George Washington (2000)

Director:

David Gordon Green

Writer:

David Gordon Green (written by)

Release Date:

28 September 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

down this twisted road, please watch over my soul and lift me up so gently so as not to touch the ground.

Plot:

A delicately told and deceptively simple story of a group of children in a depressed small town who band together to cover up a tragic mistake.

Plot Keywords:

Small Town | Cover Up | Redemption | Teenager | Grief

Awards:

9 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Candace Evanofski	...	Nasia
Donald Holden	...	George
Damian Jewan Lee	...	Vernon
Curtis Cotton III	...	Buddy
Rachael Handy	...	Sonya
Paul Schneider	...	Rico Rice
Eddie Rouse	...	Damascus
Janet Taylor	...	Aunt Ruth
Derricka Rolle	...	Whitney
Ebony Jones	...	Denise
Jonathan Davidson	...	Euless
Scott Clackum	...	Augie
Beau Nix	...	Rico's Father
Jason Shirley	...	Railroad Worker
William Tipton	...	Railroad Worker
Balla Keita	...	Railroad Worker
Will Janowitz	...	Railroad Worker
Shannon Davis	...	Railroad Worker
Ryan Morris	...	Railroad Worker
Christian Gustaitis	...	Tyler
Joyce Mahaffey	...	Tyler's Mom
Johnny 'Blue' Gardner	...	George's Doctor
Rudy Anderson	...	Sonya's Attorney
Henry Harris	...	Baptist (as Henry A. Harris)
Alan Thompson	...	George's Father
Stephanie Grant	...	Buddy's Momma
Tabitha Bell	...	Interviewer
Chris Kennedy	...	Strong Man
Richard Skaggs	...	Uncle Sam
Stephen Vazquez	...	Boy at the Wreck
Jocelyn Bond	...	Nasia's Friend
Kimberley Rogers	...	Nasia's Friend
Olivia Walker	...	Nasia's Friend
Yolanda Hairston	...	News Woman
Thomas Cormier	...	Camera Man
Christof Gebert	...	The sound Man
Clinton Campbell Jr.	...	Photographer
Smokey	...	The Dog

Directed by
David Gordon Green

Writing credits
David Gordon Green		(written by)

Produced by
Sam Froelich	....	executive producer
David Gordon Green	....	producer
Sacha W. Mueller	....	producer
Lisa Muskat	....	producer
Erin Aldridge Orr	....	co-producer (as Erin Aldridge)
Darius Shahmir	....	line producer (as Daria Shahmir)
Craig Zobel	....	co-producer (as R. Craig Zobel)

Original Music by
Michael Linnen
David Wingo

Cinematography by
Tim Orr		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Zene Baker
Steven Gonzales

Production Design by
Richard A. Wright		(as Richard Wright)

Art Direction by
Richard A. Wright		(as Richard Wright)

Costume Design by
Michael Tully

Makeup Department
Jeremy Macklem	....	special makeup effects artist
Michael Tully	....	makeup artist

Production Management
David C. Cook	....	post-production supervisor (as David Cook)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Benji Gillespie	....	first assistant director
Andrew Gillis	....	second unit director
Danny McBride	....	additional second unit director

Art Department
Mike Chapman	....	art
Charlie Dugan	....	swing
Berndt Mader	....	swing

Sound Department
C-Note	....	sound effects editor
E-Rod	....	dialogue editor
Scott Elliot	....	sound assistant
Gonzalo Espinoza	....	sound effects editor (as Bino Espinoza)
Christof Gebert	....	location sound engineer
Charlie Harring	....	foley artist (as Charles Harring)
Thomas Kilzer	....	foley recordist
David Kitchens	....	sound supervisor
Jacky Kreple	....	sound assistant
Michael Kreple	....	sound effects editor
Chris McDonough	....	sound coordinator
Eliza Pollack Zebert	....	dialogue editor (as Eliza Zebert)
Paige Pollack	....	foley artist
Eric Reuveni	....	sound coordinator
Ken Skoglund	....	sound re-recording mixer
Peter Webb	....	sound assistant
Suzanne Willard	....	assistant sound
David Wingo	....	boom operator
Ben Zarai	....	foley recordist
Ben Zarai	....	supervising sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Scott Gardner	....	assistant camera: second unit
Jason Musco	....	second assistant camera
Ryan Nelson	....	grip
Brian Nisbett	....	dolly grip
Brian Nisbett	....	still photographer
Steve Pedulla	....	additional photographer
Steve Pedulla	....	gaffer
Matthew A. Petrosky	....	first assistant camera
Brian Sides	....	grip
David Speck	....	clapper loader
Ray Stilson	....	grip
Adam Stone	....	additional photographer
Adam Stone	....	director of photography: second unit
Adam Stone	....	lighting: second unit
Karey Williams	....	additional photographer
Karey Williams	....	key grip
Karey Williams	....	underwater director of photography
Kenneth Wilson II	....	assistant camera
Kenneth Wilson II	....	best boy

