Death to Smoochy (2002)

Director:

Danny DeVito

Writer (WGA):

Adam Resnick (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Get ready for an unexpected hit.

Plot:

Kids show host Rainbow Randolph is fired in disgrace while his replacement, Sheldon Mopes, aka Smoochy the Rhino, finds himself a rising star. Unfortunately for Sheldon, the kid's TV business isn't all child's play.

Plot Keywords:

Children | Television | Revenge | Scandal | Money

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robin Williams	...	Rainbow Randolph
Edward Norton	...	Sheldon Mopes / Smoochy the Rhino
Catherine Keener	...	Nora Wells
Danny DeVito	...	Burke Bennett
Jon Stewart	...	Marion Frank Stokes
Pam Ferris	...	Tommy Cotter
Danny Woodburn	...	Angelo Pike
Michael Rispoli	...	Spinner Dunn
Harvey Fierstein	...	Merv Green
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Buggy Ding Dong
Craig Eldridge	...	Husband
Judy White	...	Wife
Tim MacMenamin	...	Danny
Bruce McFee	...	Roy
Glen Cross	...	Jimmy
Bill Lake	...	Bartender
Nick Taylor	...	Henry the Thug
Richard Cocchiaro	...	Mitch the Thug (as Richard A. Cocchiaro Jr.)
Tracey Walter	...	Ben Franks
Louis Giambalvo	...	Sonny Gordon
Colin Moult	...	Rhinette / Krinkle Kid #1
Nikolai Tichtchenko	...	Rhinette / Krinkle Kid #2
Martin Klebba	...	Rhinette / Krinkle Kid #3
Tonya Reneé Banks	...	Rhinette / Krinkle Kid #4
Christy Artran	...	Rhinette / Krinkle Kid #5
Philip Craig	...	Senator
Natasha Kinne	...	Smoochy's Secretary
Richard Hamilton	...	Old Vagrant
Shawn Byfield	...	Rickets
Todd Graff	...	Skip Kleinman
Melissa DiMarco	...	Tara
Dan Duran	...	Hunter
Michael Copeman	...	Reporter #1
James Carroll	...	Reporter #2
Phillip Jarrett	...	Reporter #3 (as Philip Jarrett)
Suzanne Leonard Feliz	...	Reporter #4
Thomas Lyons	...	Reporter #5
Angela Bullock	...	Reporter #6
Robert M. Sussman	...	Reporter #7
George Blumenthal	...	Reporter #8
Matthew Arkin	...	Save the Rhino Man
Hugo Jansuzian	...	Hispanic Dad
Silvia Rojas	...	Hispanic Mom
Mario Andres Torres	...	Hispanic Boy
Sabrina Jansuzian	...	Hispanic Girl
John 'Cha Cha' Ciarcia	...	Autograph Man
Fred Scialla	...	Man in Crowd (as Fred Peter Scialla)
Adam Bryant	...	Man in Crowd #2
Richard Ziman	...	Man in Crowd #3
Frank Anello	...	NYPD
Samantha Cordero	...	Little Girl
Peter Keleghan	...	News Anchor
Rothaford Gray	...	Ellis
David Brown	...	McCall (as Dave Brown)
Gerry Quigley	...	Ian
James Binkley	...	Cop #1
Dylan Roberts	...	Stagehand
Vito Rezza	...	Lead Cop
Lou Cantres	...	Little Girl's Dad
John Cleland	...	John
Lauren Flanigan	...	Opera Diva
Cara Wakelin	...	Princess
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ted Kavouris	...	Candy Seller
Jonah Falcon	...	Man (uncredited)
Katie Finneran	...	Woman in Crowd (uncredited)
Edie Inksetter	...	Molly (uncredited)
Greg Korin	...	Smoochy Fan (uncredited)
Peter Kosaka	...	Takeshi Yamashita (uncredited)
Danny LeGare	...	Newsstand Clerk (uncredited)
Richard D. Leko	...	Smoochy Land Band Member (Purple & White Monkey Keyboard Player) (uncredited)
Martin Pfefferkorn	...	Meth Addict at Clinic (uncredited)
Robert Prosky	...	Network Chairman (uncredited)
Marc Yarrish	...	Street Vendor (uncredited)

Directed by
Danny DeVito

Writing credits (WGA)
Adam Resnick		(written by)

