Man of the Century (1999)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Adam Abraham

Writers:

Adam Abraham (writer) and
Gibson Frazier (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

He's yesterday's answer to today's world.

Plot:

Fantasy-comedy about a young man who lives as if it is 1928 or so, and his encounters with modern-day women and modern-day criminals.

Plot Keywords:

Anachronistic | Newspaper | Nightclub | Gagged And Bound | Escape

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Gibson Frazier	...	Johnny Twennies
Cara Buono	...	Virginia Clemens
Ian Edwards	...	Clarence
Brian Davies	...	Victor Young
Susan Egan	...	Samantha Winter
Yul Vazquez	...	Brooding Artist
Dwight Ewell	...	Richard Lancaster
Brian Kite	...	Messenger
David Margulies	...	Mr. Meyerscholtz
Anthony Rapp	...	Timothy Burns
Alfred Hyslop	...	Public Official
David Anzuelo	...	Degenerate
Sean Patrick Reilly	...	Reporter
Alan Davidson	...	Tyrus
Kevin Weisman	...	Squibb
Francis Dumaurier	...	Maitre D
Lester Lanin	...	Lester
Bobby Short	...	Chester
Marisa Ryan	...	Gertrude
Michael Allinson	...	Hastings
Cornelius Patrick Byrne	...	Coachman
Anne Jackson	...	Margaret Twennies (as Madame Du Froid)
William Meisle	...	Bartlett
Ken Leung	...	Mike Ramsey
Liza Politi	...	Denise Bradden
Michael Weiner	...	Milo Young
Alan Zachary	...	Pianist
Frank Gorshin	...	Roman Navarro
Diana Georger	...	Shopper
Douglas Huch	...	Taxi Driver
Michael Squicciarini	...	Maurice
Francis Cruz	...	Chinese Boy
Ron Domingo	...	Chinese Boy
Michael Minn	...	Chinese Boy
Wayland Quintero	...	Chinese Boy
Perry Yung	...	Chinese Boy
Robert Lin	...	Chinese Mob Boss
Ron Garcia	...	Obnoxious Guy
Nicole Brier	...	Dottie Lausenger
Donald Symington	...	Reverend Sheehan
Gary Beach	...	Jaffrey Pitzer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eric Morris	...	Publisher (uncredited)

Directed by
Adam Abraham

Writing credits
Adam Abraham		(writer) and
Gibson Frazier		(writer)

Produced by
Adam Abraham	....	producer
John Bruno	....	line producer (as John J. Bruno)
Gibson Frazier	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael Weiner

Cinematography by
Matthew Jensen

Film Editing by
Frank Reynolds

Casting by
Adam Shell
Elizabeth Zaremba

Production Design by
Zeljka Pavlinovic

Art Direction by
Sanna Riley

Costume Design by
Claudia Hill

Makeup Department
Caroline French	....	assistant hair stylist
Caroline French	....	assistant makeup artist
Hildie Ginsberg	....	hair stylist
Hildie Ginsberg	....	makeup artist
Paul Huntley	....	wigs
Maria Cristina Newsom	....	additional hair stylist
Maria Cristina Newsom	....	additional makeup artist
Letha Rodman	....	additional hair stylist
Letha Rodman	....	additional makeup artist

Production Management
Stanley Bickman	....	unit production manager (as Stan Bickman)
Cindy Galman	....	unit manager (as Cindy E. Galman)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brian Bentham	....	first assistant director (as Brian C. Bentham)
Jason Savader	....	second assistant director
Hyoe Yamamoto	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Niamh Byrne	....	set dresser
Andrew Duffy	....	set construction
Dana Faconti	....	graphic designer
Richard Griggs	....	swing
Rhonda L. Haynes	....	swing
Michel Samuel	....	swing
Ben Telford	....	property master
Katherine Walker	....	art department assistant

Sound Department
Alan Decker	....	sound designer
Alan Decker	....	sound re-recording mixer
James B. Howe	....	foley recordist (as James Howe)
Alan Kerr	....	foley artist
Mark Korba	....	sound designer
Mark Linden	....	adr recordist
Mark Linden	....	sound designer
Mark Linden	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jamie Moore	....	boom operator
Tara Paul	....	dialogue editor
Andy Potvin	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Theresa Radka	....	sound recordist
Alex Raspa	....	assistant adr recordist (as Alejandro Raspa)
Joan Rowe	....	foley artist
Mel Zelniker	....	adr recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Divine Cox	....	best boy grip
Vincent Dow	....	best boy grip
George Elias	....	best boy grip
Andrew Fishman	....	electrician
Raymond Frech III	....	additional grip
Jeremy Graham	....	best boy electric
James Harker	....	rigging grip
Joel Hedge	....	best boy electric
Brian R. Heimbuecher	....	still photographer
Brian R. Johnson	....	best boy electric
Daedra Kaehler	....	first assistant camera (as Daedra N. Kaehler)
Justin Keith	....	key grip (as Justin 'Dusty' Keith)
Rob Koch	....	first assistant camera
Arthur E. Marcolin	....	rigging grip (as Artur Marcolin)
Michael Mizell	....	best boy electric
Dan O'Berry	....	first assistant camera
Ryan Sholin	....	rigging grip
Melissa St. Hilaire	....	grip
Birgit Stoll	....	still photographer
Jeanny Tsai	....	second assistant camera
Eli Turner	....	gaffer
Derek Walker	....	first assistant camera
Jung-Min Yoon	....	camera loader

