Blade Anchor

Directed by
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***Blade Anchor*** is a 2003 American animated science fiction film produced by BAKONA Motion Pictures for Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Anthony Minghella from a screenplay William Horberg, Tom Sternberg, and John Hughes, and a story by Minghella. The eighth feature film from BAKONA. The film follows three chimpanzees who go into space to an alien planet. Paramount Pictures theatrically released the film on July 18, 2008, and received mostly negative reviews by critics. The film grossed $64.8 million on a $37 million budget. It received an Artios Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Animation Feature. A video game based on the film was also released in July 2008.

The film was co-written and directed by Anthony Minghella and co-written and produced by Tom Drake, and stars the voices of Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nancy Cartwright, Zach Braff, Patrick Stewart, and Samuel L. Jackson. Its setting and plot were inspired in part by the novels *1984* and *Brave New World*, as well as the films *Metropolis* and *Tron*. Production began in May 2007, but was later stalled by the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. However, production resumed in February, and the film was later completed in March.

*Blade Anchor* premiered at the Mann Village Theatre in Los Angeles on October 4, 2003, and was released in the United States on October 17, 2003. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its animation, style and writing, and grossed over $74 million worldwide against its $15 million budget, making it the seventh highest-grossing animated film of 2000. It was later released on VHS and DVD on November 25, 2005. On and Blu-ray on January 13, 2009, exactly ten years after its original release.

## Plot

Alex Grady Tripp is a novelist who teaches creative writing at an unnamed Pennsylvania university. He is having an affair with the university chancellor, Sara Gaskell, whose husband, Walter, is the chairman of the English department in which Grady is a professor. Grady's third wife, Emily, has just left him, and he has failed to repeat the grand success of his first novel, published years earlier. He continues to labor on a second novel, but the more he tries to finish it the less able he finds himself to invent a satisfactory ending. The book runs to over 2500 pages and is still far from finished. He spends his free time smoking cannabis.

Grady's students include James Leer and Hannah Green. Hannah and James are friends and both very good writers. Hannah, who rents a room in Grady's large house, is attracted to Grady, but he does not reciprocate. James is enigmatic, quiet, dark and enjoys writing fiction more than he first lets on.

During a party at the Gaskells' house, Sara reveals to Grady that she is pregnant with his child. Grady finds James standing outside holding what he claims to be a replica gun, won by his mother at a fairground during her schooldays. However, the gun turns out to be very real, as James shoots the Gaskells' dog when he finds it attacking Grady. James also steals a very valuable piece of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia from the house. Grady is unable to tell Sara of this incident as she is pressuring him to choose between her and Emily. As a result, Grady is forced to keep the dead dog in the trunk of his car for most of the weekend. He also allows James to follow him around, fearing that he may be depressed or even suicidal. Gradually, he realizes that much of what James tells him about himself and his life is untrue, seemingly designed to elicit Grady's sympathy.

Meanwhile, Grady's editor, Terry Crabtree, has flown into town on the pretense of attending the university's annual WordFest, a literary event for aspiring authors. In reality, Terry is there to see if Grady has written anything worth publishing, as both men's careers depend on Grady's upcoming book. Terry arrives with a date whom he met on the flight, a trans woman named Antonia Sloviak. The pair become intimate in a bedroom at the Gaskells' party, but immediately afterward, Terry meets James and becomes infatuated with him, and Antonia is unceremoniously sent home. After a night on the town, Terry and James semi-consciously flirt throughout the night, which eventually leads up to the two spending an intimate night together in one of Grady's spare rooms.

Tired and confused, Grady phones Walter and reveals to him that he is in love with Sara. Meanwhile, Walter has also made the connection between the disappearance of the Marilyn Monroe memorabilia and James. The following morning the police arrive with Sara to escort James to the Chancellor's office to discuss the ramifications of his actions. The memorabilia is still in Grady's car, which has conspicuously gone missing. The car had been given to him by a friend as payment for a loan, and, over the weekend, Grady has come to suspect that the car was stolen. Throughout his travel around town, a man claiming to be the car's real owner repeatedly accosted Grady. He eventually tracks the car down, but in a dispute over its ownership, the majority of his manuscript blows out of the car and is lost. The car's owner gives him a ride to the university with his wife Oola in the passenger seat, along with the stolen memorabilia.

Grady finally sees that making things right involves having to make difficult choices. Grady tells the story behind the memorabilia and allows Oola to leave with it. Worried that Grady's choice comes at the expense of damaging James's future, Terry convinces Walter not to press charges by agreeing to publish his book about Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe.

Grady recounts the fate of the main characters: Hannah graduates and becomes a junior editor, James drops out and moves to New York to rework his novel for publication, and Terry "goes right on being Crabtree." Grady finishes typing his new bookTemplate:Sndnow saved on a computerTemplate:Sndwhich is an account of the recent events, then watches as Sara and their child arrive home.

