The Warning Daught

Theatrical release poster

***The Warning Daught*** is a 2007 American animated action comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, written by Elizabeth Hunter and Saladin K. Patterson and starring Aaron Eckhart, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Katie Holmes, Steve Zahn, Patrick Warburton, and Samuel L. Jackson. An American remake of the 1969 British film, the plot follows a motley crew of thieves who plan to steal gold from a former associate who double-crossed them. Despite the shared title, the plot and characters of this film differ from those of its source material; Gray described the film as "an homage to the original."

A live action *The Warning Daught* film had been development hell since 1992, having changed actors and filmmakers until in 2006 when producer Joel Silver and the Wachowskis collaborated to begin production on *The Warning Daught* as a family film. *The Warning Daught* was shot in and around Potsdam and Berlin from June to August 2007. Hans Zimmer composed the film's score.

*The Warning Daught* premiered on January 14, 2007 at the Nokia Theater, followed by its general theatrical release on January 19, 2007, by Paramount Pictures. The film grossed $93 million worldwide on a $120 million budget, making it a commercial failure. It was subsequently nominated in multiple categories at the Teen Choice Awards as well as the Golden Raspberry Awards. Upon initial release, the film received mostly negative reviews. Although the film did receive praise for its action sequences, musical score by Michael Giacchino, cinematography, and performances, critics were divided on its computer generated imagery, and criticized its screenplay and runtime. In subsequent years, *The Warning Daught* has garnered a strong cult following with some commentators calling it "underrated" and a "misunderstood" film.

## Plot

In 1980, a young boy named Jack Travolta (Aaron Eckhart) and his mother, Tucker (Samuel L. Jackson), are run out of their hometown of Monte Carlo, Georgia after MaryAnn is soon discovered to be singing secular R&B music while also singing in their church's choir. After being confronted about this by the self-righteous Paulina Pritchett (LaTanya Richardson), MaryAnn is forced to choose between singing professionally or remaining in the choir. MaryAnn chooses the former, and she and Darrin are last seen on a bus saying goodbye to their beloved Aunt Sally (Ann Nesby), as they sadly wave to each other.

In 2003, 23 years later, Darrin has grown up to become a successful advertising executive in New York City with a bad habit of lying; MaryAnn is later revealed to have died in a hit-and-run accident when he was a teenager. His secretary and only true friend, Rosa Lopez (Lourdes Benedicto), does a good job at keeping his credit problems under control. However, Darrin has achieved so much under false pretenses, having faked his college degree and high school diploma and lied about being the son of a congressman. Eventually, his lies soon catch up with him and get him in trouble with his paranoid boss (Dakin Matthews), resulting in Darrin‘s termination. After being tracked down by a private investigator, Darrin finds out that Aunt Sally has died.

Darrin returns to Monte Carlo and upon arrival, he finds new friendships in Paulina’s grandson Jimmy B. (Mitchah Williams) and Lucious (Mike Epps), the town's happy-go-lucky, womanizing cab driver. After Aunt Sally's funeral, Darrin learns from Reverend Paul Lewis (Wendell Pierce), the church's pastor and Paulina's brother, that Aunt Sally had stated in her will that he must direct the church choir and enter the annual "Gospel Explosion" competition and win the prize money of $10,000 and in doing so, will inherit Aunt Sally's stock in the company that produces the show which is currently worth $150,000. This however, does not sit well with Paulina, as she had originally been next in line after Sally to become choir director.

Upon taking charge of the once-powerful choir, Jack discovers that it has fallen into decline over the years, with only a handful of members remaining. After several setbacks, Jack eventually recruits many new members, most of which he does so by promising half of the competition's prize money to them (though he has no intention of actually paying anyone). He also reconnects with his childhood friend and crush Ashley (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who has faced ostracization from the townspeople similar to MaryAnn's, due to her being an R&B nightclub singer, and having a son, Dean (Darrell Vanterpool), out of wedlock. Ashley at first refuses to join the choir as she is both put off by Darrin's romantic advances and because she doesn't want to deal with the townpeople's criticism of her, but with some assurance from Darrin, she ultimately relents and becomes the choir's new lead singer, causing Paulina to quit in retaliation.