Produced by
Jill Besnoy	....	co-producer
Doug Davison	....	co-producer
Jody Hedien	....	co-producer
John Kreidman	....	associate producer
Andrew Lazar	....	producer
Joshua Levinson	....	associate producer
Peter Macgregor-Scott	....	producer
Lisa Reardon	....	associate producer

Original Music by
David Newman

Cinematography by
Anastas N. Michos

Film Editing by
Jon Poll

Casting by
Margery Simkin

Production Design by
Howard Cummings

Art Direction by
Tamara Deverell

Set Decoration by
Enrico Campana

Costume Design by
Jane Ruhm

Makeup Department
Marlene Aarons	....	makeup department head
Pipsan Ayotte	....	assistant makeup artist
Jerry DeCarlo	....	assistant department head hair stylist: New York
Patricia Medina	....	hair stylist
Cheri Minns	....	hair stylist: Robin Williams
Cheri Minns	....	makeup artist: Robin Williams
Tim Mogg	....	makeup artist
Ve Neill	....	creative makeup
Ve Neill	....	hair consultant
Jennifer Bower O'Halloran	....	key hair stylist
Francie Fillatti	....	additional hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Joe Barzo	....	unit manager
Jan Foster	....	unit production manager
Joshua Levinson	....	post-production supervisor
Nan Skiba	....	production manager
Bill Draper	....	executive in charge of production (uncredited)
Barbara Russo	....	post-production executive (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bruno Bryniarski	....	second assistant director
Agnieszka Kroskowska	....	assistant director (as Agnieszka Poninska)
Murphy Occhino	....	second second assistant director
Michael Risoli	....	first assistant director: US
David J. Webb	....	first assistant director (as David Webb)
Eric Yellin	....	second assistant director: New York

Art Department
Daniel Boxer	....	property master: New York
Brenton Brown	....	on-set dresser
Lauren Buckley	....	art department coordinator: New York
Tim Campbell	....	head painter
Ellen Christiansen	....	set decorator: New York
Janet Cormack	....	key scenic artist
Robert Currie	....	assistant property master
Joe Curtin	....	construction coordinator
Joshu de Cartier	....	first assistant art director (as Joshu De Cartier)
Frank Didio	....	co-construction coordinator
Alex DiGerlando	....	art department assistant
Tucker Doherty	....	set designer (as Catherine Doherty)
Peter K. Dunbar	....	lead: New York (as Peter Dunbar)
Jay Durrwachter	....	production illustrator: New York (as Jay Durrwacher)
Brad Francis	....	stand-by painter
Jason Graham	....	second assistant art director
Paul Greenberg	....	graphic artist
Vincent Guarriello	....	key construction grip
Donna Hamilton	....	set dresser: New York
Gary Harmer	....	lead person
Michael Kall	....	carpenter
Daniel Kenney	....	assistant property master: New York
Hinju Kim	....	assistant art director: New York
Mayumi Konishi-Valentine	....	second assistant art director (as Mayumi Konishi)
Jonathan Kovacs	....	assistant property master
Marc Kuitenbrouwer	....	head carpenter (as Mark Kuitenbrouwer)
Edward Lipscombe	....	construction labor
Walter Lipscombe	....	construction labor
Glenn Locke	....	scenic artist
Byron K. Lovelace	....	set dresser
Meaghan Lynch	....	art department researcher (as Meg Lynch)
Jeffrey D. McDonald	....	art director: New York
Harold Michelson	....	visual consultant
Mike Montgomery	....	construction grip
Joseph S. Patire	....	shop craftsman
Ron Petagna	....	construction coordinator: New York (as Ronald J. Petagna)
Ronnie Petagna	....	carpenter
Morgan Pitts	....	on-set dresser: New York
Aeschylus Poulos	....	art department coordinator
Barton Rendulic	....	illustrator (as Bartol Rendulic)
Vic Rigler	....	property master
David Ritchie	....	property master: second unit
Grant Shaffer	....	storyboard artist
James Sorice	....	master charge scenic: New York
Margot Therre	....	lead scenic: New York (as Margo Therre)
Grant Van Der Slagt	....	key set designer
Tom Warren	....	assistant art director: New York
Martin Weinryb	....	set decoration buyer
Joan Winters	....	graphic designer
Robert Antalocy	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Shannon Hart	....	set decorator: reshoots (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ron Bartlett	....	sound re-recording mixer
Craig Berkey	....	sound effects designer
Kerry P. Brown	....	temp mixer
Benjamin Cheah	....	sound effects editor
Matt Cluett	....	sound transferer
Mark Cookson	....	sound effects editor
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Jesse Ehredt	....	sound recordist
Sean Garnhart	....	sound effects editor
David Kelson	....	sound mixer
David Knauer	....	sound recording engineer
George A. Lara	....	foley mixer
Skip Lievsay	....	supervising sound editor
Norm MacLeod	....	dialogue editor
Jason McFarling	....	boom operator
Igor Nikolic	....	first assistant sound editor
Anthony Ortiz	....	boom operator
Jeremy Peirson	....	sound recordist
Jason Perreira	....	sound dailies
Erika Schengili-Roberts	....	boom operator
Mark Smith	....	sound re-recording mixer
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Roland N. Thai	....	sound effects editor
Renee Tondelli	....	supervising adr editor

