Four Rooms (1995)

Directors:

Allison Anders
Alexandre Rockwell
(more)

Writers (WGA):

Allison Anders (written by) (segment)
Alexandre Rockwell (written by) (segment)
(more)

Release Date:

25 December 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Twelve outrageous guests. Four scandalous requests. And one lone bellhop, in his first day on the job, who's in for the wildest New year's Eve of his life.

Plot:

Four interlocking tales that take place in a fading hotel on New Year's Eve.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | New Year's Eve | Coven | Gangster | Bellhop

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sammi Davis	...	Jezebel (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Amanda De Cadenet	...	Diana (segment "The Missing Ingredient") (as Amanda deCadenet)
Valeria Golino	...	Athena (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Madonna	...	Elspeth (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Ione Skye	...	Eva (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Lili Taylor	...	Raven (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Alicia Witt	...	Kiva (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Jennifer Beals	...	Angela (segments "The Wrong Man", "The Man from Hollywood")
David Proval	...	Sigfried (segment "The Wrong Man")
Antonio Banderas	...	Man (segment "The Misbehavers")
Lana McKissack	...	Sarah (segment "The Misbehavers")
Patricia Vonne	...	Corpse (segment "The Misbehavers") (as Patricia Vonne Rodriguez)
Tamlyn Tomita	...	Wife (segment "The Misbehavers")
Danny Verduzco	...	Juancho (segment "The Misbehavers")
Salma Hayek	...	TV Dancing Girl (segment "The Misbehavers")
Paul Calderon	...	Norman (segment "The Man from Hollywood")
Quentin Tarantino	...	Chester (segment "The Man from Hollywood")
Lawrence Bender	...	Long Hair Yuppie Scum
Kathy Griffin	...	Betty
Quinn Thomas Hellerman	...	Baby Bellhop
Marc Lawrence	...	Sam the Bellhop
Unruly Julie McClean	...	Left Redhead
Laura Rush	...	Right Redhead
Paul Skemp	...	Real Theodore
Marisa Tomei	...	Margaret
Tim Roth	...	Ted the Bellhop
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kimberly Blair	...	Hooker (uncredited)
Monica Lee Steen	...	Margaret's Stoner Friend (segment "The Man from Hollywood (uncredited)
Russell Vossler	...	(uncredited)
Bruce Willis	...	Leo (segment "The Man from Hollywood") (uncredited)

Directed by
Allison Anders		(segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Alexandre Rockwell		(segment "The Wrong Man")
Robert Rodriguez		(segment "The Misbehavers")
Quentin Tarantino		(segment "The Man from Hollywood")

Writing credits (WGA)
Allison Anders		(written by) (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Alexandre Rockwell		(written by) (segment "The Wrong Man")
Robert Rodriguez		(written by) (segment "The Misbehavers")
Quentin Tarantino		(written by) (segment "The Man From Hollywood")

Produced by
Lawrence Bender	....	producer
Paul Hellerman	....	co-producer
Scott Lambert	....	co-producer
Alexandre Rockwell	....	executive producer
Quentin Tarantino	....	executive producer
Heidi Vogel	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Combustible Edison

Cinematography by
Rodrigo García		(director of photography) (segment "The Missing Ingredient") (as Rodrigo Garcia)
Guillermo Navarro		(director of photography) (segment "The Misbehavers")
Phil Parmet		(director of photography) (segment "The Wrong Man")
Andrzej Sekula		(director of photography) (segment "The Man From Hollywood")

Film Editing by
Margaret Goodspeed		(segment "The Missing Ingredient") (as Margie Goodspeed)
Elena Maganini		(segment "The Wrong Man")
Sally Menke		(segment "The Man from Hollywood")
Robert Rodriguez		(segment "The Misbehavers")

Casting by
Russell Gray

Production Design by
Gary Frutkoff

Art Direction by
Mayne Berke		(as Mayne Schuyler Berke)

Set Decoration by
Sara Andrews

Costume Design by
Susan L. Bertram
Mary Claire Hannan

Makeup Department
Christina Bartolucci	....	co-key makeup artist (segment "The Man from Hollywood") (as Cristina Bartolucci)
Toni G	....	assistant makeup artist (segment "The Missing Ingredient") (as Toni G.)
Don Malot	....	assistant hair stylist (segments "The Man from Hollywood", "The Misbehavers")
Don Malot	....	assistant makeup artist (segments "The Man from Hollywood", "The Misbehavers")
Anna Marco	....	key makeup artist/hair: Salma Hayek (segment "The Misbehavers")
Anna Marco	....	makeup artist
Barbara Olvera	....	assistant hair stylist (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Orlando	....	hair stylist: Madonna
Ermahn Ospina	....	key hair stylist (segments "The Man from Hollywood", "The Misbehavers")
Ermahn Ospina	....	key makeup artist (segments "The Man from Hollywood", "The Misbehavers")
Michael Pachal	....	key hair stylist (segments "The Missing Ingredient", "The Wrong Man") (as Michael Ross)
Pamela Priest	....	hair stylist: Bruce Willis
Paul Starr	....	makeup artist: Madonna
Lizbeth Williamson	....	key makeup artist (segments "The Missing Ingredient", "The Wrong Man")