Casting Department
Denise A. Divitto	....	casting assistant
Ramsey Frazier	....	casting assistant
David Greene	....	casting intern
Bruce Kivo	....	extras casting
Michael Limb	....	casting intern
Christopher Stillwell	....	extras casting coordinator
Henry Sutton	....	casting intern

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charlotte Corday	....	assistant costume designer
Charlotte Corday	....	wardrobe supervisor
Oscar Nestell	....	wardrobe assistant
Christopher White	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Marie Gaerlan	....	assistant editor (as Marie Paz Gaerlan)
Bob McMillian	....	color timer

Music Department
Adam Abraham	....	music producer
David Bondelevitch	....	music editor (as David J. Bondelevitch)
Timothy Curle	....	musician: score
Gibson Frazier	....	music producer
Jack Furlong	....	music copyist
Tony Gimbel	....	music supervisor
Andrew Kinney	....	additional orchestrator
Tom Marion	....	musician: score
Mark A. Ragone	....	music clearance
Christopher J. Roberts	....	music mixer
Christopher J. Roberts	....	music recordist
John Rodby	....	musical director
John Rodby	....	orchestrator
Michael Weiner	....	music producer

Other crew
Kyle Barrineau	....	production assistant
Steven C. Beer	....	legal consultant (as Steven C. Beer Esq.)
Steven C. Beer	....	producer's representative (as Steven C. Beer Esq.)
Cassandra Benjamin	....	intern
Linda Brown	....	publicist
Emerson E. Bruns	....	legal consultant (as Emerson E. Bruns Esq.)
Edward P. Carreon	....	production assistant: parking
Tami Clinkenbeard	....	office production assistant
Tommy Clohessy	....	location scout
Kelly Cronin	....	script supervisor (as Kelly A. Cronin)
Jim Dobson	....	publicist
Gideon Evans	....	location scout: pre-production
Jason Goodwin	....	production assistant
Ursula Irick	....	craft service
Michael Lawrence	....	production assistant: key parking
Tim Lies	....	location scout manager
Talia Lugacy	....	production assistant
Chris Lundy	....	production assistant
Luca Manfredi	....	location scout
G. Charles McNally	....	production assistant
Miles Miller	....	production assistant (as Michael 'Miles' Miller)
John C. Perez	....	production assistant
Lori Pritchett	....	assistant production coordinator
Carmela Ramirez	....	craft service
Cathy Rosoff	....	craft service
Dianne Sangiuliano	....	production office coordinator
Jeanne Simpson	....	choreographer
Efrain Sosa	....	production assistant: parking
Paul Tani	....	post-production projectionist
Wing Tat	....	location scout
Neal Teitelbaum	....	assistant location manager
Norberto Valle Jr.	....	dailies projectionist (as Norberto Valle)
Inna Wiest	....	assistant production coordinator
Marcus Woods	....	production assistant

