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 The Andy Griffith Show (1960)

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Soundtracks

"First One Hit"
Written by Bink (as Roosevelt Harrell), Amil (as Amil Whitehead), Solé (as Tonya Johnston)
Performed by Amil & Solé
Produced by Bink for One Shot Deal Entertainment, Inc.
Amil appears courtesy of Roc-A-Fella/Columbia Records
Solé appears courtesy of Red Zone Productions/Dreamworks Records

User Reviews

I was surprised!

I don't normally go into a movie and get surprised because, usually, I'm pretty good at judging the plot of the movie by the trailors. But, "Light It Up" surprised me. I was expecting a home-boy driven, ghetto school, non-stop cursing, lunitical rampage by a bunch of pissed of kids. What I got was a movie filled with smart kids, except for Rodney, looking for a way to get their voices heard, but soon falling into a downward spiral after it all goes wrong. My favorite character of the movie was Ziggy. Robert Ri'chard was great as Ziggy, and I felt that, even though he wasn't as visible, you could feel more connected to him than to the rest. Forest Whitaker was great as Officer Jackson, the real reason behind the school hostage situation. Usher was pretty good as Lester, and I have to say, Lester's destiny in the movie really surprised me. I did not expect the final outcome to end as it did. Fredro Starr played the thug, Rodney. He's normally pretty good at these roles, and this movie was no exception. I really hope anyone that sees this will get past the school violence B.S. and concentrate on the message. The schools are the kid's. They have a right to be heard too. If you see the movie with that type of mentality then you won't come away dissappointed.