Freedomland (2006)

Director:

Joe Roth

Writers (WGA):

Richard Price (screenplay)
Richard Price (novel)

Release Date:

17 February 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

His Streets. His Rules.

Plot:

A black police detective must solve a strange case of a kidnapped boy and deal with a big racial protest.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Mother | Kidnapping | Missing Child | Riot

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Samuel L. Jackson	...	Lorenzo Council
Julianne Moore	...	Brenda Martin
Edie Falco	...	Karen Collucci
Ron Eldard	...	Danny Martin
William Forsythe	...	Boyle
Aunjanue Ellis	...	Felicia
Anthony Mackie	...	Billy Williams
LaTanya Richardson	...	Marie (as LaTanya Richardson Jackson)
Clarke Peters	...	Reverend Longway
Peter Friedman	...	Lt. Gold
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	Leo Sullivan
Aasif Mandvi	...	Dr. Anil Chatterjee
Philip Bosco	...	Priest
Fly Williams III	...	Rafik
Portia	...	Doreen / Rafik's Sister
Haneefah Wood	...	Vicky / Rafik's Sister
Dorian Missick	...	Jason Council
Joe Forbrich	...	Hal
Donna Cutugno	...	Elaine
Genevieve Hudson-Price	...	Tina
Calvin Hart	...	Boris (as Calvin E. Hart)
Marlon Sherman	...	Cody
Bill Walsh	...	County Sheriff
Patricia Mauceri	...	Judge
Richard Price	...	Brenda's Attorney
Catrina Ganey	...	Lorraine
Liza Colón-Zayas	...	Bea
Colman Domingo	...	Male Patient
Teodorina Bello	...	Female Patient
D.C. Benny	...	Hospital Cop
Maduka Steady	...	Hospital Cop
Jason Furlani	...	Officer Holding Hat
Chance Kelly	...	Visored Cop at Riot
Brandon Bennett	...	Young Boy / Rainbow Club
Ira Hawkins	...	Older Male Tenant
Sharon Washington	...	Rose / Female Tenant
Ernestine Jackson	...	Nurse
Santiago Socorro	...	Triage Nurse
Cheryl Wills	...	News Anchor
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Desk Sergeant (as Leonard Thomas)
Brian Dykstra	...	Blockade Cop
Jamel Scott	...	Salim
Gil Deeble	...	Angry Male Tennant
Amanda Diva Seales	...	Angry Female Tenant
Shawn Andrew	...	Skinny Male Tenant (as Shawn T. Andrews)
Jarrod Gandy	...	Boy in Front of Fire
Lawrence Cameron Steele	...	Corrections Officer (as Cameron Steele)
Jasmin Walker	...	Denise
Timothy Shannon	...	Buzzer Cop
Oscar A. Colon	...	Louis (as Oscar A. Colón)
Marisa Redanty	...	Female Reporter
Adam Kulbersh	...	Man in Crowd
Sapphire Quick	...	Rainbow Club Kid
Steven Smith II	...	Rainbow Club Kid
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rory Clarke	...	Rowdy Teen #1
Steven Moreti	...	Search Party Leader
Eric L. Abrams	...	Cop (uncredited)
Douglas J. Aguirre	...	Detective (uncredited)
Anthony Amodeo	...	Medic (uncredited)
Jonnie Brown	...	Cop in Hallway (uncredited)
Phil Campanella	...	Cop (uncredited)
Todd Carroll	...	Riot Cop (uncredited)
Dominic Colon	...	Medic (uncredited)
Shaun Paul Costello	...	Rioter (uncredited)
Cyntax	...	Gannon Resident (uncredited)
Greg D'Agostino	...	Riot Cop (uncredited)
Brandon DeLaurentiis	...	Protester (uncredited)
Robert Feeley	...	Bystander (uncredited)
Barbara Ann Ferro	...	E.R. Doctor (uncredited)
Victor Girone	...	Cop (uncredited)
Richard Gnolfo	...	Bailiff Beresford (uncredited)
Shevy Berkovits Gutierrez	...	Hospital Cop (uncredited)
James Holloway	...	Rookie Cop #1 (uncredited)
Alonzo F. Jones	...	Doctor (uncredited)
John Lanzillotto	...	Vietnam Veteran (uncredited)
Chris Margaritis	...	Dog Handler / K-9 Unit (uncredited)
David McDaniel	...	Gannon Cop (uncredited)
Dolores McDougal	...	Search Party Member (uncredited)
Shareef McIntosh	...	Extra (uncredited)
Lisa Marie Palmieri	...	Gannon Resident (uncredited)
Loukas Papas	...	Search Party Member (uncredited)
Gloria Parks	...	Civic Leader (uncredited)
Anthony M. Pizzuto	...	Armstrong Resident (uncredited)
Jackie Quinones	...	Featured (uncredited)
Michael Rady	...	(uncredited)
Anslem Richardson	...	Rookie Cop (uncredited)
Julia Roth	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Jesus Ruiz	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Thomas Russo	...	Cop (uncredited)
Michalina Scorzelli	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Cassandra Seidenfeld	...	Armstrong Tennant (uncredited)
Rose Sias	...	Tenant #11 (uncredited)
Justin Smith	...	Tenant (uncredited)
Brian Smyj	...	Cop (uncredited)
Ronald Sylvers	...	Search Party Member (uncredited)
Rebecca Thomas	...	Volunteer (uncredited)
Bill Walters	...	Searcher (uncredited)
Marc Yarrish	...	Inmate (uncredited)

