How to Make an American Quilt (1995)

Director:

Jocelyn Moorhouse

Writers (WGA):

Whitney Otto (novel)
Jane Anderson (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 October 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

There's beauty in the patterns of life.

Plot:

Bride-to-be Finn Dodd hears tales of romance and sorrow from her elders as they construct a quilt.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Advice | Quilt | Grandmother | Wedding

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Kaelynn Craddick	...	Young Finn
Sara Craddick	...	Young Finn
Kate Capshaw	...	Sally
Adam Baldwin	...	Finn's Father
Winona Ryder	...	Finn
Dermot Mulroney	...	Sam
Ellen Burstyn	...	Hy
Anne Bancroft	...	Glady Joe
Maya Angelou	...	Anna
Alfre Woodard	...	Marianna
Lois Smith	...	Sophia
Jean Simmons	...	Em
Kate Nelligan	...	Constance
Denis Arndt	...	James
Rip Torn	...	Arthur
Derrick O'Connor	...	Dean
Johnathon Schaech	...	Leon
Samantha Mathis	...	Young Sophia
Loren Dean	...	Preston
Melinda Dillon	...	Mrs. Darling
Krysten Lee Wilson	...	Baby Duff
Kellie Lynn Wilson	...	Baby Duff
Brian McElroy	...	Baby Pres
Michael McElroy	...	Baby Pres
Paige Kettner	...	Little Evie
Ryanne Kettner	...	Little Evie
Annie Mae Hunter	...	Little Duff
Matt Zusser	...	Pres
Ari Meyers	...	Duff
Kaela Green	...	Evie
Joanna Going	...	Young Em
Tim Guinee	...	Young Dean
Jane Alden	...	Em's Mother
David Williams	...	Em's Father
Richard Jenkins	...	Howell
Tamala Jones	...	Anna's Great Grandmother
Harvey E. Lee Jr.	...	Anna's Great Grandfather
Esther Rolle	...	Aunt Pauline
Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly	...	Little Anna
Gail Strickland	...	The Mrs.
Debra Stricklin	...	Lady Guest
Jared Leto	...	Beck
María Celedonio	...	Young Anna
Charles Parks	...	Male Guest
Claire Danes	...	Young Glady Joe
Alicia Goranson	...	Young Hy
Holland Taylor	...	Mrs. Rubens
Will Estes	...	Boy at Party
Jonah Rooney	...	Boy at Party
Mykelti Williamson	...	Winston
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Keaton Tyndall	...	Young Finn Dodd (uncredited)
Kylie Tyndall	...	Young Finn Dodd (uncredited)
Christopher Villar	...	Child at Pool (uncredited)

Directed by
Jocelyn Moorhouse

Writing credits (WGA)
Whitney Otto		(novel)
Jane Anderson		(screenplay)

Produced by
Laurie MacDonald	....	executive producer
Deborah Jelin Newmyer	....	executive producer
Walter F. Parkes	....	executive producer
Sarah Pillsbury	....	producer
Midge Sanford	....	producer

Original Music by
Thomas Newman

Cinematography by
Janusz Kaminski

Film Editing by
Jill Bilcock

Casting by
Risa Bramon Garcia
Mary Vernieu

Production Design by
Leslie Dilley

Art Direction by
Ed Verreaux

Set Decoration by
Marvin March

Costume Design by
Ruth Myers

Makeup Department
Candace Neal	....	hair stylist
Valli O'Reilly	....	makeup artist
Robert L. Stevenson	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Paddy Cullen	....	production supervisor
Patricia Whitcher	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Leslie Dilley	....	second unit director
Sean Hobin	....	assistant director
P.J. Hogan	....	second unit director
Sergio Mimica-Gezzan	....	assistant director
Susan Prince	....	assistant director

