Simon Birch (1998)

Regisseur:

Mark Steven Johnson

Drehbuchautoren (WGA):

Mark Steven Johnson (screenplay)
John Irving (novel) (suggestion)

Premierendatum:

11. September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Werbezeile:

Destiny has big plans for little Simon Birch.

Plot:

A young boy with stunted growth is convinced that God has a great purpose for him.

Plot Keywords:

Friendship | Loss Of Friend | Christmas | Quarry | Swimming Pool

Filmpreise:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

a feel-good story line

Besetzung

Ian Michael Smith	...	Simon Birch
Joseph Mazzello	...	Joe Wenteworth
Ashley Judd	...	Rebecca Wenteworth
Oliver Platt	...	Ben Goodrich
David Strathairn	...	Rev. Russell
Dana Ivey	...	Grandmother Wenteworth
Beatrice Winde	...	Hilde Grove
Jan Hooks	...	Miss Leavey
Cecilley Carroll	...	Marjorie
Sumela Kay	...	Ann (as Sumela-Rose Keramidopulos)
Sam Morton	...	Stuart
Jim Carrey	...	Adult Joe Wenteworth
John Mazzello	...	Simon Wenteworth
Holly Dennison	...	Mrs. Birch
Peter MacNeill	...	Mr. Birch
Addison Bell	...	Dr. Wells
Roger McKeen	...	Coach Higgins
Sean McCann	...	Chief Al Cork
John Robinson	...	Mr. Baker
Guy Sanvido	...	Janitor
Gil Filar	...	Eddie
Marcello Meleca	...	Howard Ellis
Tim Hall	...	Pitcher
Tom Redman	...	First Baseman
Mark Skrela	...	Third Baseman
Kevin White	...	Shortstop
Terry V. Hart	...	Umpire
Alan Markfield	...	Umpire
Christopher Marren	...	Rival Baseball Coach
Tommy Dorrian	...	Teammate #1
Justin Marangoni	...	Teammate #2
Tyler Cairns	...	Sheep
Gino Giacomini	...	Wise Man
Barbara Stewart	...	Delivery Room Nurse
David Rigby	...	Bus Driver
Sam Aaron	...	Old Man #1
David Chapman	...	Old Man #2
Wendy Fleming	...	Mrs. Russell
Paul De Fibo	...	Junior Lamb
Dalton Rondell	...	Junior Lamb
Cameron Croughwell	...	Junior Lamb
Logan Holladay	...	Junior Lamb
Scotty Leavenworth	...	Junior Lamb
Devon Alan	...	Junior Lamb
Joshua Titen	...	Junior Lamb
Tony Orr	...	Junior Lamb
Joshua Croughwell	...	Junior Lamb
Jeffrey Schoeny	...	Junior Lamb
Derek Montgomery	...	Junior Lamb
Sean Sullivan	...	Junior Lamb
Devon Cole Borisoff	...	Junior Lamb
Taylor Emerson	...	Junior Lamb
Brian McLaughlin	...	Junior Lamb
Nicholas Andrew	...	Junior Lamb
Sean Flynn	...	Junior Lamb
Patrick McTavish	...	Junior Lamb
Blake Hubbell	...	Junior Lamb
Cody Gill	...	Junior Lamb
Ramiro González	...	Junior Lamb
Mitchell Orr	...	Junior Lamb
Trevor Habberstad	...	Junior Lamb
übrige Besetzung in alphabetischer Reihenfolge:
Aaron Bouffard	...	Retreat Kid (uncredited)

Regie
Mark Steven Johnson

Buch (WGA)
Mark Steven Johnson		(screenplay)
John Irving		(novel "A Prayer For Owen Meany") (suggestion)

Produktion
John Baldecchi	....	executive producer
Roger Birnbaum	....	producer
Howard Ellis	....	associate producer
Billy Higgins	....	co-producer
Laurence Mark	....	producer

Originalmusik
Marc Shaiman

Kamera
Aaron Schneider		(as Aaron E. Schneider)

