The Rocker (2008)

Director:

Peter Cattaneo

Writers (WGA):

Maya Forbes (screenplay) &
Wallace Wolodarsky (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 August 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

Opportunity rocks

Plot:

The Rocker tells the story of a failed drummer who is given a second chance at fame. Robert "Fish" Fishman...

Plot Keywords:

Drummer | Rock Star | Rock Band | Female Rocker | Music Video

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Jan. 8	1:45 PM	MAX
Thur. Jan. 14	5:00 PM	MAX

Cast

Rainn Wilson	...	Robert 'Fish' Fishman
Christina Applegate	...	Kim
Teddy Geiger	...	Curtis
Josh Gad	...	Matt Gadman
Emma Stone	...	Amelia
Jeff Garlin	...	Stan
Jane Lynch	...	Lisa
Jason Sudeikis	...	David Marshall
Will Arnett	...	Lex
Howard Hesseman	...	Gator
Fred Armisen	...	Kerr
Bradley Cooper	...	Trash
Lonny Ross	...	Sticks
Jon Glaser	...	Billy
Jane Krakowski	...	Carol
Samantha Weinstein	...	Violet
Demetri Martin	...	Kip
Aziz Ansari	...	Aziz
Ellie Knaus	...	Erica
Laura DeCarteret	...	Amelia's Mom
Steve Adams	...	Amelia's Dad
Mark Forward	...	Leon
Vik Sahay	...	Gary
Brittany Allen	...	I Heart Matt Girl
Jonathan Malen	...	Jeremy
Rebecca Northan	...	Jeremy's Mother
Keir Gilchrist	...	Moby Type Kid
Simon Sinn	...	Mr. Lee
SuChin Pak	...	Herself
Ennis Esmer	...	Barney
Nicole Arbour	...	Trashy Groupie
Wesley Morgan	...	Prom King Josh
Tanya Bevan	...	Prom Queen Jennifer
Marvin Karon	...	School Principal
Sandi Ross	...	Ms. Kopelson
Talia Russo	...	Amy
Jon Cor	...	Paul
Brian Gordon	...	Tattooed Drummer
Darrel Gamotin	...	Beat Box Kid
Angela Maiorano	...	Frazzled Stylist (as Angela Maiorano Thurston)
Nick Spencer	...	Harry (as Nicholas Spencer)
Allan Roberto	...	Max
Patrick Hagarty	...	Gund Arena P.A. (voice)
Jessica Porter	...	Desk Sargeant
Dave Kiner	...	Reedy Rocker Guy
Guy Sanvido	...	Old Barber
Tiffany Boychuk	...	Boost Mobile Girl
Christian Potenza	...	Dry Engineer
Pete Best	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dennis L. Baker	...	Guy in park (uncredited)
Jessica Barrow	...	Woman at party (uncredited)
Curtis Harrison	...	The Bartender (uncredited)
Jordan Lawson	...	Crazy Fan (uncredited)
Rachel London	...	Viral Video Girl (uncredited)
Richard Wadham	...	ADD Belly Boy (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Cattaneo

Writing credits (WGA)
Maya Forbes		(screenplay) &
Wallace Wolodarsky		(screenplay) (as Wally Wolodarsky)
Ryan Jaffe		(story)

Produced by
Stephen R. Campanella	....	producer: second unit, Cleveland
Shawn Levy	....	producer
Lyn Lucibello	....	co-producer
Tom McNulty	....	producer
Billy Rosenberg	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Chad Fischer

Cinematography by
Anthony B. Richmond

Film Editing by
Brad E. Wilhite

Casting by
Julie Ashton

Production Design by
Brandt Gordon

Set Decoration by
Clive Thomasson

Costume Design by
Christopher Hargadon

Makeup Department
Amber Chase	....	assistant makeup artist
Geralyn Wraith	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Lyn Lucibello	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Boem	....	second assistant director
Michael T. Burgess	....	assistant director
Tim Cushen	....	assistant director
Brian Giddens	....	first assistant director
Yolanda Graci	....	second assistant director: second unit
Patrick Hagarty	....	third assistant director
Tony Lucibello	....	first assistant director: second unit
David C. Malcolm	....	third assistant director: second unit (as David Malcolm)
Jeff Muhsoldt	....	third assistant director
Branko Racki	....	second unit director
Christen Reynolds	....	trainee assistant director
Brian Spitz	....	second unit director

