My Life (1993)

Director:

Bruce Joel Rubin

Writer (WGA):

Bruce Joel Rubin (written by)

Release Date:

12 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

every moment counts

Plot:

A terminally ill man prepares for his death.

Plot Keywords:

Cancer | Death | Reconciliation | Baby | Parenthood

Cast

Michael Keaton	...	Bob Jones
Nicole Kidman	...	Gail Jones
Bradley Whitford	...	Paul Ivanovich
Queen Latifah	...	Theresa
Michael Constantine	...	Bill Ivanovich
Rebecca Schull	...	Rose Ivanovich
Mark Lowenthal	...	Dr. Mills
Lee Garlington	...	Carol Sandman
Toni Sawyer	...	Doris
Haing S. Ngor	...	Mr. Ho
Romy Rosemont	...	Anya Stasiuk
Danny Rimmer	...	Young Bobbie
Ruth de Sosa	...	Young Rose Ivanovich
Richard Schiff	...	Young Bill Ivanovich
Stephen Taylor Knott	...	Young Paul Ivanovich
Andrew Camuccio	...	Baby Brian
Brian Camuccio	...	Baby Brian
Colby Sawyer Garabedian	...	Little Boy Brian
Mary Ann Thebus	...	Miss Morgenstern
Brenda Strong	...	Laura
Rudi Davis	...	George
Mark Holton	...	Sam
Lissa Walters	...	Deborah
Bruce Jarchow	...	Walter
Jane Morris	...	Dorothy
Kenneth Tigar	...	Dr. Califano
Ray Reinhardt	...	Dr. Altman
Frank DiElsi	...	Arnold Sherman
Billy L. Sullivan	...	Rollercoaster Boy
Michael Gallagher	...	Rollercoaster Friend
Christopher Miranda	...	Rollercoaster Friend
Nora Taylor	...	Little Girl
Dianne B. Shaw	...	Detroit Mother
Sondra Rubin	...	Aunt Sophia
Sylvia Kauders	...	Aunt Tekla
Sharon Conley	...	Lida Stasiuk
James R. Sweeney	...	Nestor Stasiuk
Vasek Simek	...	Uncle Henry
Magda Harout	...	Aunt Sonia
Mark Zingale	...	Delivery Man
Jonathan Fish	...	Delivery Man
James Rubin	...	Uncle Jimmy
Jennifer Flackett	...	Childbirth Teacher
Gary A. Rubin	...	Man at Wedding (as Gary Rubin)
Susan Breslau	...	Guest at Wedding
Wendy Sax	...	Guest at Wedding
Charlotte Zucker	...	Guest at Wedding
Blanche Rubin	...	Guest at Wedding
Ari Rubin	...	Guest at Wedding
John Steciw	...	Band Leader
Walter Klimchuk	...	Priest (as Fr. Walter Klimchuk)
Peggy Roeder	...	Cousin
Treva Tegtmeier	...	Cousin
Oksana Fedunyszyn	...	Cousin
Lynn Baber	...	Cousin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chipper Lowell	...	Circus Performer (uncredited)

Directed by
Bruce Joel Rubin

Writing credits (WGA)
Bruce Joel Rubin		(written by)

Produced by
Hunt Lowry	....	producer
Kathryn J. McDermott	....	associate producer
Gil Netter	....	executive producer
Bruce Joel Rubin	....	producer
Jerry Zucker	....	producer

Original Music by
John Barry

Cinematography by
Peter James

Film Editing by
Richard Chew

Casting by
Janet Hirshenson
Jane Jenkins
Roger Mussenden

Production Design by
Neil Spisak

Art Direction by
Larry Fulton
Troy Sizemore

Set Decoration by
Anne D. McCulley

Costume Design by
Judy L. Ruskin		(as Judy Ruskin)

Makeup Department
Joseph Coscia	....	hair stylist (as Joe Coscia)
Laura De'Atley	....	body makeup artist
David Forrest	....	makeup artist (as David Craig Forrest)
Barbara Lorenz	....	hair stylist
Bob Mills	....	makeup artist
Matthew W. Mungle	....	prosthetic makeup artist
Linda Boykin-Williams	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Bill Johnson	....	production supervisor
Hunt Lowry	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Otie Brown	....	second second assistant director
Alan Edmisten	....	second assistant director
William M. Elvin	....	first assistant director
Eric Oliver	....	dga trainee

