The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writers:

Steve Conrad (screenplay by), Steve Conrad (screen story by)

Stars:

Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Jon Daly

5 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Stiller	...	Walter Mitty
Kristen Wiig	...	Cheryl Melhoff
Jon Daly	...	Tim Naughton (as Jonathan C. Daly)
Kathryn Hahn	...	Odessa Mitty
Terence Bernie Hines	...	Gary Mannheim
Adam Scott	...	Ted Hendricks
Paul Fitzgerald	...	Don Proctor
Grace Rex	...	Cheryl's Co-Worker
Alex Anfanger	...	Ted's Toner Box Associate
Amanda Naughton	...	Female Editor
Adrian Martinez	...	Hernando
Nolan Carley	...	Western Union Employee
Joey Slotnick	...	Retirement Home Administrator
Shirley MacLaine	...	Edna Mitty
Gary Wilmes	...	Walter's Dad

Storyline

The manager of the negative assets sector of Life magazine, Walter Mitty, has been working for sixteen years for the magazine and has a tedious life, not going anywhere but from his home to his job and vice-versa. He is an escapist, daydreaming into a world of fantasy many times a day. Walter has a crush on the recently hired Cheryl Melhoff but he is too shy to invite her on a date and he is trying to contact her via online dating. The magazine is preparing to release its last printed edition and the loathsome manager of transition Ted Hendricks is preparing an inevitable downsizing over the next few days. Walter has been the liaison between the magazine and the mysterious independent photographer Sean O'Connell who has sent to him a package of negatives and a wallet as a gift for his work. Sean also suggests to the senior management the use of negative 25 for the cover of the last edition. However, Walter cannot find the negative that is missing. Walter has no means to contact Sean ...

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Plot Keywords:

life magazine | magazine | photographer | daydream | snow leopard | 

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Taglines:

Stop dreaming. Start living.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some crude comments, language and action violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [Brazil] Official site [France]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Spanish Icelandic

Release Date:

25 December 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

La increíble vida de Walter Mitty

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,000,000, 27 December 2013, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$58,236,838

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$188,133,322

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox,TSG Entertainment,Samuel Goldwyn Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1 Datasat Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr., whose father, Samuel Goldwyn, produced The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) in 1947, conceived the idea of doing a remake in 1994, with Jim Carrey in mind for the title role. Goldwyn chose New Line Cinema, which had a positive working relationship with Carrey. The studio bought the rights in 1995, with the understanding that The Samuel Goldwyn Company would be involved in creative decisions. Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz turned in the first draft of the screenplay in July 1997. Ron Howard entered negotiations to direct the same month, as well as cover producing duties with Brian Grazer and Imagine Entertainment. Howard, Grazer, and Imagine Entertainment eventually left the project in favor of Edtv (1999), leaving the Mitty project in development hell.

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Goofs

When Walter and Cheryl are in the park talking about where Sean might be, Cheryl says someone sent "1090s" to New Jersey and Greenland. She probably means 1099s, pay records for non-employee contractors.

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Quotes

Cheryl: God, you're noteworthy!
Walter Mitty: I just live by the ABCs: Adventurous, Brave, Creative.

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Crazy Credits

The making and authorized distribution of this film supported over 15,000 jobs and involved hundreds of thousands of work hours.

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Alternate Versions

The British theatrical version was pre-cut during post-production to secure a PG rating (an uncut 12 rating was available to the distributor). This version was the one released worldwide.

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Connections

Featured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #8.2 (2014)

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Soundtracks

The Wolves and the Ravens
Written by Chris Koza (as Christopher Koza)
Performed by Rogue Valley
Courtesy of In The Groove Music

User Reviews

An Utterly Mesmerising Spectacle

'Tropic Thunder', 'The Cable Guy', 'Zoolander'... Ben Stiller has created some entertaining comedies, but 'Walter Mitty' is by far his most audacious piece of direction so far. The story is solid and the cinematography is stunning, Stiller has created an utterly mesmerising spectacle that follows the same basis of the 1947 classic starring Danny Kaye. Whilst I found the majority of the film charming and entertaining, it's the beautiful cinematography from Stuart Dryburgh that really sells this flick, and in my opinion should have been worthy of an Oscar- nomination at the least. One of the most entertaining comedy-dramas I have seen in recent years, a film that Stiller should be proud of.