Art Department
Evelyn Barbier	....	set designer
Adam J. Braff	....	second lead
Douglas Fox	....	property master
Allan Johnson	....	special effects
Kent Jones	....	paint foreman
William J. Law III	....	set designer
Josh Lusby	....	set designer
Caroline Perzan	....	assistant set decorator
Raymond Prado	....	storyboard artist
Michael P. Sweeney	....	props
Tom Talley	....	welding foreman
Chris Zimmerman	....	stand-by painter
David Napoli	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Albert Aquino	....	boom operator
Kevin Bartnof	....	foley artist
Patrick Bietz	....	sound editor
Eric Gotthelf	....	foley mixer
Adam Jenkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert Morrisey	....	sound editor
Terry Rodman	....	supervising sound editor
Philip Rogers	....	sound recordist
Katie Rowe	....	foley artist
Douglas Shamburger	....	second boom operator
Mark Smith	....	sound re-recording mixer
Russell Williams II	....	sound
David Wolowic	....	first assistant sound editor
Oscar Mitt	....	sound (uncredited)
John Soukup	....	sound transfer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Martin Becker	....	special effects
Robert Calvert	....	special effects
F. Lee Stone	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Patrice Dinhut	....	visual effects supervisor
Olivier Sarda	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Dan Bradley	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Larry Blanford	....	director of photography: second unit (as Lawrence Blanford)
Marek Bojsza	....	electrician
Chuck Cohen	....	additional photographer: second unit
Willie E. Dawkins	....	lighting technician
Mitch Dubin	....	camera operator
James A. Earley	....	grip
Kevin Edwards	....	grip
Kevin Erb	....	best boy grip
Charley Gilleran	....	rigging key grip
Jarek Gorczycki	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Richard Kelley	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Bruce McCleery	....	chief lighting technician (as Robert Bruce McCleery)
Stephen McGehee	....	lighting technician
Ivan H. Migel	....	rigging grip
J. Michael Muro	....	steadicam operator (as Jim Muro)
Michael A. Savage	....	grip
Ralph Scherer	....	grip
Larissa Supplitt	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Henry Tirl	....	focus puller: second unit
R. Gern Trowbridge	....	best boy electric: second unit
James B. Walsh	....	grip
Chuck Weiss	....	video assist operator
Bubba Sheffield	....	grip rigger (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rebeka L. Roberts	....	costume ager/dyer

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Erica Frauman	....	post-production coordinator
Matt Friedman	....	assistant editor
Emma E. Hickox	....	additional editor
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Ron Vignone	....	assistant editor

Music Department
George Doering	....	musician
Thomas Pasatieri	....	orchestrator
Paul Silver	....	assistant music editor
Kirsten Smith	....	scoring crew

Transportation Department
Denny Caira	....	transportation coordinator
Haryl L. Deason	....	driver

Other crew
Jeff Crandell	....	assistant location manager
Robert Dawson	....	title designer
Dina Farnell	....	assistant production office
Rhona Gordon	....	studio teacher
Amy Hughes	....	production assistant
Mia Levinson	....	assistant to producer
Murray Miller	....	location manager
Leslie Park	....	script supervisor
Tom Prince	....	production executive
Susie Schelling	....	medical technical advisor
Erika Schleich	....	production assistant
Christine Stewart	....	payroll accountant
Mark Swenson	....	production assistant
Bill Tyler	....	set production assistant
Eden Ashley Umble	....	unit publicist
Nellie Adami	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Malle Jensen	....	assistant: Ms. Burstyn (uncredited)
David Sousa	....	animal trainer: Dogs (uncredited)

Thanks
P.J. Hogan	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Amblin Entertainment
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1995) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1999) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Argentina Video Home (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video
• United International Pictures (UIP) (Argentina)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (Spain)

Other Companies

• BridgeStreet Worldwide  production housing
• MCA Soundtracks  soundtrack

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for a scene of drug use, some sensuality and nudity

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34077) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Germany:6 (w) | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:15

Filming Locations:

11840 W. Telegraph Rd., Santa Paula, California, USA

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

Last live action cinema film of Jean Simmons and first cinema film of Jared Leto.

