Taking Woodstock (2009)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Ang Lee

Writers (WGA):

James Schamus (screenplay)
Elliot Tiber (book) ...
(more)

Release Date:

28 August 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

"A Generation Began In His Backyard."

Plot:

A man working at his parents' motel in the Catskills inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in the summer of 1969. |

Plot Keywords:

1969 | Motel | Concert | Jewish Mother | Town Name In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jeffrey Dean Morgan	...	Dan
Emile Hirsch	...	Billy
Liev Schreiber	...	Vilma
Paul Dano	...	VW Guy
Dan Fogler	...	Devon
Kelli Garner	...	VW Girl
Eugene Levy	...	Max Yasgur
Imelda Staunton	...	Sonia Teichberg
Demetri Martin	...	Elliot Teichberg
Katherine Waterston	...	Penny
Michael Zegen	...	Bernie
Mamie Gummer	...	Tisha
Kevin Sussman	...	Stan
Jason Antoon	...	Abbie Hoffman
Daniel Eric Gold	...	Joel Rosenman
Skylar Astin	...	John Roberts
Gabriel Sunday	...	Steve
Jonathan Groff	...	Michael Lang
Kevin Chamberlin	...	Jackson Spiers
Henry Goodman	...	Jake Teichberg
Will Janowitz	...	Chip Monck
Boris McGiver	...	Doug
Christina Kirk	...	Carol
Jennifer Merrill	...	Earthlight Player
Clark Middleton	...	Frank
Caitlin Fitzgerald	...	Young Woman
Darren Pettie	...	Paul
Andy Prosky	...	Bob
Michael J. Burg
James Hanlon	...	Trooper AJ Hamilton
Sondra James	...	Margaret
Lee M. Cunningham	...	Georgette's Girlfriend
Adam Pally	...	Artie Kornfeld
Stephen Kunken	...	Mel Lawrence
Jeremy Shamos	...	Steve Cohen
Damian Kulash	...	Singer
Nick Taylor	...	Inspector
Patrick Cupo	...	Charlie
Stefano Da Fre	...	Young Man
Anthoula Katsimatides	...	Esther
Michael Izquierdo	...	John Morris
Jay Storey	...	Reporter
Spencer Aste	...	Parked Hippie
Carmel Amit	...	Earthlight Player
Don Puglisi
Kelly Klein
Garett Ross	...	Woodstock PA
Ian Pickus	...	Hippie
Darcy Bledsoe	...	Earthlight Player
David Lavine	...	Journalist
Michael Grantland	...	Cameraman
David Breitenstein	...	Regional Press
David M. Atlas	...	Hippie (uncredited)
Seth Barrish	...	Angry Townsperson (uncredited)
Zachary Booth	...	Earthlight Player (uncredited)
Kevin T. Collins	...	Guy at Motel (uncredited)
Adam Desautels	...	Concert Staff (uncredited)
John Francis Duggan	...	Film Crew Member (uncredited)
Joe Forbrich	...	Cop (uncredited)
Alyssa May Gold	...	Young Girl at Phone (uncredited)
Becca Greenwald	...	City girl (uncredited)
Edward Hibbert	...	British Gentleman (uncredited)
Louisa Krause	...	Hippie girl (uncredited)
Aaron Lambert	...	Office worker (uncredited)
Ronete Levenson	...	Girl In Hotel (uncredited)
Michael Peavey	...	Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)
Steve Ricard	...	Hippie (uncredited)
Bill Richards	...	Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)
Ivan Sandomire	...	Earthlight Player (uncredited)
Matthew Shear	...	Earthlight Players (uncredited)
Nicole Signore	...	The Wandering Hippie (uncredited)
Darcy Singer	...	Earth Mama / Hippie (uncredited)
Victoria Stankiewicz	...	Hippy Chick (uncredited)
Bec Stupak	...	Earthlight Player (uncredited)
Amber Lea Voiles	...	Political Activist (uncredited)

Directed by
Ang Lee

Writing credits (WGA)
James Schamus		(screenplay)
Elliot Tiber		(book) and
Tom Monte		(book)

