World premiere at Sundance 2003, hoping to attract a distributor
Filmed in 16 days in HD video. Reported budget: $160,000
April Burns (Katie Holmes) is a 21-year-old wild child with some big holiday problems. She has invited her straightlaced suburban family for Thanksgiving dinner at her run-down Manhattan tenement, even though she has no idea how to make a turkey 'n fixins dinner, and she discovers that she doesn't even have a working oven. April is forced to ask her eccentric neighbors for help in cooking her fifteen pound turkey, shifting the bird from oven to oven as she improvises the accessories.
Meanwhile, the Burns Family begins a reluctant journey from suburban Pennsylvania toward New York City's Lower East Side. April's Dad, Jim Burns (Oliver Platt) tries to convince the family that the day will be beautiful. Her mom, Joy (Patricia Clarkson) has her doubts and freely voices them. April's teenage sister and brother are squeezed between Grandma Dottie and a bag of snacks in the back seat as the Burns' family car hurtles toward Manhattan and what will most likely be certain disaster.
Revealed in good time is the fact that April's mom is fatally ill, and the potentially disastrous reunion will probably be the last chance for the antagonistic mother and daughter to reconcile.
"Pieces of April" marks the directorial debut of writer Peter Hedges, who wrote both the novel and the screenplay of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." He also wrote the screenplays for "About a Boy" and "Map of the World", so there has been no doubt that Hedges can write. In my estimation, there is no longer any reason to doubt that he can direct. Although shot in 16 days on HD video, with a budget under $200,000, April very successfully combines humor and poignancy in a film which could prove to be a PG-13 box office attraction, and has some potential to be a breakthrough smash like Greek Wedding. I believe that if the film gets a distribution deal, the word of mouth will be so strong that it will succeed. The 4:3 aspect ratio may be problematic for theatrical distribution, but the video quality is good enough that people will not be distracted by the film/video quality debate.
In fact, Hedges had earlier developed three different deals to make this into a 35mm film, with budgets ranging from $4 million to $7 million, but all three fell through, and Hedges ended going the low-budget route, attracting a quality cast and crew with deferred payments based on shares of the film.
This is a terrific little film which kept the world premiere audience laughing, received a long "standing O" from the Sundance crowd, and had the audience in tears when an emotional Hedges recollected the true stories which formed the basis of his fictional treatment. (The
mother, played with uncannily complex humanity by Patricia Clarkson, was based in significant ways upon Hedges's mother, and her own battle with cancer.)
The film rings true for anyone who has ever adopted a different lifestyle from his or her parents, and for everyone who can recollect suburban family outings with squabbling siblings and conflicted generations.
Great job, Peter, but don't stop writing now that you've achieved your dream of being a successful director.
Filmed in 16 days in HD video. Reported budget: $160,000
April Burns (Katie Holmes) is a 21-year-old wild child with some big holiday problems. She has invited her straightlaced suburban family for Thanksgiving dinner at her run-down Manhattan tenement, even though she has no idea how to make a turkey 'n fixins dinner, and she discovers that she doesn't even have a working oven. April is forced to ask her eccentric neighbors for help in cooking her fifteen pound turkey, shifting the bird from oven to oven as she improvises the accessories.
Meanwhile, the Burns Family begins a reluctant journey from suburban Pennsylvania toward New York City's Lower East Side. April's Dad, Jim Burns (Oliver Platt) tries to convince the family that the day will be beautiful. Her mom, Joy (Patricia Clarkson) has her doubts and freely voices them. April's teenage sister and brother are squeezed between Grandma Dottie and a bag of snacks in the back seat as the Burns' family car hurtles toward Manhattan and what will most likely be certain disaster.
Revealed in good time is the fact that April's mom is fatally ill, and the potentially disastrous reunion will probably be the last chance for the antagonistic mother and daughter to reconcile.
"Pieces of April" marks the directorial debut of writer Peter Hedges, who wrote both the novel and the screenplay of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." He also wrote the screenplays for "About a Boy" and "Map of the World", so there has been no doubt that Hedges can write. In my estimation, there is no longer any reason to doubt that he can direct. Although shot in 16 days on HD video, with a budget under $200,000, April very successfully combines humor and poignancy in a film which could prove to be a PG-13 box office attraction, and has some potential to be a breakthrough smash like Greek Wedding. I believe that if the film gets a distribution deal, the word of mouth will be so strong that it will succeed. The 4:3 aspect ratio may be problematic for theatrical distribution, but the video quality is good enough that people will not be distracted by the film/video quality debate.
In fact, Hedges had earlier developed three different deals to make this into a 35mm film, with budgets ranging from $4 million to $7 million, but all three fell through, and Hedges ended going the low-budget route, attracting a quality cast and crew with deferred payments based on shares of the film.
This is a terrific little film which kept the world premiere audience laughing, received a long "standing O" from the Sundance crowd, and had the audience in tears when an emotional Hedges recollected the true stories which formed the basis of his fictional treatment. (The
mother, played with uncannily complex humanity by Patricia Clarkson, was based in significant ways upon Hedges's mother, and her own battle with cancer.)
The film rings true for anyone who has ever adopted a different lifestyle from his or her parents, and for everyone who can recollect suburban family outings with squabbling siblings and conflicted generations.
Great job, Peter, but don't stop writing now that you've achieved your dream of being a successful director.