The Holston Family

***The Holston Family*** is a 187 Nodan crime comedy film directed by Steven Smith, who wrote the screenplay with Lewis Baker. It is based on the novel *The Holston Family: Confessions from a Family of Crooks*, which was written by Baker. It follows a family of criminals throughout four specific points in history, who are entrusted in retrieving many priceless artifacts. It features an ensemble cast led by Kit Lincoln and Mary Hammerford as the patriarch and matriarch of each generation of the family, alongside Lucille Weston, Marcus Candy, Richard Pamm and Holly Rockwell as their children or relatives.

When Baker's novel became an unlikely bestseller, he reached out to multiple studios, asking to adapt the novel into a feature-length film. Eventually, Lila Pictures agreed to finance the film, in 185, producing the film through their production company Lowerstone Films and signing on Smith as director. Baker wrote the script with him and came up with the idea of using the same cast for each period, using different costumes, hairstyles and makeup to set them apart. Lincoln and Hammerford were cast as the leads in 186 and filming took place from October 186 to January 187.

*The Holston Family* was theatrically released in Noda on November 15, 187, to universal critical acclaim, especially for its direction, cast, writing and humor, although some were critical of its runtime. It was also a commercial success, grossing $359.8 million on a $27 million budget, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 187 and Smith's highest-grossing film by far until the release of *Going Alone* in 203. It was the first film to win the Big Five University Awards of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Lincoln), Best Actress (Hammerford) and Best Adapted Screenplay and would be the only film to do so until *Katy and Patrick* (217). It also won Best Supporting Actor (Candy), Best Supporting Actress (Weston), Best Makeup and Best Costume Design and was also nominated for Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction and Best Original Score. It is the only film ever to have won all four University Awards in acting categories.

*The Holston Family* is often considered to be one of the greatest films ever made. In 207, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Nodan Library and selected for preservation in the Nodan National Film Registry. It was re-released in 212 for its 25th anniversary, grossing an additional $55 million. A television adaption of the film, which more thoroughly explores the family's different generations as revealed in the book and film, with each season representing a time period, premiered on CBS in September 210 to similar critical acclaim.

## Cast

* Kit Lincoln as:
	+ Wilfred Holston II, the elderly patriarch of the Holston family during the Nodan War of Independence (80)
	+ Lincoln Holston, the young patriarch of the Holston family during the Diamond Boom of the 100s, and the only son of Alexander Holston (106)
	+ John Holston Jr., the patriarch of the Holston family during the Expansion era of the 130s and the child of John Holston Sr. (135)
	+ Ronald Holston, the patriarch of the Holston family in modern-day Noda and the son of Mike Holston (187)
* Mary Hammerford as:
	+ June Holston (*neé* Graham), the elderly matriarch of the Holston family during the Nodan War of Independence (80)
	+ Barbara Franklin, the matriarch of the Holston family during the Diamond Boom of the 100s, and the only one not to change her surname (106)
	+ Christine Holston (*neé* Mitchell), the matriarch of the Holston family during the Expansion era of the 130s (135)
	+ Estella Blake (*née* Francesca, formerly Holston), the divorced wife of Ronald Holston, wife of Tobias Blake and former matriarch of the Holston family in modern-day Noda (187)
* Lucille Weston as:
	+ Mary Holston, the eldest child of June and Wilfred Holston II (80)
	+ Robin Holston-Franklin, the youngest child of Lincoln Holston and Barbara Franklin (106)
	+ Gina Williams (*née* Holston) and Tabitha Holston, the twin daughters of Christine and John Holston Jr. (135)
		- Patricia Lennon portrays the character as an adult (187)
	+ Tania Holston, the daughter of Tabitha Holston and her wife Danielle, the cousin of Mark Holston and Gregory's sister (187)
* Marcus Candy as:
	+ Wilfred Holston III, the second-oldest child of June and Wilfred Holston II (80)
	+ John Holston Sr. (*né* John Holston-Franklin), the eldest child of Lincoln Holston and Barbara Franklin and the young father of John Holston Jr. (106)
		- Tom Whiteclaw portrays the character as an elderly man (187)
	+ Harvey Holston, a "distant cousin" of John Holston Jr. who tags along on the family's misadventures (135)
	+ Mark Holston, the only child of Ronald Holston and Estella Blake (187)
* Richard Pamm as:
	+ Alexander Holston, the third-oldest child of June and Wilfred Holston II and the father of Lincoln Holston (80)
	+ Stuart Holston-Franklin, the middle child of Lincoln Holston and Barbara Franklin, who enters the witness protection program in 113 and changes his name to Adam Hall (106)
		- Kyle Christopher portrays the character as an adult (135)
	+ Mike Holston, the only son of Christine and John Holston Jr. and the father of Ronald Holston (135)
	+ Gregory Holston, the daughter of Tabitha Holston and her wife Danielle, the cousin of Mark Holston and Tania's brother (187)
* Holly Rockwell as:
	+ Ella Holston, the youngest child of June and Wilfred Holston II and an alleged ancestor of Harvey Holston (80)
	+ Margaret Marie, a cohort of Mike's; she is the only character portrayed by any of the four confirmed not to be part of or related to the Holston family (135)
	+ Alexis Williams, the third-oldest child of Gina and her husband Edward Williams (187)
* Rock Wallis as George Opal, the transgender son of Lincoln Holston, produced from a fling with actress Julia Opal (135)
	+ Rockwell portrays the characters as a child and in flashbacks (106)
* Katherine Smith as Julia Opal, a famous actress (106)
* Matthew Wilson as Tobias Blake, Estella's second husband (187)

## Reception

### Critical response

*The Holston Family* was widely acclaimed by critics and is often considered to be among the best films of all time. On review aggregator FilmView, the film has approval rating of 95% based on 141 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Hilarious, unique and effortlessly charming, *The Holston Family* takes advantage of its stellar ensemble to deliver a clever and sharply-written journey into the quirky history of its titular family." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an "A" grade upon its initial release, while they gave the film a rare "A+" grade upon its 25th-anniversary re-release.