A Cinderella Story (2004)

Director:

Mark Rosman

Writer (WGA):

Leigh Dunlap (written by)

Release Date:

16 July 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Romance

Tagline:

Once upon a time... can happen any time.

Plot:

Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Sam Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance.

Plot Keywords:

Dance | Halloween | Internet | Cinderella Story | Legs

Awards:

6 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Hilary Duff	...	Sam Montgomery
Jennifer Coolidge	...	Fiona
Chad Michael Murray	...	Austin Ames
Dan Byrd	...	Carter Farrell
Regina King	...	Rhonda
Julie Gonzalo	...	Shelby Cummings
Lin Shaye	...	Mrs. Wells
Madeline Zima	...	Brianna
Andrea Avery	...	Gabriella
Mary Pat Gleason	...	Eleanor
Paul Rodriguez	...	Bobby
Whip Hubley	...	Hal Montgomery
Kevin Kilner	...	Andy Ames
Erica Hubbard	...	Madison
Simon Helberg	...	Terry Anderson
Brad Bufanda	...	David
JD Pardo	...	Ryan
Aimee-Lynn Chadwick	...	Campus D.J. (as Aimee Lynn Chadwick)
Kady Cole	...	Caitlin
Hannah Robinson	...	Young Sam Montgomery
Josh Prince	...	Swim Coach
Art LaFleur	...	Football Coach (as Art La Fleur)
James Eckhouse	...	Mr. Farrell
Jonathan Slavin	...	Vernon
John Billingsley	...	Mr. Rothman
Lilli Babb	...	Young Gabriella
Carlie Westerman	...	Young Brianna
Mike Randleman	...	Chuck
Christie Herring	...	Bachelorette #1
Lindsay Hollister	...	Bachelorette #2
Taylor Hoover	...	Beautiful Bachelorette
Brittany Weber	...	Bachelorette
Darryl Sivad	...	District Attorney
Rita Bland	...	Rollerskating Waitress #1 (as Rita Maye Bland)
Keli Murphy	...	Rollerskating Waitress #2
Alexis Raich	...	Girl at Car Wash
Sabin Rich	...	Locker Guy
Sandra McCoy	...	Cheerleader / Dancer #1
Julianne Waters	...	Cheerleader / Dancer #2
Karen Elmore	...	Cheerleader / Dancer #3
Stella Choe	...	Cheerleader / Dancer #4
Jessie Rice-Holiday	...	Cheerleader / Dancer #5
Cricket Hamar	...	Cheerleader / Dancer #6
Shannon Novak	...	Cheerleader / Dancer #7
Oscar Orosco	...	Fighting Frog Mascot
Jason Beitel	...	Halloween Dancer
Kato Bonner	...	Halloween Dancer
Carol Borjas	...	Halloween Dancer
Reshma Gajjar	...	Halloween Dancer
Molly Gosline	...	Halloween Dancer
Hunter Hamilton	...	Halloween Dancer
Richard Jackson	...	Halloween Dancer
Trey Knight	...	Halloween Dancer
Jonathan Ritter	...	Halloween Dancer
Jenny Seeger	...	Halloween Dancer
Becca Sweitzer	...	Halloween Dancer
Melanie A. Gage	...	Dancer (as Melanie Gage)
Jolene Riella	...	Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jason Dottley	...	(voice)
Elle Bennett	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Joe Jagatic	...	Wedding Photographer (uncredited)
Lon Michael Lee	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Tarah Paige	...	Featured Dancer (uncredited)
Danielle Riffenburgh	...	Go-Go Dancer (uncredited)
Rory Thost	...	Young Carter Farrell (uncredited)
John H. Tobin	...	Dad at Carwash (uncredited)
Toni Wynne	...	Kitty (uncredited)

Directed by
Mark Rosman

Writing credits (WGA)
Leigh Dunlap		(written by)

Produced by
Susan Duff	....	co-executive producer
Keith Giglio	....	executive producer
Ilyssa Goodman	....	producer
Peter Greene	....	executive producer
Hunt Lowry	....	producer
Michael I. Rachmil	....	executive producer (as Michael Rachmil)
Troy Rowland	....	associate producer
Dylan Sellers	....	producer
Clifford Werber	....	producer