Thanks
Barry Abraham	....	thanks
Ellen Abraham	....	thanks
Lillian Abraham	....	thanks
Marcia Abraham	....	thanks
Nina Abraham	....	thanks
Ronald Abraham	....	thanks
Shara Abraham	....	thanks
Jeffrey Abramowitz	....	thanks
Philip Abrams	....	thanks
Charles Abry Jr.	....	thanks
Tom Anderson	....	thanks
Tony Angeles	....	thanks
Karen Arneson	....	thanks
Arsen Asheyhyan	....	thanks
Franny Baldwin	....	thanks
Peter Baxter	....	thanks
Drew Berg	....	thanks
Nicole S. Berlin	....	thanks
Les Bider	....	thanks
Arianna C. Bocco	....	thanks (as Arianna Bocco)
Gordon Boudreau	....	thanks
Amy MacIntyre Britt	....	thanks
Lloyd Brown	....	thanks
Stephanie Brown	....	thanks
Thacher Brown	....	thanks
Mitchell Brozinsky	....	thanks
Amy Cabranes	....	thanks
Donald Cameron	....	thanks
Sally Cameron	....	thanks
Terri Childs	....	thanks
Timothy Childs	....	thanks
Tamar Climan	....	thanks
Cathy Cohen	....	thanks
Eric R. Cohen	....	thanks
Ron Cohen	....	thanks
Anya Colloff	....	thanks
Cliff Cozens	....	thanks
Johnny Crawford	....	thanks
Drew D'Angelo	....	thanks
Devorah DeVries	....	thanks (as Devorah Devries)
Tressa DiFiglia	....	thanks
Chris Donahue	....	thanks
Ann Douglas	....	thanks
Debbie Dunn	....	thanks
Ereka Dunn	....	thanks
Robert Dunn	....	thanks
Tom Eaton	....	thanks
Lang Elliott	....	thanks (as Lang Elliot)
Lipton Ellner	....	thanks
Grace Esteban	....	thanks
Conrad J. Fowler	....	thanks
Peter Franklin	....	thanks
John Frazier	....	thanks
Nicole Frazier	....	thanks
Thomas G. Frazier	....	thanks
Ed Gabrielson	....	thanks
Stuart Gibbs	....	thanks
Michael A. Goorjian	....	thanks (as Michael Goorjian)
Murry Gordon	....	thanks
Jeff Gorin	....	thanks
Geoffrey Gottlieb	....	thanks
Kerri Green	....	thanks
Derek Guiley	....	thanks
Jordan Gurner	....	thanks
Mark Headley	....	thanks
John Michael Higgins	....	thanks
Thomas J. Hogan	....	thanks
Kylle Hogart	....	thanks (as Kyllé Hogart)
Kirsten Holmquist	....	thanks
Sarah Hutchinson	....	thanks
Caroline Jaczko	....	thanks
Marcie Kallen	....	thanks
Scott Kallen	....	thanks
Alan Kaplan	....	thanks
David Kite	....	thanks
Sherwin Kite	....	thanks
Mitchell Klevan	....	thanks
Adam Klugman	....	thanks
Jack Klugman	....	thanks
Mary McLaughlin Koprowski	....	thanks
Jenifer Krater	....	thanks
Miles Kreuger	....	thanks
Nadia Leonelli	....	thanks
Ethan Lipton	....	thanks
Marc Madrick	....	thanks
Vince P. Maggio	....	thanks (as Vince Maggio)
Michael Mann	....	thanks
Ron Marasco	....	thanks
Alan Marcus	....	thanks
Marcy Marcus	....	thanks
Michael Marion	....	thanks
Garry Marshall	....	thanks
Alicia Matthews	....	thanks
Jeff Maynard	....	thanks
Janice McKay	....	thanks
Dan Mirvish	....	thanks
Joseph Mistrano	....	thanks
Laurel Moglen	....	thanks
J.T.S. Moore	....	thanks
Dean Mora	....	thanks
John Arthur Morrill	....	thanks (as John Morrill)
Eric Morris	....	thanks
Linde Mullis	....	thanks
William Mullis	....	thanks
Brien Murphy	....	thanks
Maggie Murphy	....	thanks
Ted Napolitano	....	thanks
Mark Newton	....	thanks
Mason Novick	....	thanks
Mark Ordesky	....	thanks
John Pagano	....	thanks
Chris Parker	....	thanks
Steve Pond	....	thanks
Steven M. Porter	....	thanks (as Stephen M. Porter)
Emily Post	....	thanks
Akiva Potok	....	thanks
Jackie Pressley	....	thanks
Justine Reiss	....	thanks
Joe Revitte	....	thanks
Renee Ridgeley	....	thanks
J.B. Roberts	....	thanks
Joseph R. Rollins III	....	thanks
Alicia Rose	....	thanks
David Rose	....	thanks
Les Rosner	....	thanks
Jay Rubin	....	thanks
Jerry Rudes	....	thanks
Marco Sanchez	....	thanks
Aram Sarhadian	....	thanks
Brandi Savitt	....	thanks
Nancy Schafer	....	thanks
Michael Schenkman	....	thanks
David W. Schoner Jr.	....	thanks (as David Schoener)
Aaron Schwartz	....	thanks
Frank J. Scibella	....	thanks (as Frank Scibella)
Sherwin I. Seligsohn	....	thanks
Garo Setian	....	thanks
William Seymour	....	thanks
Roslyn Silverzweig	....	thanks
Lee Anne Simms	....	thanks
David Simon	....	thanks
Joseph Stampone	....	thanks
Geoffrey Stengel Jr.	....	thanks
Maury Sterling	....	thanks
David Stern	....	thanks
Edward Stills	....	thanks
Dan Studney	....	thanks
Matthew Sutherland	....	thanks (as Matt Sutherland)
Joan Tropp	....	thanks
Thomas Tropp	....	thanks
Larry Wagner	....	thanks
Craig Walker	....	thanks
Robert Weiner	....	thanks (as Bob Weiner)
Roz Weiner	....	thanks
Margaret Welsh	....	thanks
Kevin E. West	....	thanks
Gordon Willis	....	thanks
Sheila Wolf	....	thanks
Heidi Yudis	....	thanks
Marc Zachary	....	thanks
Marian Zachary	....	thanks
Ted Zachary	....	thanks
Len Zemkiewicz	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Jubilee Pictures Corporation
• Sun-Telegram Pictures

