Godsend (2004)

Director:

Nick Hamm

Writer (WGA):

Mark Bomback (written by)

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Adam Duncan. Born: December 11, 1987. Died: December 12, 1995. Born September 23, 1996.

Plot:

A couple agree to have their deceased son cloned, under the supervision of an enigmatic doctor but bizarre things start to happen years after his rebirth.

Plot Keywords:

Birthday | Boy | Doctor | Clone | Cloning

Cast

Greg Kinnear	...	Paul Duncan
Rebecca Romijn	...	Jessie Duncan (as Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
Robert De Niro	...	Richard Wells
Cameron Bright	...	Adam Duncan
Merwin Mondesir	...	Maurice, Young Thug
Sava Drayton	...	Young Thug #2
Jake Simons	...	Dan Sandler
Elle Downs	...	Clara Sandler
Edie Inksetter	...	Footlocker Cashier
Raoul Bhaneja	...	Samir Miklat
Jenny Cooper	...	Sandra Shaw (as Jenny Levine)
Thomas Chambers	...	Jordan Shaw
Munro Chambers	...	Max Shaw
Jeff Christensen	...	Hal Shaw
Deborah Odell	...	Tanya
Jordan Scherer	...	Roy Hazen
Ingrid Veninger	...	Mrs. Farr
Al Bernstein	...	Godsend Receptionist
Tracey Hoyt	...	Delivery Nurse
Leslie Ann Coles	...	Patricia Café Owner
Chris Britton	...	Dr. Lieber
Marcia Bennett	...	Principal Hersch
Mari Trainor	...	Godsend Nurse
Ann Holloway	...	File Clerk
Zoie Palmer	...	Susan Pierce
Janet Bailey	...	Cora Williams
Devon Bostick	...	Zachary Clark Wells
Mathew Peart	...	St. Pius Student
Andrew Chalmers	...	St. Pius Student
Sara Tough	...	St. Pius Student
Claire Sheasgreen	...	St. Pius Student
Melanie Tonello	...	St. Pius Student
Matt Robinson	...	High School Student
David Rehder	...	Mr. Baker
Nancy Hochman	...	Mrs. Baker
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Clare Stone	...	School Girl #5
Lisa Ciara	...	Girl at the Carnival (uncredited)
Darrell Hicks	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Michael Tommer	...	Boy Playing in Yard (uncredited)
Todd Wagner	...	Doctor (uncredited)

Directed by
Nick Hamm

Writing credits (WGA)
Mark Bomback		(written by)

Produced by
Mark Bomback	....	co-producer
Chris Briggs	....	associate producer
Christopher Briggs	....	associate producer
Michael Burns	....	executive producer
Marc Butan	....	producer
Mark Canton	....	executive producer
Mark Cuban	....	executive producer
Jon Feltheimer	....	executive producer
Eric Kopeloff	....	executive producer
Steve Mitchell	....	co-producer
Sean O'Keefe	....	producer
Robert Ortiz	....	line producer
Michael Paseornek	....	executive producer
Cathy Schulman	....	producer
Todd Wagner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Brian Tyler

Cinematography by
Kramer Morgenthau

Film Editing by
Niven Howie
Steve Mirkovich

Casting by
Sarah Finn
Stephanie Gorin
Randi Hiller

Production Design by
Doug Kraner

Art Direction by
Arvinder Grewal
Nicolas Lepage
Jarik Van Sluijs

Set Decoration by
Amanda Carroll
Nigel Hutchins
Susan Ogu

Costume Design by
Suzanne McCabe

Makeup Department
Suzanne Benoit	....	head of makeup department: Montreal
Suzanne Benoit	....	key makeup artist
Susan Exton-Stranks	....	hair stylist
Susan Exton-Stranks	....	head of hair department: Montreal
Peggy Kyriakidou	....	hair stylist
Diane Mazur	....	makeup artist
Suzana Neziri	....	hair stylist: New York
Carla White	....	makeup artist: New York