Original Music by
Christophe Beck

Cinematography by
Anthony B. Richmond

Film Editing by
Cara Silverman

Casting by
Sarah Finn		(as Sarah Halley Finn)
Randi Hiller

Production Design by
Charles William Breen		(as Charles Breen)

Art Direction by
Gary Diamond

Set Decoration by
Jeffrey Kushon

Costume Design by
Denise Wingate

Makeup Department
Linda Arnold	....	key hair stylist
Jennifer Aspinall	....	makeup artist: Jennifer Coolidge (as Jennifer Aspinal)
Sean Flanigan	....	hair stylist
Lydia Milars	....	makeup department head
Ned Neidhardt	....	key makeup artist
Joseph Regina	....	makeup artist
Nacoma Whobrey	....	assistant makeup artist
Julie M. Woods	....	hair stylist (as Julie Woods)

Production Management
Ravi D. Mehta	....	executive in charge of production
Robin Mulcahy Fisichella	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Daniel Silverberg	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Mike Blaze	....	property master (as Michael Blaze)
Pam Brockel	....	painter
Angela Cimarusti	....	painter
Stan Cockerell	....	assistant property master
Jann K. Engel	....	set designer
Joey Genitempo	....	paint foreman
Brandon S. Gilgen	....	painter
L. David Gordon	....	drapery foreman
Robert Grbavac	....	painter
Guy Hietala	....	stand-by painter
Lita Isumu	....	painter
Melanie Mahoney	....	painter gang boss
Michael Marcus	....	art designer
Tom Miller	....	property master (as Thomas Miller)
Art Morales	....	painter
Sarah Emily Nelson	....	art department coordinator
Anthony Palazzo	....	painter
Patrick Paniagua	....	decorator gang boss
Jimmy Rudon	....	art department assistant
Greg Sanger	....	second leadman
Matt Sazzman	....	carpenter
Bryan Turk	....	propmaker foreman
Daniel Turk	....	construction coordinator (as Dan Turk)
Larry J. White II	....	leadman
Tracy Wood	....	decorator gang boss

