Tell Tale (2009) Tell-Tale (original title)

Director:

Michael Cuesta

Writers (WGA):

Dave Callaham (screenplay)
Edgar Allan Poe (short story "The Tell-Tale Heart")

Release Date:

31 December 2009 (Greece)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Truth Lies a Heartbeat Away.

Plot:

A man's newly transplanted heart leads him on a dangerous journey to find out who murdered its donor.

Plot Keywords:

Donor | Police Detective | Gore | Memory Loss | Radiologist

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Josh Lucas	...	Terry Bernard
Lena Headey	...	Elizabeth Clemson
Brian Cox	...	Phillip Van Doren
Beatrice Miller	...	Angela Bernard
Jamie Harrold	...	Kevin Stanovich
Michael Kenneth Williams	...	Acherton
Pablo Schreiber	...	Bernard Cochius
Tom Riis Farrell	...	Legethon
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Doctor Lethe
Dallas Roberts	...	The Surgeon
Cassandre Fiering	...	Frances Vieillard
Peg Holzemer	...	Elderly Woman In Wheelchair (as Peg Saurman Holzemer)
Scott Winters	...	Doctor Averman
Kara Lund	...	Nurse
John Timothy Botka	...	Police Officer
Allison Alexander	...	Newscaster
Tom Kemp	...	Detective Hatzis
Julia Ryan	...	Museum Docent
Emilio Cuesta	...	Smarty Pants (as Emilio Christopher Cuesta)
Matthew E. Chausse	...	Cochius Family Member (as Matthew Chausse)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ellen Becker-Gray	...	Pedestrian Witness of River Murder (uncredited)
Emily Boisseau	...	The Babysitter (uncredited)
Gail Bruno	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Seth Chitwood	...	Boy with Dog (uncredited)
Desiree April Connolly	...	Nurse (uncredited)
D.W. Cormier	...	Orderlie (uncredited)
Roger Dillingham Jr.	...	Paramedic (uncredited)
Vincent J. Earnshaw	...	Vinnie the Bartender (uncredited)
Susan Farese	...	Pedestrian (uncredited)
Keith Fluker	...	OR Surgeon (uncredited)
Victor Franko	...	Mourner (uncredited)
Albert Gornie	...	Organ Transport Doctor (uncredited)
Patrick Mel Hayes	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Michael Kelly	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Andrea Leon	...	(uncredited)
Paul Locke	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Kristi Lynn	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Dan Marshall	...	Pedestrian Witness of River Murder (uncredited)
Robert Masiello	...	Detective (uncredited)
Adam Masnyk	...	Grandson (uncredited)
Todd Mello	...	Orderly (uncredited)
Martin Montana	...	Mourner (uncredited)
Sabe Schoeneg	...	Father of Schoolgirls (uncredited)
Kevin M. Simon	...	Paramedic (uncredited)
Ben Skinner	...	Orderly (uncredited)
Rich Skinner	...	Construction Worker (uncredited)
David Struffolino	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Darya Zabinski	...	Pedestrian (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Cuesta

Writing credits (WGA)
Dave Callaham		(screenplay) (as David Callaham)
Edgar Allan Poe		(short story "The Tell-Tale Heart") (as Edgar Allen Poe)

Produced by
John Baca	....	executive producer
Dave Callaham	....	executive producer
Matthew E. Chausse	....	executive producer
Michael Costigan	....	producer
Michael Ellenberg	....	executive producer
Malcolm Reeve	....	executive producer
Robert Salerno	....	executive producer
Ridley Scott	....	producer
Tony Scott	....	producer
Martin Shore	....	producer
Gordon Steel	....	executive producer
Christopher Tuffin	....	producer
Patrick Wabl	....	co-producer

Original Music by
David Buckley

Cinematography by
Terry Stacey		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Kane Platt
Billy Rich

Casting by
Beth Bowling
Kim Miscia

Production Design by
Patti Podesta

Art Direction by
Jordan Jacobs

Set Decoration by
Anuradha Mehta

Costume Design by
Mary Claire Hannan

Makeup Department
Frank Barbosa	....	head hair stylist
Kate Biscoe	....	makeup department head
Cheryl Daniels	....	key hair stylist
Paula Dion	....	department head hair
Sarah Mays	....	personal makeup artist: Josh Lucas
Jennie-kay Murphy	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Craig Ayers	....	production supervisor
Jonathan Ferrantelli	....	post-production supervisor
Tim Pedegana	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ivan J. Fonseca	....	first assistant director
Elizabeth MacSwan	....	second second assistant director
Adam T. Weisinger	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Kurt Bergeron	....	painter
Stefan Couture	....	key greens
Elizabeth Fisher	....	set dresser
Zack Gorman	....	set dressing gang boss
Tina Hamilton	....	additional set decoration buyer
Hannah Rose Jabaley	....	children's art
Bridget Keefe	....	set dresser
Erik Malkovich	....	set dresser
Jason Mayoh	....	storyboard artist
Dawson Nolley	....	art department coordinator
Christopher Plummer	....	on-set dresser
David Rickson	....	scenic artist
John Ryder	....	set dresser
Michael Sabo	....	property master
Meaghan E. Stone	....	assistant property master
Amy R. Strong	....	set decoration buyer
Ryan Sullivan	....	art department production assistant
Wilfredo Usuga	....	carpenter
Peter Wilcox	....	general foreman
Jeremy Woodward	....	set designer