Production Management
Karl Archambault	....	unit manager: Montreal
Karen Gorodetzky	....	production manager
Ted Miller	....	unit production manager
Carl Pedregal	....	post-production supervisor: Los Angeles
Philip Stilman	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gavin Chen	....	set trainee assistant director
Tyler Delben	....	third assistant director
Jeffrey Lazar	....	first assistant director: additional photography
Laurie Mirsky	....	first assistant director
Michal Page	....	assistant director
John Stoneham Jr.	....	second unit director
Don Terry	....	first assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Serge Archambault	....	key scenic painter: Montréal unit
Charles-André Bertrand	....	set decorator: reshoot
David P. Bonanno	....	storyboard artist
James Deanes	....	painter
David G. Fremlin	....	set designer
John Galbraith	....	key scenic artist
Jen Gillespie	....	product placement coordinator
Kate Grant	....	prop buyer
Jason Herriott	....	head painter
Rob McCallum	....	storyboard artist
Kenny Meinzinger	....	property master
Andrij Molodecky	....	property master
H. Nancy Pak	....	art department coordinator

Sound Department
Bob Beher	....	sound editor
John Bires	....	sound engineer
John Cannon	....	first assistant sound editor
Marc Fishman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Nerses Gezalyan	....	sound mixer
Michael Hertlein	....	dialogue editor
Tony Lamberti	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Matter	....	additional sound
Bill McMillan	....	sound recordist
Jon Mete	....	dialogue supervisor
Glenn T. Morgan	....	supervising sound designer
Glenn T. Morgan	....	supervising sound editor
Tom Ozanich	....	sound designer
Unsun Song	....	sound re-recordist
Matthew Stark	....	boom operator
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Tami Treadwell	....	adr recordist
Ben Wilkins	....	sound editor
Ben Wilkins	....	sound effects editor
David Young	....	additional sound
Jeff Glueck	....	audio engineer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Marc Auclair	....	special effects assistant
Bernard Guay	....	special effects assistant

Visual Effects by
Derek Bird	....	digital compositor
Erik Dehkhoda	....	digital compositor
Bonnie Kanner	....	visual effects executive producer: Pixel Magic
David Fred Masselink	....	film I/O coordinator
Ray McIntyre Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor
Adam Stern	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Brittney Banks	....	stunt performer
Alexandre Cadieux	....	stunt arranger
Jean Frenette	....	stunt coordinator
Danny Lima	....	stunt performer
Danny Lima	....	stunts
Tina Mckissick	....	stunts
Kevin Rushton	....	stunts
John Stoneham Jr.	....	stunt coordinator
Bryan Thomas	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Ian Anderson	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Russel Bowie	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Darren Boyce	....	key grip
Phil Calambakas	....	best boy grip
Radium Cheung	....	gaffer: New York
Ira Cohen	....	gaffer
Dave Erlichman	....	key rigging grip
Candide Franklyn	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Eric Gearity	....	key grip: New York
Kerry Hayes	....	still photographer
Tom Houghton	....	director of photography: New York
H. Christopher Hunter	....	dolly grip
Gary Jackiewicz	....	grip: New York
Nicolas Marion	....	first assistant camera: re-shoots
Paul Michel	....	best boy lighting
Simeon Moore	....	electrician
Dominique Ricard	....	camera operator: "a" camera, re-shoot
Dave Sansford	....	generator operator: second unit
Peter Stranks	....	still photographer: fine art photography
Peter Stranks	....	unit still photographer
Jasper Vrakking	....	24 frame video operator
Paul Zoskey	....	24 frame video operator

Animation Department
Billy D. Choi	....	animator
Gary Hebert	....	animator

Casting Department
Amy Gossels	....	casting: New York City
Kathleen Howell	....	casting assistant
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	....	adr voice casting
Andrew McNeill	....	extras casting assistant
Laura Terry	....	casting associate: New York City (as Laura Heath Terry)
Scott D. Moore	....	casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Simonetta Mariano	....	costume supervisor
Sheila Radovancevic	....	costume truck supervisor

Editorial Department
Kelly Cavill	....	second post-production coordinator
Rick Grayson	....	editorial assistant
Mark Harris	....	first assistant editor: UK
Jennifer Hwang	....	post-production coordinator
Janet Ogletree	....	first assistant editor
Russell Pawson	....	second assistant editor: UK
Jessica Roberts	....	post-production assistant
Tolly Swallow	....	trainee assistant editor: UK
Lee Wimer	....	color timer