Quotes:

Finn:Sometimes love simply dies.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Adam and Joe Show: Episode #1.3" (1996)

Soundtrack:

El vicio del amor

Adultery, Indecision and Needlepoint

This adaptation by screenwriter Jane Anderson (novel by Whitney Otto) presents us with a character named Finn Dodd (Ryder), a 26-year old college student who has just gotten engaged to her long-time sweetheart Sam (Mulroney). She begins to realize the many changes that will come about because of her acceptance to his proposal and needs time to think and adjust. She decides to spend three months at her grandma Hy's house in Grasse, CA, which is the center of operations to a longtime quilting bee. During her tenure, she continues working on her master's thesis (a project of which she continuously changes her topic), all the while listening to the quilting bee's romantic horror stories as they craft Finn's wedding quilt.

To sum it up, `How To Make An American Quilt' is the quintessential chick flick awash with many familiar faces including Maya Angelou. The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet stars as Anna, the queen of an eight-member sewing circle consisting of Glady Jo Cleary (Anne Bancroft), Hy Cleary (Ellen Burstyn), her daughter Marianna (Alfre Woodard), Em Reed (Jean Simmons), Constance Saunders (Kate Nelligan) and Sophia Darling (Lois Smith). Anna winds up in the Cleary household at 16 - pregnant, unmarried and helpless. She will dwell there until the birth of her child, meeting Hy and Glady Jo for the first time. Little does she know that these two young women will remain in her life for years afterward, their interest and skill in the art of quilting mounting over the years by Anna's guidance.

There is also the story of Hy and Glady Jo themselves and their unspoken bitterness towards each other - we learn that Hy is the reason for Glady Jo's `self-expression' all over the walls of the laundry room. Then there is Sophia, an aspiring diver in her adolescence and later an abandoned mother of three; Em, wife to a histrionic artist, suffering his recurrent infidelity; Constance, a decent woman who endures the loss of her nearest and dearest, left with only her precious memories and Marianna, a lover of many but starved for the discovery of her soulmate.

We find as the film goes on that many instances of infidelity exist in the characters' cluttered histories. Half the women in this movie commit adultery at some point and even Finn falls victim to temptation. Where as once I could not relate, I find myself agreeing with many of Finn's thoughts and opinions on marriage upon becoming engaged - this includes a question in the very beginning that Ryder's voiceover poses to the audience: `How do you merge into this thing called 'a couple', and still keep a little room for yourself? How do we even know we're only supposed to be with one person for the rest of our lives?' These kinds of questions number in the hundreds of intended couples as they come closer to walking the proverbial aisle. I know that I have had my own reservations about marriage ever since I got engaged and many of my questions will never have an answer - I must trust my heart.and my gut.

Performances range in the areas of premium to mediocre. Who comes at the top of my list are screen veterans (and Academy Award winners, natch) Ellen Burstyn and Anne Bancroft. These two never cease to amaze me with how they can turn a character inside out and make it their own. Winona Ryder is so-so (as she is in most of her movies) as Finn but she does manage to touch a few nerves with her dark and luminous eyes - those pretty peepers are half of her dramatic capacity. Alfre Woodard is excellent, giving Marianna a carved edge but a soft core. Kate Nelligan is also wonderful but if you really wanna see her flex those acting chops, take a deep breath of Lila Wingo in `The Prince of Tides'. Dermot Mulroney always seems to play a nice guy that gets taken for granted (The Thing Called Love, My Best Friend's Wedding, Point Of No Return, etc.) and he does it again here - actis repeatus, you might say. Jean Simmons is a little disappointing as Em, the once beautiful and poised actress now only a shadow of herself. Maya Angelou does fine as Anna and some of Gen X's more popular faces make brief appearances in supporting roles (Claire Danes, Samantha Mathis, Jared Leto and Jonathan Schaech).

This film is a fairly even script-to-screen production and will please many that seek a decent character study. Of course, you can't outdo a detailed and poetic novel or the insightful author who writes it. As long as novelists continue to exist and evolve, filmic adaptations cannot compare (though there are a few exceptions here and there, e.g. Dolores Claiborne). This is not to say that `How To Make An American Quilt' isn't enjoyable - it's just not on par with what can be translated through literature. For those who have read Otto's novel, it will earn your rigid criticism.