Art Department
Larry Clark	....	paint supervisor
Gina B. Cranham	....	set designer
Mike Cunningham	....	assistant property master
Kristen Kelly	....	prop assistant
Mike Monckton	....	lead greens
Len Morganti	....	storyboard artist
Brana Rosenfeld	....	buyer
Philip Steuer	....	property master
Oscar Delgadillo	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Phillip Ellman	....	greensman (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Benson	....	sound editor
Bill W. Benton	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chris Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bill J. DiDonna	....	boom operator (as William DiDonna)
Christopher Flick	....	foley supervisor
Sukey Fontelieu	....	sound editor
Nerses Gezalyan	....	foley recordist
Eric J. Goldstein	....	second boom operator
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard King	....	supervising sound editor
Cliff Latimer	....	adr supervisor
Dan O'Connell	....	foley artist
John Sutton	....	sound mixer (as John Sutton III)
Donald Sylvester	....	foley editor
Ronald L. Wright	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Larz Anderson	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Adrian Iler	....	technical director
Scott Kilburn	....	technical director
Jeff Matakovich	....	visual effects
Ladd McPartland	....	visual effects editor
George Merkert	....	visual effects producer
John Nelson	....	visual effects supervisor
Gayle Reznik	....	visual effects coordinator
Martin Foster	....	previs artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Tony Snegoff	....	stunts
Darlene Ava Williams	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Josh Bleibtreu	....	first assistant camera
Peter Clarson	....	chief lighting technician
Michael Ferris	....	camera operator
Bobby Huber	....	key grip
Dwight Joseph Lavers	....	dolly grip
Gregory Lundsgaard	....	Steadicam operator
Merrick Morton	....	still photographer
Liz Radley	....	video supervisor
Richard Scarpone	....	video assist operator
Stephen Sfetku	....	film loader
Daniel E. Teaze	....	second assistant camera (as Danny Teaze)
Ron Kunecke	....	night light operator (uncredited)

Animation Department
Neil Eskuri	....	lead animator

Casting Department
Karen Jasper	....	casting assistant
Mark A. Ridge	....	extras casting
Barbara L. Roche	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kimberly Guenther Durkin	....	costume supervisor (as Kimberly Guenther)
Janet Sobel	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Christy Richmond	....	first assistant editor
Liv Torgerson	....	assistant editor
Scot Deer	....	telecine colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist
Cliff Kohlweck	....	music editor
Shawn Murphy	....	scoring mixer
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn
Janelle Showalter	....	assistant music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Steven R. Molen	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Jeremy Alter	....	set production assistant
Thomas J. Busch	....	location manager: Chicago
William Friedland	....	medical advisor: birth (as Dr. William Friedland)
Wilma Garscadden-Gahret	....	script supervisor
Rob Goldman	....	production assistant: Chicago
Vincent G. Gonzales	....	key set production assistant
Bill Johnson	....	production supervisor
Lisa Lynn Kearsley	....	production coordinator
Carol Kim	....	assistant to executive producer: pre-production
Daniel Lieber	....	medical consultant (as Dr. Daniel Lieber)
Theresa Marsh	....	payroll accountant
Jack Messitt	....	production assistant (as John Messit)
Carla Meyer	....	dialect coach
Margaret Mitchell	....	production accountant
John Panzarella	....	location manager
Anne S. Reilly	....	unit publicist
Sharon B. Taksel	....	assistant accountant
Chris Winn	....	craft service
Jeff Winn	....	key craft service
Robert 'Bobby Z' Zajonc	....	aerial coordinator
Michael Mendelsohn	....	production financing (uncredited)
Leslie Thorson	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Capella Films
• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Zucker Brothers Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures
• Eagle Films (1993) (non-USA) (TV) (Middle East)
• Emerald (2007) (Argentina) (DVD) (re-release) (platinum edition)
• Guild Home Video (1994) (UK) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Transmundo Films (Argentina)
• Transmundo Home Video (THV) (Argentina) (video)
• TriPictures (Spain)

Special Effects

• Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Cinema Research  titles and opticals
• Cinesite  digital film scanning
• D. Bassett & Associates  negative cutting
• Holzer Roche Ridge Casting  extras casting: chicago
• Inter Video  24 frame video services
• Tomkats Catering  catering
• Tony's Food Service  catering
• Wynands Productions Inc.  set construction

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature subject matter

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | UK:12 (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating) | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/12 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company:

Capella Films

Trivia:

Marisa Tomei and Mary-Louise Parker tested for the role of Gail.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When they are leaving the airport in Detroit, to go back home, there is clearly a palm tree in the background, just outside the terminal. Palm trees don't grow in Michigan.