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jessica Mickey	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Ivo Stainoff	....	color timer

Other crew
Ryan Arnett	....	production assistant
Anna Dudley	....	continuity
Charlie Dugan	....	wrangler
Emmy Ellison	....	production coordinator (as Elizabeth Ellison)
Chris Gonzales	....	computer consultant
Elaine Green	....	teacher
Laura Thompson	....	assistant to director

Thanks
Wade Adams	....	thanks
Lantz Barbour	....	thanks
Ben Best	....	thanks
Molly Bradford	....	thanks
Peter Broderick	....	thanks
Rick Brophy	....	thanks
Shawn Byrd	....	thanks
Matt Chapman	....	thanks
Mike Chapman	....	thanks
Robert E. Collins	....	thanks (as Robert Collins)
Kevan Cyka	....	thanks
Clarke Dummit	....	thanks
Giuli Dummit	....	thanks
Joe Dunton	....	thanks
Pat Dye	....	thanks
Patty Dye	....	thanks
Ralph Fairweather	....	the producers wish to thank: Apple Computer
Peter F. Fedak III	....	thanks (as Peter Fedak)
Butter Fisher	....	thanks
Carlos Gallardo	....	thanks
Ralph Gibson	....	the producers wish to thank: Oakview Barbershop
Gordon Green	....	thanks
Jeanne Green	....	thanks
Sam Grogg	....	thanks
Brian Harrison	....	the producers wish to thank: Apple Computer
Gary Hawkins	....	thanks
Gill Holland	....	thanks
Anne Hunter	....	thanks
Bryan Johnson	....	thanks (as Big)
Erv Karwelis	....	the producers wish to thank: Idol Records (as Erv)
Loran Kary	....	the producers wish to thank: Film Logic
Ida Keptner	....	thanks
Ron Keptner	....	thanks
Robert Kessel	....	thanks
Terry King	....	thanks
David Kitchens	....	thanks
Bryan Kupko	....	thanks (as Brian Kupco)
Nan Mahle	....	thanks
James Marcovitz	....	thanks (as James Marcowitz)
Dominic Mouzon	....	thanks
Douglas Nabors	....	thanks (as Doug Nabors)
Phil Newsome	....	thanks
Anis Panjwani	....	thanks
Sarah Pillsbury	....	thanks
Harvey Platt	....	thanks
Sandy Platt	....	thanks
Dale Pollock	....	thanks
Janice Price	....	thanks
Christopher Quinn	....	thanks
Susan Quinn	....	thanks
Dean Ramser	....	thanks
Brian Reis	....	thanks
Eric Reuveni	....	thanks
Greg Ridge	....	thanks
Sylvia Ridge	....	thanks
Midge Sanford	....	thanks
Sandra Schulberg	....	thanks
Sharon Sklar	....	thanks (as Sharan Sklar)
Milton Tabbot	....	thanks
Onur Tukel	....	thanks
Chris Waldorf	....	thanks
Dave Webb	....	thanks
Janice Lauf Wellerstein	....	thanks (as Janice Wellerstein)
Karey Williams	....	thanks
Pete 'The Dog Man' Zellmer	....	thanks
Pat Zobel	....	thanks
Roger Zobel	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Free Country U.S.A. (presents)
• Youandwhatarmy Filmed Challenges (copyright owners)
• Blue Moon Filmed Productions (in association with) (as Blue Moon Productions)
• Down Home Entertainment (in association with)
• Code Red (uncredited)
• Muskat Filmed Properties

