Smart People (2008)

Director:

Noam Murro

Writer (WGA):

Mark Poirier (written by)

Release Date:

11 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes the smartest people have the most to learn

Plot:

Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother. |

Plot Keywords:

Carnegie Mellon

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Dennis Quaid	...	Lawrence Wetherhold
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Janet Hartigan
Thomas Haden Church	...	Chuck Wetherhold
Ellen Page	...	Vanessa Wetherhold
Ashton Holmes	...	James Wetherhold
Christine Lahti	...	Nancy
Camille Mana	...	Missy Chin
David Denman	...	William
Don Wadsworth	...	Hadley
Robert Haley	...	Roth
Patrick Sebes	...	Curtis
Kevin James Doyle	...	Rodney
Paul Huber	...	Ben Onufrey
Iva Jean Saraceni	...	Volunteer
Richard John Walters	...	Parking Lot Attendant
Scott A. Martin	...	Weller
Jane Mowder	...	Julia Knight
Adam Kroloff	...	Talbot
Patrick Jordan	...	Waiter
Amanda Jane Cooper	...	Brooke
Kiley Caughey	...	Linsey
Christy Harst	...	Waitress
Rick Warner	...	Bloomberg
Barret Hackney	...	Joseph
José A. Rivas	...	Student
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aaron Bernard	...	Pool Shark
William Kania	...	Man at Luggage Pick-up
Benjamin Jeran McGinn	...	Student

Directed by
Noam Murro

Writing credits (WGA)
Mark Poirier		(written by) (as Mark Jude Poirier)

Produced by
Omar Amanat	....	executive producer
Steffen Aumueller	....	executive producer
Bill Block	....	executive producer
Claus Clausen	....	co-producer
Michael Costigan	....	producer
Marina Grasic	....	executive producer
Bridget Johnson	....	producer
Michael London	....	producer
Kenneth Orkin	....	executive producer
Bruna Papandrea	....	producer
Jennifer Roth	....	executive producer
Edward Rugoff	....	executive producer
Glenn M. Stewart	....	co-producer
John Woldenberg	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Nuno Bettencourt

Cinematography by
Toby Irwin

Film Editing by
Robert Frazen
Yana Gorskaya

Casting by
Deborah Aquila
Jennifer L. Smith		(as Jennifer Smith)
Mary Tricia Wood		(as Tricia Wood)

Production Design by
Patti Podesta

Art Direction by
Ron Mason

Set Decoration by
Teresa Visinare

Costume Design by
Amy Westcott

Makeup Department
Judy Chin	....	makeup department head
Mandy Lyons	....	hair department head
Cammi Upton	....	makeup production assistant
Teresa Valenzuela	....	wig maker

Production Management
Alexis Arnold	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lillian Awa	....	second second assistant director
Richard Graves	....	first assistant director
Eric Sherman	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Kimberlee Andrews	....	art department coordinator
Paul Bucciarelli	....	on-set dresser
Robert Buncher	....	set dresser
Smith Harper Hutchings	....	buyer
Smith Harper Hutchings	....	set dresser
Jonathan Joseph	....	art department intern
Merissa Lombardo	....	assistant art director
Lauri Mancuso	....	scenic painter
Mary O'Brien	....	scenic artist
Buster Pile	....	construction coordinator
Michael Sabo	....	property master

Sound Department
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley artist
Patrick Cyccone Jr.	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jim Emswiller	....	sound mixer
Alan Freedman	....	adr mixer
Sandy Gendler	....	supervising sound editor
Robert Getty	....	dialogue editor
Danielle Ghent	....	dialogue editor
Pamela Kahn	....	foley artist
Ronald Kelly	....	assistant sound editor
Derek Marcil	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jared Seidman	....	adr recordist
Brian Slack	....	adr mixer
Lucy Sustar	....	foley mixer

Special Effects by
Jim Heastings	....	special effects

Stunts
Matt Baker	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Bruce Birmelin	....	still photographer
Jarrett Buba	....	electrician
Matthew Bulleri	....	additional grip
Terrence C. Burke	....	camera operator
Bart Flaherty	....	key grip
Matthew J. Fridg	....	electrician
Brad Garris	....	grip
David 'Yoko' Jose	....	grip
Sean Murray	....	additional set electrician
Jean-Pierre Nutini	....	electrician
Brian S. Osmond	....	additional camera operator
Doug Stanczak	....	video assist operator
Tonja Thomas	....	camera loader (as Tonja Greenfield)

Casting Department
Donna M. Belajac	....	casting: Pittsburgh
Samantha Finkler	....	casting associate
Amy Monroe	....	local casting assistant
Nancy Mosser	....	extras casting director
Katie Shenot	....	extras casting associate
Erin Toner	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Steffany Bernstein	....	costume supervisor
Roemehl Hawkins	....	assistant costume designer
Andrew Huntley II	....	wardrobe intern