Schnitt
David Finfer

Casting
Mary Gail Artz
Barbara Cohen

Szenenbild
David Chapman

Bauten/Dekorationsbau (art directors)
Dennis Davenport

Bühnenbildner/Ausstatter (set decorators)
Carolyn 'Cal' Loucks

Kostüme
Betsy Heimann
Abram Waterhouse

Produktionsleiter (production managers)
Brian Leslie Parker	....	production manager

Regieassistenten
Howard Ellis	....	assistant director
Derek Filiatrault	....	daily trainee assistant director
Mickey Gilbert	....	second unit director
Robin M. Reelis	....	third assistant director: second unit
Bob Warwick	....	trainee assistant director
Glenn R. Wilder	....	second unit director

Ausstattung (Stab)
Carlos Caneca	....	lead set dresser
Reverend Bob Chiasson	....	set dresser
Teresita Doucet	....	set dresser
Danielle Fleury	....	assistant set decorator
Bill Iiams	....	construction coordinator
Wayne Jacques	....	set dresser
Janet Kusnick	....	storyboard artist
Anastasia Masaro	....	second assistant art director
David Ritchie	....	assistant property master
Michael Shocrylas	....	assistant art director

Ton Stab
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley artist
Jim Borgardt	....	supervising adr editor
Valerie Davidson	....	sound editor
Dane A. Davis	....	supervising sound editor
Barbara Delpuech	....	assistant sound editor (as Barbara S. Way)
Glen Gauthier	....	sound
Gary Gegan	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tom Hammond	....	foley editor
Matthew Iadarola	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Geoffrey G. Rubay	....	sound editor
Steve Switzer	....	boom operator
Rudy Pi	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Spezialeffekte
Jason Board	....	special effects
Tony Kenny	....	special effects
Arthur Langevin	....	special effects key
Brad Larkin	....	special effects crew
Al Marangoni	....	special effects coordinator
Jeff Miller	....	special effects foreman
Lawrence Willett	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects
Joe Bauer	....	visual effects supervisor
Rick Cortes	....	visual effects artist
Sarah Moore	....	digital compositor: Buena Vista Imaging
Rick Shick	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Gregory J. Barnett	....	stunts
Michael T. Brady	....	stunts
Eric Bryson	....	stunt double
Peter Cox	....	stunts
Tim A. Davison	....	stunt coordinator: second unit
C.J. Fidler	....	stunts
Ed Gale	....	stunts
Kris A. Jeffrey	....	water safety & stunts
Alison Reid	....	stunt coordinator
Bryan Renfro	....	stunts
Suzi Stingl	....	stunts
Allan Redford	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Kamera und Elektrik (Stab)
Sam Bojin	....	best boy electric
Rocky Brown	....	crane grip
Angelo Colavecchia	....	camera operator
Bruce Comtois	....	grip: underwater unit, Los Angeles
Mark Cyre	....	first assistant camera
Bryan Forde	....	gaffer
Greg Haddow	....	electrician
Maynard Harris	....	crane technician
Don McCuaig	....	director of photography: second unit
Robert McRae	....	gaffer: rigging
Monty Montgomerie	....	first assistant key grip
Dennis J. Murphy	....	electrician
Alexandre Naufel	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Brad Peterman	....	first assistant camera: underwater unit
Ron Renzetti	....	dolly grip
Dylan Rush	....	set lighting: Los Angeles
Richard Stevens	....	first assistant camera
A.J. Vesak	....	camera operator: "a" camera, second unit
Lawrence Willett	....	electrician: Nova Scotia

Casting (Stab)
Juli-Ann Kay	....	casting associate: Canada
Jane Rogers	....	extras casting

Kostüm und Garderobe (Stab)
Cori Burchell	....	costume supervisor

Schnitt (Stab)
Doug Caron	....	assistant film editor
Penny Lee Hallin	....	first assistant editor
Ariel Nachmann	....	first assistant editor
David Orr	....	color timer
Scott Wesley Ross	....	apprentice editor
Kevin D. Ross	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Musik (Stab)
Pete Anthony	....	conductor
Pete Anthony	....	orchestrator
Jeff Atmajian	....	orchestrator
Frank Bennett	....	orchestrator
Dan DiPrima	....	music editor: temp music
Ralph Grierson	....	musician: piano solos
Artie Kane	....	conductor
Stephanie Lowry	....	assistant music editor
Patrick Russ	....	orchestrator
Scott Stambler	....	supervising music editor
Nick Vidar	....	music programmer
Zigmund Gron	....	music editor (uncredited)

