Gossip (2000)

Three college students base their class project around gossip and how fast it spreads, which soon spirals out of control.

Director:

Davis Guggenheim

Writers:

Gregory Poirier (story), Gregory Poirier (screenplay)

Stars:

James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Marsden	...	Derrick Webb
Lena Headey	...	Cathy Jones
Norman Reedus	...	Travis
Kate Hudson	...	Naomi Preston
Eric Bogosian	...	Professor Goodwin
Edward James Olmos	...	Detective Curtis
Joshua Jackson	...	Beau Edson
Sharon Lawrence	...	Detective Kelly
Marisa Coughlan	...	Sheila
Kwok-Wing Leung	...	Chinese Man
Mif	...	Doorman
Poe	...	Female Singer
Vicky Lambert	...	Club Dancer
Kenya Massey	...	Club Dancer
Noam Jenkins	...	Bartender

Storyline

On a beautiful college campus, something ugly is about to be spread around. A bit of gossip that was told is starting to take a frightening turn. Who could it have offended and how far will the person on the other side of the gossip handle the embarrassing situation.

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Plot Keywords:

gossip | college | rumor | classmate | suspicion | 

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Taglines:

If it were a game, would you play it? If it were a drug, would you be addicted? If it were a weapon, would you pull the trigger?

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content including language, and for brief violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

21 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rumores

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,321,729, 23 April 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$5,108,820, 18 June 2000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,591,270

Company Credits

Production Co:

NPV Entertainment, Outlaw Productions (I), Village Roadshow Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The university that the students attend was also used as the setting for several other films including Urban Legend (1998) and The Skulls (2000). Coincidentally all three films starred Joshua Jackson.

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Goofs

When Jones comes rushing in to tell Derrick that Travis has a gun, she is completely dry, yet she was just out in the rain.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jones: I'm a girl with a problem. It's not like I don't know better. But I seem to have gotten myself involved a very tempting situation.

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Alternate Versions

Deleted Scenes on the DVD:

• Travis films Jones talking about the last time she heard the rumor they started and how it has changed.
• Travis paints over a picture of Beau on his collage while explaining what roles Travis, Derrick and Jones play in the twisted game they have created.
• Derrick runs into Detective Curtis and tells him more lies before the detective asks Derrick about a picture of Naomi which was stolen from her room.
• Derrick calls his parents and tries to ask them for help but they cruelly deny him. This scene was cut because the director didn't want the audience to have sympathy for Derrick. Originally director Davis Guggenheim's parents Marion and director Charles Guggenheim did the voices for Derrick's parents but unfortunately their voices can't be heard on the DVD version of this scene.
• Alternate Ending: An extended version of the ending has Jones and Travis leaving Derrick alone in his loft when he is approached by a stranger who identifies himself as the man who arrested Derrick when he was in high school and he tells him that Naomi is now pressing charges using the video-tape of Derrick admitting that he raped her.

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Connections

References Murder, She Wrote (1984)

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Soundtracks

Head
Written by Timothy Bricheno, David Tomlinson, & Tim Gordine
Performed by Tinstar

User Reviews

Well done, and interesting.

This is one of the rare current films which takes the trouble to combine good acting and an interesting plot with excellent filming and directing. The viewer is left to think about the "harmless" thing called gossip, and about the views and moral codes of today's young generation. It is pleasant to note that the characters are quite realistic. We have all known, in high school and college such "artistic weirdos" as Travis, such hysterical "golden girls" as Naomi, such intellectuals as Kathy Jones, and such successful athletes as Derrick--popular and admired, and yet feared somehow, for the little diabolical flash in their behavior. It is a tribute to the talent and skill of these actors that they inspire belief in the viewer while playing the roles of abstracts. It should be noted particularly that James Marsden, usually an underestimated actor, manages by his skill to inspire sympathy, and in the end, a certain amount of bewildered admiration for his character. One may argue whether lying and manipulation are immoral--but doing both of them well, and professionally, is worthy of respect. To conclude--this is a film that is rare in the genre of youth films, in that it gets the viewer to sit back and think about the life these characters live, and the life which all of us saw firsthand in school and college. The life of gossip, of lies, rumors, reputations . . . a life in which words have power over reality. The Director shows this well, and the talented and skilled actors make us believe in the reality of their characters, their deeds, their emotions, and their thoughts.