A Gnome Named Gnorm

Last updated
A Gnome Named Gnorm
A Gnome Named Gnorm.jpg
Australian DVD cover
Directed by Stan Winston
Screenplay by John Watson
Pen Densham
Story byPen Densham
Produced byRobert W. Cort
Scott Kroopf
Pen Densham
Richard Lewis
Starring Anthony Michael Hall
Jerry Orbach
Cinematography Bojan Bazelli
Edited byMarcus Manton
Music by Richard Gibbs
Production
companies
Trilogy Entertainment Group
Interscope Communications
Lightning Pictures
Distributed by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Release date
  • 1990 (1990)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Gnome Named Gnorm (also known in some markets as Upworld) is a 1990 fantasy buddy comedy film directed by Stan Winston and written by Pen Densham and John Watson. The film stars Anthony Michael Hall, Jerry Orbach and Claudia Christian, and is about a Los Angeles police detective who teams up with a gnome to solve a murder.

Contents

Plot

Gnorm is just an average gnome who lives underground, but he wants to impress another gnome romantically by doing something heroic. He takes the "lumen", a stone that must be brought to the surface (called "Upworld" by the gnomes) to be exposed to the sun to recharge it. When he gets to the surface, he witnesses a murder and the killer ends up with the lumen. Detective Casey (Hall), who was working a sting operation with the murdered man, is blamed for botching the sting, and the man's death. Wanting to catch the killer to clear his name, he accidentally discovers Gnorm, and they team up. [1]

Cast

Production

The movie was filmed under the title Upworld in 46 days, and was completed in early 1989, except for the ending. [3] The film's writer and supervising producer, John Watson, said he wanted to make something in the vein of E.T. meets 48 Hrs. . [3] Director Stan Winston had initially shot the film with a more poignant ending, but said that after screening the film with a live audience he decided to change to a more humorous ending as he felt the tone didn't work with the rest of the film and re-shot the ending to be more humorous in keeping with the tone of the rest of the film. [3]

Release

Due to the bankruptcy of Vestron Pictures, the film wound up in limbo without experiencing a major release. [3] A Gnome Named Gnorm was given a straight-to-video release on April 20, 1994. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Out for Justice</i> 1991 film directed by John Flynn

Out for Justice is a 1991 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by John Flynn and co-produced by and starring Steven Seagal as Gino Felino, a veteran police detective who sets out to avenge his partner Bobby's murder by killing Richie, the trigger-happy, drug-addicted mafioso culprit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Orbach</span> American actor and singer (1935–2004)

Jerome Bernard Orbach was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last bona fide leading men of the Broadway musical and global celebrity on television" and a "versatile stage and film actor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Breckman</span> American TV and film writer

Andrew Ross Breckman is an American screenwriter, comedian, and radio personality. He is the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series Monk on the USA Network, and is co-host of WFMU radio's long-running conceptual comedy program Seven Second Delay. He has written screenplays for a number of comedy films including Sgt. Bilko and Rat Race.

<i>Predator 2</i> 1990 film by Stephen Hopkins

Predator 2 is a 1990 American science fiction action film written by brothers Jim and John Thomas, directed by Stephen Hopkins, and starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Ruben Blades, María Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Peter Hall. It is the second installment of the Predator franchise, and sequel to 1987's Predator, with Kevin Peter Hall reprising the title role of the Predator.

<i>Beverly Hills Cop</i> 1984 film directed by Martin Brest

Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, with a screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., and story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. It stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit detective who visits Beverly Hills, California, to solve the murder of his best friend. Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, Lisa Eilbacher, Steven Berkoff, Paul Reiser, and Jonathan Banks appear in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stan Winston</span> American special effects artist (1946–2008)

Stanley Winston was an American television and film special make-up effects artist, best known for his work in the Terminator series, the first three Jurassic Park films, Aliens, The Thing, the first two Predator films, Inspector Gadget, Iron Man, and Edward Scissorhands. He won four Academy Awards for his work.

<i>The Pledge</i> (film) 2001 film by Sean Penn

The Pledge is a 2001 American neo-noir psychological mystery drama film directed by Sean Penn and starring Jack Nicholson alongside an ensemble supporting cast of Patricia Clarkson, Aaron Eckhart, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Vanessa Redgrave, Sam Shepard, Mickey Rourke, Tom Noonan, Lois Smith and Benicio del Toro. It was in competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Maniac Cop</i> 1988 American slasher film

Maniac Cop is a 1988 American slasher film directed by William Lustig, written by Larry Cohen, and starring Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, Robert Z'Dar, and Sheree North. Z'Dar plays the title character, a murderous ex-police officer returned from the dead, and seeks revenge on the people who wronged him. It is the first installment in the Maniac Cop film series. Maniac Cop was released on May 13, 1988 and grossed $671,382 worldwide on a budget of $1.1 million. The film was followed by two sequels, Maniac Cop 2 (1990) and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence (1993).