Distributors

• Image Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Fine Line Features (a Time Warner company)

Other Companies

• Alter Image  negative cutting
• Big Time Motion Picture Co.  post-production facilities
• Buffalo Nights Theatre Company  thanks
• Carl Fischer Inc.  thanks
• Cleopatra Four Plus Two  original score performed by
• Early Halloween  Mr. Frazier's wardrobe by
• Fan Club  Mme. Du Froid's jewelry by
• Final Draft  thanks
• Ibis  thanks
• Indie PR  publicity
• Meow Mix  thanks
• Nassau County Film Commission  thanks
• Near North Insurance Brokerage  insurance
• New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission  thanks
• New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theater & Broadcasting, The  thanks
• New York Raw Stock Exchange  thanks
• New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture & Television Development  thanks
• News Communications  thanks
• Pacific Title/Mirage  end titles
• Pleasures of the Table  catering
• Raw Gallery  thanks
• Raw Space and the Armory Owner's Inc.  thanks
• Ross Hunt Video  thanks
• Rudolph & Beer  legal consulting
• Screenplay Systems  thanks
• Social Register Association  thanks
• Sound Dimensions  post-production facilities
• Sound One Corporation  post-production facilities
• Stage Two Audio Post Productions  post-production audio facility
• Steve's Leather Boutique  Mr. Gorshin's leather goods by
• T&T Optical Effects Company  main titles and opticals
• Versit  thanks
• Village Recorder, The  music recorded and mixed at
• Westlake Audio  music recorded and mixed at
• Whipping Post  thanks

Also Known As:

Johnny Twennies (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

80 min (Slamdance Film Festival) | USA:77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36840)

Filming Locations:

Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Jubilee Pictures Corporation

Quotes:

Johnny Twennies: Oh, I see. You think the world owes you a living. Well you fell for that one, hook, line and sinker.

Movie Connections:

References Chinatown (1974)

Soundtrack:

The Twenties Are Here to Stay

A Unique Experience: An Old-movie-lovers Movie

"Man of the Century" is inspired by silent comedies, early talking movies, vaudeville, and old RKO films.

It gives us a light-hearted look at the different ways in which cultural mores are portrayed in the 1920's and in the 1990's. The opening sequence has the look of the earliest films -- complete with scratches and grainy images and the jerkiness of old home movies. The rest of the film is in high-quality black and white with fine camera work. The film is co-written by Adam Abraham (who also directs) and Gibson Frazier (who stars in the title role as Johnny Twennies).

Johnny Twennies writes a column for a New York newspaper. The time is the 1990's, but Johnny is clearly living in the 1920's. We hear 1920's cliches from him and 1990's cliches from others. Johnny's tenacious innocence is refreshing and quite funny beside Samantha Winter's (Susan Egan) modern day social values. It is funny to hear Johnny swear with words like Applesauce! and Rats! while also hearing the ubiquitous use of f___ing by the others on

screen. The "endless stairs" is a brilliant sequence that breaks up the fast-talking dialogue. Since I love to dance, I was particularly overjoyed with a dance number with Johnny and Samantha dancing the Charlston while the others who are clearly older were dancing the jitterbug and swing and other more modern dances. Johnny's dance partner / leading lady is played impeccably by Susan Egan.

The film is face-paced. I know that I missed many of the innuendos and jokes. I love old movies, but I am not a student of those films or times. I found much pleasure in the experience even though I missed the significance of many one-liners. I also found that I had to adjust to the initial few minutes, first wondering if I was going to have to sit through 80 minutes of scratched film and then wondering what year it was because of the juxtaposition of modern cars and archaic language. About six persons left the audience in a group of about 100-120 individuals who were in an advance screening of the movie. Most of those who stayed were thoroughly engrossed in the film and applauded at the end.

It is similar in many ways to the "Purple Rose of Cairo" and "Pleasantville" in that it carries the charm of someone out of the current time or environment, frozen in another time and culture. Gestures, language, and tempo can be best compared to early films as a whole rather than to a specific film.

"Man of the Century" won the audience award at the 1999 Slamdance Film Festival. If the team of Abraham and Frazier can create another film of comparable quality in a different genre, they will make an enormous contribution to film making.