Auto Focus (2002)

A story about "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane and his friendship with John Carpenter.

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

Robert Graysmith (book), Michael Gerbosi

Stars:

Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, Rita Wilson

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Greg Kinnear	...	Bob Crane
Willem Dafoe	...	John Carpenter
Rita Wilson	...	Anne Crane
Maria Bello	...	Patricia Olson / Patrica Crane / Sigrid Valdis
Ron Leibman	...	Lenny
Bruce Solomon	...	Edward H. Feldman
Michael E. Rodgers	...	Richard Dawson (as Michael Rodgers)
Kurt Fuller	...	Werner Klemperer
Christopher Neiman	...	Robert Clary
Lyle Kanouse	...	John Banner
Donnamarie Recco	...	Melissa / Mistress Victoria
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Mel Rosen
Michael McKean	...	Video Executive
Cheryl Lynn Bowers	...	Cynthia Lynn
Don McManus	...	Priest

Storyline

In 1965, Bob Crane, who had achieved some earlier success as a television supporting actor, was working as a successful morning radio DJ at KNX Los Angeles. Despite enjoying his work, photography (especially of the female form) and drumming, Crane wanted to be a movie star. So it was with some reluctance that he accepted the title starring role in a new television sitcom called Hogan's Heroes, a WWII POW comedy. To his surprise, the show became a hit and catapulted him to television stardom. The fame resulting from the show led to excesses and a meeting with home video salesman and technician John Carpenter, with who he would form a friendship based on their mutual interests, namely excessive sex (for Crane, purely heterosexual sex) and capturing nude females on celluloid. His fame allowed Crane to have as much sex as he wanted, which was incongruent to his somewhat wholesome television friendly image, and the way he portrayed himself to almost everyone except Carpenter and his ...

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Plot Keywords:

sex | friendship | video | radio | arizona | 

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Taglines:

A day without sex is a day wasted.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, nudity, language, some drug use and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 2002 (Canada)

Also Known As:

A szexfüggő

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$123,761 (USA) (18 October 2002)

Gross:

$2,062,066 (USA) (24 January 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Puller Inc., Good Machine, Propaganda Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bald actor who plays a reporter interviewing Crane about midway through the film is Crane's real son, Bob Crane Jr. (Robert David Crane).

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Goofs

At John's apartment in 1966, one of the girls asks if he has any records by Procol Harum, whose first album came out in 1967. He then puts on "Helpless" by the Four Tops from their Second Album which was out in 1965. But, the album cover shown is from the "Reach Out" album, which that song wasn't on and which didn't come out until the summer of 1967.

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Quotes

Bob Crane: Mel, I thought you were a fellow entertainer.
Mel Rosen: I'm also a Jew.
Bob Crane: It's the same thing!

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Connections

Referenced in Anger Management (2003)

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Soundtracks

"(I'm a) Girl Watcher"
Written by Ronald B. Killette and E. Wayne Pittman
Performed by The O'Kaysions
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Obsession and Emptiness

Actor Bob Crane (Greg Kinnear), star of Hogan's Heroes, forms a friendship with a video enthusiast (Willem Dafoe) and together they become obsessed with sex, swinging, and photographing or filming the action.

This is a brilliantly disturbing movie. Kinnear carefully plays Crane as a blank-faced cypher who cannot see himself, and is comfortable with the surface of things. Thus photography is the perfect obsession for him; he can look without participating, even when he's looking at his own participation. Auto Focus is a clever title, referring to both the photography and the only person upon whom Crane can focus. He is lost in a world of obsessively meaningless behavior.

A look at IMDb's message board for the film shows that one of Crane's two sons is fighting the misinformation presented by director Paul Schrader and Crane's other son. It does seem that the movie distorts some biographical facts, but what biopic doesn't? This story of obsession and doom is worth much more than its attention to one man's biography.