Driving Miss Daisy - wikipedia Driving Miss Daisy For the play, see Driving Miss Daisy ( play ). Driving Miss Daisy Theatrical release poster Directed by Bruce Beresford Produced by Richard D. Zanuck Lili Fini Zanuck Screenplay by Alfred Uhry Based on Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry Starring Morgan Freeman Jessica Tandy Dan Aykroyd Patti LuPone Esther Rolle Music by Hans Zimmer Cinematography Peter James Edited by Mark Warner Production company The Zanuck Company Distributed by Warner Bros. Release date December 15, 1989 ( 1989 - 12 - 15 ) ( Limited ) January 26, 1990 ( 1990 - 01 - 26 ) ( Wide ) Running time 100 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $7.5 million Box office $145.8 million Driving Miss Daisy is a 1989 American comedy - drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on Uhry 's play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his role from the Original Off - Broadway production. The story defines Daisy and her point of view through a network of relationships and emotions by focusing on her home life, synagogue, friends, family, fears, and concerns over a 25 - year period. At the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990, Driving Miss Daisy received nine nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Actress ( Jessica Tandy ), Best Makeup, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Reception 3.1 Box office 3.2 Critical reaction 3.3 Awards and nominations 4 Soundtrack 5 Home release 6 References 7 External links Plot In 1948, Mrs. Daisy Werthan, or Miss Daisy ( Jessica Tandy ), a 72 - year - old wealthy, white, Jewish, widowed, retired school teacher, lives alone in Atlanta, Georgia, except for an African American housemaid named Idella ( Esther Rolle ). When Miss Daisy wrecks her car, her son, Boolie ( Dan Aykroyd ), hires Hoke Colburn ( Morgan Freeman ), an African American chauffeur. Miss Daisy at first refuses to let anyone else drive her, but gradually gives in. As Miss Daisy and Hoke spend time together, she gains appreciation for his many skills. After Idella dies in 1962, rather than hire a new maid, Miss Daisy decides to care for her own house and have Hoke do the cooking and the driving. The film explores racism against black people, which affects Hoke at that time. The film also touches on anti-semitism in the South. After her synagogue is bombed, Miss Daisy realizes that she is also a victim of prejudice ( religious ). But American society is undergoing radical changes, and Miss Daisy attends a dinner at which Dr. Martin Luther King gives a speech. She initially invites Boolie to the dinner, but he declines, and suggests that Miss Daisy invite Hoke. However, Miss Daisy only asks him to be her guest during the car ride to the event and ends up attending the dinner alone, with Hoke insulted by the manner of the invitation, listening to the speech on the car radio outside. Hoke arrives at the house one morning in 1971 to find Miss Daisy agitated and showing signs of dementia. Hoke calms her down. Boolie arranges for Miss Daisy to enter a retirement home. In 1973, Hoke, now 85, retires. Boolie and Hoke drive to the retirement home to visit Miss Daisy, now 97. As Hoke feeds her pumpkin pie, the image fades, with a car driving away in the distance. Cast Morgan Freeman as Hoke Colburn Jessica Tandy as Daisy Werthan Dan Aykroyd as Boolie Werthan Patti LuPone as Florine Werthan Esther Rolle as Idella Joann Havrilla as Miss McClatchey William Hall, Jr. as Oscar Muriel Moore as Miriam Sylvia Kaler as Beulah Crystal R. Fox as Katey Bell Reception Box Office Driving Miss Daisy was given a limited release on December 15, 1989, earning $73,745 in three theaters. The film was given a wide release on January 26, 1990, earning $5,705,721 over its opening weekend in 895 theaters. The film ultimately grossed $106,593,296 in North America and $39,200,000 in other territories for a worldwide total of $145,793,296. Critical reaction Driving Miss Daisy was well received by critics, with particular emphasis on Morgan Freeman 's and Jessica Tandy 's performances. