American Movie (1999)

Director:

Chris Smith

Release Date:

13 April 2000 (Australia)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Gambling | Friend | Super 8mm | Investor | Director

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Miriam Frost	...	Actor in 'Coven'
Billy Crystal	...	Academy Awards EmCee (uncredited)

Directed by
Chris Smith

Produced by
Jim McKay	....	co-producer
Sarah Price	....	producer
Chris Smith	....	producer
Michael Stipe	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Mike Schank

Cinematography by
Chris Smith

Film Editing by
Jun Diaz
Barry Poltermann

Production Management
Paul Mezey	....	post-production supervisor

Sound Department
Todd Leach	....	sound
Didier Leplae	....	sound
Alex Markowski	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sarah Price	....	sound
Doug Ruschaupt	....	sound
Jason Tucker	....	sound
Neil Whitacre	....	sound
Peter Zinda	....	sound designer

Camera and Electrical Department
Sarah Price	....	additional photographer

Editorial Department
Ray Chi	....	associate editor (as Raymond Chi)
Mark Ginsberg	....	color timer
Scott Reeder	....	associate editor
Scott Wintheiser	....	associate editor

Music Department
Julie Panebianco	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Todd Bishop	....	titles: 16 mm
Dick Blau	....	creative consultant
Patrick Buckley	....	production assistant
Dane Didier	....	production assistant
Dan Ollman	....	production assistant

Thanks
Bob Fagan	....	special thanks
Wrye Martin	....	special thanks
Tony Morrone	....	special thanks
Dean Silvers	....	special thanks
Kathryn Tucker	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Bluemark Productions
• C-Hundred Film Corporation
• Civilian Pictures

Distributors

• Columbia TriStar Home Video
• Sony Pictures Classics (USA)

Other Companies

• Noëlle Penraat  negative matching
• Soundelux  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"American Movie: The Making of Northwestern" - USA (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some drug content

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:14A | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #36811) | Spain:13 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Germantown, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

Bluemark Productions

Trivia:

Mark Borchardt says the word "man" 151 times.

Quotes:

Joan:He wants to be somewhere where he's not. But then, don't most people want to be somewhere where they're not?

Movie Connections:

References The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Soundtrack:

Mr. Bojangles

Mark Borchardt: Independent Wanna Be

After seeing American Movie, you either hate Mark Borchardt or you understand him. If you are a struggling film maker trying to be the next George Romero, John Cassavetes or Alfred Hitchcock, you will understand Mark's determination and where he gets his talentless motivation. The audience that makes up American Movie is just that. Struggling film makers or die hard fans of Troma. Either way, they are all members of the club of hard knocks and non-union independent feature film. The moral of Mark's story is something short of following your dream. It's more and less than that. Whether you relate with Mark in more ways that one, Mark is living a lot of people's reality. Because of that, American Movie is important and should be watched by every film student in America.