Special Effects by
Taku Dazai	....	specialty props
Aaron Dinsmore	....	special effects technician
Walter Klassen	....	special effects
Rocco Larizza	....	special effects assistant
David Loveday	....	special effects prop builder
Jim McGillivary	....	special effects supervisor
Laird McMurray	....	special effects supervisor
Jim Peacock	....	special effects builder
John Poulter	....	special effects technician
David Reaume	....	special effects technician
John Stifanich	....	special effects technician
Stephen Wallace	....	special effects technician
Ray Comiso	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Richard Redlefsen	....	lab technician/sculptor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Krista Benson	....	digital compositor
Kerry P. Brown	....	opening animation
John Coats	....	visual effects storyboard artist
Chris Dawson	....	encoding
Tim Everitt	....	digital compositor
Kelly Fischl	....	Visual Effects Production Assistant
David Fogg	....	digital compositor
Kurt Hall	....	video & computer graphics technician
Shaina Holmes	....	digital compositor
Dave Jacobs	....	Visual Effects Production Assistant
Mark Kochinski	....	digital compositor
Lincoln Kupchak	....	visual effects coordinator
Lincoln Kupchak	....	visual effects editor
Chad Lewis	....	rotoscope artist
John P. Mesa	....	visual effects co-supervisor
Penny A. Mesa	....	visual effects production manager
William Mesa	....	visual effects supervisor
Dan Novy	....	visual effects technical supervisor
Jeffrey A. Okun	....	visual effects supervisor
L. Elizabeth Powers	....	digital art director (as Laurie Powers)
Liz Radley	....	computer and video graphics (as Elizabeth Radley)
Mark Sawicki	....	optical camera
Matt Seckman	....	Visual Effects Production Assistant
Andrew Somers	....	digital effects artist: opening animation
Ken Stranahan	....	visual effects compositing supervisor
Tammy Sutton	....	digital compositor
Georgiana Tarjan	....	Visual Effects Production Assistant
James D. Tittle	....	digital visual effects coordinator: Pacific Title
Bryan Whitaker	....	pre-visualisation artist
Jeffrey White	....	visual effects producer
Edward Helmers	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Robbi Hinds	....	director of photography: timelapse (uncredited)