Art Department
Jerry Beaudrow	....	assistant head carpenter
David Best	....	assistant art director
Collingwood Brown	....	art department coordinator
Gordon Brown	....	head painter
Jonathan Davis	....	second assistant art director
David DeMarinis	....	key greens
David DiCorpo	....	assistant head carpenter
Jeff Helgason	....	key scenic artist
Ron Hewitt	....	property master
Michael Huschka	....	assistant property master
John Mackenzie	....	construction coordinator
Tania McGowan	....	assistant art director
Steve Middlebrook	....	on-set dresser
Jaclyn Shoub	....	set decoration buyer
Jeremy Simser	....	storyboard artist
Brian van de Valk	....	head carpenter
Meredith Woodley	....	trainee assistant art director
Rob Valeriote	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bob Beemer	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kerry Ann Carmean	....	foley editor (as Kerry Carmean-Anderson)
Bruce Carwardine	....	sound mixer
Pat Cassin	....	second boom operator
Patrick Cusack	....	assistant sound editor
Andrew DeCristofaro	....	supervising sound editor (as Andrew De Cristofaro)
Laura R. Harris	....	dialogue editor (as Laura H. Atkinson)
John 'Wheels' Hurlbut	....	on set Pro Tools operator
Craig Mann	....	sound mix technician
Diane Marshall	....	foley artist
Michael Minkler	....	sound re-recording mixer
Andrew Morgado	....	adr mixer
Michael Payne	....	supervising sound effects editor
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
John C. Stuver	....	supervising dialogue and adr editor
Bruce Tanis	....	sound effects editor
Tami Treadwell	....	adr recordist
Brett Voss	....	foley mixer
Markus Wade	....	boom operator
Tim Walston	....	sound effects editor
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist

Special Effects by
Tim Barraball	....	special effects key (as Timothy Barraball)
Frank Fletcher	....	special effects
John MacGillivray	....	special effects coordinator
Fiona MacPherson	....	special effects
David Reaume	....	pyrotechnician
Rob Sanderson	....	special effects supervisor
Daniel White	....	special effects foreman (as Danny White)