Sound Department
Christopher S. Aud	....	supervising sound editor
Ron Bartlett	....	sound re-recording mixer
Adam Blantz	....	second boom operator
Adam Blantz	....	utility sound
Jose R. Castellon	....	re-recording engineer: Spanish and Brazilian
Eric Flickinger	....	sound recordist
Terry Garcia	....	assistant sound editor
Tom Hartig	....	boom operator
David Jobe	....	foley mixer
Adam Johnston	....	sound effects editor
Lisa J. Levine	....	supervising adr editor
Mark L. Mangino	....	dialogue editor
Mike Markiw	....	sound intern
Michael W. Mitchell	....	sound effects editor
Mark Smith	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jody Thomas	....	foley artist
Mark Ulano	....	production sound mixer
Linda Lew	....	foley recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Rene Diamante	....	special effects technician
John C. Hartigan	....	special effects coordinator (as John Hartigan)
Chris Walkowiak	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Jeremy Appelbaum	....	digital artist
James Coulter	....	digital artist: Digital Dimension
Jason Crosby	....	digital artist: Digital Dimension
Rif Dagher	....	digital effects artist
Chris DeCristo	....	digital compositor: CBS Digital
Eric Durst	....	visual effects supervisor
Mitch Gates	....	digital effects artist: Digital Dimension
Claire Gerety-Mott	....	visual effects assistant
Benoit Girard	....	visual effects supervisor: Digital Dimension
Adam Holmes	....	digital effects artist
Harimander Singh Khalsa	....	digital effects artist (as Michael Cashore)
Allan McKay	....	technical director
Justin Mitchell	....	digital effects artist
Jerome Morin	....	visual effects producer: Digital Dimension
Andrew Roberts	....	digital effects artist: Digital Dimension
Daniel Rubin	....	digital compositor
Wendy Ruiz	....	visual effects coordinator
Mark G. Soper	....	visual effects producer
Marion Spates	....	digital effects artist: Digital Dimension
Tammy Sutton	....	digital compositor
Tammy Sutton	....	rotoscope and paint supervisor: Digital Dimension
Leandro Visconti	....	compositor: Digital Dimension
Christian Zurcher	....	visual effects
Jim Rothrock	....	look development technical director (uncredited)
Chris B. Schnitzer	....	visual effects production supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Nicole Basanda	....	stunts
Maria Coloroso	....	stunt double: Andrea Avery
Richard Epper	....	stunt driver
Debbie Evans	....	stunt driver
Andy Gill	....	stunt driver
Meegan Godfrey	....	stunt performer
Mark Kubr	....	stunts
Anthony Molinari	....	stunts
Joette Nichole Orman	....	stunt double (as Nichole Orman)
Marc Scizak	....	stunt double
Brandon Sebek	....	stunt double
Nancy Thurston	....	stunt double
Eddie Yansick	....	stunt coordinator
Greg Anthony	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Dan Lemieux	....	assistant stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Bill Willens	....	precision driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael D. Alvarez	....	film loader
Ron Batzdorff	....	still photographer
Gregory Beard	....	grip
Patrick Beatty	....	grip
Tyger Belton	....	assistant camera: "a" camera
Vincent Contarino	....	dimmer board operator
Chris Cuevas	....	second assistant camera
Donald D. Davidson	....	electrician
Damon Doherty	....	key rigging grip
Matt Floyd	....	rigging grip
Jimmy Harritos	....	electrician
Larry Huff	....	grip
Josh Levy	....	video assist operator
Dan Ming	....	additional first assistant camera
Luis Moreno	....	electrician
Mike Moyer	....	chief lighting technician
George Richmond	....	Steadicam operator
George Richmond	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Mike Satrazemis	....	camera operator
Bob Snowdon	....	grip
David J. White II	....	first camera assistant
Steven J. Winslow	....	aerial camera technician: Wescam camera
Andy Young	....	best boy rigging grip
Jeremiah Spinney	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jennifer Bender	....	extras casting
Courtney Gross	....	casting associate
Mariann H.W. Lee	....	extras casting
Erika Sellin	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anita Cabada	....	assistant costume designer
John Casey	....	costume supervisor
Linda S. Cormany	....	key costumer
Stephen Oh	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Daniel Boccoli	....	assistant editor
Chris DeLaGuardia	....	color timer (as Chris De La Guardia)
Larry Flynn	....	color timer
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Lara Khachooni	....	assistant editor
Christopher Kroll	....	first assistant editor
Bill Daly	....	post-production executive (uncredited)
Kevin L. James	....	post production executive (uncredited)

Music Department
Pete Anthony	....	conductor
Debra Baum	....	music supervisor (as Debra A. Baum)
Thomas Bergersen	....	orchestrator (as Thomas J. Bergersen)
George Doering	....	musician
Mark Graham	....	music librarian
Andrew Kaiser	....	orchestrator
Will Kaplan	....	music editor
Kevin Kliesch	....	orchestrator
Peter Rotter	....	orchestra contractor
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Casey Stone	....	music scoring mixer
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn

Transportation Department
Rod Bearden	....	transportation coordinator
Neil Marshall	....	driver: honeywagon
Harold L. Woods	....	driver generator operator