Production Management
Debbie Hayn-Cass	....	production supervisor (as Deborah Cass)
Paul Hellerman	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Douglas Aarniokoski	....	first assistant director (segments "The Missing Ingredient" and "The Misbehavers")
Fernando Altschul	....	first assistant director (segments "The Wrong Man" and "The Man from Hollywood")
Brian Bettwy	....	second assistant director
Louis Shaw Milito	....	second assistant director

Art Department
James C. Beeson	....	carpenter
Peter Borck	....	lead man
Martin Charles	....	graphic designer
Carlos A. Chavez	....	painter
Adam DeFelice	....	specialty prop fabricator (as Adam deFelice)
T.D. Donnelly	....	stand-by painter
James Michael Drury Jr.	....	on-set carpenter (as James M. Drury Jr.)
Dave Edinger	....	carpenter
Marc Gillson	....	lead painter (as Mark D. Gillson)
Joseph W. Grafmuller	....	swing gang (as Joseph Grafmuller)
Matthew Gratzner	....	specialty prop fabricator
Shari Griffin	....	draper
Shane Hawkins	....	lead carpenter
Steven Ingrassia	....	swing gang
Marisol Jiménez	....	art department coordinator (as Marisol Jimenez)
Andrew King	....	assistant property master
Adam Markey	....	painter (as Adam G. Markey)
Brian Markey	....	construction coordinator
Ray Maxwell	....	construction foreman
Brant McCarthy	....	carpenter (as Brant R. McCarthy)
Mary Patvaldnieks	....	assistant decorator
Mark Peters	....	carpenter
Thomas Power	....	swing gang (as Thomas J. Power)
Lynda Reiss	....	property master
Chris Scher	....	construction estimator
Mark Simpson	....	carpenter (as Mark F. Simpson)
Pedro V. Suchite	....	painter
Randy Tenhaeff	....	swing gang
Floyd Valero	....	carpenter
Francis Whitebloom	....	on-set dresser

Sound Department
Gary Blufer	....	sound effects recordist
Lance Brown	....	sound designer
Vincent Cassaro	....	second assistant sound editor
Tom E. Dahl	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Tom Dahl)
Zack Davis	....	adr editor
Gordon Ecker	....	supervising foley editor
Thom 'Coach' Ehle	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
John Michael Fanaris	....	sound effects coordinator
Bruce Fortune	....	supervising sound editor
David Gertz	....	foley mixer
Wayne Heitman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Glenn Hoskinson	....	sound effects editor
Victor Iorillo	....	special sound effects
Victor Iorillo	....	supervising sound editor
Paul Koronkiewicz	....	boom operator
Dawn Kratofil	....	sound effects coordinator
Lee Lemont	....	adr editor
Blake Marion	....	sound effects coordinator
Anthony Milch	....	sound effects editor (as Anthony R. Milch)
Howard Neiman	....	sound effects editor
Jay Nierenberg	....	sound editor
B. Tennyson Sebastian III	....	sound re-recording mixer (segment "The Misbehavers")
Kim Secrist	....	sound effects editor
Becky Sullivan	....	supervising adr editor
Shawn Sykora	....	sound effects editor
Tim Tuchrello	....	first assistant sound editor
Christina Tucker	....	adr mixer
Donald L. Warner Jr.	....	sound effects editor
Pawel Wdowczak	....	production sound mixer
Bernard Weiser	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Christy Sumner	....	special effects assistant
Shannon J. Thompson	....	special effects assistant (as Shannon Thompson)

Visual Effects by
Bertha Garcia	....	visual effects animator
Bertha Garcia	....	visual effects designer
Joe Gareri	....	visual effects: Pacific Title Digital
Jay Mark Johnson	....	visual effects animator
Jay Mark Johnson	....	visual effects designer
Patrick Phillips	....	visual effects: Pacific Title Digital
Robert Stromberg	....	visual effects: Illusion Arts, Inc.
Paul Taglianetti	....	special effects coordinator: VIFX (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
David S. Williams Jr.	....	visual effects: Illusion Arts, Inc.