Directed by
Joe Roth

Writing credits (WGA)
Richard Price		(screenplay)
Richard Price		(novel)

Produced by
Richard Baratta	....	co-producer
Charles Newirth	....	executive producer
Scott Rudin	....	producer

Original Music by
James Newton Howard

Cinematography by
Anastas N. Michos		(director of photography) (as Anastas Michos)

Film Editing by
Nick Moore

Casting by
Margery Simkin

Production Design by
David Wasco

Art Direction by
Patricia Woodbridge

Set Decoration by
Carolyn Cartwright
Sandy Reynolds-Wasco

Costume Design by
Michelle Matland
Ann Roth

Makeup Department
Allan A. Apone	....	makeup artist: Mr. Jackson
Nathan J. Busch II	....	department head hair stylist (as Nathan Busch II)
Joseph A. Campayno	....	makeup artist
Anita Gibson	....	department head makeup
Craig Lindberg	....	third makeup artist
Elaine L. Offers	....	makeup artist: Ms. Moore (as Elaine Offers)
Jackie Payne	....	key hair stylist
Lyndell Quiyou	....	hair stylist: Ms. Moore
Robert L. Stevenson	....	hair stylist: Mr. Jackson (as Robert Louis Stevenson)
Victoria Wood	....	wig maker: Samuel Jackson

Production Management
Richard Baratta	....	unit production manager
Gail Laskowski	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
H.H. Cooper	....	first assistant director
Karen Davis	....	second assistant director
Daniel Fernandez	....	dga trainee
Anthony Hemingway	....	first assistant director: second unit (as Anthony M. Hemingway)
Mark C. Hutchinson	....	additional second assistant director
Charles Newirth	....	second unit director
Dale M. Nielsen	....	second second assistant director (as Dale Pierce Nielsen)
Tom Razzano	....	additional second assistant director

Art Department
Toni Barton	....	assistant art director
Steve Brennan	....	props
Eric Bryant	....	graphic designer
Philip Canfield	....	leadman
Shannon Canfield	....	set dresser
William J. Canfield	....	set dresser
Kevin Deckert	....	scenic artist
David R. Evans	....	art department researcher
Brent Godek	....	props
David Gulick	....	property master
Peter Hackman	....	paint foreman
Doug Huszti	....	assistant art director
Dierdre Kane	....	on-set dresser
Heather Danielle Kane	....	assistant property master
Julie Marr	....	scenic artist
Barbra Matis	....	assistant art director
Alexandra Mazur	....	assistant set decorator
Vanessa Merrill	....	art department assistant: graphics
Ken Nelson	....	construction coordinator
Addison Pettit	....	graphic designer
James Sadek	....	shop craft foreman
Amy Safhay	....	key greensperson
Sophia Vasilakis	....	shop scenic
Alyson Wellins	....	art department coordinator
Patrick Johnson	....	construction grip (uncredited)
Ginny Walsh	....	greens foreman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Michael Barosky	....	sound mixer
Mark Binder	....	sound effects editor
Thom Brennan	....	supervising foley editor
Eddie Bydalek	....	sound mix technician
Benjamin Cheah	....	sound effects recordist
Mike Chock	....	sound effects editor
Mark Coffey	....	digital sound assistant
Julie Feiner	....	dialogue editor
Ken Fischer	....	sound effects editor
Tom Fleischman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tom Fleischman	....	supervising sound mixer
Donald Flick	....	sound effects editor
Kevin Globerman	....	digital recordist
Avram D. Gold	....	adr editor
Pamela Kahn	....	foley artist
John Kwiatkowski	....	dialogue editor
Mary Jo Lang	....	foley mixer
Craig Mann	....	sound recordist
Daniel McIntosh	....	production sound mixer: second unit
Scott Morgan	....	foley recordist
Piero Mura	....	sound effects editor
Josephine Nericcio	....	first assistant sound editor (as Josie Nericcio)
Myron Nettinga	....	sound re-recording mixer
Myron Nettinga	....	supervising sound mixer
John Roesch	....	foley artist
George Simpson	....	supervising sound editor
Kira Smith	....	utility sound technician
Christopher T. Welch	....	adr dialogue supervisor (as Christopher Welch)
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist

