Normal (2003) (TV)

Director:

Jane Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Jane Anderson (play)
Jane Anderson (teleplay)

Release Date:

14 April 2005 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Love. Marriage. Acceptance. Sex change.

Plot:

A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.

Plot Keywords:

Sex Change | Intolerance | Alzheimer's Disease | Workplace Bullying | Transgender

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 4 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Richard Bull	...	Roy Sr. - Roy's Father
Mary Seibel	...	Em - Roy's Mother
Danny Goldring	...	Church Friend Pete
Jessica Lange	...	Irma Applewood
Tom Wilkinson	...	Roy 'Ruth' Applewood
Hayden Panettiere	...	Patty Ann Applewood
Randall Arney	...	Reverend Dale Muncie
Rich Komenich	...	Co-Worker Bob
Kirk Anderson	...	Machinist
Christian Ambrose	...	Band Member #1
Joe Foust	...	Roadie #1
Sean Rice	...	Band Member #2
Mickey Tuman	...	Roadie #2
Joseph Sikora	...	Wayne Applewood (as Joe Sikora)
Clancy Brown	...	Frank
Barbara Ann Grimes	...	Thrift Store Owner
Jane Galloway Heitz	...	Martha the Choir Mistress
Paul Lindblad	...	Choir - Pianist
Richard Boice	...	Choir Member
Joan Culler	...	Choir Member
Donna Gruendler	...	Choir Member
Llou Johnson	...	Choir Member
Jeff Kiel	...	Choir Member
Karen Ullberg Peters	...	Choir Member
Jonathan Peters	...	Choir Member
Deb Rodeghero	...	Choir Member
Jim Stahulak	...	Choir Member
Robert Steed	...	Choir Member
Tony Fitzpatrick	...	Brother-In-Law Carl
Dan Conway	...	Brother-In-Law Bert
Rick Touhy	...	Kay's Husband
Cynthia Baker	...	Roy's Sister Margie
Caitlin Hart	...	Roy's Sister Becky
Rondi Reed	...	Roy's Sister Beth
Gene Janson	...	Church Usher
Robert Marty	...	Radio Announcer (as Robert C. Marty)
Faith O'Gorman	...	Wayne's Girlfriend
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lexi Pleasant	...	Church Attendee
Peter Renaud	...	Bar Patron / Roadie
Ross Freier	...	Church Attendee (uncredited)
David Morrison	...	Boyfriend (uncredited)

Directed by
Jane Anderson

Writing credits (WGA)
Jane Anderson		(play "Looking for Normal")
Jane Anderson		(teleplay)

Produced by
Cary Brokaw	....	executive producer
Thomas J. Busch	....	line producer (as Tom Busch)
Lydia Dean Pilcher	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Alex Wurman

Cinematography by
Alar Kivilo		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Lisa Fruchtman

Casting by
Jane Alderman
John Brace
Linda Lowy

Production Design by
Nina Ruscio

Art Direction by
Gary Baugh

Set Decoration by
Tricia Schneider		(as Patricia Schneider)

Costume Design by
Hope Hanafin

Makeup Department
Hallie D'Amore	....	key makeup artist
Linda De Andrea	....	hair stylist: Ms. Lange (as Linda DeAndrea)
Linda Melazzo	....	additional makeup artist
Tony Mirante	....	additional hair stylist
Suzi Ostos	....	makeup artist
Bunny Parker	....	key hair stylist (as Bernadette Parker)
Dorothy J. Pearl	....	makeup artist: Ms. Lange (as Dorothy Pearl)
Chris Burgoyne	....	makeup effects technician (uncredited)

Production Management
Thomas J. Busch	....	unit production manager (as Tom Busch)
Elizabeth Fox	....	post-production supervisor
Kimberly Rach	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Giovannetti Jr.	....	first assistant director (as James R. Giovannetti Jr.)
Richard S. Lederer	....	second assistant director (as Richard Lederer)
Eric A. Pot	....	second second assistant director (as Eric Pot)