Stunts
Charles Belardinelli	....	stunt player
Thomas L. Bellissimo	....	stunt player (as Tom Bellissimo)
Gulcin Gilbert	....	stunt player (as Gulshin Gilbert)
Kane Hodder	....	stunt player
Alan Marcus	....	stunt player

Camera and Electrical Department
Bjorn Aarskog	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera (as Bjorn E. Aarskog)
Edgar Arellano	....	best boy electric
Claudette Barius	....	unit still photographer
Elizabeth Bolden	....	grip
Jonathan Brown	....	Steadicam operator (segments "The Misbehavers", "The Wrong Man")
Katherine M. Butler	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (as Kate Butler)
Jason 'Jake' Cross	....	grip
Marcel DeJure	....	electrician (as Marcel De Jure)
Ziad Doueiri	....	camera operator
Ziad Doueiri	....	first assistant camera
Bob Gorelick	....	Steadicam operator (segment "The Man from Hollywood")
Heather M. Hillmeyer	....	electrician (as Heather Hillmeyer)
James Irons	....	best boy grip (as James B. 'Crash' Irons)
Bob Ivanjack	....	dolly grip
Jason E. Lord	....	electrician (as Jason Lord)
Marc Polanski	....	grip (as Marc Thomas Polanski)
Chuck Smith	....	gaffer
Gregory C. Smith	....	second assistant camera (as Gregory Smith)
Tim Soronen	....	grip (as Tim 'Stuffy' Soronen)
David Stern	....	grip
Rick Stribling	....	key grip

Animation Department
Pam Cooke	....	animator (as Pam Cooke - Weiner)
Chuck Jones	....	creative consultant: animation
Bob Kurtz	....	animator: titles
Gary Mooney	....	animator
Dave Spafford	....	animator
Shane Zalvin	....	animator

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Randi Hiller	....	casting associate
Jeff Olan	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jacqueline Aronson	....	costume supervisor (segments "The Wrong Man", "The Man from Hollywood")
Mynka Draper	....	costumer
Thomas G. Marquez	....	costume supervisor (segments "The Missing Ingredient", "The Misbehavers")

Editorial Department
Bob Allen	....	first assistant editor (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Erik C. Andersen	....	first assistant editor (segment "The Misbehavers")
Joaquin Gonzalo Avellán	....	apprentice editor (as Joaquin Avellan)
Steven M. Buono	....	second assistant editor (segment "The Wrong Man")
Dawn Todd Curfman	....	post-production coordinator (as Dawn Todd)
Jeff Ervin	....	assistant editor
Alyson Evans	....	post-production coordinator
Daniel Fort	....	second assistant editor (segment "The Misbehavers") (as Daniel A. Fort)
Johanna Groepl	....	second assistant editor (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Donald Likovich	....	assistant film editor
Katie Mack	....	second assistant editor (segment "The Man from Hollywood")
Ethan Maniquis	....	apprentice editor
Ray Neapolitan	....	additional assistant editor
Ben Parker	....	post-production assistant
Theresa Repola Mohammed	....	negative cutter
Tatiana S. Riegel	....	first assistant editor (segment "The Man from Hollywood")
Mike Stanwick	....	color timer (as Michael Stanwick)
Jeff Swafford	....	post-production assistant
Debra L. Tennant	....	first assistant editor (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
David Young	....	first assistant editor (segment "The Wrong Man")

Music Department
Kristen Becht	....	music coordinator
Robert Casale	....	music engineer
Liz Cox	....	musician: Combustible Edison (as Miss Lily Banquette)
Michael Cudahy	....	musician: Combustible Edison (as The Millionaire)
Nicholas Cudahy	....	musician: Combustible Edison
Peter Dixon	....	musician: Combustible Edison
Andrew W. Leary	....	executive in charge of soundtracks: Elektra Entertainment (as Andrew Leary)
Mark Mothersbaugh	....	music producer
Denise Okimoto	....	music editor
Aaron Oppenheimer	....	musician: Combustible Edison
Karyn Rachtman	....	music supervisor
Mary Ramos	....	music coordinator

