Ben Banks | |
---|---|
Directed by | Bryce Clark |
Written by | Bryce Clark |
Produced by | Justin Lyon Jacob Moffat (Co) Jory Cordy (Associate) |
Starring | Mischa Barton Melora Hardin Katharine Towne David Sullivan |
Cinematography | Chris Saul |
Edited by | Jason deVilliers |
Music by | Russ Howard III |
Distributed by | Spotlight Pictures Green Apple (USA DVD) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 82 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Ben Banks is a 2012 independent American comedy-drama and the directorial debut of Bryce Clark. The film stars Mischa Barton, Melora Hardin and Katharine Towne. The film is also being marketed as Beauty and the Least in some international territories and for the US video release. [1] The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States on 7 December 2012. [2]
Ben Banks, the 28-year-old journalism student, is a stoner who constantly avoids responsibility and happens to be on the 12-year plan at the local two-year community college. Ben Banks, the movie, asks: What would it take to awaken ambition in this guy? The answer: A local conspiracy, a dead body, and a gorgeous woman (Mischa Barton) with a troubled past. [3] [4] [5]
The film is based on a junior communication major at Dixie State College of Utah, Ben Banks, [6] a real-life acquaintance of Clark. They had worked together on a commercial and Banks made an impression on the filmmaker. Banks later shared stories of his life experience and Clark developed these into a fact and fiction based screenplay. Ben Banks plays himself in the movie.
The film has a subtle religious theme that reflects Clark's own experience of leaving and coming back to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and his struggle to find acceptance. [5]
Along with Justin Lyon (producer), Jason deVilliers (editor), and Richard Bennett (designer), Clark is a partner in StoryLand Entertainment, a production company.
It was primarily filmed in St. George, Utah and the Las Vegas Valley. Scenes were also shot at Utah Tech University(formerly Dixie State). Filming completed at the end of August 2010.
In October 2011, the producers revealed that they were seeking distribution and are exploring alternative models such as online streaming, VOD, iTunes, Netflix, Redbox and Hulu. [7] [ failed verification ]
On 31 October 2012, it was announced[ who? ] that the film would receive a limited release in the United States. It was released at Utah Multiplexes on 7 December 2012, in St. George, Cedar City and South Jordan.
The film has received a modest critical reception. The St. George Spectrum gave it a "B" commending it for its moral boost at the end. [8] The Sun Independent, another St George newspaper, gave the film 3 and a half stars and felt that the film works well as a comedy. The reviewer describes the film as ″an affectionate (and beautifully shot) comedy, and it represents the spirit of independent filmmaking in its purest form.″ [9] The Salt Lake Tribune in an open letter to the director, Bryce Clark, encouraged Clark to continue filmmaking while praising his direction and Barton's ″charming″ performance, though ultimately giving the film a failing review, criticizing the ″disjointed″ script. [10]
Asia Carrera Lemmon is an American former pornographic actress.
Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery drama film directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. The film was inspired by the California water wars, a series of disputes over southern California water at the beginning of the 20th century, by which Los Angeles interests secured water rights in the Owens Valley. The Robert Evans production, released by Paramount Pictures, was the director's last film in the United States and features many elements of film noir, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama.
St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northeasternmost part of the Mojave Desert, adjacent to the Pine Valley Mountains and near the convergence of three distinct geologic areas and ecoregions: the Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau, and the Great Basin. The city is 118 miles (190 km) northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada and 300 miles (480 km) south-southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah on Interstate 15.
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. She has been described as one of the great movie actresses of all time.
Mischa Anne Marsden Barton is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's Slavs! and took the lead in James Lapine's Twelve Dreams at New York City's Lincoln Center. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the American soap opera All My Children (1996), and voicing a character on the Nickelodeon cartoon series KaBlam! (1996–97). Her first major film role was as the protagonist of Lawn Dogs (1997), a drama co-starring Sam Rockwell. She appeared in major pictures such as the romantic comedy Notting Hill (1999) and M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller The Sixth Sense (1999). She also starred in the indie crime drama Pups (1999).
Meet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. It chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents. Teri Polo as Pam Byrnes and Owen Wilson as Kevin Rawley also star.