Art Department
Bruce Ahlfeld	....	carpenter
Alley Ballard	....	buyer
Mary A. Brady	....	buyer
Alan Broadbent	....	painter (as Al Broadbent)
Nicholas Carranza	....	art department assistant
Brian Cho	....	art department coordinator
Ron Coy	....	painter
Charles W. DelGreco	....	laborer (as Charles Del Greco)
Russ Elwell	....	carpenter
Tommy Gags	....	set dresser
Michael D. Gianneschi	....	assistant property master
Brad Good	....	set dresser
Bradley Good	....	set dresser
Aaron C. Holden Jr.	....	set dresser (as Aaron Holden Jr.)
Craig Jackson	....	set designer
John Paul 'J.P.' Jones	....	property master (as J.P. Jones)
Kevin Kenny	....	carpenter
Blake E. Matthys	....	additional props (as Blake Matthys)
Cyril H. Matthys	....	set dresser
John McHugh	....	construction coordinator
Joel Prihoda	....	lead man
Kim Richey	....	assistant property master (as Kimberly A. Richey)
Daniel R. Sarich	....	painter (as Dan Sarich)
John H. Schulz	....	head painter (as John Schulz)
Paul Schulz	....	stand-by painter (as Paul Steven Schulz)
John J. Slove Jr.	....	carpenter foreman
John J. Slove Jr.	....	propmaker foreman
Timothy W. Tiedje	....	property master
Daryl Ziemke	....	set dresser
Jon Nicholson	....	on-set dresser (uncredited)
Rob Yale	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Rick Ash	....	sound re-recording mixer
Christopher Barrick	....	foley editor
Rick Canelli	....	adr recordist
Coya Elliott	....	dialogue assistant
Matthew Iadarola	....	sound re-recording mixer
Stuart McCowan	....	assistant supervising sound editor
Thomas J. O'Connell	....	adr mixer
David Obermeyer	....	production sound mixer
Christopher Scarabosio	....	supervising sound editor
Blair Scheller	....	boom operator
Christopher Sidor	....	sound re-recordist (as Chris Sidor)
Michael Silvers	....	dialog editor
Steve Slanec	....	assistant supervising sound editor
Unsun Song	....	sound re-recordist (as Unsun)
Patrick Stoltz	....	post-production sound engineer (as Pat Stoltz)
Drew Webster	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ronald L. Wright	....	cable person
Gwendolyn Yates Whittle	....	adr supervisor
Christopher Scarabosio	....	sound designer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ryan Evans	....	special effects
John D. Milinac	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Don Greenberg	....	lead compositor: R!OT Pictures
Jaime Norman	....	visual effects production manager (uncredited)

Stunts
Rick Le Fevour	....	stunt coordinator (as Rick Lefevour)
Rich Wilkie	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Cortland Boyd	....	electrician
Vince Cordero	....	electrician (as Vince E. Cordero)
Chris Glomp	....	rigging gaffer (as Christopher Glomp)
Brian Kelly	....	electric
Michael Kohnhorst	....	director of photography: second unit
Robert Krzeminski	....	best boy grip
Peter Kuttner	....	first assistant camera
Morgan Michael Lewis	....	key grip
Thomas Lewis	....	company grip (as Thomas E. Lewis)
Anthony J. Lullo	....	best boy electric
Joseph M. Lyons	....	rigger
Mark E. Matthys	....	company grip
Melissa Moseley	....	still photographer
William R. Nielsen Jr.	....	Steadicam operator
William R. Nielsen Jr.	....	camera operator: second camera
Mark Purkart	....	dolly grip
Monty Rowan	....	camera operator
Dan Schroer	....	camera loader (as Daniel R. Schroer)
Colin Slaby	....	second assistant camera
Jason Storandt	....	company grip
Rick Thomas	....	gaffer
Frank Yario Jr.	....	24 frame video operator
Fred Folmer	....	second key grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sharon D. King	....	extras casting
Derek J. Marquardt	....	casting assistant (as Derek Marquardt)
Marvin Nelson	....	extras casting assistant
Kristy Nolen	....	casting assistant (as Kristen Entwistle)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jane Blank	....	seamstress
Patrick Caulfield	....	set costumer
Stella Cottini	....	costumer (as Stella Christy Cottini)
Jennifer Jobst	....	costume supervisor
JoAnn Lam	....	costumer: Ms. Lange (as Joann Lam)
Heather Pollock	....	additional set costumer