Produced by
Celia D. Costas	....	executive producer
Patrick Cupo	....	associate producer
Ang Lee	....	producer
David Sauers	....	associate producer
James Schamus	....	producer

Original Music by
Danny Elfman

Cinematography by
Eric Gautier

Film Editing by
Tim Squyres

Casting by
Avy Kaufman

Production Design by
David Gropman

Art Direction by
Peter Rogness

Set Decoration by
Ellen Christiansen

Costume Design by
Joseph G. Aulisi

Makeup Department
Cheryl Daniels	....	third hair stylist
Sunday Englis	....	additional makeup artist
Craig Lindberg	....	additional makeup
Keith R. Palmer	....	additional makeup artist
Nicky Pattison	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Deb Dyer	....	production supervisor
Jennifer Lane	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Guy Efrat	....	additional second assistant director
Nicole Feder	....	additional second assistant director (day player)
Scott Foster	....	additional second assistant director
Chris Gibson	....	additional second assistant director
Michael Hausman	....	first assistant director
Tudor Jones	....	second second assistant director
Jason Rody	....	second assistant director
Peter Thorell	....	second assistant director

Art Department
I. Javier Ameijeiras	....	production illustrator
Michael Auszura	....	assistant art director
Mark Bachman	....	sign painter
Pedro Barquin	....	stand-by greensperson
Kip Bartlett	....	picture cars assistant
Alex DiGerlando	....	additional graphic artist
Liza Donatelli	....	art department assistant
Joan Finley	....	set dresser
Jonathan Graham	....	key construction grip
Arlo Hoffman	....	greens
Erik Knight	....	art department coordinator
Imogen Lee	....	set decoration production assistant
Dawn Masi	....	graphic artist
Nick Miller	....	construction coordinator
John Pollard	....	assistant art director
Diane Rich	....	scenic artist foreman
Sarah Riggs	....	picture cars assistant
Adam Scher	....	assistant art director
Philip Schneider	....	picture cars coordinator
Ari David Schwartz	....	on-set dresser
Robert Topol	....	master scenic artist
M. Tony Trotta	....	camera scenic artist
Joel Weaver	....	assistant property master
Ryan Webb	....	assistant property master
Lewis Zucker	....	picture cars assistant
Peter Regnier	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Eugene Gearty	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eugene Gearty	....	supervising sound editor
Mark Goodermote	....	boom operator
Rick Gould	....	adr recordist
Kenton Jakub	....	adr editor
Drew Kunin	....	sound mixer
George A. Lara	....	foley mixer
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer
Reuben Simon	....	supervising foley editor
Kira Smith	....	sound utility
Wyatt Sprague	....	sound effects editor
Jason Stasium	....	Pro Tools operator
Reilly Steele	....	sound re-recording mixer
Philip Stockton	....	supervising sound editor
Noah Timan	....	sound mixer: second unit