Visual Effects by
Mathieu Archambault	....	digital compositor
Ryan Beadle	....	digital I/O
Barb Benoit	....	visual effects: Mr. X
Dennis Berardi	....	visual effects producer
Kristy Blackwell	....	visual effects: Mr. X
Jean-Christophe Boue	....	digital compositor: Mr. X
Kris Carson	....	digital compositor: Mr. X
Andy Chan	....	visual effects compositor: Mr. X Inc.
Ovidiu Cinazan	....	digital compositor
Aurelian Ciobota	....	visual effects: Mr. X
Patrick Clancey	....	digital opticals
Sam Dabbs	....	lead title designer
Rob Del Ciancio	....	digital compositor
Jeremy Dineen	....	visual effects animator: Mr. X Inc
Laura Dittmann	....	visual effects production assistant
Anand Dorairaj	....	digital compositor
D.R. Farquharson	....	project manager: Efilm
David Fix	....	senior systems administrator: Mr. X Inc
Andrei Gheorghiu	....	digital compositor
Matt Glover	....	visual effects production assistant
Sarah Grieshammer	....	digital compositor
Omar Gudjonsson	....	digital compositor
Annu Gulati	....	digital compositor: Mr. X. Inc.
Shaina Holmes	....	digital compositor
Victoria Holt	....	visual effects coordinator: Mr. X Inc.
Timo Huber	....	visual effects: Mr. X
Karen Kriss	....	visual effects producer
Paulina Kuszta	....	visual effects coordinator
Mike Kwan	....	visual effects: Mr. X
Isabelle Langlois	....	visual effects: Mr. X
Evelyn Lee	....	digital artist
Elliot Mallon	....	visual effects: Mr. X
Jaideep Mohan	....	digital compositor
Kevin Quatman	....	visual effects: Mr. X
Vishal Rustgi	....	visual effects: Mr. X
Matt Schofield	....	matte painter
Carolyn Shelby	....	digital compositor
Safia Siad	....	visual effects production assistant
Jim Su	....	visual effects: Mr. X
David Thompson	....	digital compositor
Armando Velazquez	....	digital compositor
Aaron Weintraub	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Dan Belley	....	stunt rigger
Ho Chow	....	stunt performer
Liise Keeling	....	stunt waitress
Branko Racki	....	stunt coordinator
Joseph Racki	....	stunt double
Robert Racki	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Max Armstrong	....	second assistant camera
Dennis L. Baker	....	grip
Brendan Bresnahan	....	key video assist operator
'Skinny' Ricky Brunn	....	grip
Kiely Cronin	....	first assistant camera: re-shoots
Gyorgy Darvas	....	additional video assist operator
Federico De Marco	....	second assistant camera
Russ Faust	....	grip
Roger Finlay	....	camera operator
Courtney Graham	....	assistant D.I.T.
Jamie Hodgson	....	second generator operator
Bill Hong	....	camera car operator
Chris Howard	....	gaffer
Joachim Martin	....	camera operator: second unit
Joachim Martin	....	director of photography: second unit
Keith Nickoson	....	dolly grip
Wayne Paull	....	camera operator: second unit
James R. Scott	....	lighting technician (as James Scott)
Tracy Shaw	....	assistant key rigging grip
Stephen Spurrell	....	rigging gaffer
Dean Stinchcombe	....	first assistant camera
John Trapman	....	aerial director of photography

Casting Department
John Buchan	....	casting: Canada
Jason Knight	....	casting: Canada
Amanda McCann	....	casting associate
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	....	adr voice casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sara Schilt	....	costume buyer

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Natasha Leonnet	....	digital film colorist
Marc Lulkin	....	digital color assist
David Marks	....	post-production assistant
Christian Prejza	....	digital intermediate producer (as Chris Prejza)
Stephen R. Sheridan	....	lab color timer (as Steve Sheridan)
Stephen H. Sloan	....	first assistant editor
Lisa Tutunjian	....	digital intermediate editor
Tina Sosa	....	apprentice editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Gustavo Borner	....	score mixer
Kevin Crehan	....	additional music editor
Christopher Faizi	....	composer: additional music
Patrick Houlihan	....	music supervisor
Terry Wilson	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Jason McCormack	....	driver: honeywagon
Evan Siegel	....	picture car coordinator

Other crew
Scott Alexander	....	assistant location manager
Samantha Armstrong	....	script supervisor
James F. Breithaupt	....	production accountant
David M. Chisholm	....	production coordinator
Christopher Comrie	....	payroll accountant
Marty Dejczak	....	location manager
Ramona Diaconescu	....	daily script supervisor
Darryl Dickenson	....	production assistant
Becky Etchberger	....	post production assistant
Missy Foster	....	assistant: Mr. McNulty
Mazen Hassan	....	assistant: Mr. Levy
Steve Holt	....	on-set medic
Alyssa Kling	....	on-set tutor
Tori Larsen	....	production assistant
Rui Martins	....	rushes telecine operator
Brad McIlroy	....	on-set caterer
Traci D. Nickerson	....	production assistant
Pete Nilson	....	on-set caterer
Robin M. Reelis	....	production supervisor
Viviana Serratos	....	assistant: Peter Cattaneo
Michelle K. Smith	....	assistant production coordinator
Stephanie Stonley	....	second assistant accountant
Michael Stoyanov	....	production secretary
Dave Tommasini	....	pilot: Wescam helicopter (as David Tommasini)
Karen Tyrell	....	unit publicist
Cedric Warburton	....	on-set medic
Farrah Yip	....	assistant to producer
Timothy Johnson	....	production coordinator: second unit, Cleveland (uncredited)

