The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)

Tragi-comic, romantic whodunnit set in a run down hotel which plays host to mentally ill people too poor to afford medical insurance.

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Bono (story), Nicholas Klein (screenplay)

Stars:

Jeremy Davies, Milla Jovovich, Mel Gibson

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Davies	...	Tom Tom
Milla Jovovich	...	Eloise
Mel Gibson	...	Detective Skinner
Jimmy Smits	...	Geronimo
Peter Stormare	...	Dixie
Amanda Plummer	...	Vivien
Gloria Stuart	...	Jessica
Tom Bower	...	Hector
Donal Logue	...	Charley Best
Bud Cort	...	Shorty
Julian Sands	...	Terence Scopey
Conrad Roberts	...	Stix
Harris Yulin	...	Stanley Goldkiss
Charlayne Woodard	...	Jean Swift
Ellen Cleghorne	...	Marlene

Storyline

The Million Dollar Hotel follows the supposed murder of Izzy Goldkiss. FBI Agent Skinner is sent into investigate the crime, and to weed out the killer. When he reaches the 'hotel', he comes across many of the forgotten types of people living in the city. You have Geronimo, who is a self proclaimed Native American artist. Dixie, played with great gusto by Peter Stormare, as the 'fifth' Beatle still waiting for his royalty payments as well as recognition. Eloise, who is the neighborhood 'whore'. And then there is Tom-Tom, played by Jeremy Davies. He's the center of the story, being that he's the 'village idiot' of the bunch, and has the trust of everyone in the Hotel. Agent Skinner has a few days to find out who the killer is, while the residents of the hotel devise a scheme to sell off Izzy's fabled 'Tar Paintings'.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | murder | suicide | painting | detective | 

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Taglines:

Everyone has something to hide.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Icon/Road Movies

Country:

Germany UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 2000 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Billion Dollar Hotel

Filming Locations:

Rosslyn Hotel - 112 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,483, 4 February 2001

Gross USA:

$59,989

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$105,983

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icon Entertainment International, Kintop Pictures, Road Movies Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Phil Joanou was originally set to direct.

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Goofs

The positions of the pool balls change during the voting scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tom Tom: Wow, after I jumped it occurred to me, life is perfect, life is the best. It's full of magic, beauty, opportunity, and television, and surprises, lots of surprises, yeah. And then there's that stuff that everybody longs for, but they only real feel when it's gone. All that just kinda hit me. I guess you don't really see it all clearly when you're - ya know - alive.

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Connections

Edited into U2: The Ground Beneath Her Feet (2000)

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Soundtracks

Falling at Your Feet
Written and Performed by Bono and Daniel Lanois

User Reviews

One incredibly strange movie....

The Million Dollar Hotel is quite literally, one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen that features a two time oscar winner such as Mel Gibson. Gibson plays a beyond straight arrow of an FBI agent named Skinner, sent to investigate the mysterious suicide of a millionaire's son (an unbilled Tim Roth) in a seedy hotel that is host to a group of the poor mentally ill. Tom Tom (Jeremy Davies, eschewing Private Upham completely from "Saving Private Ryan), is a half wit delivery boy for the hotel with odd hair who's got a thing for a screw up (Milla Jovovich). Skinner performs a drastic investigation on the hotel who's inhabitants include the Fifth Beatle (a convincing Peter Stormare playing a good guy), an Indian (LA Law's Jimmy Smits!), an old lady (Gloria Stuart, far from her Titanic role), Harold, oops! I mean Bud Cort as a recurring alcoholic, a weirdo (Amanda Plummer, in another fine character role), and others. Definitely an eccentric film that is far from Hollywood. Gibson is quite, to describe it lightly, strange as an FBI agent not to be trifled with. His face alone is that of something that's out of a Stephen King novel. Jeremy Davies seems as if he's had way too many No Doz pills to fulfill the lead role, one that requires him to barely speak. Filled with small roles from recognizable character actors, this is a film that's for an acquired taste, because this is very out there for a movie.