Special Effects by
John Stifanich	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Mathieu Archambault	....	digital compositor
Sarah Barber	....	visual effects coordinator: Mr. X Inc.
Barb Benoit	....	digital compositor
Dennis Berardi	....	visual effects producer
Cheyenne Bloomfield	....	visual effects producer: Tantrum Visual Effects and Design
Dominik Bochenski	....	digital compositor: Tantrum Visual Effects and Design
Mike Borrett	....	visual effects production manager: Mr. X Inc.
Branden Bratuhin	....	visual effects editor
Zac Campbell	....	digital compositor
Kris Carson	....	sequence lead: Mr.X
Richard Chiu	....	digital compositor
Ovidiu Cinazan	....	compositor
James Cooper	....	digital compositor: Tantrum Visual Effects and Design
Tommaso Corona	....	compositor
Molle DeBartolo	....	digital intermediate qc
Jeremy Dineen	....	visual effects animator
Thai Son Doan	....	digital compositor
Amélie Dubois	....	digital compositor
Danny Duchesneau	....	compositor
Mike Duffy	....	flame artist: Mr X Inc
Nick Fairhead	....	digital compositor: Tantrum Visual Effects and Design
David Fix	....	senior systems administrator: Mr. X Inc
Tommy Gervais	....	visual effects production assistant
Parth Ghatge	....	visual effects artist
Jason Gougeon	....	digital artist: Mr. X Inc.
Matt Greenwood	....	digital compositor: Tantrum Visual Effects and Design
Colleen Jenkinson	....	visual effects producer: Mr. X Inc.
Anna Joukova	....	digital compositor: Tantrum Visual Effects and Design
Sushil Kalyanshetti	....	visual effects artist
Dushyant Kashyap	....	visual effects
Mike Kwan	....	digital compositor: Mr. X Inc.
Isabelle Langlois	....	digital effects producer: Mr. X Inc.
Jackson Li	....	digital artist
Alex Lipschultz	....	visual effects production assistant
Chris MacKenzie	....	smoke artist
Claire McLachlan	....	digital compositor: Mr. X Inc.
Daniel Mizuguchi	....	animation supervisor
Jaideep Mohan	....	digital compositor
Jessica Nolet	....	digital artist
Pete O'Connell	....	visual effects artist
Hojin Park	....	digital compositor
Rob Phillips	....	visual effects production assistant
Sebastien Proulx	....	compositor
Sébastien Proulx	....	compositor
Kevin Quatman	....	lead compositor
Matt Ralph	....	animator
Dominic Remane	....	lighting supervisor
D'Ippolito Roberto	....	digital compositor
Paul Saint-Hilaire	....	digital compositor nuke
Carolyn Shelby	....	digital compositor
Kyle Sim	....	digital compositor: Tantrum Visual Effects and Design
Ben Simons	....	senior technical supervisor
Brendan Taylor	....	visual effects supervisor
Bridget M. Taylor	....	senior compositor: Mr. X
Abu Thahir	....	digital compositor: anibrain
Sebastien Veilleux	....	digital compositor
Gwen Zhang	....	compositor
James Takashi Higuchi	....	digital artist: Tantrum Visual Effects and Design (uncredited)

Stunts
Gene Harrison	....	additional stunt coordinator
Kimberly Shannon Murphy	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Ethan Borsuk	....	key second assistant camera
Andrew Cavagnet	....	additional video assist
Julian J. Delacruz	....	assistant camera
Jon Delgado	....	camera operator
Jon Delgado	....	director of photography: second unit
David Elwell	....	lighting technician
Colin Felth	....	camera production assistant
Stanley Fernandez Jr.	....	first assistant camera
Richie Ford	....	electrician
Fernando Gayesky	....	additional camera operator
Fernando Gayesky	....	first assistant camera
Michael Grantland	....	camera operator
Katie Greaves	....	film loader
James Gregory	....	best boy electric
Joel Holland	....	key video assist operator
Frank La Frazia	....	electrician
Alex Lipschultz	....	camera production assistant
Steve McNally	....	lamp operator
Maritza Norr	....	camera loader
George Patsos	....	key grip
Louis Petraglia	....	grip (as Louie Petraglia)
Antonio Ponti	....	first assistant camera
Ken Regan	....	still photographer
Guillaume Renberg	....	remote camera operator
Chris Reynolds	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Eric Robbins	....	additional camera operator

Casting Department
Jolanda Anthony	....	extras casting assistant
Sophia M. Costas	....	extras casting director
Lois J. Drabkin	....	casting associate
Matthew Honovic	....	casting assistant
Lindsey Roberts	....	background casting assistant
Robert Wedge	....	extras casting
Leeba Zakharov	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Anzalone	....	assistant costume designer
Valentina Aulisi	....	set costumer
Danielle Cadorette	....	costume shop co-supervisor
David Davenport	....	costume supervisor
Kevin Draves	....	costume supervisor
Nicole Greenbaum	....	set costumer
Rebecca Hofherr	....	assistant costume designer
Cheryl Kilbourne-Kimpton	....	additional costumer
Joseph La Corte	....	set costumer
Jared B. Leese	....	costume shop co-supervisor
Olivia Mori	....	costume shopper
David Paulin	....	head costume ager/dyer
Jessica Pitcairn	....	costume coordinator
Meredith Markworth Pollack	....	costume shopper
Lauren Schad	....	costumer
Michelle Elaine Teague	....	costumer
Tina Ulee	....	key background costumer