Sound Department
Ryan Baker	....	sound utility
Gioia Birkett-Foa	....	boom operator
Drazen Bosnjak	....	sound designer
Chris David	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brian Dunlop	....	foley editor
Christopher Eakins	....	supervising dialogue & ADR editor
David Esparza	....	sound effects editor
Michael Geoghegan	....	additional sound utility
Anton Gold	....	sound mixer
Robert Jackson	....	adr supervisor
David Jobe	....	foley mixer
Travis MacKay	....	adr recordist
Gabriel J. Serrano	....	sound recordist
Jody Thomas	....	foley artist
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Callie Thurman	....	assistant sound editor
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist

Special Effects by
Adam Taylor	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Seb Caudron	....	visual effects supervisor
Olivier Dumont	....	visual effects supervisor: Method Studios
Reece Ewing	....	visual effects producer (as Larry Ewing)
Andrew Francis	....	assistant colorist
Pierre La Querre	....	digital compositor
Katrina Salicrup	....	digital compositor
Chris Ward	....	digital intermediate producer

Stunts
Alba Albanese	....	stunt performer
Heather Arthur	....	stunt double: Lena Headey
Jonathan Arthur	....	stunt double: Dallas Roberts
Scott Burik	....	stunt double: Pablo Schreiber
Jared Burke	....	stunt double: Josh Lucas
Douglas Crosby	....	stunt coordinator
Paul Marini	....	stunt double
Jeff Medeiros	....	stunt double
Carl Paoli	....	stunt driver
Jon Trosky	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Mark Beattie	....	rigging electrician
George Bianchini	....	Steadicam operator
Ryan Bradley	....	grip
Jarrett Buba	....	electrician
Chris Buchakjian	....	best boy grip
Darryl Byrne	....	first assistant camera: additional photography
Dominique Caron	....	rigging electrician
Oliver Cary	....	camera operator: "a" camera
John Coots	....	best boy electric
Geoff Dann	....	rigging gaffer
Michael Dynice	....	key rigging grip
Jennifer Evans	....	dolly grip
Joseph Giroux	....	rigging grip
Jesse Goldberg	....	electrician
Heath Grant	....	grip
Lauren Haber	....	film loader
David Hallas	....	electrician
Amanda Hannan	....	grip
Patrick R. Heffernan	....	key grip
Laura Hudock	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Mark Killian	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera and Steadicam
Robert Knowles	....	additional rigger
Eric Lee	....	still photographer
JD Leedham	....	key rigging grip: second unit
Branden James Maxham	....	best boy rigging grip (as Brandon James Maxham)
Matthew Merola	....	grip
Georgia Pantazopoulos	....	electrician
Matthew Pebler	....	film loader
Dan Preiser	....	grip
Jonathon Schermerhorn	....	rigging grip
Ken Shibata	....	gaffer
Yoshi Sonoda	....	lighting technician
Aaron Tyburski	....	best boy rigging electric

Casting Department
Nadia Lubbe Simon	....	casting associate (as Nadia Lubbe)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Claire Bergkamp	....	set costumer
Hillary Derby	....	key costumer
Sheila Grover	....	costume supervisor (as Sheila Gentile)
Fallon Masterson	....	wardrobe assistant
Lara Quinlan	....	set costumer
Carolyn Schnitzer	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Zoe Bower	....	post-production coordinator
Shane Deblasio	....	assistant editor
David Graubard	....	digital intermediate senior systems engineer: Hollywood Intermediate
Matthew J. McCue	....	post-production coordinator
Michael Mintz	....	digital film colorist
Jon Pehlke	....	on-line editor
Mathieu Reid	....	color timer

Music Department
Allison Wright Clark	....	music supervisor
Abhay Manusmare	....	assistant score mixer
Abhay Manusmare	....	digital score recordist
Jason Ruder	....	music editor
Martin Shore	....	music supervisor
Bert Selen	....	music engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Scott Mundy	....	driver
Timothy Paustian	....	transportation captain
Stephen Silva	....	driver