Music Department
Joel C. High	....	music supervisor
Gary Krause	....	music editor
Christine H. Luethje	....	music editor
Dana Niu	....	orchestrator
Brian Tyler	....	conductor

Transportation Department
David Di Venanzo	....	head driver
David Di Venanzo	....	transportation
Susan Shaw	....	driver

Other crew
Cassandra Barbour	....	rights and clearances
Drazen Baric	....	assistant location manager
Jas Chima	....	assistant: Nick Hamm
Donna Croce	....	script supervisor
J.C. Cuthbert	....	production assistant
Elizabeth Dixon	....	business affairs coordinator
Melanie Donkers	....	production assistant
Kevin Drysdale	....	assistant: Eric Kopeloff (as Kevin 'Splevy' Drysdale)
Pamela Godwin-Austen	....	international publicity: Premier PR/Lion's Gate )
Dan Gosse	....	daily production assistant
Joel Green	....	unit publicist
Pamela B. Green	....	producer: main titles
Pamela Hackwell	....	contact lens technician
Gary Hebert	....	title designer
Kathryn Loraine Hibbs	....	production accountant
Lindsey Jaffin	....	production secretary: re-shoots
Nancy Klein	....	first assistant accountant
Rosemary Lara	....	assistant: Mike Paseornek
Daniel MacArthur	....	production coordinator: Lions Gate
Stephanie A. Marquardt	....	script supervisor: New York
Cam Mason	....	assistant: Marc Butan
Robert M. Melnik	....	senior vice president of business affairs
Bruno Michels	....	production assistant: New York
Curtis A. Miller	....	manager of production: Lions Gate
Veronica Miller	....	first assistant accountant
Satsuki Mitchell	....	executive: 2929 Productions
Kristen Morton	....	unit travel coordinator
Anthony David Pace	....	location assistant
Nicholas Pappas	....	manager: business & legal affairs
Keith Park	....	location manager
John Rakich	....	assistant location manager
Robin M. Reelis	....	assistant production coordinator
Emily Rice	....	post-production accountant
Pascual Romero	....	publicity and promotions
Daisy Schwartz	....	assistant: Mr. De Niro
Laura Sevier	....	rights and clearances
Donna Sloan	....	senior vice president of production: Lions Gate
Eric Soussanin	....	office production assistant: re-shoots
Alan Sutton	....	fire safety
Jarik Van Sluijs	....	creative director: main titles
Michael J. Harker	....	completion bond company representative (uncredited)
Melissa Milo	....	assistant: Mr. De Niro (uncredited)
Denis O'Sullivan	....	assistant: Mr. De Niro (uncredited)
Philip Spurvey	....	location scout (uncredited)

Thanks
Darlene Gorzela	....	special thanks
Jon Hamm	....	the director wishes to thank

Production Companies

• Lions Gate Films
• Artists Production Group (APG)
• 2929 Productions (as 2929 Entertainment)
• Blue Productions

Distributors

• Lions Gate Films (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2004) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Aurum Producciones (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Eagle Pictures (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Films de l'Elysée, Les (2004) (Benelux) (theatrical)
• Gateno Films (2005) (Panama) (theatrical)
• Hoyts Distribution (2004) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Moonlight Films (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Pathé Distribution (2004) (UK) (theatrical)
• Pioneer Films (2004) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2004) (Scandinavia) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Spentzos Films (2004) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Aipi Entertainment (2005) (Bulgaria) (DVD)
• Aipi Entertainment (2005) (Bulgaria) (VHS)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2006) (UK) (TV) (BBC1)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2005) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Eagle Films (2004) (non-USA) (all media) (Middle East)
• Excesso Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Excesso Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Excesso Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray) (double feature with "Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night")
• Excesso Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD) (double feature with "Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night")
• Film1 (2006) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2004) (Romania) (all media)
• Tien (2007) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Pixel Magic (opticals)

