Pay It Forward (2000)

Director:

Mimi Leder

Writers (WGA):

Catherine Ryan Hyde (book)
Leslie Dixon (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 October 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Like some other kids, 12-year-old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded.

Plot:

A young boy attempts to make the world a better place after his teacher gives him that chance.

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Young Boy | Good Deed | Alcoholism | Exotic Dancer

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Kevin Spacey	...	Eugene Simonet
Helen Hunt	...	Arlene McKinney
Haley Joel Osment	...	Trevor McKinney
Jay Mohr	...	Chris Chandler
James Caviezel	...	Jerry
Jon Bon Jovi	...	Ricky McKinney
Angie Dickinson	...	Grace
David Ramsey	...	Sidney Parker
Gary Werntz	...	Mr. Thorsen
Colleen Flynn	...	Woman on Bridge
Marc Donato	...	Adam
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Bonnie
Liza Snyder	...	Michelle
Jeannetta Arnette	...	Nurse
Hannah Werntz	...	Thorsen's Daughter
Tina Lifford	...	Principal
Loren D. Baum	...	Rough Kid #1
Nico Matinata	...	Rough Kid #2
Zack Duhame	...	Rough Kid #3
Shawn Pyfrom	...	Shawn
Alexandra Kotcheff	...	Alexandra
Bradley White	...	Jordan
Christi Colombo	...	Christi
Phillip D. Stewart	...	Phillip (as Phillip Stewart)
Justin Parsons	...	Justin
Myeshia Dejore Walker	...	Myeshia
Brenae Suzanne Davey	...	Brenae
Molly Kate Bernard	...	Molly
Andrew Patrick Flood	...	Andy
Tameila N. Turner	...	Tameila
Julian Correa	...	Julian
Carrie Ann Sullivan	...	School Girl
Patricia Deanda	...	Change Girl
Ryan Berti	...	Hallway Kid #1
Gabriela Rivas	...	Hallway Kid #2
Carrick O'Quinn	...	Man in Window
Stephanie Feury	...	Sandra
Bernard White	...	Cop
Tom Bailey	...	Liquid Man #1
Tim De Zarn	...	Liquid Man #2 (as Tim Dezarn)
Jonathan Nichols	...	Liquid Man #3
Ron Keck	...	Lowlife #1
John Powers	...	Lowlife #2
Bob McCracken	...	Creepy Middle-Aged Man
Frank Whiteman	...	Doctor
Eugene Osment	...	Cop Who Gives Directions
Kendall Tenney	...	Male Newscaster
Sue Tripathy	...	Female Newscaster
Rusty Meyers	...	News Stand Guy
Leslie Dilley	...	The Governor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cynthia Ettinger	...	(unconfirmed)
Joe Rampino	...	Bar patron
Stacy Bellew	...	School Girl (uncredited)
Jeremy Dunn	...	Diner Patron (uncredited)
Sebastian Feldman	...	Looky Lou (uncredited)
Ian Hodgkinson	...	Vampiro (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ryan Keating	...	Stranded Motorist (uncredited)
Lana Kinnear	...	Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Mimi Leder

Writing credits (WGA)
Catherine Ryan Hyde		(book)
Leslie Dixon		(screenplay)

Produced by
Peter Abrams	....	producer
Paddy Carson	....	associate producer (as Paddy Sam Carson)
Robert L. Levy	....	producer
Mary McLaglen	....	executive producer
Steven Reuther	....	producer
Jonathan Treisman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Thomas Newman

Cinematography by
Oliver Stapleton		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
David Rosenbloom

Casting by
Geraldine Leder

Production Design by
Leslie Dilley

Art Direction by
Lawrence A. Hubbs		(as Larry Hubbs)

Set Decoration by
Peg Cummings

Costume Design by
Renee Ehrlich Kalfus

Makeup Department
Louis Lazzara	....	makeup artist
Vivian McAteer	....	makeup department head
Tania McComas	....	key makeup artist
Matthew W. Mungle	....	makeup prosthetics
Carol A. O'Connell	....	hair stylist: Mr. Spacey (as Carol O'Connell)
Darrell Redleaf-Fielder	....	hair stylist: Ms. Hunt (as Darrell Fielder)
Waldo Sanchez	....	key hair stylist
Ronnie Specter	....	makeup artist: Ms. Hunt (as Ronnie Spector)
Christine M. Steele	....	assistant makeup artist (as Christine Steele)
Ryan McDowell	....	prosthetic technician (uncredited)