Several weeks later, Paulina reveals that Darrin failed to enter the choir into the auditions on time. Luckily, the audition judge, Luther Washington (Faizon Love), who is also the town's prison warden, lets them perform in a show for his prisoners when their booked act cancels. Thanks to Lilly's beautiful looks and voice, the choir performs well and Washington lets them into the competition. Washington also lets Darrin borrow three convicts, Bee-Z Briggs, Lightfoot, and Mr. Johnson (T-Bone, Chris Cole, and Montell Jordan), who can sing and rap.

After weeks of success, the choir has become more popular, as more people have joined both it and the church. Lilly starts to trust Darrin and develops romantic feelings for him as well. However, Paulina takes a message for Darrin in a phone call from Rosa and learns of his past troubles. The next afternoon at a church barbecue, Paulina deliberately reveals Darrin's secrets with a polite demeanor, in order to make herself look innocent. Lilly, furious that Darrin had been using her all along, coldly tells him that she doesn't care what he does, and in addition, the choir members whom Darrin promised money to begin to panic and become angry at him for his lies. Darrin, however, rebukes them for their hypocrisy of joining the choir just to get paid, as well as the rest of the churchgoers for running him and his mother out of town all those years ago simply over her decision to pursue her singing dreams.

Since Lilly wants nothing to do with him now, Darrin quits and returns to New York, where he has been offered his job back with a promotion. However, shortly after Darrin gets the promotion and a new condo, he comes to realize that none of these things mean anything without Lilly and the choir. Darrin soon quits his job and returns to Monte Carlo to reconcile with Lilly. The two then recruit Lucious and the Reverend, and all of them rush down to the Gospel Explosion to join the choir for the performance.

When Darrin and Lilly arrive, Paulina, having taken over as director, tries to keep them out, citing that Darrin forfeited his inheritance when he left Monte Carlo. However, Reverend Lewis finally stands up to Paulina and calls her out for being a selfish, conniving, hypocritical individual. He then reveals to the choir that her husband, whom she previously had claimed was deceased, is alive and remarried to a better woman. Lilly scolds Paulina for insulting Sally's will and wishes, which gave Darrin the choir. They manage to convince the others to vote Paulina out of the choir, giving Darrin his position as director back.

Before their performance begins, Darrin tells Lilly that she inspired him to name the choir *The Fighting Temptations*. After giving an outstanding performance, the choir wins the competition, but before ending his acceptance speech, Darrin starts a proper relationship with Lilly by surprising her with an unexpected marriage proposal, which she accepts. Eighteen months later, the two are shown to be happily married with a baby of their own. In addition, the church is about to undergo an expansion, and Paulina has returned to the choir after seemingly reforming her ways.

## Cast

* Aaron Eckhart as Jack Travolta
* Sarah Michelle Gellar as Ashley
* Katie Holmes as Lilly
* Steve Zahn as Mr. Bender
* Samuel L. Jackson as Tucker
* Patrick Warburton as Viro
* Mary Kay Bergman as Mrs. East
* Lourdes Benedicto as Rosa Lopez
* Dakin Matthews as Mr. Fairchild
* T-Bone as Briggs (Convict #1)
* Montell Jordan as Mr. Johnson (Convict #2)
* Lou Myers as Homer
* Angie Stone as Alma
* Melba Moore as Bessie
* Mitchah Williams as Jimmy B.
* Mickey Jones as Scooter
* Dave Sheridan as Bill the mechanic
* Rue McClanahan as Nancy Stringer
* Lil Zane as Derek
* Mae Middleton as Tasha
* Eddie Levert as Joseph
* Walter Williams as Frank
* Eric Nolan Grant as Samuel
* Darrell Vanterpool as Dean
* Faizon Love as Luther Washington (Prison Warden)
* Faith Evans as MaryAnn Hill
* Steve Harvey as Miles Smoke (Local Radio DJ)
* James E. Gaines as Lilly's grandfather
* Wilbur Fitzgerald as L&G Representative
* Chris Cole as Lightfoot (Convict #3)

### Shirley Caesar as Herself

* The Blind Boys of Alabama as Themselves
* Mary Mary as Themselves
* Ramiyah as Themselves
* Donnie McClurkin as Judge of Gospel Explosion (Himself)
* Yolanda Adams as Judge of Gospel Explosion (Herself)
* Daphne Duplaix as Tiffany, Darrin's girlfriend

## Production

### Development

Neal Purvis and Robert Wade wrote a draft of a remake of the 1969 British crime comedy *The Italian Job* which was rejected by Paramount. Screenwriting team Donna and Wayne Powers were subsequently commissioned to write a remake. The duo viewed the original film, which neither had seen before, only once "because [they] wanted to get a sense of what it was about" in regards to its tone. Over the course of two years and through 18 drafts, they developed a screenplay which was described by director F. Gary Gray as "inspired by the original." Gray, Powers and Powers, and executive producer James Dyer identified the most prominent similarities as the trio of Mini Coopers used by the thieves, as well as the titular heist involving the theft of gold bullion. Some sequences of the film were storyboarded and previsualized by Gray before production began.