<i>The Ambulance</i> 1990 film by Larry Cohen

The Ambulance is a 1990 American comedy thriller film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Eric Roberts, Megan Gallagher, James Earl Jones, Janine Turner, Red Buttons, and Eric Braeden as the Doctor. Kevin Hagen plays a cop. In his first film role, Stan Lee of Marvel Comics has a small role as himself.

<i>Vicki</i> (film) 1953 film by Harry Horner

Vicki is a 1953 American film noir directed by Harry Horner and starring Jeanne Crain and Jean Peters. It was based on the novel I Wake Up Screaming, written by Steve Fisher.

Robert James Zdarsky, better known by his stage name Robert Z'Dar, was an American character actor and film producer, best known for his role as officer Matt Cordell in the cult horror film Maniac Cop (1988) and its two sequels, as well as appearances in Tango & Cash and Samurai Cop.

<i>The Law & Harry McGraw</i> American mystery crime drama television series

The Law & Harry McGraw is an American mystery crime drama television series created by Peter S. Fischer and a spin-off of Murder, She Wrote that aired on CBS from September 27, 1987, to February 10, 1988.

<i>Righteous Kill</i> 2008 American thriller film

Righteous Kill is a 2008 American crime thriller film directed by Jon Avnet and written by Russell Gewirtz. The film stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino as New York City Police Department detectives on the hunt for a serial killer. It is the third film in which both De Niro and Pacino appear in starring roles, and also stars John Leguizamo, Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, and Curtis Jackson.

<i>Earth vs. the Spider</i> (2001 film) 2001 television film by Scott Ziehl

Earth vs. the Spider is a 2001 science fiction horror television film directed by Scott Ziehl. It is the first of a series of films made for Cinemax paying tribute to the films of American International Pictures. The films in this tribute series reused the titles of old American International Pictures films, in this case the 1958 Bert I. Gordon film Earth vs. the Spider, but are not remakes of the earlier films. The film centers on a shy, obsessive comic book fan who gets injected with an experimental serum derived from spiders, which gives him minor superpowers. More horrific changes occur, slowly transforming him into a grotesque human spider hybrid. A detective begins to investigate when bodies start to pile up covered in cobwebs. The film was nominated for the Saturn Award at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, USA.

<i>Impulse</i> (1990 film) 1990 thriller film directed by Sondra Locke

Impulse is a 1990 American neo-noir film directed by Sondra Locke, and starring Theresa Russell, Jeff Fahey, and George Dzundza. It follows a female police officer who works as an undercover prostitute in Los Angeles, who unwittingly finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. The film also features a power ballad by singer Kim Carnes called "Everybody Needs Someone".

<i>Cop Hater</i> (film) 1958 film

Cop Hater is a 1958 American crime film noir police procedural film based on the 1956 novel Cop Hater written by Ed McBain, the first in a series of books about the 87th Precinct in New York City. The film was produced and directed by William Berke, written by Henry Kane and stars Robert Loggia and Gerald O'Loughlin.

<i>My Nannys Secret</i> 2009 Canadian film

My Nanny's Secret is a 2009 Lifetime Channel original Thriller/Mystery/Crime movie starring Haylie Duff and directed by Douglas Jackson. A home invasion robbery ends in tragedy when a member of the wealthy Tyrell family is killed. Their live-in nanny, Claudia, begins to secretly suspect that her troubled brother may be the murderer. Unwilling to share her suspicions until she is certain, Claudia begins her own investigation, which takes her down a very dark and unexpected road. The more that Claudia finds out about the killer, the closer she comes to their secrets, ultimately putting her own life in terrible danger. The film premiered on October 7, 2009 in Canada and December 26, 2009 in the US.

<i>Stone Cold Dead</i> 1979 Canadian film

Stone Cold Dead is a 1979 Canadian film directed by George Mendeluk and starring Richard Crenna and Paul Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Woodruff Jr.</span> American actor

Tom Woodruff Jr. is an American actor, director, producer and special effects supervisor. He won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects for his work on the 1992 dark fantasy film Death Becomes Her; that same year he was also nominated for the same award for Alien 3.

Kimberley Casey is a film producer, film director and occasional actress who was mainly active from the late 1980s to early 1990s. The films she has produced or been part of are usually in the action, exploitation genre. Her production work includes The Bounty Hunter which starred Robert Ginty, Future Force which starred David Carradine, Lost Platoon which starred William Knight and White Fury which starred Deke Anderson and Sean Holton. A good portion of her work has been with film director, David A. Prior. She has made a notable contribution to the action, exploitation film genres during the 1980s and 1990s.

References

  1. "Upworld (1990) : Plot Summary". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  2. "Upworld (1990) : Full cast". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Vandehey, Tim (April 1991). "Upworld". Cinefantastique . Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  4. "Up World (1993)". TCM . Retrieved June 21, 2024.