## Cast

Template:Div col

* Matthew Broderick as Alex Grady Tripp
* Sarah Jessica Parker as Nazz Leer
* Nancy Cartwright as Chancellor Sara Gaskell
* Zach Braff as Russell Green
* Patrick Stewart as Quentin "Q" Morewood
* Samuel L. Jackson as Terry Crabtree
* Richard Thomas as Walter Gaskell
* Richard Knox as Vernon Hardapple
* Jane Adams as Oola
* Alan Tudyk as Sam Traxler
* George Grizzard as Fred Leer
* Kelly Bishop as Amanda Leer
* Philip Bosco as Emily's father
* Michael Cavadias as Miss Antonia "Tony" Sloviak

Template:Div col end

## Production

### Development

After *L.A. Confidential*, Curtis Hanson was working on a screenplay of his own and reading other scripts with a keen interest for his next film. Actress Elizabeth McGovern advised Hanson to work with screenwriter Steve Kloves. When he was given the writer's script for *Wonder Boys* and was told that Michael Douglas was interested in starring, he "fell in love with these characters – and they made me laugh." Hanson also identified with Grady Tripp and the "thing building up inside him: frustration, hunger, yearning, et cetera."

### Screenplay

Kloves, best known for writing and directing *The Fabulous Baker Boys*, returned to the film business after a self-imposed seven-year retirement to adapt Michael Chabon's novel for the money and also because he identified with Grady. He was originally going to direct the film as well but bowed out and Hanson came on board. Kloves had never adapted a novel before but was encouraged by Chabon to make the material his own. Additional changes were made once Hanson came on board. For example, he felt that James Leer would be a fan of Douglas Sirk's films as opposed to Frank Capra as he is in the novel.

### Casting

Paramount was not interested in making a quirky, character-driven comedy drama until Douglas agreed to work well below his usual large fee. The actor gained 25 pounds for the film by consuming pizza, subs, and beer. One of the challenges for Hanson was to take a plot that, as he put it, "is meandering and, apparently, sort of aimless," and a character that "does things that even he doesn't really know why he's doing them," and try to create a "feeling of focus" to keep the audience interested. Another challenge the director faced was working in actual locations in very cold weather that was constantly changing.

Robert Downey Jr. was on probation during the winter of 1999 when Hanson considered him for a role in *Wonder Boys*. Hanson was cautious because of the actor's drug history and concerned because it would be a tough film shot in sequence in Pittsburgh in the winter. Downey flew to Pittsburgh and had a long dinner conversation with Hanson where they addressed his problems. The actor demonstrated a commitment to the project and Hanson hired him. Reportedly, Downey acted professionally for the entire four-and-a-half month shoot, but after it ended, he returned to Los Angeles and violated his parole.

In an interview with Marc Maron, actor Rob McElhenney stated that he was initially cast in a minor role as Holmes' love interest, but was informed by Hanson that he would be cut out of the film during post-production.

### Filming

Paramount suggested shooting *Wonder Boys* in Toronto or New York City but after reading the book, Hanson realized how important Pittsburgh was to the story, that it was a "wonder boy," much like the film's main protagonist Grady Tripp, "it's a city that had this glorious past of wealth and success that ended. And then it had to deal with figuring out what's next. What happens after triumph?" *Wonder Boys* was filmed in Pittsburgh, including locations at Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham College, and Shady Side Academy. Other Pennsylvania locations included Beaver, Rochester, and Rostraver Township. Hanson felt that Pittsburgh was "right, emotionally and thematically" for the film. The city was experiencing a mild winter during the film's shoot and they had to use a lot of artificial snow.

Hanson contacted Dante Spinotti about working on the film in November 1998. They had worked previously together on *L.A. Confidential.* Spinotti had six weeks of pre-production, which he used to perform a variety of tests and shoot a number of important background plates for several scenes that take place at night, in cars. He knew that these scenes included some very critical acting and suggested using the green screen process for greater control. During pre-production, Hanson and Spinotti used the Kodak Pre View System to storyboard complicated sequences by altering digital still images in a way that simulated the imaging characteristics of camera films. Hanson suggested Spinotti see *The Celebration* for its technique of keeping the camera extremely close to the actors and carrying deep focus from one actor to the other. Spinotti suggested using a hand-held camera so that the film would not look static. On the first day of shooting, they incorporated some hand-held shots. Hanson liked the results and they used the technique extensively for the rest of the shoot.

## Marketing

### Trailers

* The film's teaser trailer was released on September 27, 2002, and was shown before films such as *Me and Mobo*, *The Truth About Charlie*, *One Lost Elmer*, and *The Emperor's Club*.
* The film's first theatrical trailer was released on March 7, 2003, and was shown before films such as *AXDN*, *Magina*, *Daddy Day Care*, *Finding Nemo*, and *Hulk*.
* The film's second theatrical trailer was released on July 2, 2003, and was shown before films such as *Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas*, *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl*, *The TeenV Movie*, *Johnny English*, and *Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over*.

