Light It Up (1999)

A group of teens is bent on improving the run-down conditions of their high-school.

Director:

Craig Bolotin

Writer:

Craig Bolotin

Stars:

Usher Raymond, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Usher Raymond	...	Lester Dewitt
Forest Whitaker	...	Officer Dante Jackson
Rosario Dawson	...	Stephanie Williams
Robert Ri'chard	...	Zacharias 'Ziggy' Malone
Judd Nelson	...	Ken Knowles
Fredro Starr	...	Rodney J. Templeton
Sara Gilbert	...	Lynn Sabatini
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Robert 'Rivers' Tremont
Glynn Turman	...	Principal Allan Armstrong
Vic Polizos	...	Capt. Monroe
Vanessa Williams	...	Audrey McDonald (as Vanessa L. Williams)
Gaddiel Otero	...	Arturo Orosco
Frank Dominelli	...	Sgt. Tortino
Reggie Theus	...	Intel. Officer #1
Jennifer Say Gan	...	Intel. Officer #2

Storyline

On a winter day in a southside Queens high school, events collide and six students are suddenly in an armed standoff with the NYPD. At the school, classrooms freeze, teachers come and go, resources are scant. When a popular teacher is suspended, a few students protest. Jackson, a new security guard, gets tough. In a scuffle, Jackson's wounded with his own gun and a student takes him hostage. A few kids join in, for various reasons. An ineffective policewoman tries to mediate as the police plan an assault, the kids demand improvements to the school, the media pick up the story, and Jackson turns sympathetic. But are too many forces in motion for the students to stay in control?

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Plot Keywords:

police | police brutality | hostage negotiator | lasersight | black cop | 

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Taglines:

they don't want to be heroes they just want to be heard.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and violent content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Light It Up site Soundtrack site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Generación perdida

Filming Locations:

Calumet Career Prep Academy High School - 8131 S. May Street, Auburn Gresham, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,408,613 (USA) (12 November 1999)

Gross:

ESP 1,588,550 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edmonds Entertainment Group (EEG), Fox 2000 Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second time in a movie that Forest Whitaker asks another man to help him urinate. This also occurred in The Crying Game.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie, Stephanie is tapping a purple pen on her notebook when the ceiling leaks and a close-up of her hand is shown to let us see the water. In the close-up she has a pink pen, then it cuts back to her holding the purple pen. This was fixed on the DVD but it remains on the VHS version of the movie.

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Quotes

Officer Dante Jackson: Come here, son.
Lester Dewitt: Don't call me son. I'm not your son.

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Connections

References South Park (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Catz Don't Know"
Written by DMX (as E. Simmons) and Anthony Fields (as A. Fields)
Performed by DMX
Produced by Anthony Fields (as P. Killer Trackz) for Ruff Ryders Productions, Inc.
DMX appears courtesy of Ruff Ryders Entertainment and The Island Def Jam Music Group

User Reviews

A long way from our parents "sit-ins"

After watching Light it Up, I remembered how many problems my schools had growing up, and thought to myself, I had it good. Assuming the school could actually have no windows, no textbooks, leaks in the roof, and no heating (in NYC, in the winter, I might add) I can see why the "Lincoln 6" revolted. Lester (Usher), our fearless hero, is drawn into this revolt by circumstances beyond his control. Rodney (Fredro Starr) plays the "thug minded" part of the group who only want to hurt their hostage, Officer Jackson (Forest Whitaker). The group just wants to have their favorite teacher re-hired, and their demands met. Vanessa Williams plays the negotiator Audrey, whom tries to keep the rest of the NYC police force from storming into the school and ending this "crisis".

Overall this movie delivers with it's sentimental value, however it is a little hard to believe that a High School in New York City, in the middle of winter would have few windows, no textbooks, and no heat. Also, it is known that NO school in America that have metro police officers stationed on campus are permitted to carry their firearms with them.

Even with the major mistakes in the preparation for filming, the movie emmits an overall good feeling to the viewer.