August Rush (2007)

A drama with fairy tale elements, where an orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift as a clue to finding his birth parents.

Director:

Kirsten Sheridan

Writers:

Nick Castle (screenplay), James V. Hart (screenplay),

Stars:

Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Freddie Highmore	...	Evan Taylor - 'August Rush'
Keri Russell	...	Lyla Novacek
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Louis Connelly
Terrence Howard	...	Richard Jeffries
Robin Williams	...	Maxwell 'Wizard' Wallace
William Sadler	...	Thomas Novacek
Marian Seldes	...	The Dean
Mykelti Williamson	...	Reverend James
Leon Thomas III	...	Arthur
Aaron Staton	...	Nick
Alex O'Loughlin	...	Marshall
Jamia Simone Nash	...	Hope
Ronald Guttman	...	Professor
Bonnie McKee	...	Lizzy
Michael Drayer	...	Mannix

Storyline

This is a story of a music prodigy. Lyla is a renowned and beautiful cellist and Louis is a guitar player and vocalist at a club. Lyla and Louis fall in love once they meet each other following the music. Since they have different lives, they have to separate without seeing each other again. However, Lyla has had their baby - Evan, a prodigy born to music. Lyla has an accident and bears the baby but Lyla's father gives the baby to an orphanage without telling her, for fear of affecting her career. After that, both Louis and Lyla give up their music careers. Eleven years later, poor little Evan believes that his parents are waiting for him and goes to New York to find them. In New York, his musical gift leads him to success but also gives him some trouble. A monger uses Evan to make money and prevents him from achieving success. He escapes and runs into a church and people there are surprised by his gift and send him to the best music school, Juilliard. There he receives an education ...

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Plot Keywords:

prodigy | cellist | baby | rhapsody | mysterious stranger | 

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Taglines:

An incredible journey moving at the speed of sound

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements, mild violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [France] Official site [Germany]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

A szeretet szimfóniája

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£359,564 (UK) (23 November 2007)

Gross:

$31,655,091 (USA) (22 February 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Southpaw Entertainment (I), CJ Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Two of the songs that Jonathan Rhys Meyers' character, 'Louis Connelly' sings, 'This Time' and 'Break' were considered as nominees for the category of 'Best Original Song' in the '80th Annual Academy Awards'

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Goofs

When Arthur leaves the park after meeting Evan, he leaves his amp behind.

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Quotes

Louis Connelly: [Louis explaining not giving up music to August] You never quit on your music. No matter what happens. Cuz anytime something bad happens to you, that's the one place you can escape to and just let it go. I learned it the hard way. And anyway, look at me. Nothing bad's gonna happen. You gotta have a little faith.

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Connections

References Jerry Maguire (1996)

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Soundtracks

"King of the Earth"
Written and Performed by John Ondrasik
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Entertainment, Inc.

User Reviews

Loved this Movie! Must see for lovers of happy endings and music!

I absolutely loved this movie during the free screening in San Francisco this evening. At its end, the film received claps, cheers and shouts of approval by the majority of the audience. The child actors were terrific, especially Freddie Highmore whose facial expressions alone carried more emotion than any screenwriter's words could. The music was amazing...the guitar work, incredible singing by young Leon G. Thomas III, and the gospel singers (especially Jamia Simone Nash). The blending of classical, rock and street-sounds music was phenomenal. The movie was funny, poignant and a tear jerker. Heck with realism...I'm more than ready for a little bit of magic in my entertainment these days! Great film for families with teenage children. Younger ones might be a bit frightened by, as someone else said, the Fagan-like character played by Robin Williams and the intro bullying. So this may be a film to rent on DVD to show the younger ones so parents can discuss scenes with them or provide parental oversight for your particular child. But no bad language, no visible sex scenes (although we do know it occurred), and overall a delightful film. I rarely if ever buy DVDs except for old classics but this will be one of the exceptions. Also, the soundtrack should be terrific. When can I see this again?