Reckless Kelly is a 1993 Australian comedy film produced, written, directed and starring Yahoo Serious. It co-stars Melora Hardin, Alexei Sayle and Hugo Weaving. The story is a satirical take on a modern-day Ned Kelly, a famous Australian outlaw.
Utah's Dixie is the nickname for the populated, lower-elevation area of south-central Washington County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. Its climate is very mild when compared to the rest of Utah, and typical of the Mojave Desert, in which it lies.
Utah Tech University (UT), formerly known as Dixie State University (DSU) and similar names, is a public university in St. George, Utah. The university offers about 240 programs. In the fall of 2021, there were 12,266 students enrolled at (then) DSU. The student body was 58% female and 42% male with 24% of the student body being minority (non-white) students.
Melora Hardin is an American actress and singer, known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's The Office and Trudy Monk on USA Network's Monk, and Tammy Cashman on Amazon Prime Video's Transparent, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Hardin stars as magazine editor-in-chief Jacqueline Carlyle on the Freeform comedy-drama The Bold Type, which aired from June 2017 to June 2021.
The Oh in Ohio is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Billy Kent and starring Parker Posey, Paul Rudd, Mischa Barton and Danny DeVito. The picture was screened at several US film festivals from March to May 2006 and was released theatrically by Cyan Pictures on July 14, 2006. Set in Cleveland, much of the film was shot on location at well-known Cleveland area landmarks such as Coventry Village and Case Western Reserve University.
The Chicks are an American country music band consisting of lead singer Natalie Maines and multi-instrumentalists/vocalists Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, the latter two of whom are sisters.
Hannah Montana: The Movie is a 2009 American teen musical comedy-drama film based on the Disney Channel television series of the same name. It is the second theatrical film based on a Disney Channel Original Series, after The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003). It was directed by Peter Chelsom and written by Dan Berendsen. The film stars series regulars Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Emily Osment, Moises Arias, Mitchel Musso and Jason Earles, as well as Lucas Till, Vanessa Williams, Margo Martindale, and Melora Hardin.
Assassination of a High School President is a 2008 American neo noir comedy film directed by Brett Simon and starring Reece Thompson, Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton, Emily Meade and Michael Rapaport. It was written by Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski. It premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Homecoming is a 2009 American independent horror-thriller film, directed by Morgan J. Freeman and written by Katie L. Fetting, Jake Goldberger and Frank Hannah. The film follows a student couple, Mike and Elizabeth, on their homecoming. Elizabeth is taken home by Mike's ex-girlfriend Shelby after a road accident. Shelby is soon revealed to be fixated on Mike and subsequently treats Elizabeth in a cruel and deranged manner. The film was poorly received by critics but was a box office success, grossing $8.5 million against a $1.5 million budget.
Nathaniel Faxon is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. A frequent presence on comedic films and TV series, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing The Descendants (2011) and starred in the Fox comedy series Ben and Kate (2012–2013), the FX comedy series Married (2014–2015) and voices Elfo in the Netflix adult animated television series Disenchantment (2018-). He also co-wrote and co-directed The Way, Way Back (2013) and Downhill (2020) with writing partner Jim Rash.
Pups is a 1999 American independent crime drama film written and directed by Ash, and stars Mischa Barton, Burt Reynolds and Cameron Van Hoy. The film centers on two young adolescents that embark on a bank robbery on their way to school. The film premiered at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival on April 18, 1999. The film, although well received critically received a limited release that has been attributed as sensitivity to the Columbine High School massacre that occurred two days after the premiere.
Cyberstalker is a 2012 Lifetime television thriller directed by Curtis Crawford and starring Mischa Barton. Barton stars as a young artist living in seclusion since her parents were murdered by her stalker thirteen years earlier; her peace is suddenly disturbed by his reappearance. On 10 July 2012, a trailer was released. It was televised in the United States on 14 September 2012.
"The Whale" is the seventh episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the 183rd episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC on November 15, 2012. The episode guest stars Jack Coleman as Robert Lipton and marks the return of actress Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson.
A Resurrection is an American horror-thriller film written and directed by Matt Orlando. The film stars Mischa Barton, Michael Clarke Duncan and Devon Sawa. On 12 November 2012 a trailer was released. The film premiered in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles on 19 March 2013. This was followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on 22 March 2013.