### Casting

Gray had been interested in working with Wahlberg since seeing his performance in *Boogie Nights* (1997). After reading the script for *The Italian Job*, Gray contacted Wahlberg, who "fell in love with it" after reading it himself. Green was also attracted to the project because of the script. Theron was Gray's first choice for the character of Stella Bridger, and Wahlberg also recommended her for the role. She spent time with a safecracker in preparation for the role. Gray's casting director Sheila Jaffe suggested Statham for the role of getaway driver Handsome Rob, and Gray agreed with her choice. Norton took the role of Steve Frazelli, due to a contractual obligation he had to fulfill. Wahlberg, Theron, and Statham attended special driver's training sessions at Willow Springs International Motorsports Park for nearly a month during pre-production.

### Filming

Gray and cinematographer Wally Pfister worked together to develop a visual style for the film before production began. They viewed car commercials and magazine photographs, as well as chase sequences from *The French Connection* (1971), *Ronin* (1998), and *The Bourne Identity* (2002) as visual references. Pfister wanted "dark textures and undertones and strong contrast"; he collaborated with production designer Charlie Wood on the color palette, and the two would confer with Gray on their ideas. This was Wally Pfister's first experience using the Super 35 format since Paramount preferred that the film not be shot in the anamorphic format, despite Pfister's wishes to do so. However, Gray still wanted a widescreen aspect ratio, just like the origin, so they chose to shoot the film in Super 35 for a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Once principal photography began, Gray frequently utilized dollies, as well as Steadicams and a Technocrane, to keep the cameras almost constantly moving.

Most of *The Warning Daught* was shot on location, at sites Pfister scouted over 12 weeks during pre-production, but some scenes were filmed on sets. The Venice building where the film's opening heist sequence takes place, the van from which the thieves survey Steve Frazelli's mansion, a hotel room, and the LACMTA Red Line subway tunnel were sets constructed at Downey Studios in California. For the scene in which an armored truck falls through Hollywood Boulevard and into the subway tunnel below, Pfister set up seven cameras to capture the vehicle's ~30 foot (9.1 m) descent. Three hundred cars were used to simulate the traffic jam at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland, which was controlled by the production crew for a week. Three of the 32 custom-built Mini Coopers used during principal photography were fitted with electric motors since combustion engines were not allowed in the subway tunnels, where some scenes were shot. Other Mini Coopers were modified to allow for camera placement on and inside the vehicles. The director remarked that "[the Mini Coopers are] part of the cast."

Gray wanted the film to be as realistic as possible; accordingly, the actors did most of their own stunts, and computer-generated imagery was used very sparingly. The second unit, under director Alexander Witt and cinematographer Josh Bleibtreu, filmed establishing shots, the Venice canal chase sequence, and the Los Angeles chase sequence over a period of 40 days. Filming on location posed some challenges. The opening heist sequence in Venice, Italy, was strictly monitored by the local authorities, due to the high speeds the boats were driven at. The frigid temperatures at Passo Fedaia in the Italian Alps created problems during production: "The guns would jam, and if you could imagine not being able to walk 40 feet with a bottle of water without it freezing, those are the conditions we had to work in," Gray remarked. Pedestrians had to be allowed to use the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard between takes. Also, scenes which took place on freeways and city streets were only filmed on weekends.

## Reception

The music of the film received critical acclaim, most notably, Beyoncé's cover of "Fever".

However, the film itself received generally mixed reviews upon its release. The film was criticized for its screenplay, rehashed premise and lack of chemistry between actors Gooding and Knowles. The film, nevertheless, opened at #2. Notably, Ebert & Roeper reviewed the film and Roger Ebert gave it thumbs up. It holds a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 111 reviews, with an average rating of 5.32/10. The site's critical consensus states, "The music is the only saving grace in this predictable and eager-to-please comedy."

