Gia (1998)

The story of the life of Gia Carangi, a top fashion model from the late 1970s, from her meteoric rise to the forefront of the modeling industry, to her untimely death.

Director:

Michael Cristofer

Writers:

Jay McInerney, Michael Cristofer

Stars:

Angelina Jolie, Faye Dunaway, Elizabeth Mitchell

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 8 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Angelina Jolie	...	Gia Carangi
Elizabeth Mitchell	...	Linda
Eric Michael Cole	...	T.J.
Kylie Travis	...	Stephanie - Model
Louis Giambalvo	...	Joe Carangi
John Considine	...	Bruce Cooper
Scott Cohen	...	Mike Mansfield
Edmund Genest	...	Francesco (as Edmond Genest)
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Kathleen Carangi
Faye Dunaway	...	Wilhelmina Cooper
Holly Baker	...	Emergency Room Nurse
Joe Basile	...	Disco Doorman Tony
Rick Batalla	...	Hispanic Stylist Phillipe
Lombardo Boyar	...	Hood #2
Jullian Dulce Vida	...	Hood #3 (as Julio Dolce Vita)

Storyline

When Gia Carangi first arrives in New York City, she's a beautiful drop-out from Philadelphia brashly bursting through the closed doors of top modeling agent Wilhelmina Cooper. Gia's electrifying personality and potent sexuality soon find their way onto the covers of America's top-selling magazines. But being loved by the world isn't the same as being love by one - an unfulfilled desire that can take Gia dangerous places. And for a beautiful woman, one slip could lead to an untimely and terrifying downfall.

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Plot Keywords:

model | lesbian | drug addiction | aids | lesbian romance | 

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Taglines:

Everyone saw the beauty, no one saw the pain.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic depiction of drug abuse, strong sexual content, language and some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

31 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gia

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Marvin Worth Productions, Citadel Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 126 min (unrated) 117 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby (Dolby Surround)

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Angelina Jolie's brother James Haven can be seen briefly leaning up against the wall in the beginning of the film when she and TJ are going into the tattoo parlor.

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Goofs

When T.J. is at the hospital to see Gia, he gets upset and slams a chair down about 3 or 4 times before putting the chair back. When he lets go of the chair, it comes to rest in such a way that you can tell that at least one of the back legs of the chair is broke. The camera cuts away to Gia and when it cuts back to T.J., the chair is back to normal height and position against the wall under the window, just like it was before he smashed it.

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Quotes

Gia Carangi: Go see, go see, go see. I aint good at this. And even if you are good at this, what exactly are you good at?

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Crazy Credits

Film ends with the following poem: ...heaven on earth back again into under far in between through it in it and above... From the journal of GIA MARIE CARANGI 1960-1986

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Alternate Versions

There is an Unrated/extended version available. Linda & Gia's sex scenes are longer and more explicit. In the scene where Gia gives Linda hamburgers in the kitchen, Gia straddles Linda in the chair, and says, "Dinner is served!".

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Connections

Referenced in Family Guy: Blue Harvest (2007)

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Soundtracks

Young At Heart
Written by Carolyn Leigh & Johnny Richards
Performed by Jeanie Bryson
Arrangement by Terence Blanchard

User Reviews

Great movie - but the book is better

When Cindy Crawford first entered the modeling world, she was dubbed, "Baby Gia." Her likeness to the model that was beyond perfection was what helped boost her career. Crawford, knew little about Carangi and her struggle.

When Stephen Fried published Thing of Beauty in 1993, he shed light on the exotic beauty known as Gia. He exposed the dark side of modeling, and showed the world the rise and fall of one of the most beautiful girls to ever live.

The movie Gia, is based of Fried's book. However, the movie takes several liberties. Gia's lover, "Linda", is based of Sandy Linter, a make-up artist in which Gia wooed and dated. Gia also dated a women by the name of Alyssa (she used the alias "Rochelle" in Fried's book). The writers combined these two loves, however, down played Alyssa's personality and character.

Gia's "journals" never existed. She did keep date books, too keep track of her appointments, and occasionally wrote things, but she never had an extensive amount of journals like the movie portrays. Gia's time in rehab is also downplayed.

Without a doubt, the movie is good, but if you want to know more about Gia, check out the book.