Special Effects by
J.C. Brotherhood	....	special effects supervisor
Melissa L. Brown	....	special effects technician
Chris Jordan	....	special effects coordinator
Johann Kunz	....	special effects technician
Peter Kunz	....	special effects coordinator
Morgan Pitts	....	special effects technician
Andy Weder	....	special effects coordinator (as Andrew Weder)

Visual Effects by
Glenn Allen	....	compositing supervisor: & Company
Kelly Bumbarger	....	senior compositor: R!OTt
Patrick Clancey	....	digital opticals
Carole Cowley	....	visual effects executive producer: R!OT
Michael Eaves	....	digital color timer (as Mike Eaves)
Mark Freund	....	visual effects supervisor: Pacific Title & Art Studio
Richard Friedlander	....	visual effects producer: & Company
Chris Gelles	....	visual effects executive producer: & Company
David Isyomin	....	visual effects supervisor: & Company
Alejandro Perez	....	dustbuster
Carla Sierra	....	production coordinator: R!OT
Danita Slaughter	....	digital opticals editor
Sean Wilson	....	inferno compositor: R!OT
Scott Winston	....	digital artist: & Company
Thomas Mathai	....	data manager (uncredited)

Stunts
G.A. Aguilar	....	stunt coordinator (as George Aguilar)
Bill Anagnos	....	stunt driver
Chris Barnes	....	stunts
Bobby Beckles	....	stunts
Christiana Blain	....	stunts
Jill Brown	....	stunts
Scott Burik	....	stunts
Jared Burke	....	stunts
Nicole Callender	....	stunts
Nicole Callender	....	utility stunts
John Cenatiempo	....	stunts
Rory Clarke	....	stunt double: Clarke Peters
Liisa Cohen	....	stunts
Bob Colletti	....	stunts
George B. Colucci Jr.	....	stunts (as George B. Colucci)
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunts
William Cote	....	stunt performer
Geoffrey Dowell	....	stunt double
Peter Epstein	....	stunts
Jeffrey Lee Gibson	....	stunts (as Jeff Gibson)
Gene Harrison	....	stunt performer
Cort Hessler	....	stunts
Donald John Hewitt	....	stunts
Tim Lajcik	....	stunts
Curtis Lyons	....	stunts
Carmel Macklin	....	stunt performer
Tim McAdams	....	stunts
Tina Mckissick	....	stunts
Angela Meryl	....	utility stunts
Stephen A. Pope	....	assistant stunt coordinator (as Stephen Pope)
Stephen A. Pope	....	stunts (as Stephen Pope)
Jodi Michelle Pynn	....	stunts (as Jodi Pynn)
Shabazz Ray	....	stunt double (as Shabazz Richardson)
Jeremy Sample	....	stunts
Rose Sias	....	stunt performer
Derrick Simmons	....	stunts
Tyree Michael Simpson	....	stunt cop
Manny Siverio	....	stunt performer
Brian Smyj	....	stunts
Erik Solky	....	stunts
Jay Spadaro	....	stunt performer
Shawnna Thibodeau	....	stunt performer
Aaron Vexler	....	stunts
Anthony Vincent	....	stunts
Douglas Crosby	....	assistant stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Hans Bjerno	....	aerial director of photography
Matt Blades	....	dolly grip
Eric Boncher	....	electrician
Brian Carmichael	....	video assist operator
David M. Carr	....	rigging grip
Alisa M. Colley	....	second assistant camera
Justin Corbett	....	grip
Kevin Flynn	....	key rigging grip
Richie Ford	....	rigging gaffer
Richard Girolami Jr.	....	rigging electrician
Craig Haagensen	....	director of photography: second unit
Adam Johnson	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Chris Kilduff	....	grip
Frank Masi	....	still photographer
Paul C. McKenna	....	crane technician: Technocrane
Daniel Moder	....	camera operator
William D. Moran	....	grip
Ed Nessen	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Heather Norton	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Bill O'Leary	....	gaffer
Justin Panzanaro	....	rigging grip
Louis Petraglia	....	rigging electric best boy
Balint Pinczehelyi	....	best boy rigging grip
Tom Prate	....	key grip
Julie Retzlaff	....	camera production assistant
John Romer	....	film loader
Michael Rudolph	....	electrician
Nat Russell	....	rigging grip
Lance Shepherd	....	rigging electrician
Craig Simpson	....	grip
Robert Vuolo	....	electrician
Paul Goroff	....	super technocrane operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Katja Blichfeld	....	casting associate
Lee Genick	....	extras casting: New York
Carrie Leigh	....	extras casting associate
Tuffy Questell	....	extras casting
Serena Rosario	....	extras casting assistant
Ruth Salen	....	casting associate
Ra-Ra Taylor	....	extras casting assistant
Ali Merhi	....	casting associate (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Natalie Arango	....	costumer
Ghilaine Bouadana	....	costumer
Emily Gunshor	....	costume production assistant
Melissa Haley	....	costume department coordinator
Askia Won-Ling Jacob	....	costumer: Mr. Jackson
Donna Maloney	....	costume supervisor
Carmia Marshall	....	background costumer
David Paulin	....	costume ager/dyer
Amy Roth	....	costume supervisor
Susan J. Wright	....	costumer: Julianne Moore