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 82 % based on reviews from 55 critics, with an average score of 7.2 / 10. The site 's consensus states : `` Warm and smartly paced, and boasting impeccable performances from Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy. '' On Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics, the film has a score of 81 based on 16 reviews, indicating `` universal acclaim ''. CinemaScore similarly reported that audiences gave the film a rare `` A + '' grade. Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune declared Driving Miss Daisy one of the best films of 1989. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun - Times called it `` a film of great love and patience '' and wrote, `` It is an immensely subtle film, in which hardly any of the most important information is carried in the dialogue and in which body language, tone of voice or the look in an eye can be the most important thing in a scene. After so many movies in which shallow and violent people deny their humanity and ours, what a lesson to see a film that looks into the heart. '' Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also gave the film a positive review, calling Tandy 's performance `` glorious '' and opining, `` This is Tandy 's finest two hours ( sic ) onscreen in a film career that goes back to 1932. '' The performances of Tandy and Freeman were also praised by Vincent Canby of The New York Times, who observed, `` The two actors manage to be highly theatrical without breaking out of the realistic frame of the film. '' Awards and nominations List of Accolades Award / Film Festival Recipient ( s ) Result 62nd Academy Awards Best Picture Richard D. Zanuck Lili Fini Zanuck Won Best Actress Jessica Tandy Won Best Adapted Screenplay Alfred Uhry Won Best Makeup Manlio Rocchetti Lynn Barber Kevin Haney Won Best Actor Morgan Freeman Nominated Best Supporting Actor Dan Aykroyd Nominated Best Art Direction - Set Decoration Bruno Rubeo Crispian Sallis Nominated Best Costume Design Elizabeth McBride Nominated Best Film Editing Mark Warner Nominated 47th Golden Globe Awards ( January 20, 1990 ) Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy Driving Miss Daisy Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy Morgan Freeman Won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy Jessica Tandy Won Driving Miss Daisy also achieved the following distinctions at the 62nd Academy Awards : It is the only film based on an off Broadway production ever to win an Academy Award for Best Picture ; Jessica Tandy, at age 81, became the oldest winner in the history of the Best Actress category. It was the first Best Picture winner since 1932 's Grand Hotel which did not receive a Best Director nomination. ( This has only occurred once since, for Argo in 2012 ). Wings, the 1927 film that was the first to win Best Picture, did not have a nomination for director William Wellman. In his opening monologue at the 62nd Academy Awards, Billy Crystal made fun of this fact by calling it `` the film that apparently directed itself ''. Driving Miss Daisy also won three Golden Globe Awards ( Best Picture, Best Actor Morgan Freeman, and Best Actress Jessica Tandy ) in the Comedy / Musical categories. At the 1989 Writers Guild of America Awards, the film won in the Best Adapted Screenplay category. Rounding out its United States awards, the film won both Best Picture and Best Actor from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. In the United Kingdom, Driving Miss Daisy was nominated for four British Academy Film Awards, with Jessica Tandy winning in the Best Actress category. Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman won the Silver Bear for the Best Joint Performance at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival. Soundtrack The film 's score was composed by Hans Zimmer, who won a BMI Film Music Award and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television for his work. The score was performed entirely by Zimmer, done electronically using samplers and synthesizers, and did not feature a single live instrument. There is a scene, however, in which the `` Song to the Moon '' from the opera Rusalka by Antonín Dvořák is heard on a radio as sung by Gabriela Beňačková. Similarities have been noted between the main theme and the `` plantation '' folk song Shortnin ' Bread. The soundtrack was issued on Varèse Sarabande. Home release The film was also successful on home video. The film was released on DVD in the USA on April 30, 1997, and the special edition was released on February 4, 2003. The movie was first released on Blu - ray disc in Germany and finally was released on Blu - ray in the US in a special edition digibook in January 2013 by Warner Bros. References ^ Jump up to : Fabrikant, Geraldine ( March 6, 1990 ). `` How Major Studios Missed a Hit ''. The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` Driving Miss Daisy ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 31, 2008. Jump up ^ `` The 62nd Academy Awards ( 1990 ) Nominees and Winners ''. oscars.org. Retrieved August 1, 2011. Jump up ^ Uhry, Alfred ( January 1, 1998 ). `` Driving Miss Daisy. ''. Dramatists Play Service, Inc. Retrieved June 15, 2017 -- via Amazon. Jump up ^ `` Driving Miss Daisy ( 1989 ) ''. Flixster Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 29, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Driving Miss Daisy ''. CBS Interactive Metacritic. Retrieved April 29, 2014. Jump up ^ `` 18 of the Most Loved or Hated Movies : Films That Got A+ or F CinemaScores ( Photos ) ''. thewrap.com. June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2017. Jump up ^ Siskel, Gene ( January 12, 1990 ). `` ' Roger & Me ' Makes Point About The Common Man ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2016. Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( January 12, 1990 ). `` Driving Miss Daisy ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Retrieved April 8, 2016. Jump up ^ Travers, Peter. `` Driving Miss Daisy ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 29, 2014. Jump up ^ Canby, Vincent ( December 13, 1989 ). `` Review / Film ; ' Miss Daisy, ' Chamber Piece From the Stage ''. The New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Academy 's Diamond Anniversary Screening Series to Feature `` Driving Miss Daisy '' '' ( Press release ). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. September 2, 2003. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Academy Awards Best Director ''. filmsite.org. Retrieved October 23, 2014. Jump up ^ Kehr, Dave ( March 27, 1990 ). `` ' Miss Daisy, ' Jessica Tandy Win Top Oscars ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Berlinale : 1990 Prize Winners ''. berlinale.de. Retrieved March 17, 2011. Jump up ^ Bettencourt, Scott. `` THE YEAR IN FILM MUSIC : 1989 ''. Film Score Monthly. Retrieved June 29, 2014. Jump up ^ Hunt, Dennis ( September 27, 1990 ). `` VIDEO RENTALS : ' Born ' Ca n't Pass High - Revving ' Daisy ' ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 10, 2012. