarco	....	sound effects editor
Avram D. Gold	....	adr editor (as Avram Gold)
Meredith Gold	....	assistant sound editor
Robert Grieve	....	supervising sound editor
Allen Hartz	....	dialogue editor
Jonathan Klein	....	foley editor
Steve Mann	....	sound effects editor
John Murray	....	foley supervisor
Jennifer Portman	....	assistant sound editor
Jeanine Schaack	....	first assistant sound editor
Roy Seeger	....	assistant sound editor
Linda Whittlesey	....	dialogue editor
Steve Bartkowicz	....	sound re-recording engineer (uncredited)
Henry Boger	....	additional boom operator (uncredited)
Scott Brose	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Robert Glass	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Mary Jo Lang	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
Elmo Ponsdomenech	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
David Blitstein	....	special effects foreman (as David M. Blitstein)
Randy Cabral	....	special effects (uncredited)
Hans Metz	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Harrison Ellenshaw	....	visual effects supervisor: Buena Vista Visual Effects
Kevin Koneval	....	optical supervisor: Buena Vista Visual Effects
Paul Lasaine	....	matte painting supervisor: Buena Vista Visual Effects
Winston Quitasol	....	visual effects line-up: Buena Vista Visual Effects
Wally Schaab	....	matte cameraman: Buena Vista Visual Effects
Lynda Thompson	....	visual effects producer: Buena Vista Visual Effects (as Lynda Lemon)
William L. Arance	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Les Bernstien	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Blaine Converse	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Mark Gutterud	....	first assistant camera: VistaVision (uncredited)
Peter Koczera	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Don Lee	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
John Calvin Doyle	....	stunt limo driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
William D. Barber	....	second camera operator (as William Barber)
Hans Bjerno	....	camera operator: second unit, Wescam
Ralph Brandofino	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Michael A. Chavez	....	first camera assistant (as Mike Chavez)
Alan Cohen	....	second camera assistant
François Duhamel	....	still photographer (as Francois Duhamel)
John J. Ellingwood	....	second camera assistant (as John Ellingwood)
Brad Emmons	....	rigging gaffer (as Bradley Thomas Emmons)
Cary Fisher	....	camera operator: second unit
James W. Gavin	....	aerial photographer: second unit (as James Gavin)
Robert Gray	....	key grip
Dennis J. Laine	....	first camera assistant
Kevin J. Lang	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Steven C. McGee	....	chief lighting technician (as Steven McGee)
Paul Murphey	....	video playback
Peter Norman	....	director of photography: second unit
Bill Roe	....	camera operator
Alan Shultz	....	dolly grip (as Alan K. Shultz)
Jeff Triandos	....	best boy grip
James Wirosko	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Elizabeth Ziegler	....	steadicam operator (as Liz Ziegler)
Glenn Corbett	....	rigging gaffer (uncredited)
Ken Fisher	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Steve Hastings	....	best boy rigger (uncredited)
Richard H. Kryder	....	lighting technician (uncredited)
Mark Mele	....	rigging electrician (uncredited)
David Norris	....	camera technician: Wescam camera (uncredited)
Rick Strodel	....	grip (uncredited)
Robert Zullo	....	rigging grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Alan Berger	....	casting associate
Lia Abbate	....	casting assistant (uncredited)
Jimmy Jue	....	extras casting (uncredited)
Mariann H.W. Lee	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mark Bridges	....	assistant designer
Gary Jones	....	assistant designer
Michelle Kurpaska	....	key costumer
Ann Roth	....	wardrobe: Ms. Weaver
James W. Tyson	....	costume supervisor (as Jim Tyson)
William Dean	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)
Adrienne Manhan	....	costumer (uncredited)
David Page	....	costumer: Mr. Kline (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Clay Cambern	....	assistant film editor
Janice Campion	....	assistant film editor
Dale E. Grahn	....	color timer (as Dale Grahn)
Daniel R. Padgett	....	assistant film editor
Reine-Claire	....	associate film editor
Saul Saladow	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Shawn Murphy	....	music scoring mixer
David Olson	....	assistant music editor
Marty Paich	....	orchestra conductor
Jim Weidman	....	music editor
Chris Boardman	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)
James Newton Howard	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Michael Mason	....	score co-producer (uncredited)
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation (uncredited)
James Thatcher	....	musician: French horn (uncredited)
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Dick Johnson	....	transportation captain
Craig Pinkard	....	transportation coordinator
Robert Foster Jr.	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Paula Benson-Himes	....	production secretary
Matthew J. Birch	....	assistant: Ms. Shuler-Donner
Michael J. Burmeister	....	location manager (as Michael Burmeister)
Paul A. Calabria	....	animal trainer (as Paul Calabria)
James Dew	....	animal trainer (as James R. Dew)
Roselle Gordon	....	staff assistant
Karen Hale Wookey	....	script supervisor
Brian O. Haynes	....	location manager (as Brian Haynes)
Brad Hill	....	staff assistant
Luis Lara	....	caterer
Kathy Liska	....	assistant: Ms. Shuler-Donner
Karin McElhatton	....	animal trainer
Jonathan McGarry	....	staff assistant
Marcus Miller	....	assistant: Mr. Gross
Kathryn Mindala	....	assistant accountant
Janice Naehu	....	assistant: Mr. Medjuck
Tiffany Owens	....	staff assistant
Yvonne Owens	....	assistant: Mr. Reitman
Peggy Pridemore	....	location manager: second unit
Anne S. Reilly	....	unit publicist (as Anne Reilly)
Jody Spilkoman	....	staff assistant
Sib Ventress	....	assistant production secretary
Phil Wise	....	technical advisor: White House
Ray Zimmerman	....	production accountant
Bob Bergen	....	voice: special vocal effects (uncredited)
Patrick Burn	....	location scout (uncredited)
Jordan Chinich	....	production assistant (uncredited)
John Crowder	....	assistant location manager: second unit (uncredited)
Bill Daly	....	post-production accountant manager (uncredited)
Yvonne Goessling	....	assistant: Ivan Reitman (uncredited)
Kurt Greufe	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Jack E. Herman	....	extras set coordinator (uncredited)
John J. Kelly	....	assistant accountant (uncredited)
Adam Leichtman	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Burton Sharp	....	adr group coordinator (uncredited)

