American Movie (1999)

Documentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.

Director:

Chris Smith

Stars:

Mark Borchardt, Tom Schimmels, Monica Borchardt

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Borchardt	...	Filmmaker
Tom Schimmels	...	Actor in 'Coven'
Monica Borchardt	...	Mark's Mom
Alex Borchardt	...	Mark's Brother
Chris Borchardt	...	Mark's Brother
Ken Keen	...	Friend / Associate Producer
Mike Schank	...	Friend / Musician
Matt Weisman	...	Casting director
Bill Borchardt	...	Mark's Uncle / Executive Producer (as Uncle Bill)
Cliff Borchardt	...	Mark's Dad
Tom Beach	...	Production manager
Joan Petrie	...	Mark's Girlfriend / Associate Producer
Robert Richard Jorge	...	Actor
Dean Allen	...	Props / Special effects
Tommy Dallace	...	The Movie Star

Storyline

On the northwest side of Milwaukee, Mark Borchardt dreams the American dream: for him, it's making movies. Using relatives, local theater talent, slacker friends, his Mastercard, and $3,000 from his Uncle Bill, Mark strives over three years to finish "Covan," a short horror film. His own personal demons (alcohol, gambling, a dysfunctional family) plague him, but he desperately wants to overcome self-doubt and avoid failure. In moments of reflection, Mark sees his story as quintessentially American, and its the nature and nuance of his dream that this film explores.

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Plot Keywords:

gambling | friend | brother brother relationship | investment | drive in | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some drug content

Details

Official Sites:

NorthWest Production Info The official American Movie Web Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 April 2000 (Australia)

Also Known As:

American Movie: The Making of Northwestern

Filming Locations:

Germantown, Wisconsin, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$20,260 (USA) (5 November 1999)

Gross:

$1,160,426 (USA) (21 April 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bluemark Productions, C-Hundred Film Corporation, Civilian Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie theater featured in the end of the film is the Times Cinema in the Washington Heights neighborhood on Milwaukee's west side. It specializes in obscure and independent films and is Milwaukee's sole surviving independent movie theater.

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Quotes

Mark Borchardt: And you get your name on the credits as a producer, man.
Mark's Uncle: [Deadpan] Yay.

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Connections

Referenced in Horror Business (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Fight Fire With Fire"
Written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Cliff Burton
Performed by Mike Schank
used by permission of Creeping Death Music

User Reviews

Well Made Documentary; Heartbreaking

This is a very well made documentary. I read some of the other comments and I get a feeling that a few of these viewers don't watch too many documentaries (and all the reality TV crap doesn't count). Yes, this movie is painful at times because of the ineptness of the horro film director struggling to get his pals and relatives to help him make his demonic movie. But it shows someone (however debatable his talent)following a dream, a passion, a desire to do something. To break out of his hellish life of debts, and child out of wedlock and dreary 9-5 job. The camera captures wonderful moments of human behavior and just like project Greenlight, it shows what happens when people get in over their heads with trying to just film a simple scene (or a scene where someone's head has to go through a cabinet, or an old man has to clearly say ONE line and can't, etc.) BUT, a much better documentary about the same world is the much earlier 1975 documentary Demon Lover Diary - where someone tagged along as these Michigan guys tried to make their horror film. Hard to track down but highly recommended.