Stunts
Shelley Cook	....	stunt performer
Suzanne Cunliffe-Brown	....	stunts
Jim Dunn	....	stunts
Peter Epstein	....	stunts
Tom Farr	....	stunt rigger
Tom Farr	....	stunts
Jeffrey Lee Gibson	....	stunt coordinator
Jason Guja	....	stunts
Brayden Jones	....	stunt performer
Dana Jones	....	stunt performer
Jamie Jones	....	stunt coordinator
Kelly Jones	....	stunts
Blair Koski-Klein	....	stunts
Kent W. Luttrell	....	stunt double: Danny Devito (as Kent Luttrell)
Christopher McGuire	....	stunts
Regan Moore	....	stunt performer
Rick Parker	....	stunts
Paul Rutledge	....	stunts
Keith Siglinger	....	stunts
Brian Smyj	....	safety
Bryan Thomas	....	stunt double
Dave Van Zeyl	....	stunts
Matt Birman	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Brad Bunn	....	stunt rigger (uncredited)
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Duncan McLeod	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Layton Morrison	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Edward A. Queffelec	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kevin Rushton	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bill Almeida	....	best boy electric: New York
K.C. Bailey	....	still photographer: New York
Denise Bailie	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera, second unit
Timothy R. Boyce Jr.	....	additional video assist operator
Craig Bulmer	....	electrician
Thomas Care	....	dolly grip
Andrew Cheung	....	grip: New York
Angelo Colavecchia	....	camera operator: "a" camera
John Colavecchia	....	assistant camera: "a" camera
Alisa M. Colley	....	camera loader: New York
Yvonne Collins	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Tim Davis	....	video assist operator
Alex Dawes	....	rigging electric
Gary Deneault	....	co-gaffer
Cylvan Desrouleaux	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
James Edmiston	....	grip: New York
William Engel	....	grip
Morris Flam	....	gaffer
Beck Hoehn	....	assistant camera: New York
Joel Holland	....	video assist operator: New York
Lee Kazista	....	assistant camera: New York
David Larue	....	grip
Doug Lawrance	....	daily camera operator
Rick Leger	....	crane operator: Technocrane
Toomas Loo	....	best boy lighting
Peter Luxford	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Peter Masterson	....	assistant camera: New York
Jason Micallef	....	electrician
Beth Nobes	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
David Norris	....	camera operator: Wescam camera
Marcus Paletta	....	grip
John Panuccio	....	key rigging grip
Jesse Wayne Parker	....	key grip
Matthew Pill	....	rigging grip
Tom Prate	....	key grip
Takashi Seida	....	still photographer
Chris Silano	....	assistant camera: New York
Tom Weston	....	camera operator
Tom Weston	....	director of photography: second unit
Ken Wiebe	....	lighting board operator

Casting Department
Ross Clydesdale	....	casting: Canada
Aric Dupere	....	extras casting assistant
Donna Dupere	....	extras casting
Brad Gerstl	....	extras casting representative
Juli-Ann Kay	....	casting associate
Ali Merhi	....	extras casting assistant
Michele Short	....	casting associate
Aaron Unrau	....	extras casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joanna Brett	....	wardrobe supervisor
Jay Du Boisson	....	associate costume designer
Sandi Figueroa	....	costumer: Edward Norton
Joseph La Corte	....	set costumer
Loreen Lightfoot	....	costume cutter
Monica Ruiz-Ziegler	....	costume shopper: New York
Anita Simard	....	wardrobe truck supervisor
Tom Soluri	....	costumer: Catherine Keener
Mia Sturup	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Robert Doyle	....	assistant editor
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Lara Johnston	....	first assistant editor
Bob Kaiser	....	color timer
Warren Paeff	....	associate editor
Carrie Puchkoff	....	assistant editor
David Tarnawsky	....	second assistant editor
Bill Daly	....	post-production executive (uncredited)
Kevin Fairfax Harwood	....	telecine suite operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Bruce Botnick	....	music mixer
Bruce Botnick	....	music recordist
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist
George Doering	....	musician
Mark Eshelman	....	scoring crew
Marty Frasu	....	scoring sound supervisor
Thomas Graham II	....	music programmer
J.J. Holiday	....	musician
Gregory Jamrok	....	orchestrator
Rebecca R. Liddle	....	orchestrator
Jason Lloyd	....	scoring crew
David Newman	....	orchestrator
Krystyna Newman	....	scoring consultant
John Rodd	....	orchestral scoring recordist
Scott Rouse	....	assistant music editor
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn
Tom Villano	....	supervising music editor
Pat Weber	....	scoring crew