Other crew
Robin Anderson	....	script supervisor
Liz Biber	....	publicist
Matthew B. Chamberlin	....	key assistant location manager
Mike Crotty	....	production assistant
Heather Dennis	....	assistant: Mark Rosman
Heather I. Denton	....	extras coordinator
Enfys Dickinson	....	creative producer
Brian Ellerd	....	production assistant
John Formichella	....	assistant: Clifford Werber
Evan Gaines	....	office intern
Laura Gary	....	studio teacher
Marc C. Geschwind	....	extras coordinator
Jason Gondek	....	production accountant
Chris Hogenson	....	assistant: Dylan Sellers
Michelle Johnston	....	choreographer
Krystine Karns	....	assistant: Michael Rachmil
Aileen Kiernan	....	assistant: Hunt Lowry
Nicole Kreuzer	....	stand-in: Jennifer Coolidge
Sandy Lizaola-Hernandez	....	physical production coordinator
James E. Maddux	....	water safety
Susan Magee	....	second accountant
Eddie Merino	....	key assistant location manager
Patrick Mignano	....	location manager
Joe Morganella	....	production assistant
Jess Nunez	....	payroll accountant
Ron Pekkala	....	production medic
Sally Potters	....	production assistant
Dara Resnik Creasey	....	assistant: Mark Rosman (as Dara Resnik)
Christina Rollo	....	production coordinator
Stephen Roome	....	stand-in: Chad Michael Murray
Troy Rowland	....	dialogue coach
Julia M. Sauder	....	assistant production coordinator (as Julia Sauder)
Diana Taffolla	....	second accountant
Donna Tegan	....	set production assistant
Craig Vegas	....	production assistant
Catherine Petra Villalobos	....	production assistant
Olivia Wachsberger	....	consultant: princess
Tomoko Yamamoto	....	first accountant
Jimmy Zelinger	....	title designer
Carey Goldstein	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Thanks
Mitchell Klebanoff	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents)
• Gaylord Films
• Clifford Werber Productions
• Dylan Sellers Productions (in association with)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Karo Premiere (2004) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Sogefilms S.A. (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment (2004) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Net5 (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (DVD) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Digital Dimension (visual effects)
• Pacific Title (opticals)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Direct Tools & Fasteners  expendables
• Finn-Hiller Casting  casting
• Hollywood Records  soundtrack published by
• Pacific Title  opticals
• Panavision  cameras and lenses

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language and innuendo

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English | German | Czech

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:G | Finland:K-7 | Germany:o.Al. | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #40835) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:12 | Sweden:Btl (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

1272 E Calaveras St. Altadena, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

Jennifer Coolidge's fake fingernails had to be attached with tape because she is allergic to glue.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the baseball scene you can see the baseball has a face sketched on it before he places it in the pitching machine

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sam:Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, lived a beautiful little girl and her widowed father.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Robot Chicken: Toy Meets Girl (#1.11)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Coming Right Back

Modernized for a new fairy tale generation!

I have said before and I will confess again, I am just a sucker for the Disney cutesy live action movies. Princess Diaries, Freaky Friday, Parent Trap. They are predictable but always fun and light hearted and humorous. It's a recipe for film that has worked for Disney far longer than any of us care to think about. In saying that I am not a Hillary Duff fan, although she seems multi talented, her characters never change and her scope as an actress will seemingly be limited to Lizzie McGuire for the rest of her career.

A Cinderella Story is exactly what one would expect. It's a retelling of the old classic fairy tale with the modern day twist but director Mark Rosman, who has really nothing to claim fame to does a terrific job at truly modernizing the story without coming across as stupid or blatantly obvious. Duff plays Sam, a girl who's father is tragically taken from her after marrying a wicked woman played perfectly hideously by Jennifer Coolidge, you can't help but despise her in this role. She is accompanied by her two daughters, Brianna and Gabriella who are spoiled little brats that like to make Sam's life a living hell. Sam's "wicked stepmother" takes over Sam's father's pride of joy, his diner and turns into her own little cash cow while keeping her late husband's staff on to torture them. She always makes Sam grind her fingers to the bone in between school classes working in the diner. Sam has an online boyfriend whom she's never met, there is a school dance in which he wants to meet her, he turns out to be Mr. Popular, she sneaks out having to be back at the diner for twelve before her stepmother finds out. The rest of the story unfolds as you might expect.

As with all live action cutesy Disney type films, the cast shines...yes even Duff. She's too goody for her own good which works in this case as you feel sorry for her. Her surrogate family, the diner staff are delightful and funny and they help us root for the underdog. Rhonda played by Regina King, who has been some great family movies ie: Mighty Joe Young, and Daddy Day Care is perfect as Sam's protector and Fairy Godmother you might say?? And Chad Michael Murray is great as her Saviour and Prince Charming. The best part of this film is the way the retelling is handled. It's not done in such a way that you are blatantly watching another rehashing of an old fairy tale but rather handled delicately and done in such a modern way that you think to yourself "Hey that's almost like Cinderella." You actually feel for each character the way you are supposed to feel, and you want to see each and every one get what they deserve and incidentally they all do which leaves you satisfied and happy with the film.

This movie won't rake in any critical acclaim but it's fun and you'll enjoy it if you like this style of movie. I suggest checking it out!! 7/10