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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Who said anything about talent?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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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 film was released the same year as Doctor Who: The Girl in the Fireplace (2006), which Sophia Myles guest starred as Madame De Pompadour.

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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.

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Quotes

Bardo: [holding up clay pipe] This is ready for the kiln.

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Crazy Credits

The "Facts of Life" theme song plays during the final part of the end credits.

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Connections

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

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Soundtracks

Ray's Idea
Written by Ray Brown (as Raymond M. Brown), Walter Fuller (as Walter Gil Fuller)
Published by Music Sales Corp. (ASCAP)
Performed by Monty Alexander
Courtesy of Concord Music Group, Inc.

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!