The Dying Gaul (I) (2005)

A grief-stricken screenwriter unknowingly enters a three-way relationship with a woman and her film executive husband - to chilling results.

Director:

Craig Lucas

Writer:

Craig Lucas (screenplay)

Stars:

Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott, Peter Sarsgaard

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Patricia Clarkson	...	Elaine Tishop
Campbell Scott	...	Jeffrey Tishop
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Robert Sandrich
Ryan Miller	...	Max Tishop
Faith Jefferies	...	Debbon Tishop
Robin Bartlett	...	Bella
Ebon Moss-Bachrach	...	Olaf
Kelli O'Hara	...	Liz
Dee Dee Flores	...	Emad
Elizabeth Marvel	...	Kelli Cartonis
Don Johanson	...	Male Guest
Bill Camp	...	Malcolm Cartonis
Linda Emond	...	Dr. Marta Foss

Storyline

A powerful and seductive Hollywood mogul convinces an impoverished West Hollywood writer, whose lover has recently died of AIDS, to sell his autobiographical screenplay for big bucks. The writer, Robert, knows he'll have to make major changes in the script (like changing the sex of the dying lover). During the rewrite, the producer, Jeffrey, takes Robert under his wing, introducing him to his wife Elaine, herself a closet screenwriter. Jeffrey approaches Robert for sex and Elaine approaches Robert out of curiosity about his sex life in grief. The entangled triangle of relationships threatens more than the completion of a film script.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | lover | writer | screenwriter | hollywood | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Holedigger Studios

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kuoleva gallialainen

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$53,944 (USA) (4 November 2005)

Gross:

$342,297 (USA) (20 January 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Holedigger Films, Rebel Park Pictures, Twopoundbad

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 95 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is dedicated to writer/director Craig Lucas's best friend, playwright Tony Kushner.

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Quotes

Jeffrey: Most Americans...
[his phone rings]
Jeffrey: Let's hold all my calls, please, Liz.
[to Robert]
Jeffrey: ...hate gay people. If they hear it's about gay people, they won't go.

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Connections

Featured in 2006 Glitter Awards (2006)

User Reviews

Devious

First off, the less you know about this movie before seeing it, the better. Go in clean. And just let it such you in. Here are a few things you CAN know. (a) The screenwriter/director, Craig Lucas, is gay but wrote his best known play, PRELUDE TO A KISS, about a straight relationship that has overtones of homosexuality. (b) Patricia Clarkson may be the finest actress of her age. She flits around the first 20 minutes of this movie in a bra and panties, toyingly svelt but with a panther-like quality you only realize later. (c) This is a movie without a protagonist or an antagonist -- or more accurate, a movie in which each of the main characters take turns at being the antagonist and protagonist. (d) Despite the gay aspects, this is really a movie about betrayal, and it is fiendishly mean (but in a good way). (e) Peter Sarsgaard has never looked handsomer. (f) That's all you need to know. See it.