Transporte
Lori Ann Bellefontaine	....	picture car assistant

Restlicher Stab
Bohnie Avanzino	....	title designer: New Wave Entertainment
Brent Crowell	....	assistant location manager: Nova Scotia
Ian Doig	....	animal trainer: wild animals
Greg Eby	....	first assistant accountant
JoAnne Fishburn	....	production assistant
Wendy Gaboury	....	payroll accountant
Paul Hiscock	....	fourth assistant director: stunt unit
Peter Hollocker	....	production assistant
Alan Jacques	....	projectionist
Randy Kennedy	....	location scout
Liam Kiernan	....	assistant location manager
Alex Kontsalakis	....	accounting clerk
Deborah Laub	....	location manager: Los Angeles
Eric Mansur	....	assistant: Laurence Mark
Byron A. Martin	....	location manager
Mark McLean	....	office production assistant
Bob Merrick	....	assistant production office coordinator: second unit
Megan Moran	....	assistant: John Baldecchi
Matthew H. O'Connor	....	dive coordinator
Abraham Park	....	post-production accountant
Nina Saxon	....	title designer: New Wave Entertainment
Susanne Schlomer	....	assistant to producer Billy Higgins
Simone Stock	....	assistant: Mark Steven Johnson
Elaine Thurston	....	production accountant

Produktionsfirmen

• Caravan Pictures
• Hollywood Pictures

Verleihfirmen

• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1999-????) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (Sweden) (1999) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International Spain S.A. (Spain)
• Buena Vista International (Argentina)
• Buena Vista Pictures
• Filmes Lusomundo (Portugal)
• Gativideo (Argentina) (video)

Spezialeffekte

• Modern VideoFilm (visual effects and main title compositing)

Weitere Firmen

• Danetracks  sound design and editorial
• Toronto Film Studios  movie studio

Alternativ:

A Prayer for Owen Meany (USA) (working title)
A Small Miracle (USA) (working title)
Angels and Armadillos
Über Gürteltiere, Simon und mich (Deutschland) [de]
Kleine Held, Der (Deutschland) [de]
Simon Birch - Ein kleiner Held und sein außergewöhnliches Schicksal (Deutschland) (TV title) [de]
Simon Birch - Kleiner Held ganz groß! (Deutschland) (TV title) [de]

MPAA:

Rated PG for language, emotional thematic elements, and an accident scene.

Länge:

114 Min

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe (Technicolor)

Seitenverhältnis:

1.85 : 1

Tonverfahren:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Altersfreigabe:

Netherlands:MG6 | Philippines:G | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-10/7 | Germany:6 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/6 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Drehorte:

Elora, Ontario, Canada

Firma:

Caravan Pictures

Dies und das:

John Irving himself provided the name Simon Birch for the producers to use in place of Owen Meany.

Pannen:

Anachronismus: The fateful Christmas in question is in December 1964, but a news item on the radio reports a speech given by President Kennedy, killed a year earlier.

Dialogzitate:

Simon Birch: I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweis/Anspielung/Erwähnung in "HBO First Look: The Making of 'The Mexican' (#8.1)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Can I Get A Witness

a feel-good story line

A lad with stunted growth who holds out with brave optimism and sheer good-naturedness is able to go through school life and survive any antagonisms with aplomb, indeed, forging an inseparable friendship, as he approaches his twelfth and fatal year.

Beautifully told story, with excellent photography and good music keeping just the right atmosphere, this is a film which might have some downgrading it to a simple `tear-jerker' and reaching for inexhaustible supplies of paper-handkerchiefs. But the story-line is more subtle and more carefully played out, such that in effect the film does not even try to pull out any angst from those softer-at-heart: the acting itself - especially that of Ian Michael Smith - and the focussing of the story rises above this. However, this is of course a `feel-good' story, though the end might leave you thinking otherwise.

Once again, how nice to see an attractive film without violence or sex being the main protagonists.

I would not mind trying to find the book................