Production Management
Scott Elias	....	production supervisor
Mary McLaglen	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Steve Danton	....	first assistant director
Paul Byrne Prenderville	....	second second assistant director (as Paul Prenderville)
Brian Relyea	....	second second assistant director: Las Vegas
David H. Venghaus Jr.	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Marcos Alvarez	....	set designer
Carlo Basail	....	greens
Mick Cukurs	....	set designer
Douglas Fox	....	property master (as Doug Fox)
David Gabrielli	....	construction general foreman
China Iwata	....	assistant property master
Nicholas C. John	....	stand-by painter (as Nic John)
Stuart John	....	construction foreman
Philip Keller	....	storyboard artist
Melissa M. Levander	....	auxilliary set decorator (as Melissa Levander)
Larry McGuire	....	lead man
Laura M. O'Brien	....	art department coordinator (as Laura O'Brien)
Marvin Salsberg	....	construction coordinator
Mike Schenk	....	on-set dresser (as Michael Schenk)
Gary Speckman	....	set designer
Michael P. Sweeney	....	assistant property master (as Michael Sweeney)
Bill Kincaid	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Christopher S. Aud	....	supervising sound editor (as Christopher Aud)
Kevin Bartnof	....	foley artist
John Voss Bonds Jr.	....	sound effects editor (as John Bonds)
Raul A. Bruce	....	boom operator (as Raul Bruce)
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer (as David Campbell)
Jeffrey Cranford	....	assistant sound editor (as Jeff Cranford)
Thom 'Coach' Ehle	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Patrick J. Foley	....	dialogue editor
Terry Garcia	....	assistant sound editor
Eric Gotthelf	....	foley mixer
Catherine Harper	....	foley artist
David M. Horton	....	foley editor (as David M. Horton Sr.)
David L. Horton Jr.	....	foley editor (as David H. Horton Jr.)
J. Paul Huntsman	....	supervising sound editor
Lee Lemont	....	adr editor
Mark Hopkins McNabb	....	production sound mixer
Mark Morrell	....	assistant sound editor
Thomas J. O'Connell	....	adr mixer
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer (as John Rietz)
John F. Reynolds	....	dialogue editor (as John Reynolds)
Gregg Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
James Simcik	....	supervising adr editor
David Werntz	....	sound effects editor
Jack Wolpa	....	cable operator
Cody Dorkin	....	adr (uncredited)
Mark Johnston	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Rodney M. Byrd	....	special effects foreman (as Rod Byrd)
Burt Dalton	....	special effects supervisor
Albert Delgado	....	special effects

Stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunts
Chad Dashnaw	....	stunts
Jeffrey J. Dashnaw	....	stunt coordinator (as Jeff Dashnaw)
Brennan Dyson	....	stunts
Debbie Evans	....	stunts
Greg Harris	....	stunts
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunt coordinator (as Buddy Jo Hooker)
Norman Howell	....	stunts
Johnny Martin	....	stunt coordinator
Ralph W. Odum	....	stunts (as Ralph Odum)
Kim Renee	....	stunts (as Kim Reneé)
Debby Lynn Ross	....	stunts (as Debby Ross Rondell)
Peter Weireter	....	stunts (as Pete Weireter)
Dick Ziker	....	stunts
Ryan Keating	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Stephen S. Campanelli	....	Steadicam operator (as Stephen Campanelli)
Stephen S. Campanelli	....	camera operator (as Stepehn Campanelli)
Bill Coe	....	first assistant camera (as William Coe)
J. Patrick Daily	....	key grip
Isaac Friedman	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Barry Idoine	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
David James	....	still photographer
Dwight Joseph Lavers	....	dolly grip
Chris Lombardi	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Michael McGuire	....	key rigging grip
Charlie McIntyre	....	key rigging lighting technician
Bobby McMahan	....	second assistant camera
Scott Andrew Ressler	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (as Scott Ressler)
John 'Fest' Sandau	....	assistant chief lighting technician
James R. Tynes	....	chief lighting technician
Tom West	....	second grip
Ismael Araujo Jr.	....	grip (uncredited)
Greg Argarin	....	lighting technician (uncredited)
James F. Cornick	....	rigging technician (uncredited)
Eric Vincent Cruse	....	grip (uncredited)
Neal Eldridge	....	electrician (uncredited)
Bruce 'Sarge' Fleskes	....	rigging electrician (uncredited)
Chris Funk	....	rigging electrician (uncredited)
Lamarr Gray	....	rigging electrician (uncredited)
John Johnson	....	additional still photographer (uncredited)
Jesse Mather	....	lighting technician (uncredited)
Colin Mayo	....	lighting programmer (uncredited)
Charles 'Chaz' Norcross	....	grip (uncredited)
Shayna Ritenour	....	camera loader (uncredited)
Brian Rosso	....	grip (uncredited)
David Schmalz	....	second video assist operator (uncredited)
Jeremy Settles	....	electrician (uncredited)
Cricket Sloat	....	rigging assistant chief lighting technician (uncredited)
Steven J. Winslow	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Steven J. Winslow	....	camera technician: Wescam camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Stacey Bunch	....	casting assistant
Jessie Disla	....	casting assistant
Jimmy Jue	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Candice Canty	....	costumer: Las Vegas crew
Tangi Crawford	....	costumer
Lynda Foote	....	costume supervisor
Kimmie Furlong	....	costumer: Ms. Hunt (as Kim Furlong)
Nadine Haders	....	costumer
Dennis McCarthy	....	costumer
Elizabeth Shelton	....	associate costume designer (uncredited)
Jack Taggart	....	costume ager/dyer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
David Orr	....	color timer
Gregory Plotkin	....	first assistant editor
Siobhan Prior	....	second assistant editor
Richmond Riedel	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Bill Bernstein	....	music editor
Jordan Corngold	....	assistant music editor
Joel Iwataki	....	music scoring mixer
Thomas Pasatieri	....	orchestrator
G. Marq Roswell	....	music supervisor
Jim Dunbar	....	music consultant (uncredited)
k.d. lang	....	musician (uncredited)
Yvonne McDonald	....	music coordinator (uncredited)
Christopher S. Parker	....	music clearances (uncredited)
Jane Siberry	....	musician (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Lee Garibaldi	....	transportation captain
Tommy Tancharoen	....	transportation coordinator
Gil Amaral	....	driver (uncredited)
Karen K. Chang	....	transportation office coordinator (uncredited)
Everett Everett	....	driver (uncredited)
Buddy Hunter	....	driver (uncredited)
Thomas O'Donnell	....	driver: production van (uncredited)
Jerry Sidwell	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Donna Armstrong	....	first aid: Las Vegas
Herach Arzounian	....	first aid: Las Vegas
Stacey Berns	....	assistant: Ms. Hunt (as Stacy Berns)
Jenifer Bonisteel	....	staff assistant
Judith M. Brown	....	studio teacher (as Judith Brown)
Kayce Brown	....	staff assistant
Dana Brunetti	....	assistant: Mr. Spacey
Candice D. Campos	....	assistant production coordinator
Lois Carl	....	studio teacher
Amy Carrelli	....	production secretary: Las Vegas crew (as Amy Carelli)
Richard Cody	....	craft service (as Rich Cody)
Brett Doogan	....	craft service: Las Vegas crew
Michelle Fitch	....	staff assistant
Michael Garrity	....	assistant: Ms. Leder
Nancy Haecker	....	assistant location manager: Las Vegas crew
Denise Heinrich	....	production coordinator
Dori Kancher	....	assistant: Ms. McLaglen
Troy Kramer	....	craft service: Las Vegas crew
Kevin LaRosa	....	pilot
Adria Later	....	studio teacher
David R. Lawson	....	first aid
Stevie Lazo	....	production accountant
Cary 'C.P.' Levine	....	production secretary
Maggie Mancuso	....	location manager: Las Vegas crew
Todd A. Marks	....	display graphics supervisor
Shaun M. McGovern	....	assistant accountant
Jeanmarie Murphy-Burke	....	unit publicist
Elaine Patarini	....	assistant location manager
Michelle Pinkney	....	assistant: Mr. Abrams
Julie Pitkanen	....	script supervisor
Angie Popko	....	staff assistant
Ferguson Reid	....	first aid
Brigette Roux-Lough	....	assistant: Mr. Reuther
Nicholas Savalas	....	location assistant: Las Vegas crew
Jeffrey Schwartz	....	staff assistant
Hallie Sirota	....	assistant: Mr. Levy
Sara Burton	....	location scout (uncredited)
Wil E. Cano	....	executive assistant (uncredited)
Sean Carville	....	second assistant accountant (uncredited)
Ricky Cuevas	....	assistant accountant (uncredited)
Michael Fine	....	set medic (uncredited)
Lisa Hatch	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Joyce Heftel	....	script supervisor: pre-timing (uncredited)
Cody Jarrett	....	stand-in: Jon Bon Jovi (uncredited)
Ryan Keating	....	photo double: Kevin Spacey (uncredited)
Ryan Keating	....	stand-in: Kevin Spacey (uncredited)
John Kirby	....	acting coach: Mr. Caviezel (uncredited)
Brie Larson	....	adr loop group (uncredited)
Logan Newell	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Ronald M. Ortiz	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Liz Probst	....	payroll accountant (uncredited)
Scott Rorie	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Dan Talbott	....	production assistant: Portland second unit (uncredited)
Chris Winn	....	craft service (uncredited)