Editorial Department
Joe Finley	....	colorist
Robert Marty	....	first assistant editor
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Lowell Rottenberg	....	post-production coordinator
Kenny Becker	....	color timer (uncredited)
Rick J. Brown	....	colorist: dailies (uncredited)

Music Department
P.J. Bloom	....	music consultant (as PJ Bloom)
Katisse Buckingham	....	musician: alto flute
Bruno Coon	....	music editor
Leah Curtis	....	music preparation
George Doering	....	musician: bouzouki, string drum, cavaquinho
Steve Durkee	....	score mixer
Kathleen Edwards	....	composer: additional music
Eric Gobel	....	score recording engineer
Bronwen Jones	....	orchestrator: score
Brian Kirk	....	music consultant
Evyen Klean	....	music consultant
Luyanda T. Kunene	....	assistant to composer (as Lou Kunene)
Pete Magdaleno	....	second scoring engineer
Sid Page	....	musician: violin
Frankie Pine	....	music supervisor
Michael Valerio	....	musician: bass (as Mike Valerio)
Alex Wurman	....	musician: piano
Alex Wurman	....	orchestrator: score
Felix Wurman	....	musician: cello
Sharon Smith	....	music editor: temp music (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Anthony Belmonte	....	driver (as Anthony C. Belmonte)
Leonard T. Casey Sr.	....	driver (as Leonard Casey)
Michael P. Deal	....	driver
Todd Dickison	....	driver (as Todd Dickinson)
George DiLeonardi	....	driver (as George J. Dileonardi)
Michael J. Farej	....	driver (as Mike J. Farej)
David Gothard	....	driver
William T. Hogan III	....	transportation coordinator
James Hogan	....	driver (as James A. Hogan)
Dennis Leahy	....	driver
Anthony Majcher Jr.	....	driver
Mark Majcher	....	driver
Joseph F. Martucci	....	driver
Danny Maxwell	....	transportation captain (as Dan Maxwell)
Timothy J. Maxwell	....	driver
Pat McGowean	....	driver
Peter Pantaleo	....	driver
Charles Peterson	....	driver
Donald Peterson	....	driver
Darien Reid	....	driver
Thomas R. Rosen	....	driver
Pat Serpe	....	driver
Nico Triantafilidis	....	driver (as Nick Triantafillidis)
Joe Vanis	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Alicia Accardo	....	script supervisor
Eric Armstrong	....	dialect coach
Mike Bell	....	cook
Amy Berk	....	assistant to cast
Noel Bermudez	....	production accountant
Adam Berry	....	production office assistant
Brady Breen	....	assistant location manager (as Patrick Brady Breen)
Jennifer Deigl	....	set production assistant
Sarah Ellison-Johnson	....	assistant: Jane Anderson
Hope Erickson	....	set production assistant
Christian Froude	....	payroll accountant (as Christian C. Froude)
Geoffrey Goodman	....	assistant: Cary Brokaw
Kristin Graham	....	set production assistant
P.J. Haines	....	chef
Sheri Halfon	....	production executive: Avenue Pictures Productions
Darryl Johnson	....	craft service
Martha Lafage	....	location scout (as Martha Lefage)
Mia Lee	....	assistant: Lydia Dean Pilcher
James R. McAllister	....	location manager
David Melito	....	second assistant accountant
Meghan Mowery	....	accounting clerk
Tom Nicoll	....	set production assistant (as Thomas Nicoll)
Margaret J. Orlando	....	production coordinator
Darryl Parker	....	additional craft service
Larry Powell	....	production office assistant
Terrie Quinlan	....	studio teacher
Maria C. Roxas	....	location assistant: second unit
Heather Sharpe	....	production office assistant
Tina Li Sievers	....	advisor: transgender
Tom Sullivan	....	medic
Margaret A. Thomas	....	production associate
Tim Turner	....	first assistant accountant (as Tim 'Biff' Turner)
Laurent Fauchere	....	title designer (uncredited)
James Gierman	....	location consultant (uncredited)
Paula Stier	....	additional set production assistant (uncredited)
Rebecca Thornell	....	clearance (uncredited)
Antoine Tinguely	....	title designer (uncredited)
Jakob Trollbeck	....	title designer (uncredited)

