Gossip (I) (2000)

Three college students chose a class project on Gossip and how fast it spreads, which spirals out of control.

Director:

Davis Guggenheim

Writers:

Gregory Poirier (story), Gregory Poirier (screenplay),

Stars:

James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Marsden	...	Derrick Webb
Lena Headey	...	Cathy Jones
Norman Reedus	...	Travis
Kate Hudson	...	Naomi Preston
Eric Bogosian	...	Professor Goodwin
Edward James Olmos	...	Detective Curtis
Joshua Jackson	...	Beau Edson
Sharon Lawrence	...	Detective Kelly
Marisa Coughlan	...	Sheila
Kwok-Wing Leung	...	Chinese Man
Mif	...	Doorman
Poe	...	Female Singer
Vicky Lambert	...	Club Dancer
Kenya Massey	...	Club Dancer
Noam Jenkins	...	Bartender

Storyline

On a beautiful college campus, something ugly is about to be spread around. A bit of gossip that was told is starting to take a frightening turn. Who could it have offended and how far will the person on the other side of the gossip handle the embarrassing situation.

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Plot Keywords:

gossip | sex | college | rumor | rape | 

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Taglines:

It can turn you on, or turn on you.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content including language, and for brief violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

21 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rumores

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£207,702 (UK) (25 August 2000)

Gross:

£784,921 (UK) (8 September 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

NPV Entertainment, Outlaw Productions (I), Village Roadshow Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Marsden performs one of the songs in the film.

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Goofs

Towards the end of the movie, the scratches on Derrick's face appear to be almost healed. However, in the final scene the scratches are shown to be open and fresh for one shot, then are healed again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jones: I'm a girl with a problem. It's not like I don't know better. But I seem to have gotten myself involved a very tempting situation.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: From Paris with Love/Dear John/Frozen (2010)

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Soundtracks

"After All"
Written by Richard Butler & Marti Frederiksen
Performed by Richard Butler

User Reviews

Slick, well-balanced, dramatically filmed, tense

I viewed Gossip in a classroom setting with 26 college freshmen as a unit in a class devoted to transition to college. I was pleasantly surprised at the discussion engendered by viewing the film in a classroom setting. The students responded enthusiastically and thoughtfully to the many ethical issues presented. I recommend the film for this purpose.

The first 80 minutes or so of this 90 minute suspense thriller reminded me of some of the earlier films of Brian DePalma. It is nicely shot at an urban university (NYU?), and the colors and angles add to the introduction of the main plot device - an "innocent" rumor started as a group project for a communications arts class. Notice how many right angles and sharp points are present in the party and residential settings. The students felt this contributed to the intended feeling of edginess engendered by the first 20 minutes.

The first 80 minutes are well-conceived and intricately-plotted. The plot reveals itself at an excruciatingly pleasurable pace, and a nice twist is that the character of Derek appears to know no more than we, the audience, do.

The ending is abrupt and somewhat derivative, but, in post-viewing discussion, we were able to identify a number of clues to the ending which the director has sprinkled throughout.

A dark, cine noir feeling to the production results in a film a bit out of step with the 21st century, but one that should be satisfying to fans of the genre.