King of the Corner (2004)

Director:

Peter Riegert

Writers:

Peter Riegert
Gerald Shapiro

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. A Comedy.

Plot:

Leo Spivak is drifting through life without a compass. His father is aging fast, his teenage daughter is rebelling...

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Peter Riegert	...	Leo Spivak
Frank Wood	...	Anthony Berenson
Jake Hoffman	...	Ed Shifman
Jayne Houdyshell	...	Louise
Marylouise Burke	...	Helen
Susan Blommaert	...	Gloria (as Susan Blommert)
Eli Wallach	...	Sol Spivak
Rita Moreno	...	Inez
Harris Yulin	...	Peter Hargrove
Isabella Rossellini	...	Rachel Spivak
Ashley Johnson	...	Elena Spivak
Mercedes Herrero	...	Dotty
Dominic Chianese	...	Stan Marshak
Judy Reyes	...	Nurse Kathleen Delehant
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Betsy Ingraham
Peter Friedman	...	Arthur Wexler
Mary Catherine Wright	...	Miriam
Jennifer Albano	...	Carolyn
Michi Barall	...	Belinda
Mara Stephens	...	Harriet
Susan Pourfar	...	Lisa
Angela Hughes	...	Joy
Cal Robertson	...	Todd
Ben Weber	...	Doctor Collins
Eric Bogosian	...	Rabbi Evelyn Fink
Penny Fuller	...	Mrs. Hargrove
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mike Getz	...	Waiter
Alecia Hurst	...	Greta Braunsweig
Phil Vos	...	Racetrack patron
Will Brunson	...	Dance Hall Patron (uncredited)
Leanne Cabrera	...	Mall Patron (uncredited)
Cristina Marie	...	Passenger (uncredited)
Denis McKeown	...	Mr. Butterworth (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Riegert

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Peter Riegert
Gerald Shapiro

Produced by
Brian Bell	....	line producer
Ericka Frederick	....	associate producer
Earnie Hooks	....	producer
Melissa Marr	....	executive producer
Anthony Mastromauro	....	co-producer
Peter Sahagen	....	executive producer
Lemore Syvan	....	producer

Original Music by
Al Kooper

Cinematography by
Mauricio Rubinstein

Film Editing by
Mario Ontal

Casting by
Cindy Tolan

Production Design by
Ben Conable

Set Decoration by
Mila Khalevich

Costume Design by
Lynn Falconer

Makeup Department
Brian Abbott	....	assistant makeup artist
Angel De Angelis	....	hair stylist: Rita Moreno
Lorraine Godfrey	....	key hair stylist
Lorraine Godfrey	....	key makeup artist
Ildiko Juhasz	....	makeup artist
Leo Won	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Luca Borghese	....	post-production supervisor
Ethan Smith	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vanessa Hoffman	....	second assistant director
Karen Kane	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Sarah Bricker	....	assistant property master
Gary Kroytor	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Sean Canada	....	sound editor
Chen Harpaz	....	sound design mixer
Hae Kyong Harpaz	....	foley artist
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer
Bryant Musgrove	....	boom operator
Aaron J. Rudelson	....	production sound mixer (as Aaron Rizzuto)

Camera and Electrical Department
Vikas Bandhu	....	camera trainee
Nicola Benizzi	....	second assistant camera
Liz Campbell	....	best boy electric
Laurie Chakel	....	additional electrician
Jesse Cory	....	company grip
Chris Dixon	....	company grip
Micah Eisenmann	....	company grip
Heidi Gutman	....	still photographer
Chan Jeon	....	best boy grip
Paul Kaye	....	gaffer
Wesley Law	....	film loader
Parris Mayhew	....	Steadicam operator
Michael Pelzman	....	still photographer
Martina Radwan	....	director of photography: second unit
Bill Scalzitti	....	additional electrician
Sandor Temlock	....	first assistant camera
Reuben Wilder	....	company grip
Melinda Ziyadat	....	video assist operator

Casting Department
Laura Cass	....	casting assistant
Katy Goodman	....	extras casting
Elyse Neiman	....	extras casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rachel Greene	....	wardrobe supervisor
Abby O'Sullivan	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Joe Gawler	....	digital intermediate colorist
Cecil Hooker	....	on-line editor
James Nichols Jr.	....	assistant editor
Christine Park	....	assistant editor
Joaquin Perez	....	assistant editor
Barry Stricke	....	apprentice editor
Stan Sztaba	....	negative matcher
Anjali Walter	....	apprentice editor

Music Department
Al Kooper	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Jennifer Alton	....	key production assistant: first team
Dean Anthony	....	set production assistant
Billy Arrowood	....	location scout
Jason Barnes	....	key production assistant
Gigi Causey	....	production co-coordinator
Monty C. Floyd	....	production assistant
Brian Goetz	....	location assistant
Jason Grechanik	....	production assistant
Kirsten Kearse	....	script supervisor
Lisa Lotti	....	production coordinator
Elyse Neiman	....	production assistant
Tristan Prescott	....	production assistant
Justin Ritson	....	production assistant
Jeremy Strong	....	assistant: Peter Riegert
Christian Zak	....	technical director

Production Companies

• Elevation Filmworks
• Ardustry Entertainment

Distributors

• Ardustry Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (video)
• Ardustry Home Entertainment (2005) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Phoenicia Pictures (2007) (Non-USA) (all media) (Middle East)
• Pursuit Films Inc.

Other Companies

• DitlevFilms  end title sequence

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and sexual references

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Goldfield, Arizona, USA

Company:

Elevation Filmworks

Trivia:

Actor/director/co-writer Peter Riegert personally took this film from town to town, showing it in theaters to build word of mouth. He would usually stay for a day or two to meet and answer audience questions after each showing of the film.

Movie Connections:

Features Solitaire (1981) (VG)

A bittersweet comedy that deserves a wider audience

First comment: People, don't forget to submit a vote with your review! I'm reading the reviews and most are excellent, and I'm wondering why the overall rating is only a 6.3. Then I see a lot of excellent reviews with NO VOTE! I assume these are counted as ZEROs in the rating.

REVIEW - I saw this movie at the Philadelphia Film Festival on 4/16/2004. I thought it was very good - both sad and funny. My favorite part was the interaction between the main character, Leo (Peter Riegert) and his father (Eli Wallach). Eric Bogosian was also very funny as the rabbi. And although her part was small, it was worth seeing how great Rita Moreno looked - Wow, she looks amazing! She made Isabella Rossellini look like a haggard old frump. The daughter was nothing special, and the weakest link was the up and coming business hot shot played by Jake Hoffman (Dustin Hoffman's son.) He was too young and goofy to play a ruthless guy moving up in the business world.

It's a shame that a bittersweet comedy like this that combines elements of different genres and can't be easily characterized as a "Drama" or a "Comedy" or a "Tearjerker" will have trouble finding an audience. Hollywood's marketing people need to do a better job of finding an audience for these films - there are tons of people who want to see movies like this, and they are too lazy to figure out how to market them. It's easy to market to teenage boys - do a little work and figure out how to reach the audience who wants to see movies like this! The only scene I thought was a little unrealistic was the scene I'll simply refer to as the "underwear" scene. As the scene was going on, I thought maybe it was going to be revealed as a dream sequence - it just seemed like such a strange and out of character thing for Leo to do.

I would love to see this movie find its rightful audience. Many people would enjoy this movie.