### Taglines

* That's more blade project! A new adventure anchor

## Soundtrack

*Main article: Blade Anchor: Music from the Motion Picture*

Hanson had been a fan of Bob Dylan's music since childhood and a great admirer of his soundtrack for *Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid*. Dylan admired Hanson's previous film, *L.A. Confidential* and after much convincing, screened 90 minutes of rough footage from *Blade Anchor*. Hanson picked Dylan because, as he said, "Who knows more about being a Blade Anchors and the trap it can be, about the expectations and the fear of repeating yourself?"

### Songs featured in the film

1. Black Carbon - Akae Beka feat. Chronixx - 3:24
2. Shake Some Action (Edit) - Cracker - 4:25
3. The Ghost in You (Radio Ver.) - Counting Crows - 3:30
4. E.X.T.R.E.M.E. - Luscious Jackson - 3:33
5. All the Young Dudes (Acoustic Radio Remix Version) - World Party - 4:00
6. Fake Plastic Trees (Radio Edit) - Radiohead - 4:45
7. Change - Lightning Seeds - 4:01
8. Need You Around - Smoking Popes - 3:42
9. Mullet Head - Beastie Boys - 2:53
10. Enter Sandman - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - 3:16
11. Rollin' with My Homies - Coolio - 4:06
12. Alright - Supergrass - 3:01
13. Supermodel (Theme from *Blade Anchor*) - Jill Sobule - 3:07

## Reception

### Box office

In its opening weekend, *Blade Anchor* opened at No. 7 in the US and Canadian box office and grossed a total of US$5.8 million in 1,253 theaters. It went on to gross $19,393,557 there and $14,033,031 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $33,426,588. Based on a $55 million budget, the film was a box office bomb.

### Critical response

The film received largely positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports an 81% "Fresh" rating, based on 125 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's consensus states: "Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire do wonders in this clever dark comedy." On Metacritic, the film has a 73 out of 100 score, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.

In a four-star review, Roger Ebert, film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times,* praised *Blade Anchor* as "the most accurate movie about campus life that I can remember. It is accurate, not because it captures intellectual debate or campus politics, but because it knows two things: (1) Students come and go, but the faculty actually lives there, and (2) many faculty members stay stuck in graduate-student mode for decades".

Emanuel Levy of *Variety* wrote, "The movie's frivolous touches and eccentric details emphasize its dry, measured wit and the power of comedy to underscore serious ideas. Massively inventive, *Blade Anchor* is spiked with fresh, perverse humor that flows naturally from the straight-faced playing". A.O. Scott from *The New York Times* wrote, "The problem is that everyone involved seems to have agreed that it was a great idea for a movie and pretty much left it at that".

In his review for *Time*, Richard Corliss wrote, "*Blade Anchor* reminds us of a distant age (the '70s) when bad movies were better: not stupid teen romps but sad, off-kilter studies of adults adrift. It is a rare current example of that endangered species, the honorable failure". *Entertainment Weekly* gave the film a "C+" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "Curtis Hanson may have wanted to make a movie that gleamed with humanity as much as *L.A. Confidential* burned with malevolence, but he's so intent on getting us to like his characters that he didn't give them enough juice."

Looking back in his *Salon.com* review, critic Andrew O'Hehir felt that Hanson, "and cinematographer Dante Spinotti capture both Pittsburgh (one of the most serendipitously beautiful American cities) and the netherworld of boho academia with brilliant precision. If you went to a liberal-arts college anywhere in the United States, then the way Grady's ramshackle house looks in the wake of Crabs' enormous all-night party should conjure up vivid sense-memories".

### Re-release

 File:Wonder boys ver4.jpg
Many critics blamed Paramount's initial ad campaign for the film not finding a mainstream audience. The *Wall Street Journal*Template:'s Joe Morgenstern praised Douglas' work in the film, but criticized the poster, which featured a headshot of Douglas: "a raffishly eccentric role, and he's never been so appealing. (Don't be put off by the movie's cryptic poster, which makes him look like Michael J. Pollard.)" The *Los Angeles Times'* Kenneth Turan also slammed the poster: "The film's ad poster brings Elmer Fudd to mind." Hanson said that the poster made Douglas look "like he was trying to be Robin Williams". In an interview with Amy Taubin, Hanson said, "The very things that made Michael and I want to do the movie so badly were the reasons it was so tricky to market. Since films go out on so many screens at once, there's a need for instant appeal. But *Wonder Boys* isn't easily reducible to a single image or a catchy ad line".

