Cherry Crush | |
---|---|
Directed by | Nicholas DiBella |
Written by | Nicholas DiBella Paul Root |
Produced by | Gary A. Knaak |
Starring | Nikki Reed Jonathan Tucker Julie Gonzalo Michael O'Keefe Haviland Morris Dennis Boutsikaris Frank Whaley |
Cinematography | Tim Wainwright |
Edited by | Dave Marshall Tom Mignemi |
Music by | Joe Kaltenbach |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Cherry Crush is a 2007 American drama thriller film directed and co-written by Nicholas DiBella. It premiered in Rochester, New York on February 16, 2007 and was released on DVD on July 3, 2007.
The film stars Jonathan Tucker as Jordan Wells, the privileged son of a successful man who gets kicked out of an exclusive prep school after his interest in photography and girls leads him to taking nude snapshots of classmates. Soon he meets a poor but attractive girl named Shay Bettencourt (Nikki Reed) who ensnares him in a web of murder and lies.
Photographer Jordan Wells (Jonathan Tucker) is the son of a very wealthy family which have high expectations for him to take over his father's company. Instead, he has an infatuation with the natural beauty of a woman's naked body and engages in it by taking photos of nude models but excluding their faces for the sake of privacy, with their names known as the name of their favorite shade of lipstick.
Unfortunately, the dean of his prep school finds out about his hobby and expels him. He is then transferred to a local public high school, where he then meets Shay Bettencourt, (Nikki Reed) a cellist aspiring to go to Hartley to become a cello player in a professional orchestra. When they first meet at the school library, they get into a heated intellectual argument about woman's rights concerning a book. Shay's friends are uninterested and urge her to leave, but she becomes attracted to Jordan. She mentions she knows about his past and his reasons for transferring schools and his photography hobby. They become friends and he offers to give her a ride home but when he returns to the house to visit Shay, he finds out that she does not live there at all. Jordan confronts Shay who admits to being ashamed of her low-income household which she shares with her drug addicted sister. Shay confides in Jordan that she has found a source of money for tuition at Hartley: an older married man named Wade Chandling (Frank Whaley) who frequents the country club Jordan's family attends. She says that he is going to get her a full scholarship by using some of his connections. Shay asks Jordan to photograph her and Wade in case he ever tries to back out of their deal. In exchange, Shay will allow Jordan to photograph her in any way he wants. Shay and Jordan form a sort of romantic relationship which is cut short when Shay finds out Wade is trying to back out their arrangement.
Frustrated, Shay meets Wade in the woods and tries to blackmail him with the pictures Jordan took. However, Wade becomes angry and tries to attack Shay. Jordan tries to save Shay, but they both end up beating Wade to death. They then throw him into a nearby lake, attempt to cover up as much evidence as they can, and find ways to avoid implicating themselves when interviewed by detectives. Eventually, Detective Griffin (Michael O'Keefe) figures out Shay's connection to Wade's death, and tries to set up an exchange with evidence on Jordan for the money Shay stole from the dead Wade. He tries to arrest Jordan during the exchange, but Shay shoots Griffin instead. When Jordan is questioned by the police, Desiree (Julie Gonzalo), another romantic interest of Jordan, saves him by giving him an alibi. Shay tries to take the money and run away to where she'd never be found. She tries to convince Jordan to go along with her plan, but he refuses but allows Shay to have some of the money to get away. The film ends with Jordan driving away, narrating, "With a million dollars to decide what to do next."
Filming for Cherry Crush took place from August 8 to September 9, 2005 in Rochester, New York on a budget of almost a million dollars. [1] [2] Actors Julie Gonzalo and Frank Whaley were confirmed as part of the movie's cast, as was Michael O'Keefe. [3]
Per Samantha Lindop, the character of Shay Bettencourt is an example of a fatale character who is willing to go to any length to escape their background of poverty and obtain wealth and power. [4]
Cherry Crush premiered in Rochester, New York on February 16, 2007. [2] It was released to home video shortly thereafter and made $2.7 million in rentals within its first two weeks of release. [5]
Brendan Wills of Exclaim! panned the film, writing "Save yourself a few hours and toss Cherry Crush in the trash compactor." [6] Jack Garner of the Democrat and Chronicle was more favorable, writing that "Tucker makes a plausibly flawed protagonist, and Reed is as seductive and manipulative as you could want." [7]
Alfie is a 2004 romantic comedy-drama film inspired by the 1966 British film of the same name and its 1975 sequel, starring Jude Law as the title character, originally played by Michael Caine in the 1966 film and Alan Price in the 1975 sequel. The film was co-written, directed, and produced by Charles Shyer.