Quotes:

Bob Jones:Today's D-Day. Death day. I'm supposed to be dead today. From now on, I'm living on borrowed time.

Movie Connections:

Features "The Lone Ranger" (1949)

Soundtrack:

OVERTURE TO WILLIAM TELL

every moment counts

Learning from a Doctor, that you only have months to live, would have to be one of the hardest pills anyone could swallow. Yet in the 1993 drama, ‘My Life', our hero is facing the end of his life, and doing it in the best way he can. The world we live in today is full of people who are dying from cancer just like Bob Jones, but no movie has showed what a struggle it is. Here is a movie that does not shrug away from any of the underlying issues Bobs has to face, as he is living his final days. We all need to watch this film and cherish what an experience it really is.

Meet Bob and Gail Jones, a happily married couple expecting their first child, who are passionately devoted to one another. But tragedy strikes their otherwise untroubled middle-class home when Bob learns he has advanced terminal cancer. Faced with this profound crisis and the realisation that his child may never know him, Bob decides to make a video documenting his life so that his son will have some knowledge of his father. Creating the video proves to be an emotionally and mentally Herculean task, as Bob discovers he is as shallow as the public relations material he produces for a living. Before he can successfully complete the video, Bob has to make peace with himself, reconcile with his estranged parents, and accept what is happening to him is inevitably going to kill him.

What a great story for a movie. I like the way we see Bob Jones struggle through the entire movie, as I am sure that is how it is for all cancer victims. The story is also beautifully filmed, with the shots where Bob is making up the video for his son, done exceptionally well. This movie was written and directed by Bruce Joel Rubin, and was his directorial debut. I feel that this story had a part of his own life within it, (his mother, Sondra, was in the film and the film is dedicated to her memory), but in no way did this take away from the viewing experience. In fact, I feel that it enhanced it all the more.

The movie stars two wonderful actors in Michael Keaton and Nicole Kidman. They share a very unique bond on this movie as you really believe they are in love. They also show that they are struggling with what ultimately will be the end of their fulfilling marriage. Keaton's performance is one of his best, as I feel he was a great choice to play Bob. I like how we see that Bob is filled with anger towards his family, especially his parents (which would have to be contributing to how sick he is becoming). The scenes we see with Bob's family are great, as they build real tension, and show that Bob's life is not content as it needs to be.

Other important characters in ‘My Life' include the Chinese healer, Mr. Ho (Haing S. Ngor), who tells Bob that he needs to get his life in order, before it is too late. Bob is unsure how to take the healer, accusing him of ‘doing something'. Mr. Ho is a vital character to the final make-up of the movie. I also have to mention baby ‘Brian' that Bob and Gail had. The twins, Brian and Andrew Camuccio, were great babies to use in the role of the Jones baby. Considering the point that the movie was at, their happiness helps to balance the sadness that is taking place as Brian's father is close to death.

This leads to some of the great scenes in ‘My life'. As I have said all of the video documentary scenes are great, as they give both the audience and Brian a great insight into the life of Bob Jones. The scenes that show Bob's anger towards his family are great, as we get to see that his life was not and is not what it should be. This is no more apparent than at Bob's brothers wedding reception, where he lets fly with some scathing attacks at his entire family.

Yet it is also good to see that Bob has made peace with his family towards the end of the film, as he can finally rest in complete peace. The end of this movie, while it is difficult to watch, was a great and fitting conclusion. Showing Bob near to death and extremely sick, was a game move that I feel worked. I can understand people not liking it, but you have to be prepared to be confronted by this man's death, with death always being confronting in any movie or circumstance.

In closing this is a movie I will always return to when I want to get ‘my life' back into some sort of prospective, as it helps you to make sensible choices about your future. It points out to its audience that we should all appreciate life while living on this earth. If we don't, we run the risk of dying an unfulfilled life. I never had the chance to meet my mum's mum, as she died before I was born. In a way I am glad I did not see her before she died, because she died a most unpleasant death, from smoking related emphysema. So from watching this movie, I can imagine what her last few days on this earth would have been like. I also like the way that baby Brian, keeps Bob's legacy alive, as he is a happy child, just his Dad was before he died. The tagline to this movie is so true, when it comes to the end of human life, ‘every moment counts'. We all need to do this, as we never know when our last day on this earth could be upon us.

CMRS gives ‘My Life': 4.5 (Very Good –Brilliant Film)