Other Companies

• Capital Arts Entertainment  production services: New York
• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  color timing
• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• Executive Cutting Service  negative cutting (as Executive Cutting Services)
• Hand Prop  props supplied by
• Kaleidoscope Films Group  title sequences
• Lightworks  edited on
• Muse Entertainment Enterprises  production services: Montreal (as Muse Entertainment)
• Pixel Magic  opticals
• Sound One  re-recording facilities
• Soundelux  sound post-production (as Soundeluxe)
• St. Thomas Chapel, Seattle  orchestra recorded at (as Saint Thomas Chapel, Bastyr University)
• Todd-AO Studios  re-recording facilities (as Todd-AO)
• Toronto Film Studios  movie studio
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack published by

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence including frightening images, a scene of sexuality and some thematic material

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | France:U | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40522) | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Japan:PG-12 | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

King City, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Lions Gate Films

Trivia:

Before the release of this movie, Lions Gate Films set up two official websites: one conventional site with movie information, and one site that appeared to be a promotional tool for the (fictional) cloning institute depicted in the movie. The website gave an email address and phone number (1-888-699-2672) for the "Godsend Institute;" calling the number resulted in a recorded message giving the institute's office hours. Several news outlets reported that when a few bereaved parents called or emailed the fake institute to inquire about having their children genetically reconstituted, the studio started responding to them and explaining that it was just a movie tie-in and not a real laboratory. Similar advertisements for fictional medical procedures and clinics were also produced as parts of the advertising campaigns for Gattaca (1997) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Paul steps out of his car on the bridge, Adam's bicycle moves from the middle of the bridge to the side of the bridge, but we don't see anybody move the bicycle.

Quotes:

Adam Duncan:Dad, did I die?

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday to You

The Critics Are Wrong...This Movie Is Good. Very Good.

Why are there a lot of horrible reviews? I don't know why, because when I watched this movie, I thought that it was quite creepy, no wait, it was creepy, very creepy. Godsend is a creepy movie that delivers some scares as well as some thrills. Now why did I like this movie? I'll tell you. If you are thinking that I liked this movie just because it had Robert De Niro in it, don't, because that's not the main reason. This movie is about this: a couple agree to have their deceased son cloned, under the supervision of an enigmatic doctor but bizarre things start to happen years after his rebirth. And a lot of weird things do happen, a lot of scary things. This boy is being haunted by presences of his previous life, and other related things, this kind of reminds me of The Shining. But unlike The Shining, Godsend isn't a masterpiece, it is not one of the greatest movies that I have ever seen, nor is it one of the scariest movies that I have ever seen, but that doesn't mean that this movie isn't scary, it is scary, there where a few scenes that really freaked me out. I'd tell you, but I don't want to spoil the film.

Why did I want to see this film to begin with? Because of the fact that it stars my all time favorite actor, Robert De Niro. And Robert De Niro delivers another good performance, it's not one of his best performances, but it is still a good one nevertheless. Robert De Niro may be a fabulous actor, but I don't automatically like a movie that he's in just because he's in it, I like the movie for other reasons as well. I haven't seen a bad De Niro movie yet, sure, some of his movies are better than others, but I can't say that I saw one that I hated. The acting in Godsend is good, not Oscar-worthy but good all the same, especially from Cameron Bright, who plays Adam Duncan. There aren't many good child actors living in the world today, but he was an exception, his performance was a good one. The acting is not great acting, but it is nevertheless good acting that makes the movie watchable. And to me, this movie is watchable.

So all in all, you can go ahead and say that I'm crazy, but I liked this movie. Godsend is a movie that is very underrated, and downright scary. Like I said earlier, this movie is not on the same level of greatness as The Shining, but I still find it scary and worth watching. You can watch this movie if you please, but I would advise you to keep an open mind about it. If you don't, then you might not enjoy the movie. I was able to keep an open mind, and so because of that I was able to enjoy this movie a lot, and trust me, it is enjoyable, and downright scary at times. Godsend is also somewhat of guilty pleasure of mine, because while I loved this movie, it seems that not a whole lot of other people did. Well anyway, keep an open mind when you watch this movie, because if you do, then who knows? You might be able to really enjoy this movie. If you enjoy this movie, then that's great, if not, well, you didn't enjoy it...

10/10