Other crew
Anthony Ambrosino	....	production assistant
A.J. Asciolla	....	office production assistant
Prince Bagdasarian	....	high definition coordinator
Nicholas S. Biron	....	location scout
Bailey Conway	....	assistant to Mr. Tuffin
Chris Cortez	....	production assistant
Mark Cross	....	production coordinator
Joe Deingenis	....	craft service
Nicholas Delmenico	....	production assistant
Jodi Domanic-Riccio	....	script supervisor
Trisha Dos Santos	....	accounting clerk
Julio Ferrario	....	creative director: main titles
Elizabeth Fisher	....	production assistant
Joe Gagnepain	....	location scout
Rebecca Garland	....	payroll accountant
Pamela B. Green	....	main title producer
Patrick Mel Hayes	....	production assistant
Morgan Howard	....	first assistant accountant
Peter Hutchison	....	production accountant
John Jabaley	....	location manager
Todd Korody	....	systems engineer
Eric Krangel	....	production assistant
Alexander Lane	....	assistant: Mr. Cuesta
Brinton MacFarland	....	production assistant
Patrick Mahoney	....	craft service
Jack McCullough	....	key set medic
Kevin Mills	....	legal and business affairs
Tom Moran	....	executive assistant: Mr. Scott
Richard C. Morrow	....	assistant location manager
Manny Padilla	....	key assistant location manager: Providence
Brian Papworth	....	key production assistant
Jason Quimby	....	key set production assistant (stage )
Steven Robbins	....	assistant: Mr. Scott
Kendra Robichaud	....	production assistant
John Santilli	....	assistant production coordinator
Antonio Caetano Santos	....	assistant: Robert Salerno (as Antonio Caetano Dos Santos)
Jonathon Schermerhorn	....	set production assistant
Claire Severance	....	production assistant (as Clarie Severane)
Jason Sterman	....	assistant: Mr. Scott
Kal Thompson	....	production assistant
Arturo Lopez Uscanga	....	scanning manager
Jarik Van Sluijs	....	titles
Donald Warnock	....	stand-in: Brian Cox
Ali Sigman	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Thanks
Jacqueline Bosnjak	....	special thanks
Scott Bulger	....	the producers wish to thank
Jake Cinninger	....	the producers wish to thank
Rick Farman	....	the producers wish to thank
Steven Feinberg	....	grateful acknowledgment
Harry Gregson-Williams	....	the producers wish to thank
Hannah Rose Jabaley	....	the producers wish to thank (as Hannah Jabaley)
Obed Marsh	....	the producers wish to thank
Tammy Rosen	....	the producers wish to thank
Robyn Shore	....	the producers wish to thank
Jason Weinstock	....	the producers wish to thank
Scott Wexler	....	the producers wish to thank

Production Companies

• Artina Films
• Oceana Media Finance (in association with)
• Poe Boy Productions
• Scott Free Productions
• Social Capital
• Steel Company, The
• Tax Credit Finance

Distributors

• CTV International (2010) (France) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2011) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Fida Film (2009) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Filmes Lusomundo (2009) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2009) (Greece) (theatrical)
• PlayArte Filmes (2009) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Quality Films (II) (2009) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Square One Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Ster-Kinekor Pictures (2009) (South Africa) (theatrical)
• 21 Entertainment (2009) (Russia) (all media)
• Ascot Elite Home Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• Ascot Elite Home Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Pa-Dora D.O.O. (2009) (Hungary) (all media)
• Pinnacle Films (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• ProSieben Television (2009) (Germany) (TV)

Other Companies

• David Haddad  transportation equipment
• Digital Vortechs  editing systems provided by
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• Haddad's  transportation equipment
• Hollywood Rentals Productions Services  grip and lighting equipment
• Indiepay  payroll provided by
• Kaye & Mills  production legal
• Lightnin' Production Rentals  transportation equipment
• PIC Agency  titles
• Soundtrack  adr facility
• Wildfire Studios  adr recording facility
• Wildfire Studios  sound post-production
• Wildfire Studios  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

"Tell-Tale" - UK (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent content, language and a scene of sexuality

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (FotoKem)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:16 (cut) | Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version)

Filming Locations:

Benefit Street, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Company:

Artina Films

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When lead character meets Acherton in bathroom his name-tag says Michael Acherton after he is called the detective refers to him as Paul Acherton.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Paramedic:[over radio] Dispatch this is Rescue 3. I have a 55 year old white male named Lyar, John. He has massive blunt trauma to the skull. Glasgow Coma Score is 1, Henry 3. Patient has ID in his wallet identifying him as an organ donor. Alert trauma and transport team.
Dispatcher:Copy that.

Soundtrack:

The Torture

A Tad of Poe Goes a Long Way

After receiving a heart transplant, genuinely nice guy Lucas encounters both the very attractive female doctor who cares for his seriously ill daughter and visions of murder and mayhem he has to make sense of. Very loosely based on Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," which is at its core an inner monologue of a mad man that lasts only a few pages, scribe Dave Callaham expanded, embellished and embroidered the story for the modern age. In the gifted hands of helmer Michael Cuesta ("L.I.E.," "Twelve and Holding," TV's "Dexter") the so-so plot gets elevated to art-house standards with Lena Headley and Josh Lucas oozing believable chemistry, and the always exceptional Brian Cox making a lasting impression as a cop with an agenda of his own. Ends as abruptly as a punch in the guts, but it's definitely worth a glimpse