Transportation Department
D. Robert Knight	....	driver
P. Gerald Knight	....	transportation coordinator
Geoff Lancaster	....	driver
Adam Pinkstaff	....	transportation
Dotti Thompson	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Canard Emile Barnes	....	office production assistant
Sissy Boyd	....	choreographer
Eric Brooks	....	legal: A Band Apart
Patrice Carbaugh	....	medic/stage manager
Cathy Cavadini	....	looping group (as Catherine Cavadini)
Melanie Chapman	....	assistant: Ms. Anders
Vicki Cherkas	....	legal advisor: Miramax Films
Robert Earl Craft	....	location manager
Dawn Todd Curfman	....	production coordinator (as Dawn Todd)
Tiffanie DeBartolo	....	intern
Maureen Duffy	....	completion guarantee
Judi M. Durand	....	looping group (as Judi Durand)
Greg Finley	....	looping group
Carlos K. Goodman	....	legal: A Band Apart (as Carlos Goodman)
Michael Boyce Harris	....	stand-in
Deborah Hebert	....	production accountant
Doris Hess	....	looping group
Derek Hurd	....	craft service
Patrick Jack Lee	....	production financing
Victoria Lucai	....	assistant: Mr. Tarantino
David McCharen	....	looping group (as David Mccharen)
Courtney McDonnell	....	assistant: Mr. Bender
Brian McMillan	....	animal trainer: McMillan Animal Rentals
Amanda Michener	....	assistant: Mr. Rockwell (as Amanda M. Michener)
Susan Noonan-Gero	....	assistant production coordinator
Kyle Oliver	....	location assistant
Ben Parker	....	set production assistant
Cathy Ragona	....	coordinator: Miramax (as Cathy Agcayab)
David Randolph	....	looping group
Lisa Redding	....	stand-in
Nick Roberts	....	security supervisor: Technical Guard Security
Craig Davis Roth	....	accounting assistant (as Craig Roth)
Charles Sapadin	....	office production assistant
Vernon Scott	....	looping group
Jeff Swafford	....	key office production assistant
Jayne-Ann Tenggren	....	script supervisor
Jan D. Tys	....	studio teacher
Karen Alicia White	....	set production assistant
Nancy Willen	....	unit publicist
Heidrun M. Williams	....	assistant accountant
Kurt Woolner	....	completion guarantee
Zane	....	post-production accountant
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)
Billy Pittard	....	title designer (uncredited)

Thanks
Stephanie Allain	....	special thanks
Maureen Angelinetta	....	special thanks
Lola Babalon	....	special thanks
Pamela Barish	....	special thanks
Zoe R. Cassavetes	....	special thanks (as Zoe Cassavetes)
Claire Chew	....	special thanks
Chris Connelly	....	special thanks
Roald Dahl	....	special thanks
Leland Faust	....	special thanks (as Leland H. Faust)
Jim Hannafan	....	special thanks (as Jim Hannafin)
Lisa Henson	....	special thanks
Jerry Lewis	....	special thanks
Lawrence Lorre	....	special thanks
Adam Lustig	....	special thanks
Gerald Martinez	....	special thanks
Sean McCleese	....	special thanks
Joel Millner	....	special thanks
Mike Simpson	....	special thanks
Maya Montanez Smukler	....	special thanks
Cindy Jo Stanberry	....	special thanks
Lee Stollman	....	special thanks
Shelley Surpin	....	special thanks
Frank Tashlin	....	special thanks
Eddie Tishkoff	....	special thanks: Hollywood Piano Co.
Jamie Toscas	....	special thanks
Kurt Voss	....	special thanks
Bumble Ward	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Miramax Films (presents)
• A Band Apart (producer)

Distributors

• Concorde Film (1997) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1996) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Spentzos Films (1996) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Laurenfilm (Spain)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2002) (Finland) (TV)
• Miramax Films (also video)
• Nordisk Film (1996) (Finland) (VHS)
• Nordisk Film (2007) (Finland) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Bellissimo/Belardinelli Effects (special mechanical effects)
• K.N.B. Effects Group (special make-up effects)
• Design and Animation (visual effects by) (as Design And Animation)
• Illusion Arts (visual effects by)
• Pacific Title Digital (visual effects by)
• Hunter/Gratzner Industries

