Art School Confidential (2006)

Starting from childhood attempts at illustration, the protagonist pursues his true obsession to art school. But as he learns how the art world really works, he finds that he must adapt his vision to the reality that confronts him.

Director:

Terry Zwigoff

Writers:

Daniel Clowes (screenplay), Daniel Clowes (comic story) (as Dan Clowes)

Stars:

Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Max Minghella	...	Jerome
Sophia Myles	...	Audrey
John Malkovich	...	Professor Sandiford
Jim Broadbent	...	Jimmy
Matt Keeslar	...	Jonah
Ethan Suplee	...	Vince
Joel David Moore	...	Bardo
Nick Swardson	...	Matthew
Anjelica Huston	...	Art History Teacher
Adam Scott	...	Marvin Bushmiller
Jack Ong	...	Professor Okamura
Scoot McNairy	...	Army-Jacket
Jeremy Guskin	...	Eno
Monika Ramnath	...	Flower
Isaac Laskin	...	Kiss-Ass

Storyline

Jerome, a kid from the suburbs who loves to draw, goes to New York City's Strathmore College for his freshman year as a drawing major. Competition and petty jealousy consume faculty and students, with an end-of-first-semester best-student award held out as a grand plum. Worse, a strangler is on the loose, killing people on or next to campus. The idealistic Jerome falls in love with Audrey, a student who models for life-drawing classes and who responds to his sweetness. But he has a rival: the clean-cut, manly Jonah, also a first-year drawing student, whose primitive work draws raves and Audrey's attention. As cynicism seems to corrode everything, Jerome is desperate to win.

---

Plot Keywords:

art school | breasts | nude modeling | scantily clad female | cleavage | 

---

Taglines:

Who said anything about talent?

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references, nudity and a scene of violence

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Classics [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 May 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Akademia tajemniczych sztuk pieknych

Filming Locations:

Communications Center, Los Angeles City College - 855 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$135,733, 7 May 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,296,916, 13 August 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Sony Pictures Classics, Mr. Mudd

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The art college in the movie is based on the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. According the published screenplay, the minimalist paintings Jonah brings to class were painted by author Daniel Clowes when he was a student at the Pratt Institute.

---

Goofs

During the 'you haven't been laid' dorm scene, the fabric on Matthew's dressmaking model switches from draped around the model to wrapped around it like a scarf almost instantaneously.

---

Quotes

Eno: It has the singularity of outsider art,though the conscious rejection of spatial dynamics could only come from an intimacy with the conventions of picture-making.
Jerome: Are you kidding me?

---

Crazy Credits

An extra scene featuring the actors in Vince's film is shown after the credits.

---

Connections

References High School Confidential! (1958)

---

Soundtracks

Stacy's Mom
Weitten by Chris Collingwood (as Christopher Collingwood), Adam Schlesinger
Published by Vaguely Familiar Music (ASCAP)/Monkey Demon Music (BMI)
Performed by Fountains of Wayne
Courtesy of Virgin Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Better than you'd expect!

I guess this movie is one that would make more sense or resonance if you are an art student. True story, after seeing this movie, my friend, who is a graphic-design/painting major, almost considered dropping out. It wasn't until we (me and my other art-major friends) convinced him that as long as you aren't out to do art just to be famous (like Jerome did), you won't have to preform unseemly acts with one's mouth to climb the ladder for recognition.

While this movie IS disjointed, it does fit in perfectly for a Daniel Clowes story. Fans of his work will be happy with the results.

This film is a good reminder that just because you're an artist, doesn't mean you should be unhappy. Just don't try to be in it just for the money, cause you'll end up more of a mess than when you started!