Editorial Department
Leslie Bautsch	....	post-production coordinator
Mike Fay	....	first assistant editor
Joe Gawler	....	digital intermediate colorist
Patrick Gerrity	....	post-production technician
Gardner Gould	....	post-production assistant

Music Department
Christine Bergren	....	music legal and clearance
Jim Bruening	....	music copyist
Eric Paul	....	assistant music editor
Tim Starnes	....	auricle programmer

Other crew
Mara Alcaly	....	location assistant
Matt Anderson	....	office production assistant
Jodi Arneson	....	production secretary
Jack Bavaro	....	first assistant production accountant
Seth Blackman	....	assistant location manager
Scott Bowers	....	production assistant
Marcos Bueno	....	office production assistant
Abby Coon	....	accounting clerk
Ethan Duffy	....	production assistant
John Edmundson	....	production assistant
Guy Efrat	....	key assistant location manager
Abby Eon	....	location scout
Emily Evashevski	....	production assistant
James Ferrera	....	unit publicist
Sarah Follett	....	set location assistant
Scott Foster	....	production assistant
Jason Fritz	....	location scout
Emily Gannett	....	product placement
Bill Garvey	....	location scout
Duck Grossberg	....	data manager
Joe Guest	....	location manager
Joyce Hsieh	....	production accountant
JoAnn Fregalette Jansen	....	choreographer
Timothy S. Kane	....	production assistant
Matthew Kania	....	prep assistant location manager
Ashley Kravitz	....	rights and clearances
Yana Collins Lehman	....	post-production accountant
Jesse Liotta	....	assistant: Celia Costas
Tom Lombardi	....	asset production assistant
Lisa Madden	....	second assistant accountant
Casey Madigan	....	background production assistant
David M. McGuire	....	location scout
Tim Monich	....	dialect coach
Robert Noonan	....	location assistant
Sean Oliver	....	adr loop group
Phuong-Thuy Pham	....	location assistant
Christine Putnam	....	assistant production coordinator
Howard Samuelsohn	....	dialect coach
Catherine Shao	....	assistant: Ang Lee
Catherine Shao	....	post production assistant
David Silver	....	historical consultant
Jay Storey	....	stand-in
Jill Vaupen	....	travel coordinator
Patty Willett	....	production coordinator
Carlos David Rivera	....	set production intern (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Focus Features

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2009) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• FS Film Oy (2009) (Finland) (all media)
• Focus Features (2009) (Canada) (all media)
• Focus Features (2009) (USA) (all media)
• Kino Swiat (2008) (Poland) (all media)
• Odeon (2009) (Greece) (all media)
• Tobis (2009) (Germany) (all media)

Special Effects

• Mr. X

Other Companies

• C5  post-production sound services
• David Haddad  transportation equipment
• Haddad's  transportation equipment
• Pivotal Post  Avid HD Editing Equipment Provided By
• Post Factory NY  post-production facilities
• Rockbottom Rentals  cell phone rentals
• Rockbottom Rentals  junxion box rentals
• Rockbottom Rentals  modem card rentals
• Rockbottom Rentals  walkie rentals

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic nudity, some sexual content, drug use and language.

Runtime:

France:110 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cherry Plain State Park, New York, USA

Company:

Focus Features

This movie was great!

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I went to an early screening of this movie on 2/4/09 with my father who is 54, my mother who is 49, my fiancé who is 23, and I am 21. We all loved this movie! It was hilarious, if I could go see it again right now I would. It is about the supportive son of two struggling hotel owners, and on his quest to help keep his parents from defaulting on the mortgage he stumbles upon a huge concert (Woodstock) that has lost it's venue. This has everything you could possible want in a movie. The only thing that keeps this movie from being family friendly in my opinion is the few scenes with drug use and some prolonged scenes with nudity, but other than that I feel like it sends a great message of tolerance and understanding.