Transportation Department
Bill Boyd	....	picture car mechanic
Norm Henderson	....	transportation coordinator
John Ozlins	....	transportation captain
Sean Shepherd	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
James Mair Abroms	....	adr loop group
Amanda Alden	....	production secretary
Kathleen Beall	....	location scout
Will Beekman	....	location assistant
John 'Frenchie' Berger	....	armorer
Stephanie Lee Berger	....	weapons handler
Liza Bigger	....	production assistant
Shelley A. Boylen	....	production coordinator
Sally Ann Brooks	....	adr voice
Shelbie Bruce	....	ADR loop group
Stacie Carroll	....	child wrangler
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot
Anouska Chydzik	....	assistant: Andrew Lazar
Patricia Hanley Cumming	....	on-set supervisor
Carey DePalma	....	assistant location manager
Michael Dobbin	....	accounting staff assistant
Greg Eby	....	first assistant accountant
Ashley Edner	....	adr artist
Bobby Edner	....	adr voice
Joe Everett	....	unit publicist
David L. Feinberg	....	production office assistant: New York
Jordan Brendan Finnegan	....	production assistant
Justin Fleury	....	production assistant
Wilma Garscadden-Gahret	....	script supervisor (as Wilma Garscadden Gahret)
Heather Gauntt	....	location assistant
Kelly Gilbert	....	accounting trainee
Julianne Gillies	....	tutor
Brad Gratkowski	....	assistant location manager
Joe Guest	....	second assistant location manager
Ian Guns	....	remote head technician
Ian Harrington	....	assistant: Danny DeVito
Andreas Hass	....	assistant production coordinator
Gym Hinderer	....	assistant: A. Lazar
Dennis Jacobson	....	payroll accountant
Matthew Kania	....	location production assistant
Steve Kolodziej	....	24 frame video and computer playback operator
Agnieszka Kroskowska	....	hand double: Catherine Keener
Barry Lather	....	choreographer
Rafael Lima	....	production secretary
Jeff Lomaglio	....	shop craftsmen
Andrew McCabe	....	production assistant
Michael McElroy	....	adr loop group
Sandra Mikki	....	location manager
Joshua Miller	....	adr loop group
Jeffrey Noah	....	adr loop group
Emily Palmer	....	production assistant
Deborah Parker	....	location manager (as Deb Parker)
Mayda Renizzi-Holt	....	first assistant accountant
Olimpia T. Rinaldi	....	assistant production accountant
Lauren Schaffel	....	adr artist
Michael L. Schmidt	....	production assistant
Carly Sorscher	....	production assistant
Karen Koula Sossiadis	....	production coordinator
Rebecca Erwin Spencer	....	assistant: Robin Williams
Elvis Stojko	....	choreographer: Rainbow Randolph Ice Dance
Elvis Stojko	....	dancer: Rainbow Randolph Ice Dance
William Chad Strug	....	production assistant
Amanda Uber	....	staff coordinator
Derek Ursacki	....	daily accounting assistant
Nick Veziris	....	gun wrangler
Scott Clevely	....	daily production assistant (uncredited)
Chris Laker	....	accounting clerk (uncredited)
Anthony Reynolds	....	stand-in: Edward Norton (uncredited)
Dana Rudys	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Nikki Allyn Grosso	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents)
• FilmFour (in association with)
• Senator Film Produktion (in association with)
• Mad Chance

Distributors

• Warner Bros (2002) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment (2002) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2002) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2003) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2003) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Channel Four Films (UK)
• Cinema Club (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Veronica (2006) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Warner Bros. (2003) (Argentina) (all media)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Custom Film Effects
• Flash Film Works

Other Companies

• Canada Film Capital  tax incentive consulting services
• Custom Film Effects  titles and opticals
• Sylvia Fay/Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting
• Toronto Film Studios  movie studio

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexual references

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Germany:16 | Norway:7 | Philippines:PG-13 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38779) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Canada:14+ (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

Jim Carrey was attached to star at one point but eventually dropped out to do The Majestic (2001)

Goofs:

Continuity: During Smoochy's "Step-Dad" song, the young, bored-looking little girl over his left shoulder repeatedly appears and disappears.

Quotes:

Randolph:What about Wally the Whale?
Sheldon:Laura, how could you do it with Wally the Whale?
Randolph:There she blows!
Sheldon:I don't believe this is happening. I can't believe you didn't tell me about this.
Nora:Listen, Sheldon, I'm not proud of it but, there was a time in my life when I was a bit of a kiddie host groupie.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Howard Stern on Demand: Best of 02/20-02/24, 2006" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Goomba Boomba

An Original Adult Comedy

Death to Smoochy pushes the envelope of comedy, only to fail because it couldn't find the right audience. This comedy is amazing for its intensity and biting scenes that run side by side with comedy, there are dark scenes, harder dramatic elements not usually seen in regular comedies. Yet, this fun, entertaining, and cerebral comedy has great elements of timing, acting, and directing. Not for children, but the nature of plot (doesn't automatically capture any other audience), this sleeper comedy is a must see, because it breaks out of the mold of funny comedies into a more sophisticated, grown up form of laughter and comedical relief.