California Dreaming (1979 film)

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California Dreaming
California Dreaming poster.jpg
Poster
Directed by John D. Hancock
Written byNed Wynn
Produced byChristian Whittaker
Starring Glynnis O'Connor
Dennis Christopher
Seymour Cassel
Tanya Roberts
Cinematography Bobby Byrne
Edited byHerb Dow
Roy Peterson
Music by Fred Karlin
Distributed by American International Pictures
Release date
  • March 16, 1979 (1979-03-16)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language English
Box office$2 million (US rentals) [1] [2]

California Dreaming is a 1979 American comedy-drama film starring Glynnis O'Connor, Dennis Christopher, Seymour Cassel and Tanya Roberts and directed by John D. Hancock. [3] [4]

Contents

Plot

A young man named Tony moves from Chicago to California for the summer. He quickly becomes adapted to the new pace of beach life, learning several lessons along the way.

Cast

Production

California Dreaming is a production of American International Pictures (AIP), which pioneered the beach-party film in the 1960s. However, the film's producer Lou Arkoff, the son of AIP founder Samuel Z. Arkoff, stated a desire to "move [AIP] toward more serious, insightful and creative projects" rather than the exploitation films favored by his father, saying specifically of California Dreaming: "My concern is that this doesn't become Beach Blanket Bingo." [5]

Filming began on October 17, 1977 at Santa Monica State Beach, the film's purported setting. However, most footage was shot at Pismo Beach, with Avila Beach also serving as a locale.

The script written by Ned Wynn was entitled State Beach, which was the film's working title (with Golden State mentioned as a possible alternative). Director John D. Hancock wanted to change the title to California Dreaming, [6] and the new title was confirmed in December 1977. Permission for the title was obtained from the copyright holders of the song "California Dreamin'", although the film's storyline has no direct parallels with the song's lyrics. The film's poster features the slogan "A state somewhere between fantasy and reality" under the title. [5]

Filming was completed in December 1978. The film's budget was $2 million. [7]

John D. Hancock said that during filming, male cast members' attraction to Tanya Roberts caused tension on the set. [8]

Release

The planned July 1978 release of California Dreaming was postponed because of a perceived glut of similarly themed films set for release that summer (most prominently Big Wednesday ). A rescheduled October 1978 was also canceled. [9] The film finally premiered with a December 27-January 1 engagement at a Yuma, Arizona theater, as it was to AIP's advantage for taxation purposes to release the film before the end of 1978. [10]

California Dreaming was provided a limited release on March 16, 1979, which was expanded in the following two months. The release schedule was planned to coincide with that of the film's soundtrack album, distributed by Casablanca Records. The version of "California Dreamin'" recorded by America that plays during California Dreaming's closing credits was issued as a single, spending eight weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at #56. [11]

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References

  1. ↑ THE BIG THUDS OF 1979--FILMS THAT FLOPPED, BADLY Epstein, Andrew. Los Angeles Times 27 Apr 1980: o6.
  2. ↑ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 301. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  3. ↑ Clarke Fountain (2008). "California Dreaming". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2008-01-28.
  4. ↑ "California Dreaming". TV Guide . Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  5. 1 2 Los Angeles Times "Riding the Waves of California Dreaming" 11 December 1977 p. 66
  6. ↑ Pittsburgh Post Gazetter 6 April 1978 "Hancock's 'California Dreaming' After Playhouse & Jaws 2" by George Anderson p.12
  7. ↑ "AFI|Catalog".
  8. ↑ Hancock On Hancock, p. 336 , p. 336, at Google Books
  9. ↑ San Bernardino County Sun 20 February 1979 p. 20
  10. ↑ Tax Court Memorandum Decisions, Vol 53 p. 951
  11. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-03-31-OCR-Page-0154.pdf#search=%22california%20dreaming%20soundtrack%22 [ dead link ]
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