Pretty Persuasion (2005)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Marcos Siega

Writer:

Skander Halim (writer)

Release Date:

25 May 2006 (South Africa)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Evil comes in a school uniform.

Plot:

A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Drama Teacher | High School | Lesbian | Trial

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Evan Rachel Wood	...	Kimberly Joyce
David Wagner	...	Morgan (as David T. Wagner)
Brent Goldberg	...	Rick
Adi Schnall	...	Randa
Elisabeth Harnois	...	Brittany
Stark Sands	...	Troy
Jane Krakowski	...	Emily Klein
Michael Hitchcock	...	Headmaster Charles Meyer
Danny Comden	...	Roger Nicholl
Jaime King	...	Kathy Joyce
Josh Zuckerman	...	Josh Horowitz
James Snyder	...	Dave
Ron Livingston	...	Percy Anderson
Cody McMains	...	Kenny
Mike Erwin	...	Barry
James Woods	...	Hank Joyce
Ira David Wood IV	...	Martin Stivers (as Ira Wood)
Selma Blair	...	Grace Anderson
Johnny Lewis	...	Warren Prescott
David C. Taylor	...	Carlyle Cream
Lisa Arturo	...	Stephanie Swift
Shanna Olson	...	Tiffany Minx
Alex Désert	...	Joe (Security Guard)
Tina Holmes	...	Nadine
Perry Hayes	...	Sound Guy
Christopher Thornton	...	Emmett Friedman
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Judge Carl Munro
Deprece Reddick	...	Sudan
Robert Joy	...	Larry Horowitz
Julie Wittner	...	First Bystander
Aydiee Vaughn	...	Second Bystander (as Aydiee' Vaughn)
Navid Negahban	...	Mr. Azzouni
Veena Bidasha	...	Mrs. Azzouni
Octavia Spencer	...	Woman
Angelo Spizzirri	...	Cody
Harley	...	Bobo, the Dog
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Monty Buckles	...	Kimberly's brother
Jake Hanover	...	Jury Member
Michael Kozak	...	Reuben
Kim Argetsinger	...	High School Girl (uncredited)
Tim Coston	...	Stenographer (uncredited)
Alexis Krause	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Jessica Landon	...	School girl (uncredited)
Amber Matthews	...	High School Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Marcos Siega

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Skander Halim		writer

Produced by
Jason Barhydt	....	executive producer
Todd Dagres	....	producer
Skander Halim	....	co-producer
Eric Kopeloff	....	executive producer
Carl Levin	....	producer
Robert Ortiz	....	executive producer
Robert Ortiz	....	line producer
Jamey Pryde	....	co-producer
Marcos Siega	....	producer
Sigurjon Sighvatsson	....	executive producer (as Joni Sighvatsson)
Happy Walters	....	executive producer
Matt Weaver	....	producer (as Matthew Weaver)

Original Music by
Gilad Benamram

Cinematography by
Ramsey Nickell		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Nicholas Erasmus

Casting by
Barbara Fiorentino
Joseph Middleton

Production Design by
Paul Oberman

Costume Design by
Danny Glicker

Makeup Department
Daniel Curet	....	hair department head
Brigitte Hennech	....	additional makeup artist
Rudolfo Icezalaya Hernandez	....	additional hair stylist
Miia Kovero	....	additional hair stylist
Renate Leuschner	....	wig maker
Judy Lovell	....	makeup department head
Geoffrey Rodriguez	....	assistant makeup artist
Nancy Stimac	....	key hair stylist (as Nancy G. Stimac)
Ellen Vieira	....	additional makeup artist

Production Management
Marjorie Ergas	....	production supervisor
Jamey Pryde	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Max Day	....	assistant director
Maximillian D. Day	....	first assistant director
Richard Gonzales	....	second second assistant director
Carla R. Ponzio	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Robert W. Anderson	....	property master
Mathias Fain	....	on-set dresser
Jon Reynolds	....	art department production assistant
Abigail Sheiner	....	art department coordinator
David Sterzing	....	props

Sound Department
Brion Condon	....	boom operator
David Esparza	....	sound effects editor
Marc Fishman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert Getty	....	dialog editor
Michael Hertlein	....	foley editor
Robert Jackson	....	supervising sound editor
Tony Lamberti	....	sound re-recording mixer
Derek Marcil	....	adr mixer
Jared Marshack	....	digital transfer engineer
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Steve Weiss	....	sound mixer
James Wright	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby Stereo