Editorial Department
Julian Andraus	....	assistant editor: avid
Steve Calalang	....	dailies colorist
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Samuel Huh	....	editorial production assistant
John P. Husky	....	apprentice editor
Mike Jackson	....	first assistant editor
Chris Jensen	....	digital colorist assist
Martha Pike	....	digital intermediate editor
Chris Regan	....	color timer
Lorene Simpson	....	digital intermediate producer
Micah Levin	....	post-production assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Pete Anthony	....	conductor
Jeff Atmajian	....	orchestrator
Chris Bacon	....	score technical assistant (as Chris P. Bacon)
Jeffrey Biggers	....	assistant score engineer
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Sandy DeCrescent	....	music contractor (as Sandy De Crescent)
Mark Graham	....	music librarian
Scott Hosfeld	....	musician
Alex Kharlamov	....	music programmer
Aaron Martin	....	technical music coordinator
Alan Meyerson	....	music scoring mixer
Alan Meyerson	....	score recordist
David Olson	....	music editor
Justin Reeve	....	music coordinator
Peter Rotter	....	orchestra contractor
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Stuart Michael Thomas	....	scoring assistant
Greg Vines	....	score mixing assistant
Jim Weidman	....	supervising music editor
Mel Wesson	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
Christopher Weippert	....	driver