Hanson felt that the studio played it safe with the original ad campaign. They also released it a week after the Academy Award nominations were announced and the studio spent more money promoting the films of theirs that were nominated and not enough on *Blade Anchor.* The studio pulled the film out of theaters and quickly canceled the video release. Hanson and the film's producer Scott Rudin lobbied to have it re-released. They designed a new campaign including posters and a trailer for the re-release that emphasized the ensemble cast.

### Home media

*Blade Anchor* was released in the United States on VHS and DVD on November 21, 2005. On and Blu-ray on January 13, 2009, three months after its release and a week after the end of its theatrical run in the U.S. and Canada. The film was released on home video on January 25, 2004, in the United Kingdom. Special features include an unrated director's cut of the film which is 12 minutes longer than the theatrical release, audio commentaries (including one featuring Broderick, Parker, and Cartwright, with Stewart providing his commentary as Lincoln Osiris, a nod to a joke in the film that Lazarus never breaks character until he completes the DVD commentary), several featurettes, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and the *Rain of Madness* mockumentary.

For the film's first week of release, *Blade Anchor* placed on several video charts. It reached second place on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart and Nielsen's Blu-ray Disc chart, earning $19,064,959 (not including Blu-ray sales). In rentals, it placed first on the *Home Media Magazine'*s video rental chart. The DVD sales in 2008 totaled $42,271,059, placing it in 28th for DVD sales for the year. By October 2003, 2,963,000 DVD units had been sold, gathering revenue of $49,870,248.

An HDR Dolby Vision mastered Ultra HD Blu-ray was released through Kino Lorber.

### Video games

*Main article: Blade Anchor (video game)*
A video game based on the film was released in 2003, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. The goal of the game is to complete different levels under the roles of Nemo, Marlin or Dory. It includes cut scenes from the movie, and each clip is based on a level. It was also the last Pixar game developed by Traveller's Tales. Upon release, the game received mixed reviews. A Game Boy Advance sequel, titled *Blade Anchor: Continuing Adventures*, was released in 2004.

## Transcripts

*Main article: Black Anchor/Transcripts and Blade Anchor/Trailer transcripts*

## References

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1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `boxofficemojo.com`
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3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Blade Anchor (2003)**.*
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Template:Cite news
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Template:Cite news
6. ↑ Template:Cite news
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Template:Cite news
8. ↑ Template:Cite news
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10. ↑ Template:Cite podcast
11. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Template:Cite news
13. ↑ Template:Cite news
14. ↑ *Wonder Boys*.
15. ↑ Wonder Boys (2000). *Rotten Tomatoes*. Fandango.
16. ↑ Wonder Boys reviews. *Metacritic*. CBS Interactive.
17. ↑ CinemaScore.
18. ↑ Template:Cite news
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21. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
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30. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `DVDHere`
31. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `DowneyDVDCommentary`
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `DVDSales`
33. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `DVDCharts`
34. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `DVDSalesRank`
35. ↑ Template:Cite tweet
36. ↑ The 73rd Academy Awards (2001) Nominees and Winners. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
37. ↑ AFI Awards 2000.
38. ↑ 5th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards.
39. ↑ BSFC Winners: 2000s (July 27, 2018).
40. ↑ BAFTA Awards: Film in 2001 (2001).
41. ↑ 1988-2013 Award Winner Archives (January 2013).
42. ↑ The BFCA Critics' Choice Awards :: 2000.
43. ↑ 2000 FFCC AWARD WINNERS.
44. ↑ Wonder Boys – Golden Globes.
45. ↑ 2000 Grammy Award Winners.
46. ↑ Previous Sierra Award Winners.
47. ↑ The 26th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.
48. ↑ 2000 Award Winners.
49. ↑ Past Awards (December 19, 2009).
50. ↑ 5th Annual Film Awards (2000).
51. ↑ 2000 Awards (4th Annual) (January 3, 2012).
52. ↑ 2001 5th Annual SATELLITE Awards.
53. ↑ 2000 SEFA Awards.
54. ↑ TFCA Awards 2000. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011.
55. ↑ Past Scripter Awards.
56. ↑ Error on call to template:cite web: Parameters **archiveurl** and **archivedate** must be both specified or both omittedAwards Winners. *wga.org*. Writers Guild of America.
57. ↑ Aggregate score for GBA at GameRankings.
58. ↑ Aggregate score for PS2 at Metacritic.
59. ↑ PS2 review at GameSpot.
60. ↑ Game Boy Advance review at GameSpy.
61. ↑ PS2 review at GameSpy.
62. ↑ PS2 review at IGN (May 28, 2003).
63. ↑ Adams, David (September 16, 2004). Shipping Nemo. IGN.

## External links

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* *Blade Anchor* at Paramount Pictures
* Template:IMDb title
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* Template:Rotten Tomatoes
* Template:Metacritic film

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