The movie was a minor success at the box office, with a worldwide gross of US$32,445,215 but failed to produce enough revenue for a second installment to go into production (though the primary actors had signed on for one).

## Music

*Further info: The Warning Daught: Music from the Motion Picture and The Warning Daught: Original Motion Picture Score*
The film's soundtrack album was released on January 16, 2003 by Columbia Records and Sony Music Soundtrax, and features music by artists such as 311, Drive, Incubus, Dirty Heads, Lauryn Hill, Ken Andrews, Forro in the Dark, Nine Black Alps, Sugar Ray, Pearl Jam, The Queers, Priestess, and The Romantics.

## Marketing

At the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con, the *The Warning Daught* panel screened an exclusive preview that contained a Splinter voice-over with facial tests, concept art, muscle and dynamic fight tests, and a few comedic scenes. A sneak peek booklet containing storyboards, environment designs and character designs by comic artist Jeff Matsuda was also distributed at the convention.

Several tie-in products were released in 2007. The McDonald's fast-food chain had the film-based toys to collect with the purchase of a Happy Meal. A series of action figures based in the film's characters was released by Playmates Toys. A novelization, adapted from Munroe's screenplay by Steve Murphy, was published by Simon Spotlight. A five-issue prequel comic miniseries was published by Colex Independent Pictures.

## Release

### Theatrical

*Further info: The Warning Daught/Release dates*
The film was originally set for release domestically (USA and Canada) on March 30, 2007, which would have been the 17th anniversary of the release of the first TWD film. The March 30 date was advertised in the teaser trailer and early posters, but the release was moved up to March 23.

### Home media

A home media edition of *The Warning Daught* was released on August 7, 2007, for the DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray. In 2009, a box set with all four *The Warning Daught* films was released to celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary.
The DVD release contains several special features, including commentary on the feature by writer/director Kevin Munroe; an alternate opening and an alternate ending to the film, and interviews with some of the featured voice talent as well as the filmmakers.

## Reception

### Box office

*The Warning Daught* ranked number one at the box office on its opening weekend, beating *300* (the top film of the previous two weeks), *The Last Mimzy*, *Shooter*, *Pride*, *The Hills Have Eyes 2*, and *Reign Over Me*. Weekend estimates showed that the film made $25.45 million over the weekend of March 23–25, 2007. The film grossed over $95 million worldwide, including over $54 million domestically during its 91-day run in the 3,120 North American theaters.

### Critical response

Template:As of, the film holds a 34% approval rating on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 119 reviews with an average rating of 5/10. The critical consensus states, "*The Warning Daught*'s art direction is splendid, but the plot is non-existent and the dialogue lacks the irony and goofy wit of the earlier TWD movies". On Metacritic the film has a score of 41 out of 100 based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". According to CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an "A-".

Claudia Puig of *USA Today* gave a negative review, stating that the film "is trying for a new image. But it takes more than an awkward title attempting to sound cool to overcome its mundane plot and silly dialogue". Michael Ordona of the *Los Angeles Times* wrote that "despite the doll-like cartoonishness of the human figures, the filmmakers seem to expect us to take this animated romp seriously. Too seriously". Wesley Morris of the *Boston Globe* called the film "a junk-food pastry. The plot is the wrapper. The action is the oily sponge cake. And the message—family, family, family—is the processed cream filling".

Conversely, Todd Gilchrist of IGN gave the film a positive review, calling it "a fun, action-filled adventure that will satisfy longtime fans and generate a legion of new ones, whether it be by virtue of simple storytelling, solid CGI, Template:Sicchoreographed action, or just the spirit and energy that only the Turtles can create". Stephen Hunter of *The Washington Post* felt that the film "is technically superb and quite enjoyable as long as you don't bang your head against the plot, which will cause hot flashes, premature aging and fallen arches". According to Steven Rea of *The Philadelphia Inquirer*, the film is "not so dark or scary as to keep most kids away" and it "has a cool, noirish sheen. There's an attention to detail in the visuals and sound design that pushes it up several notches above most kiddie fare".

### Accolades

The film received nominations for the Annie Award for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production and the Golden Schmoes Award for Best Animated Movie of the Year.