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Driving Miss Daisy Driving Miss Daisy on IMDb Driving Miss Daisy at the TCM Movie Database Driving Miss Daisy at AllMovie Films directed by Bruce Beresford The Adventures of Barry McKenzie ( 1972 ) Barry McKenzie Holds His Own ( 1974 ) Side by Side ( 1975 ) Don 's Party ( 1976 ) The Getting of Wisdom ( 1978 ) Money Movers ( 1978 ) Breaker Morant ( 1980 ) The Club ( 1980 ) Puberty Blues ( 1981 ) Tender Mercies ( 1983 ) King David ( 1985 ) The Fringe Dwellers ( 1986 ) Crimes of the Heart ( 1986 ) Aria ( 1987 ) Her Alibi ( 1989 ) Driving Miss Daisy ( 1989 ) Mister Johnson ( 1990 ) Black Robe ( 1991 ) Rich in Love ( 1993 ) A Good Man in Africa ( 1994 ) Silent Fall ( 1994 ) Last Dance ( 1996 ) Paradise Road ( 1997 ) Sydney -- A Story of a City ( 1999 ) Double Jeopardy ( 1999 ) Bride of the Wind ( 2001 ) Evelyn ( 2002 ) And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself ( 2003 ) The Contract ( 2006 ) Mao 's Last Dancer ( 2009 ) Peace, Love & Misunderstanding ( 2011 ) Bonnie & Clyde ( 2013 ) Mr. Church ( 2016 ) Academy Award for Best Picture 1927 / 28 -- 1950 Wings ( 1927 / 28 ) The Broadway Melody ( 1928 / 29 ) All Quiet on the Western Front ( 1929 / 30 ) Cimarron ( 1930 / 31 ) Grand Hotel ( 1931 / 32 ) Cavalcade ( 1933 ) It Happened One Night ( 1934 ) Mutiny on the Bounty ( 1935 ) The Great Ziegfeld ( 1936 ) The Life of Emile Zola ( 1937 ) You Ca n't Take It with You ( 1938 ) Gone with the Wind ( 1939 ) Rebecca ( 1940 ) How Green Was My Valley ( 1941 ) Mrs. Miniver ( 1942 ) Casablanca ( 1943 ) Going My Way ( 1944 ) The Lost Weekend ( 1945 ) The Best Years of Our Lives ( 1946 ) Gentleman 's Agreement ( 1947 ) Hamlet ( 1948 ) All the King 's Men ( 1949 ) All About Eve ( 1950 ) 1951 -- 1975 An American in Paris ( 1951 ) The Greatest Show on Earth ( 1952 ) From Here to Eternity ( 1953 ) On the Waterfront ( 1954 ) Marty ( 1955 ) Around the World in 80 Days ( 1956 ) The Bridge on the River Kwai ( 1957 ) Gigi ( 1958 ) Ben - Hur ( 1959 ) The Apartment ( 1960 ) West Side Story ( 1961 ) Lawrence of Arabia ( 1962 ) Tom Jones ( 1963 ) My Fair Lady ( 1964 ) The Sound of Music ( 1965 ) A Man for All Seasons ( 1966 ) In the Heat of the Night ( 1967 ) Oliver ! ( 1968 ) Midnight Cowboy ( 1969 ) Patton ( 1970 ) The French Connection ( 1971 ) The Godfather ( 1972 ) The Sting ( 1973 ) The Godfather Part II ( 1974 ) One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( 1975 ) 1976 -- 2000 Rocky ( 1976 ) Annie Hall ( 1977 ) The Deer Hunter ( 1978 ) Kramer vs. Kramer ( 1979 ) Ordinary People ( 1980 ) Chariots of Fire ( 1981 ) Gandhi ( 1982 ) Terms of Endearment ( 1983 ) Amadeus ( 1984 ) Out of Africa ( 1985 ) Platoon ( 1986 ) The Last Emperor ( 1987 ) Rain Man ( 1988 ) Driving Miss Daisy ( 1989 ) Dances with Wolves ( 1990 ) The Silence of the Lambs ( 1991 ) Unforgiven ( 1992 ) Schindler 's List ( 1993 ) Forrest Gump ( 1994 ) Braveheart ( 1995 ) The English Patient ( 1996 ) Titanic ( 1997 ) Shakespeare in Love ( 1998 ) American Beauty ( 1999 ) Gladiator ( 2000 ) 2001 -- present A Beautiful Mind ( 2001 ) Chicago ( 2002 ) The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King ( 2003 ) Million Dollar Baby ( 2004 ) Crash ( 2005 ) The Departed ( 2006 ) No Country for Old Men ( 2007 ) Slumdog Millionaire ( 2008 ) The Hurt Locker ( 2009 ) The King 's Speech ( 2010 ) The Artist ( 2011 ) Argo ( 2012 ) 12 Years a Slave ( 2013 ) Birdman or ( The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance ) ( 2014 ) Spotlight ( 2015 ) Moonlight ( 2016 ) Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy An American in Paris ( 1951 ) With a Song in My Heart ( 1952 ) Carmen Jones ( 1954 ) Guys and Dolls ( 1955 ) The King and I ( 1956 ) Les Girls ( 1957 ) Gigi / Auntie Mame ( 1958 ) Porgy and Bess / Some Like It Hot ( 1959 ) Song Without End / The Apartment ( 1960 ) West Side Story / A Majority of One ( 1961 ) The Music Man / That Touch of Mink ( 1962 ) Tom Jones ( 1963 ) My Fair Lady ( 1964 ) The Sound of Music ( 1965 ) The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming ( 1966 ) The Graduate ( 1967 ) Oliver ! ( 1968 ) The Secret of Santa Vittoria ( 1969 ) MASH ( 1970 ) Fiddler on the Roof ( 1971 ) Cabaret ( 1972 ) American Graffiti ( 1973 ) The Longest Yard ( 1974 ) The Sunshine Boys ( 1975 ) A Star Is Born ( 1976 ) The Goodbye Girl ( 1977 ) Heaven Can Wait ( 1978 ) Breaking Away ( 1979 ) Coal Miner 's Daughter ( 1980 ) Arthur ( 1981 ) Tootsie ( 1982 ) Yentl ( 1983 ) Romancing the Stone ( 1984 ) Prizzi 's Honor ( 1985 ) Hannah and Her Sisters ( 1986 ) Hope and Glory ( 1987 ) Working Girl ( 1988 ) Driving Miss Daisy ( 1989 ) Green Card ( 1990 ) Beauty and the Beast ( 1991 ) The Player ( 1992 ) Mrs. Doubtfire ( 1993 ) The Lion King ( 1994 ) Babe ( 1995 ) Evita ( 1996 ) As Good as It Gets ( 1997 ) Shakespeare in Love ( 1998 ) Toy Story 2 ( 1999 ) Almost Famous ( 2000 ) Moulin Rouge ! ( 2001 ) Chicago ( 2002 ) Lost in Translation ( 2003 ) Sideways ( 2004 ) Walk the Line ( 2005 ) Dreamgirls ( 2006 ) Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ( 2007 ) Vicky Cristina Barcelona ( 2008 ) The Hangover ( 2009 ) The Kids Are All Right ( 2010 ) The Artist ( 2011 ) Les Misérables ( 2012 ) American Hustle ( 2013 ) The Grand Budapest Hotel ( 2014 ) The Martian ( 2015 ) La La Land ( 2016 ) Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture Driving Miss Daisy ( 1989 ) Dances with Wolves ( 1990 ) The Silence of the Lambs ( 1991 ) The Crying Game ( 1992 ) Schindler 's List ( 1993 ) Forrest Gump ( 1994 ) Apollo 13 ( 1995 ) The English Patient ( 1996 ) Titanic ( 1997 ) Saving Private Ryan ( 1998 ) American Beauty ( 1999 ) Gladiator ( 2000 ) Moulin Rouge ! ( 2001 ) Chicago ( 2002 ) The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King ( 2003 ) The Aviator ( 2004 ) Brokeback Mountain ( 2005 ) Little Miss Sunshine ( 2006 ) No Country for Old Men ( 2007 ) Slumdog Millionaire ( 2008 ) The Hurt Locker ( 2009 ) The King 's Speech ( 2010 ) The Artist ( 2011 ) Argo ( 2012 ) 12 Years a Slave / Gravity ( 2013 ) Birdman or ( The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance ) ( 2014 ) The Big Short ( 2015 ) La La Land ( 2016 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Driving_Miss_Daisy&oldid=797389366 '' Categories : 1989 films 1990 films English - language films 1980s comedy - drama films 1980s road movies American films American buddy films American comedy - drama films American road movies Hebrew - language films Best Musical or Comedy Picture Golden Globe winners Best Picture Academy Award winners Film scores by Hans Zimmer Films about automobiles Films about race and ethnicity Films about racism Films about old age Films based on plays Films directed by Bruce Beresford Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award - winning performance Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe winning performance Films set in Atlanta Films set in the 1940s Films set in the 1950s Films set in the 1960s Films set in the 1970s Films that won the Academy Award for Best Makeup Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award Warner Bros. films Druid Hills, Georgia Films about Jews and Judaism Films produced by Richard D. Zanuck Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from June 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Български Bosanski Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Magyar Македонски मराठी Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 26 August 2017, at 19 : 24. About Wikipedia

Question: where does the term driving miss daisy come from
Answer: a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on Uhry's play of the same name