Camera and Electrical Department
Chris Burgon	....	best boy electric
Elisha Christian	....	additional rigging grip
Kevin M. Graves	....	best boy grip
Edward A. Gutentag	....	Steadicam operator
Joshua Lee Huber	....	grip
Colin Hudson	....	Steadicam operator
Sunny Lee	....	key grip
James McCusker	....	electrician
Phil Miller	....	key rigging grip
Kelly Price	....	grip
Rocky Rodriguez	....	electrician
David E. Thomas Jr.	....	assistant camera
Daniel P. Venti	....	first assistant camera

Casting Department
Sasha Adkinson	....	extras casting agent
Lauren Grey	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Chandra Moore	....	on-set costumer
Erika Munro	....	wardrobe supervisor
Marta Villalobos	....	costumer
Deborah Zimmerman	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
George Chavez	....	color timer
Dana Merwin	....	post-production coordinator
Tim Mirkovich	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Clint Bennett	....	music mixer
Clint Bennett	....	song recordist
Janet Billig	....	music supervisor
Ariel Blumenthal	....	additional composer: score
Bryan Carrigan	....	music scoring mixer
Matthew Rush Sullivan	....	music consultant
Sherry Whitfield	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Geno Hart	....	transportation coordinator
Philip Henderson	....	driver
Kirk Huston	....	transportation captain
Steve Larson	....	transportation dispatcher

Other crew
James M. Arnold	....	lead payroll accountant
Susan Bannout	....	set medic
Greg Bernstein	....	legal services
Zachary Brandler	....	assistant: Mr. Kopeloff
Michael G. Cruz	....	location assistant
Michael Desante	....	technical advisor: Arabic
Richard DiPatri	....	assistant location manager
Aditya Ezhuthachan	....	assistant to executive producer
Todd Havern	....	production assistant
Sharre Jacoby	....	producer: main and end titles
Adam Jordan	....	production assistant
Andrew C. Keeter	....	location manager
Chris Losnegard	....	office production assistant
Karen M. Nichols	....	title designer: main titles, New Wave Entertainment
Davis Priestley	....	production assistant
Eric Raber	....	digital transfer engineer
Melinda Sustin	....	assistant to producers
David C. Taylor	....	assistant: Mr. Siega
Christopher Touchton	....	production assistant
Tori White	....	stand-in
Jennifer Wood	....	assistant production coordinator
Warner Loughlin	....	acting coach (uncredited)

Thanks
Darlene Gorzela	....	special thanks
Doug Hylton	....	special thanks (as Doug 'Disco' Hylton)
Jennifer Kuwabara	....	special thanks
Duke Lim	....	special thanks
Christopher Meloni	....	special thanks
Rick Sparr	....	special thanks
David Sterzing	....	special thanks
Diane Upson	....	special thanks
Hillary Weaver	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• REN-Mar Studios
• Prospect Pictures

Distributors

• Samuel Goldwyn Films (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Roadside Attractions (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metrodome Distribution (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• Renaissance Films (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Acteurs Auteurs Associés (AAA) (2007) (France) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2005) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Capelight Pictures (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Focus Filmes (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Roadside Attractions (2005) (USA) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Versus Entertainment (2007) (Spain) (all media)
• West Video (2007) (Russia) (all media)

Special Effects

• Pacific Title (opticals)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by
• Widget Post Production  sound post-production

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content and graphic dialogue involving teens, and language.

Runtime:

USA:104 min | UK:110 min | Argentina:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Australia:MA | UK:18 | Ireland:16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

REN-Mar Studios

Trivia:

In the casting office scene, the photos on the wall are of actual child actresses, including Tamara Hope and Lindsay Felton.

Quotes:

Kimberly Joyce: [Showing Randa all the different wealthy kids at Roxberry] "That's Josh Horowitz. His Dad is Larry Horowitz, the famous lawyer. He represented that baseball player that murdered his wife, got him off too even though he was running around covered in blood with a baseball bat screaming 'I killed the bitch, I killed the bitch!'"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

What Goes On

Pretty good for a high school movie ...

This move represents the type of movie genre I hate - no, loath. But it's actually pretty good. The story is not as straightforward as one would expect. This movie definitely has a twist and is not your average soap opera.

My girl friend was watching it on her PC and it caught my attention - something that rarely happens in the middle of a movie. The story arc makes you want to know more, and the end does not disappoint. It does not unfold slowly and it leaves a lot of room for speculation. You still won't expect this. The role of Kimberly makes sure you don't get bored while waiting for the conclusion.

If I actually find a high school movie entertaining, you should probably watch it. It doesn't even have any sci-fi gadgets or serious gore. ;-) A good story is all it takes, but lately this is a rare thing, unfortunately. Thumbs up for this movie getting it right!