Thanks
J.P. Guerin	....	special thanks
Dr. Roberta Holton	....	special thanks
Kristi Kolunda	....	special thanks
Carol Leavitt	....	special thanks
Frank Lucero	....	special thanks
Dr. Timothy A. Miller	....	special thanks
Andrew Panay	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
• Bel Air Entertainment (in association with)
• Tapestry Films (as A Tapestry Films Production)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (2000) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2001) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner Roadshow (2001) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Warner Sogefilms A.I.E. (2001) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Pathé (2001) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2001) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Tobis StudioCanal (2001) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (2004) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Argentina Video Home (200?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (200?) (Greece) (VHS)
• Net5 (2003) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS) (rental)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS) (retail)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Cherokee Studios  music recorded at
• Movie Movers  cast trailers
• Movie Movers  production trailers
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Tomkats Catering  catering
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including substance abuse/recovery, some sexual situations, language and brief violence

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:10 | Malaysia:U | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Trevor is supposed to be in Jr. High School. However, the school scenes were filmed at Centennial High School in North Las Vegas.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Arlene slaps Trevor, she goes into the garage looking for stashed alcohol. On the right side of the shelves she searches, there are two boxes of powder laundry detergent stacked one upon the other. Although each would weigh a few to several pounds even if only half full, she brushes them off the shelf with just a flick of her hand, revealing the boxes to be empty.

Quotes:

Trevor McKenney: I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way they are - even if they're bad - to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they do, everybody kind of loses.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lights, Camera, Creeper: Making 'Jeepers Creepers 2' (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

You Gotta Move

What movies are supposed to be

Pay It Forward is a prime example of what films are supposed to do: make you laugh a little, cry a lot, and profoundly affect you in a way that keeps you thinking about the movie for weeks afterwards. I saw it at a special preview screening and was blown away. My friends and I sat through the entire credits because we were so taken by what we had seen. Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and the phenomonal Haley Joel Osment once again give performances worthy of Oscars. I only hope there isn't some "retaliation" of sorts because of their previous wins and nominations because they deserve it again this year. But the big winner here is director Mimi Leder who has moved from action films into great cinema. She demonstrates the fine tuned skills she showed while directing ER. As I sat there, one eye kept a close watch of the story while the other marveled at the beautiful direction of every scene. They have my vote for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress, and Screenplay. Awe-inspiring!!!!