Other crew
Carlos A. Acosta	....	location assistant
Joan Altman	....	production accountant
Ethan Anderson	....	production assistant
Mary Bailey	....	continuity
Mary Bailey	....	script supervisor
Monica Barraza	....	assistant production office coordinator
Jonathan Bernier	....	production assistant
Maria T. Bierniak	....	location manager: pre-production
Mirashyam Blakeslee	....	production assistant
Matt Carr	....	production assistant
Felix Chen	....	payroll accountant
Kyle Cooper	....	title designer
Ana Cuadra	....	production assistant
Roberto De Jesus	....	production assistant
John DeSimone	....	production coordinator
Michael Diliberti	....	assistant: Mr. Rudin
Kat Donahue	....	location coordinator
Brother Eden Douglas	....	photo double (as Brother Douglas)
Jules Eggli	....	production assistant
Ryan Ferguson	....	location assistant
McCord Fitzsimmons	....	production assistant
Jesse Fox Chaney	....	additional production assistant (as Jesse Chaney)
Damon Michael Gordon	....	assistant location manager
Abi Jackson	....	location assistant
Aaron Janus	....	assistant: Mr. Rudin
Kate Johnson	....	accounting production assistant
Arif S. Kinchen	....	voice looping: multiple voices
Seth Kleinberg	....	associate producer: main titles
Julie Kuehndorf	....	unit publicist
Kirstin Liu	....	office production assistant
Zakiya Lucas	....	production assistant
Melanie Lopes Lumelleau	....	accounting clerk
Lynn Matsumoto	....	assistant: Ms. Falco
Dan McCann	....	assistant: Ms. Moore
Patrick McDonald	....	key set production assistant
Rob Muia	....	shop foreman
Rob Muia	....	stage manager
Desmond Osei	....	additional set production assistant
Derek Pastures	....	parking coordinator
John Perez	....	location scout
Kia Perry	....	production assistant
Cory Poccia	....	office production assistant
Pam Prichard	....	stand-in: Julianne Moore
Shabazz Ray	....	stand-in: Samuel L. Jackson (as Shabazz Richardson)
K. Frazier Robinson	....	assistant to writer
Ulises Rodriguez	....	office production assistant
Jonathan Roumie	....	location scout
Andrew Saxe	....	location scout
Stephen Schuster	....	title designer: main titles
Mira Shin	....	assistant: Mr. Rudin
Pat Sones	....	assistant location manager
Rodney Tait	....	location assistant
Leonard L. Thomas	....	assistant: Mr. Jackson (as Leonard Thomas)
Thomas J. Whelan	....	location manager
Ani Williams	....	production assistant
Jelani Atu Wilson	....	location assistant
Marisa Wu	....	location assistant
Tasha Zamsky	....	animal trainer
Andrew Zee	....	assistant: Mr. Newirth
Thomas Maxwell	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Alexander Zweig	....	assistant to head writer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Revolution Studios (presents)
• Scott Rudin Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• CW Television Network (2011) (USA) (TV)
• Buena Vista International (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (2006) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• FS Film Oy (2006) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Falcon (2006) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-Ray)
• SF Film (2006) (Denmark) (all media)
• SF Film (2006) (Sweden) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• & Company (visual effects)
• R!ot Pictures (visual effects)
• Technicolor Creative Services (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color
• EFilm  digital intermediate
• Jo Anne Kane Music Services  music preparation (as JoAnn Kane Music Service)
• Orbit Digital  Avids
• Panavision  cameras and lenses
• Paws for Effect  animals by
• Prologue Films  main titles designed and produced by (as Prologue)
• Remote Control Productions Inc.  score mixed at
• Sony Pictures Studios  score recorded at (as Barbara Streisand Scoring Stage, Sony Pictures Studios)
• Sylvia Fay/Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting
• Technicolor Creative Services  digital motion picture laboratory services
• Technicolor Weddington  sound services
• Todd-AO Studios (West)  sound re-recording
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violent content

Runtime:

113 min | Philippines:112 min (cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:11 | Finland:K-15 | USA:R (certificate #41466) | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

Michael Winterbottom was the original director and did extensive work before leaving this project.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The movie is set in 1999, but there is a child wearing a G-Unit pullover in the initial police lock-down scene. G-Unit did not come into being until 2003.

Quotes:

Leo Sulivan:Let go and let God.

Movie Connections:

Features "Wheel of Fortune" (1983)

Two strong performances can't save this weak melodrama

Detective Lorenzo Council (Samuel Jackson) must separate the truth from the lies when a troubled woman (Julianne Moore) shows up at the emergency room claiming that a black man from the projects carjacked her, taking her 4-year-old son, who was sleeping in the back seat.

Freedomland is a disappointing film that fails to take advantage of its talented cast and intriguing premise. The movie fails because Joe Roth is a terrible director. He tries to handle a bunch of different issues and he just doesn't mix them very well. He also introduces different characters and subplots but he doesn't build on them. Also, for a movie tackling serious issues, it was pretty unrealistic. The whole lock-down scenario was completely over the top and unnecessary. The kidnapping story had a bunch of holes and the way the cops handled the situation was pretty irresponsible. All the characters were stereotypes and most of them were unlikable. There were a lot of scenes dealing with racism but the film never actually dealt with them or settled them. The ending was total letdown and very little was actually settled, making the whole movie experience pointless.

The acting is the film's only strong point with Samuel L. Jackson giving the best performance. His performance felt a little familiar but it was still effective and his emotions never felt forced. Julianne Moore went completely over the top with her performance. She was annoying and completely unrealistic. Also, it was hard to feel sorry for her character because she was so unlikable and her actions were just terrible. Edie Falco came out of nowhere and she gave a pretty moving performance. She played the only likable character in the film and it was easy to feel sorry for her. The rest of the supporting actors were below average and no one else broke out.

Along with the acting, there were a few other good things about the film. There were a couple of engaging scenes that could have been better if the director had built on them. The script was also decent and it could have been turned into a good film. The movie also had an interesting style to it and at least it sort of engages the viewer. While the film was pretty messy, it held my attention until the end. Of course, the performances helped with that but the storyline had a chance to build. Unfortunately, it didn't and the movie ends with a whimper. In the end, Freedomland is an annoying melodrama with very few redeeming qualities. Rating 4/10