Thanks
David	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Avenue Pictures Productions (as Avenue Pictures)
• Home Box Office (HBO)

Distributors

• Home Box Office (HBO) (2003) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Net5 (2008) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• WoWow (2006) (Japan) (TV)

Special Effects

• Riot (visual effects) (as R!OT)

Other Companies

• Big Time Picture Company  Avid rentals
• CNH Tractor Assembly Plant & Foundry  special thanks
• Cast & Crew Payroll Services  payroll services (as Cast & Crew Production Services)
• Coast to Coast Catering  catering (as Coast To Coast)
• Essanay Studio & Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Illinois Film Office, The  special thanks (as The Illinois Film Commission)
• Matchframe Video  telecine and on-line editing
• Modern VideoFilm  final telecine mastering
• Negative People  negative cutting
• Northern Illinois University  special thanks
• Owen & DeSalvo Company  post-production accounting
• Pacific Title  end titles
• Pacific Title  opticals
• Panavision  camera equipment (as Panavision-Dallas)
• Reed Rigging  rigging services
• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound services
• Sonart Productions  score mixing
• Stagg Street Studios  score recorded at
• Todd-AO Studios  re-recording facilities (as Todd-AO Vine Street)
• Trollback & Company  main title design (as Trollbäck & Compäny)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

110 min | Argentina:113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Australia:MA | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

CNH Tractor Assembly Plant & Foundry, Racine, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

Avenue Pictures Productions

Trivia:

Tom Wilkinson chose not to do any research into the subject of transgenderism, as he felt that a mid-Western farmer wouldn't know anything about the subject either.

Quotes:

Patty Ann:Mom, Dad and I have the same breast size now!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Scribble

Not Just Another Transsexual Movie

Normal is a funny, lovely, touching love story about a God-fearing rural small-town Midwestern couple--Roy and Irma Applewood--played by Tom Wilkinson and Jessica Lange. Shortly after their 25th anniversay, Roy goes public with the revelation that he has long felt that he is a woman trapped in a man's body, and with the Protestant determination to do something about it, no matter the consequences. Irma (Jessica Lange), an avid knitter and member of the church choir, naturally finds this a little disconcerting.

And so the fun begins. Roy gradually becomes a woman, and Irma, as well as the kids and the townspeople, all react.

Wilkinson is a curious transsexual, shattering virtually all of our myths, he evolves from an aging, non-descript man into a still-frumpy and hopelessly homely woman. While we may feel his pain, Anderson is much more interested in challenging our reaction to him than delving into his conflicted anguish. Nevertheless, she treats his change with a certain amount of whimsy. It is difficult not to warm to his smile when he dons his first earrings.

But it is Lange who is the star of the show. Demonstrating a surprising knack for dry comedy, she moves from frustration and resentment to acceptance and compassion. Surely drawing from her own Midwestern roots (some of the move could easily have been filmed in Cloquet, Minnesota!) Lange's character never wallows in self-pity, but searches for answers within, as she seeks to redefine her relationship to her husband.

Lange once again displays her extraordinary talent. (Truth be told, she was my first crush, and she is aging beautifully.) She portrays strength and vulnerability like few in her class. (Meryl Streep comes to mind.)

Hayden Panettiere is also quite good as the 13-year-old daughter.

Normal premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.