Other Companies

• Agnès B.  special thanks (as Agnes b.)
• Cinelease  grip equipment
• Cristal Roederer Champagne  special thanks (as Champagne Louis Roederer S.A.)
• Direct Tools & Fasteners  expendables
• Dolce & Gabbana  special thanks
• Eastman Film  originated on (as Eastman Color Film)
• Elektra Records  original motion picture soundtrack (as Elektra Compact Discs and Cassettes)
• Emporio Armani  special thanks
• Film & Video Stock Shots  stock footage
• Film Finances  completion guarantor (as Film Finances, Inc.)
• Giorgio Armani  special thanks
• Great Northern/Reiff & Associates  insurance
• Hama Design  special thanks
• Hugo Boss  special thanks
• Ira Senz  wigmaker (as Ira Senz Company)
• J.L. Fisher  camera dollies
• Judy Garland & Associates  travel arrangements and services (as Judy Garland And Associates)
• Kurtz and Friends  animation produced by
• Lichter, Nichols & Grossman  legal: A Band Apart (as Lichter, Grossman & Nichols, Inc.)
• Lowtech  specialty prop fabrication by
• McMillan Animal Rentals  animal training
• Mutato Muzika  music recorded by
• Myman Abel Fineman Fox Greenspan Light  music legal services (as Myman, Abell, Fineman, Greenspan & Rowan)
• Pacific Music Editors  music editing
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Panavision  cameras and lenses provided by (as Panavision Hollywood)
• Pittard Sullivan Fitzgerald  titles designed by
• Playback Technologies  video playback services
• Producer's Library Service  stock footage (as Producers Library Service)
• Rainbow Casting Service  extras casting (as Rainbow Casting)
• S.I.R. Studios  electric equipment provided by
• Silver Screen Caterers  production catering (as Silver Screen Catering)
• SoundStorm  post-production sound
• Technical Guard Security  set security
• The Donna Karan Company  special thanks (as Donna Karan Menswear)
• United Distillers & Vintners  special thanks (as Guinness Distillers)
• United Independent Taxi  special thanks

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong language, sexuality and some drug use

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:MA | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:18 | USA:R (No. 33973) | South Korea:18 | Canada:14A | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

Chateau Marmont - 8221 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

The video game being played by Betty and her friends is Rambo III (1989/I) (VG) for the Sega Genesis, however some scenes show her playing "Rambo" for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Betty is playing video games with her friends, she is playing Rambo 3 on a Sega Genesis. However, some scenes show the game she is playing as Rambo for the Nintendo Entertainment System, while she is still using a Sega Genesis controller.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sam the Bellhop:We used to have Fifty on staff here. Fifty! I'm the only one left. It all comes down to one schmuck, me. The night shift bellhop. What the hell is that, a bellhop? Huh, what is that? You know where the name comes from? Huh? From someone stupid! Some schmuck rings and bell and ya hop, you hop front and center.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strictly Background (2007)

Soundtrack:

Harlem Nocturne

Strange, Gruesome, trashy, and sort of confusing. But I liked it.

First Story- * 1/2 out of ****

Second Story- ** out of ****

Third Story- ***1/2 out of ****

Forth Story- **** out of ****

This film is strange, but it gets better as it goes along. It is difficult to get into, but once the viewer gets into it, it is a funny, disturbing, and unique film. The plot is basically of a bellboy(played by the always good, Tim Roth) who has to take care of a hotel for the night on New Years Eve. He gets involved in some strange and off-color characters and slowly is driven insane by it all. There are four stories total. he first one is about a coven of witches who must find semen for their magic potion to resurrect a model. The second is about a suspicious husband who ties his wife up and holds a gun to the bellboy's face because he thinks she is cheating on him with the bellboy, only the bellboy soon discovers that this is just a weird trick. The third story(and by for the goriest) is about a rich man and his wife leaving his children alone at the hotel with the bellboy to babysit. And the forth is about a macabre bet involving a bunch of Hollywood yuppies, a car, a lighter, and removal of body parts.

The first story is really only for certain audiences. I didn't dig it, but I could see why certain people may. The jokes about sex and possible incest were tiresome, the witches were stereotypes and were poor ones, and the camera angles were terrible never allowing the audience to really get into the story. The reason why is because it is shown at a fly-on-the-wall distance and for a plot involving witches it helps to know what they are up to in a closer way. Normally this cinematic approach would work well, most noticeably the brilliant Peter Greenway film, THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE, AND HER LOVER, which the movie strongly reminded me of for some reason and Tim Roth was also in it.

The second story was very perverse but didn't offer any way to involve the viewer in actually finding it interesting which it should have been. There is a sequence in which Tim Roth is put to inane stunt-work where he must get himself back into the apartment, even though he is falling out of it through the window. The stunt seems misguided and out of place in the drama of this story. The ideas are good, but the execution didn't quite work. Some pretty strange intensity by Jennifer Beals here.

The film takes a large jump forward into sharp comedy and independent ideas. The tone was mean-spirited and wicked. The children were appropriately mischievous and the father(Antonio Banderes) was nuts. The camera work was involving, and the comedic notes were hit correctly. The story worked and the viewer will have it stuck in their minds for days if they can't make it to the next story.

The best of the four is the last one, with quick and sensible dialog, an inspired plot, appropriate acting, and an off-kilter ending that is shocking, brutal, and brilliant.

Rated R for pervasive strong language, sexuality and some drug use.