Caitlin's Way is a teen drama television series that aired from 2000 to 2002. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States and YTV in Canada. The series was co-created by Thomas W. Lynch and Paul M. Belous.
Nicole Houston Reed is an American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Rosalie Hale in The Twilight Saga (2008–2012). Reed became known in 2003, after the release of the film Thirteen, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, for which she was credited with Hardwicke as a co-writer of the screenplay, and in which she played a lead role. The film earned her an Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance, as well as several nominations.
Julieta Susana "Julie" Gonzalo is an Argentine and American actress. On television, she has played Parker Lee on Veronica Mars, Maggie Dekker on Eli Stone (2008–2009), Pamela Rebecca Barnes on the soap opera Dallas (2012–2014) and Andrea Rojas on Supergirl (2019–2021). She has appeared in films such as Freaky Friday (2003), Dodgeball (2004), A Cinderella Story (2004) and Christmas with the Kranks (2004).
Jane Eyre is a 1943 American film adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel of the same name, released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by the uncredited Kenneth Macgowan and Orson Welles; Welles also stars in the film as Edward Rochester, with Joan Fontaine playing the title character.
Scandal Sheet is a 1952 American film noir directed by Phil Karlson. The film is based on the novel The Dark Page by Samuel Fuller, who himself was a newspaper reporter before his career in film. The drama features Broderick Crawford, Donna Reed and John Derek.
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story is a 2005 American adult animated direct-to-video adventure comedy film set in the Family Guy fictional universe. Released on September 27, 2005, the film's main plot point concerns Stewie Griffin, following a near-death experience, trying to find who he thinks is his real father after seeing the man on TV. He travels to San Francisco, only to find that the man is him from the future. The DVD contains commentaries and a sneak peek preview of the American Dad! Volume 1 DVD.
Tracy Reed is an American actress and former model.
Smart People is a 2008 American comedy-drama film starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elliot Page, and Thomas Haden Church. The film was directed by Noam Murro, written by Mark Poirier and produced by Michael London, with Omar Amanat serving as executive producer. Smart People was filmed on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, including several scenes at Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh International Airport. Premiering at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, North American distribution rights were acquired by Miramax Films and the film was released widely on April 11, 2008.
School of the Arts (SOTA) is a progressive alternative public middle school and high school in Rochester, New York. Administered by the Rochester City School District, SOTA is located on the corner of Prince Street and University Avenue, within walking distance of the Memorial Art Gallery, Eastman Theatre, Writers & Books, Visual Studies Workshop, and other cultural organizations.
The High Falls Film Festival, founded in 2001, is a film festival that focuses on celebrating women in film. The festival is inspired by Rochester, New York's legacy in nitrate film and the women’s rights movement.
Prom is a 2011 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Joe Nussbaum written by Katie Wech and produced by Ted Griffin and Justin Springer. It was released on April 29, 2011, by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was the first major production that was filmed with Arri Alexa cameras to be released in theatres.
Mega Python vs. Gatoroid is a 2011 monster, science-fiction, disaster film by The Asylum, directed by Mary Lambert, and starring pop singers Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. The film premiered theatrically in Texas and premiered on television on January 29, 2011, on Syfy in the United States before being released on home video on June 21, 2011.
Cherry Crush is a British novel written by the Scottish author Cathy Cassidy. It is the first book in the Chocolate Box Girls series. The book revolves around the suddenly upturned life of Cherry Costello who just moved to Somerset with her father to live with her father's girlfriend Charlotte Tanberry. When she arrives there, she realizes she has four new sisters. The plot deals with her attraction to her new stepsister's boyfriend Shay, while maintaining her desire to fit in.
George Whaley was an Australian actor, director and writer, known for his work across theatre and film.
The Possession of Hannah Grace is a 2018 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Diederik van Rooijen and written by Brian Sieve. It stars Shay Mitchell, Kirby Johnson, Stana Katic, Grey Damon and Nick Thune, and follows a former policewoman who encounters the supernatural while working in a morgue.