Thanks
H.P. Goldfield	....	we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
Steven B. Hantler	....	we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
Elliot M. Kaplan	....	we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
Allison Kennedy	....	we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents) (as Warner Bros.)
• Northern Lights Entertainment
• Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions (as Donner/Shuler-Donner)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1993) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1997) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Falcon (1993) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1993) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (1994) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2001) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2001) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-edited)
• Warner Bros. (Germany)
• Warner Bros. (Spain)

Special Effects

• Buena Vista Visual Effects
• CIS Hollywood (digital compositing)
• EFilm (digital film recording)

Other Companies

• American Humane Association, The  animal action monitored by
• Baltimore Orioles Baseball Team, The  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Big Screen Records  soundtrack (uncredited)
• C-SPAN  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Cable News Network (CNN)  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as CNN/Cable News Network, Inc.)
• Central Casting  extras casting
• Clerk of the Senate, The  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Department of the Navy  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The Department of the Navy)
• District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and TV Development  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The Mayor's Office of Television and Film Development, Washington, D.C.)
• Donah Bassett and Associates  negative cutting (as D. Bassett & Associates)
• Fanuc Robotics Corporation  industrial robot props provided by
• Major League Baseball Properties  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of: Baseball Trademark Licenses (as MLBP)
• National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, The  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, The  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates, The  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Oriole Park / Camden Yards  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Otto Nemenz International  camera equipment provided by (uncredited)
• Pacific Studios Inc.  chromatrans background
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Stetson Visual Effects  robotic arm
• The Commonwealth of Virginia  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The State of Virginia)
• U.S. Navy Office of Information West  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The Navy Office of Information, West)
• United States Department of Defense, The  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The Department of Defense)
• United States Navy Memorial Foundation, Washington, D.C., The  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• WBAL Baltimore  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as W-BAL TV, Baltimore)
• WJLA.  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• WRC-TV  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Washington Metropolitan Police Department - Special Operations Division, The  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for momentary language and a sexual situation

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Portugal:M/12 | Peru:PT | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Italy:T | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #32386) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Author Gary Ross appears as Policeman number 2.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dave turns off the water in the shower, the faucet handles are in an upright position. They change position several times in subsequent shots.

Quotes:

Alan Reed:[trying to convince Dave to take the job] Imagine that the entire United States of America is in the car.
Dave:In the car?
Alan Reed:In the car!
Bob Alexander:And you've got to get it to the hospital.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: Episode #26.88" (2010)

Soundtrack:

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow

A "double" charmer

I've recently had the opportunity of viewing "Dave" and thoroughly enjoyed it. As did the whole family. Three of my grandchildren watched it and I didn't have to explain a thing. No sex (well none worth worrying about), no violence, and not too taxing on the brain, a wonderful tonic.

Pre 9/11 it's true, and all to be taken with a pinch of salt, but after all that's gone on in the White House over the years, I found it not totally implausible. Fact is stranger than fiction in that place.

The movie itself was cleverly crafted and didn't get over-bogged down with mush. The multi-talented Kevin Kline was excellent in the "double" role, Sigourney Weaver enchanting as the First Lady, Ben Kingsley reliable as ever as the Vice-President, but it was Frank Langella as the WH Chief of Staff who stole the show. He was superb.

To those who may say that "Dave" doesn't give a true reflection on American politics or make a political statement, I would agree with them, but then it surely didn't mean to. Its just a charming little comedy and/or love story that's easy on mind and eye, and for what its worth I thought it was great...so there!