Editorial Department
Kenny Becker	....	color timer
Doug Delaney	....	digital intermediate colorist
Matthew W. Johnson	....	digital intermediate editor
Stuart Sperling	....	first assistant editor: avid
David Townsend	....	post-production coordinator
Benjamin Wiser	....	post-production assistant

Music Department
Bryan Clements	....	scoring crew
Mark Eshelman	....	scoring crew
Charles Martin Inouye	....	music editor
Steve Juliani	....	music preparation
Todd Kasow	....	music editor
Bryan Lawson	....	music editor
Greg Loskorn	....	scoring technician
Adam Michalak	....	score recordist
Peter Rotter	....	music contractor
Peter Rotter	....	orchestra contractor
Michael Stern	....	music scoring mixer
Sam Zeines	....	assistant music editor

Transportation Department
Marc Scott	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Teddy Au	....	key production accountant
Cassandra Barbour	....	rights and clearances
Elizabeth A. Bergman	....	post-production accountant
Craig T. Brown	....	production assistant
Joshua M. Dragotta	....	location scout
David Farr	....	first assistant accountant
Juliana Farrell	....	production executive
Will Greenfield	....	assistant production coordinator
Paula Gregg	....	key craft service
Alex Hamilton	....	assistant location manager
Beau Holden	....	assistant: Dennis Quaid
Bill Hooton	....	production assistant
Steve Jacks	....	production office intern
Gina Kelly	....	payroll accountant
Kati Lightholder	....	accounting clerk
James A. Mahathey	....	location scout
Matthew M. McCloskey	....	location assistant
Kathy McCurdy	....	location manager
Benjamin Jeran McGinn	....	stand-in
Dominic Mecchia	....	set production assistant
Julie Moffa	....	craft service
Susan Moran	....	stand-in
Walter E. Myal	....	production assistant
Lauren Newhouse	....	set production assistant
Adam Nietupski	....	production office intern
Guillaume Renberg	....	remote head technician
Anthony Rossi III	....	production coordinator
Laura Sevier	....	rights and clearances
Colby Shrefler	....	assistant location manager
Raffi Simonian	....	title designer
Sharon Steinhauser	....	business and legal affairs
Kylie Straub	....	production assistant
Marie Tang	....	assistant: Bridget Johnson
Tara Tortorello	....	assistant to director
Cristina Weigmann	....	script supervisor
Dana Wilkey	....	product placement

Production Companies

• Grosvenor Park Productions
• Groundswell Productions
• QED International
• Scheherazade
• Sherazade Film Development
• Visitor Pictures

Distributors

• Blue Sky Media (2008) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Miramax Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• Media Distributors Film Source  Fuji film provided by
• Nau  main title design
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:G (Québec) | Ireland:15A | USA:R (certificate #43519) | UK:15 | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Allegheny General Hospital - 320 East North Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Grosvenor Park Productions

Trivia:

Rachel Weisz was originally cast opposite Dennis Quaid in this film, but she decided to leave the project. She was then replaced with Sarah Jessica Parker.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lawrence leaves the hotel room in New York, to meet with his publisher, he's walking down the hotel corridor carrying his tie and a champagne bottle in his hand, however he doesn't remove his tie or buy the champagne until after his meeting.

Quotes:

Chuck Wetherhold: These children haven't been properly parented in many years. They're practically feral. That's why I was brought in.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ellen Page/Wilco (#33.6)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Show You How

Good, but don't go in expecting a comedy

When I saw "Smart People" the trailer, I have to say that the first thought that came into my mind is "Sideways: Part 2". It had the same formula and characters. But I really wasn't as into Sideways as everyone else was, so I wasn't so excited to see this movie. But today I just decided to go ahead and give it a chance, I'm more grown up since I've seen Sideways, so why not just see what the film had to offer? I have to say while the movie does not excite me, I also see it doesn't excite too many people here on IMDb, it's a decent enough movie and worth the watch. The solid performances make the film likable and the story is interesting to watch, while it's not something that everyone can relate too, it's a good movie.

Lawerance is a college professor who isn't the most popular guy on campus, he's pompous, arrogant, and puts himself higher above his students while ignoring their plea's for extra help on assignments. His son hates him, his daughter admires him and is quite the over achiever, and his adopted brother is a scam artist. But when Lawerance has an accident while jumping fence, he hits his head, and meets former student, Janet Hartigan. They start to date, his daughter, Vanessa, goes through her life realizing she's never really had fun, and his adopted brother, Chuck needs this family just as much as Lawerance needs it.

Smart People, the major problem is that this was advertised as a comedy, it has some funny moments, but they're not what you would call laugh out loud. I'd say this is more of a drama with comedic elements, kind of like "Dan in Real Life", so Smart People didn't have "Smart Advertisement", but the movie is worth the watch. I would recommend it, it's an interesting film, not thrilling, so I would recommend probably waiting for the rental. But the cast pulls the movie together and makes it into a good drama.

7/10