Distributors

• Films sans Frontières (France) (theatrical)
• ContentFilm International (2000) (worldwide) (all media) (sales agency)
• Cowboy Booking International
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Janus Films (2005) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Apple Computer  the producers wish to thank (as Apple Computer)
• B&D's Bar-B-Que  the producers wish to thank
• Church of Broken Limb, The  the producers wish to thank
• Film Logic  the producers wish to thank
• Honeybaked Ham  the producers wish to thank
• Joe Dunton & Company International  cameras provided by
• Joe Dunton & Company  camera equipment provided by
• Juniper Post  sound post-production facilities
• Little Theater, The  the producers wish to thank
• Magic Film and Video Works  lockbox electronic negative conforming
• Mario's Pizza  the producers wish to thank
• North Carolina School of the Arts  the producers wish to thank
• North Carolina Transportation Museum, The  the producers wish to thank
• Oakview Barber Shop  the producers wish to thank
• Philly Connection  the producers wish to thank
• Piedmont Community College  the producers wish to thank
• Second New Bethel Baptist Church, The  the producers wish to thank
• Stock Montage of Chicago  historical photos courtesy of
• T&T Optical Effects Company  titles
• The Film House Group  the producers wish to thank (as The Film House)
• Truman Van Dyke Company  insurance provided by
• Universal Talent Agency  the producers wish to thank
• Wings of Love  the producers wish to thank
• Winston-Salem Film Commission, The  the producers wish to thank

Also Known As:

Runtime:

89 min | Argentina:94 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | USA:90 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 | France:U | UK:12 | USA:Unrated | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

North Carolina School of the Arts - 405 W. 4th Street, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Free Country U.S.A.

Trivia:

Nearly all of the actors in the film were non-professionals that had been hand-picked by David Gordon Green through random circumstances. The most interesting of these circumstances was how Green met with actor Donald Holden, who played George Richardson. Green has said that he met with Donald Holden on a beach near where he lived at the time and simply asked him to be in the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: It is stated early in the film that Buddy is 13 years old, yet on his missing sign, it says he is only 10.

Quotes:

Sonya:Can you keep a secret? I'm not a good person. I don't think nice things.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Love the Hard Way (2001)

Soundtrack:

A Hit

Uniquely captures the mood of adolescence

"I like to go to beautiful places where there's waterfalls and empty fields"… Nasia

George Washington is a meandering, moody, and hypnotic look at a group of black children, ages 9 to 14, during one summer in North Carolina. This was my second viewing and it remained a deeply satisfying experience. Though at times self-conscious, George Washington brings to mind Terence Malick's Days of Heaven with its voice-over narration, languid, dreamy tone, and gorgeous cinematography.

The youngsters are shown talking and playing aimlessly among the squalid junkyards and abandoned buildings of their neighborhood. They do not talk much about their hopes for the future but focus on their families and their girl friends and boy friends. The dialogue is partly improvised and, like Days of Heaven, allows the characters to speak in a manner that is slightly more poetic and contemplative than the average teenager.

The narrator, Nasia (Candace Evanofski), is a 12-year-old who has just broken up with her 13-year-old boyfriend Buddy (Curtis Cotton III) because, in her view, he's too young and immature. She's more attracted to Buddy's friend George (Donald Holden), a quiet and serious boy who always wears a helmet to protect his soft skull. They hang out with their friends, a mismatched pair of amateur car thieves named Vernon (Damian Jewan Lee) and Sonya (Rachael Handy), and also with Rico (Paul Schneider), a local railroad worker. Buddy shares his sadness with Rico who comforts him with his own story of lost love.

When an unexpected tragedy occurs, each of them must look closer at themselves and struggle to make an emotional connection with the events. They come to their realizations at different moments throughout the film and slowly begin to change in different ways. George, for one, after saving a drowning boy in a swimming pool becomes a neighborhood hero. Those realizations, however, do not provide an instantaneous fix and Green does not provide a forced happy ending.

Green has said, "One of the reasons I made this movie is because movies talk down to kids, put them as a cute little kid with a box of cereal and a witty joke," says Green. "You watch movies like Kindergarten Cop and it's like, 'Oh, a kid said something about sex. Isn't that funny?' It's just annoying and it makes me sad for their parents."

George Washington presents a view of teens that is not condescending but shows each character as a person of dignity and worth. It uniquely captures the confusion of adolescence, the need to belong, to believe life is or can be important, and the universal longing for love. Green has looked into the squalor and found beauty. Like a poem of Walt Whitman, he has expressed the divine in the commonplace.