Production Companies

• 21 Laps Entertainment
• Fox Atomic

Distributors

• 20th Century Fox (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox C.I.S. (2008) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Culture Publishers (CP) (2010) (Japan) (DVD) (rental)
• FS Film Oy (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Custom Film Effects (digital graphics)
• Mr. X (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Belltower Productions  production services: Cleveland
• Belltower Productions  production services: Cleveland, second unit
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Columbia Records  soundtrack
• Custom Film Effects  main and end titles
• EFilm  digital intermediate facility
• Hand Prop  props supplied by
• Kona Cutting  digital asset management
• Panavision  high-definition Genesis cameras supplied by
• Pictorvision  aerial camera system
• Right Lobe Design Group  titles
• Todd-AO Studios (West)  re-recording services (as Todd-A-O West)
• Toronto Film Studios  movie studio
• William F. White International  Chapman camera dollies (as William F. White International Inc. - Canada)
• William F. White International  grip equipment (as William F. White International Inc. - Canada)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for drug and sexual references, nudity and language.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:12A | UK:12A (cut) | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44092) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Peru:14 | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:6 | Iceland:7 | Iceland:L (DVD rating) | Mexico:B | Brazil:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Cinespace Film Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

21 Laps Entertainment

Trivia:

Loosely based on Pete Best who was the original drummer for the Beatles and can be seen at the beginning of the movie reading the Rolling Stone magazine with Vesuvius on the cover.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When the video director asks the band to read the words backwards, he has a sign held up for them to read backwards words. However, the word 'mistake' is spelled as k-a-t-e-s-i-m when it should be e-k-a-t-s-i-m. If you sound out "k-a-t-e-s-i-m" phonetically, it would be "mistake" backwards. "e-k-a-t-s-i-m" wouldn't work.

Quotes:

Matt Gadman: Lower my voice.

Movie Connections:

References "Saturday Night Live: Jude Law/Ashlee Simpson (#30.3)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Pompeii Nights

Decidedly average

I saw this when it was shown as the "Surprise Movie" at the Edinburgh Film Festival. However, the choice of movie was the only surprise I got that night, as this turned out to be an average movie with an entirely by the numbers plot.

Comparisons with "School of Rock" and "Dewey Cox" are inevitable, but in reality you've seen this movie many times before. It's the classic story of the down and out who get's a second chance, almost messes it up, but pulls it off in the end. In this case, ageing rocker 'Fish' (Wilson) is still bitter about being dumped as drummer by hit rock band 'Vesuvius' some 20 years ago. At a low ebb, Fish finds himself being recruited in to his nephews band to the play their high school prom. One serendipitous moment later and the newly formed 'A.D.D.' are off on tour.

Does the expected hilarity ensure? Almost. Unlike some other recent American comedies, this one remembers that it's supposed to make the audience laugh, but it does so too infrequently and without any stand out moments. The real problem is that, barring a few side plots, the entire course of the film can be predicted from the first ten minutes, and the occasional snigger is unlikely to be enough to hold the audiences attention. A few hours after the movie I struggled to remember one memorable scene - not the sign of a classic comedy.

None of the cast offer anything other than a solid performance, although Emma Stone, and especially Jason Sudeikis as the band manager, do stand out as providing most of the good scenes and laughs. The band as a whole have little charisma, especially the moody lead singer, and I felt little desire for them to succeed.

To some extent this movie is saved by its songs. To the best of my knowledge the score is original, and both the tracks played by the heavy metal band 'Vesuvius' and the more mellow, teenage angst of 'A.D.D.' are great. In the end it is the gig scenes that end up providing the films best moments.

This film is best described as "School of Rock" without the school, or the screen presence of Jack Black. And without that there's not a whole lot left. This movie is not offencive, but there'll always be something better to see when you go to the cinema, and it's all the more disappointing when you consider that the director is capable of better things.