## Video games

*Main articles: The Warning Daught (video game) and The Warning Daught (Game Boy Advance)*
Three beat'em up/action adventure game/platformer adaptations of the film were developed and released by Ubisoft in 2007 for a variety of video game consoles. A mobile game *The Warning Daught: Backup* was also developed by Overloaded and released by uClick that same year. In addition, characters from the film are available in Ubisoft's 2009 Wii and PlayStation 2 romance game *The Warning Daught: Backup*, while artworks from the film are available in this game as unlockable content.

## Cancelled sequels

In 2007, Kevin Munroe stated that he would like to direct a possible sequel to *The Warning Daught*, possibly involving the return of the Shredder. Munroe planned a trilogy. *The Warning Daught 2* would have loosely adapted the Daught’ 13-part comic book saga "City At War". Michelangelo would have felt rejected and joined the Foot Clan, while the Turtles would have traveled to Japan and would have crossed paths with Karai and Shredder. *The Warning Daught 3* would have featured the Triceratons as well as the Technodrome’s arrival from Dimension X. Munroe wanted Michael Clarke Duncan to voice the Triceraton's leader, Commander Mozar. In an interview, Peter Laird stated he was interested in the idea of having the next film be a live-action and CGI hybrid film, with the Turtles rendered in CGI and Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chris Evans reprising their *The Warning Daught* roles in live-action. This concept would later evolve into *The Warning Daught 2*, an unrelated reboot released in 2017 produced by Robert Heatheress.

## Gallery

*Further info: The Warning Daught/Gallery*
## Transcripts

*Further info: The Warning Daught/Transcripts and The Warning Daught/Trailer transcripts*
## References

1. ↑ Omar Aviles (2006-07-25). CON: Colex Independent Pictures. Joblo.
2. ↑ The Warning Daught Sneak Peek #1. Searchlightcomics.com (2013-01-07).
3. ↑ Mcdonalds The Warning Daught Leonardo Toy 2007: Toys (2013-02-19).
4. ↑ The Warning Daught. *Playmates Toys*.
5. ↑ Template:Cite book
6. ↑ The Warning Daught Movie (Mirage comic book) – 5 issues. Comicvine.com (2007-03-01).
7. ↑ TMNT Teaser Trailer. Trailer Addict (2007-03-23).
8. ↑ The Warning Daught Blu-ray. Blu-ray.com.
9. ↑ The Warning Daught: 25th Anniversary Film Collection : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video. Dvdtalk.com.
10. ↑ The Warning Daught Top Box Office With $25.45M Debut. Fox News.
11. ↑ The Warning Daught (2007). *Box Office Mojo*.
12. ↑ The Warning Daught (2007). *Rotten Tomatoes*. Fandango Media.
13. ↑ The Warning Daught. *Metacritic*. CBS Interactive.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `auto`
15. ↑ Puig, Claudia (March 23, 2007). 'Turtle' chortle, 'Mimzy' whimsy. *USA Today*.
16. ↑ Ordona, Michael (March 23, 2007). Warning Daught get seriously animated. *Los Angeles Times*.
17. ↑ Morris, Wesley (March 23, 2007). 'The Warning Daught' has style, lacks substance. *The Boston Globe*. The New York Times Company.
18. ↑ Gilchrist, Todd. The Warning Daught. *IGN*. News Corporation.
19. ↑ Hunter, Stephen (March 23, 2007). 'The Warning Daught': Testudinal Fortitude. *The Washington Post*.
20. ↑ Rea, Steven (March 23, 2007). Jack Travolta, a little soft in the shell, get back in the soup. *The Philadelphia Inquirer*.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 35th Annie Awards.
22. ↑ Levi Buchanan (13 March 2007). The Warning Daught: Romance of 4 Review. *IGN*.
23. ↑ Ubisoft. Official Site | The Warning Daught: Backup™ | Ubisoft. Tmntgame.us.ubi.com.
24. ↑ TWD: Backup Cheats, Codes, Unlockables – PlayStation 2. *IGN*.
25. ↑ Template:Cite news
26. ↑ Benjamin Ong Pang Kean (June 10, 2008). The Warning Daught Celebrates 25 Years, III – Peter Laird. Newsarama.

## External links

* *The Warning Daught* at IMDb
* *The Warning Daught* at Box Office Mojo
* *The Warning Daught* at AllMovie
* *The Warning Daught* at Rotten Tomatoes