Country Strong

Last updated
Country Strong
Country Strong Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Shana Feste
Written byShana Feste
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography John Bailey
Edited byConnor O'Neill
Music by Michael Brook
Production
company
Maguire Pictures
Distributed by Screen Gems (through Sony Pictures Releasing [1] )
Release dates
  • November 8, 2010 (2010-11-08)(Nashville)
  • December 22, 2010 (2010-12-22)(United States)
Running time
117 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12–15 million [2] [3]
Box office$20.6 million [3]

Country Strong is a 2010 American drama film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, and Leighton Meester. The film, about an emotionally unstable country music star who attempts to revive her faltering career, was directed and written by American filmmaker Shana Feste. It premiered in Nashville, Tennessee on November 8, 2010, and had a wide release in the United States on January 7, 2011. This is the second film in which McGraw and Hedlund have worked together, the first being Friday Night Lights in 2004. At the 83rd Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Original Song ("Coming Home").

Contents

Plot

Beau Hutton sings with Kelly Canter, a recovering alcoholic country music singer going through rehab. He is clearly smitten by her, and it is later revealed that the two have been having an affair, even though Kelly is married to James. Kelly is checked out of rehab a month early by James, who wants her to go on a three-city tour to restore her image. She agrees on the condition that Beau becomes her opening act. James has already planned to see Chiles Stanton, a beauty queen with potential to become a rising singer, perform that night in hopes that she will be Kelly's opener instead.

On the night of Chiles' performance, Beau dismisses Chiles as a "Country Barbie" and does not want her on the tour. Chiles' performance nearly falls apart as she gets stage fright and can not sing; however, Beau steps in and begins to sing "Friends in Low Places". The two sing the song together, and it gives Chiles the courage to continue on her own. James is impressed by Beau's performance, and offers the opening act to both of them. He suggests that Beau and Chiles could make quite the duo, but Beau disagrees. Nevertheless, Beau agrees to go on the tour because he cares about Kelly.

The first show is a disaster: before going on, Kelly receives an anonymous package containing a bloody baby doll with a note reading "Baby Killer," referring to the baby Kelly miscarried when she fell off the stage in Dallas during her last concert before she went into rehab. At that concert, she was five months pregnant and was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.19 when she was in the hospital for the injuries related to the fall. Kelly falls apart, starts drinking, and almost refuses to go on. However, she is coerced into going on stage by James. She begins to sing "Country Strong" but breaks down on stage. She attempts to try another song, "A Fighter", but breaks down again and is led off stage by her husband, ending the show. They tell the media at a press conference that they had to cancel the show due to food poisoning and head off to the next show.

Beau ends his relationship with Kelly, and begins to spend more time with Chiles, whose fame has been increasing as the tour progresses. Chiles and Beau form a bond and Beau lets go of his earlier hostilities towards her. She even finishes the chorus to his song "Give in to Me". Later, Beau confronts James about Kelly's worsening condition. James insists that Kelly may get better, and says that he can't let her go out with a failure. Beau disagrees and subtly admits their affair. Enraged, James punches him in the jaw.

Before the next show in Austin, Kelly is unable to go on stage after drinking. Beau and Chiles still do their opening act, where they perform "Give in to Me" for the first time together. JJ, Kelly's agent, nearly cancels the tour but is dissuaded by Kelly's offer of sex; having witnessed this, Beau becomes frustrated with Kelly. That same night, Chiles and Beau have sex, and Beau confesses to Chiles that he likes her. In Dallas, Beau gives Chiles a pair of star-shaped earrings and asks her to move with him to California. Chiles immediately agrees, but then asks for more time to consider the offer.

The two perform and Kelly comes out, this time sober and ready, and performs her entire set for the first time. Kelly performs "Country Strong", "Shake That Thing", and "Coming Home". After the concert, James and JJ immediately begin making plans for Kelly's future. That night, Kelly commits suicide by overdosing on prescription medication. She leaves a letter to Beau, echoing his earlier words that "Love and fame can't live in the same place." In the letter, she gives him the advice to choose "love". Beau takes her advice, and after Kelly's funeral, he moves to California.

Later on, Beau is singing in a bar in California, when Chiles walk in, wearing the earrings he gave her. They begin singing "Give in to Me" together.

Cast

Production

With a budget of $15 million, pre-production work on the project, then titled Love Don't Let Me Down, began in November 2009. [4] Shana Feste was working as a nanny for Tobey Maguire, caring for his daughter, when she wrote the screenplay. She showed him her "work-in-progress" at his request and he agreed to co-produce the film. [5] She had real country stars in mind when she wrote the script. [6]

Garrett Hedlund took guitar lessons because he could not play the guitar nor sing before the film. [7] He explained: "When I read the script and started playing guitar I knew I wanted to get there. I mean I wasn't going to have a hand double come in and be playing the chords, having to have two different set ups just because I couldn't get it down." [8] Gwyneth Paltrow also took guitar lessons. [6] Paltrow stated she had trouble understanding her character's alcohol abuse and sought advice in playing the character from Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Robert Downey Jr., who has suffered from addiction in the past. [9] In interviews, Feste has said that American pop singer Britney Spears inspired Paltrow's character in the film. [10]

Principal photography took place in Nashville, Tennessee. [4] Locations used for the film include the Ryman Auditorium, the Union Station Hotel, Belle Meade Plantation, Mount Olivet Cemetery, the Fontanel Mansion, (Whites Creek, Tenn.) the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, and the Andrew Jackson Hall. [11] Filming also took place in Liberty, Tennessee. [11] The film was shot in 2010 from early January to the first week of March. [4]

Release

On December 14, 2010, the official screening took place at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, California. It was attended by the film's stars and included Tim McGraw, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leighton Meester, Garrett Hedlund, and many other stars of Hollywood and country music. [12] In the United States, the film received a wide release on January 7, 2011. [13]

The film was released on DVD/Blu-ray on April 12, 2011. The special features include the soundtrack, deleted scenes, music videos, extended performances, the original ending, as well as featurettes about the cast, the songwriters, and the costumes.[ citation needed ]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 22% based on 134 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "The cast gives it their all, and Paltrow handles her songs with aplomb, but Country Strong's cliched, disjointed screenplay hits too many bum notes." [14] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [15] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. [16]

Box office

Country Strong had two weeks of limited release, where it grossed $137,239. [17] It was released nationwide alongside Season of the Witch on January 7, 2011, and was projected to gross $5–6 million from 1,424 theaters in its opening weekend. [2] The film went on to debut to $7.5 million, coming in sixth place that weekend. [18] It went on to gross a worldwide total of $20.6 million, against its $15 million production budget.

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)Result
Academy Awards [19] February 27, 2011 Best Original Song "Coming Home"
Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey and Troy Verges 		Nominated
Golden Globe Awards [20] January 16, 2011 Best Original Song "Coming Home"Nominated
Satellite Awards [21] December 19, 2010 Best Original Song "Country Strong"
Jennifer Hanson and Gwyneth Paltrow 		Nominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards 2010 [22] December 16, 2010Best Song"Country Strong"Nominated
Denver Film Critics Society Awards 2010 [23] January 21, 2011Best Original Song"Me and Tennessee"Nominated
Golden Reel Awards [24] February 20, 2011 Best Sound Editing: Music in a Musical Feature Film Fernand Bos, Philip TallmanWon
Teen Choice Awards [25] August 7, 2011Actress in a Drama Leighton Meester Nominated
Academy of Country Music Awards [26] 2010 Tex Ritter Film AwardCountry StrongWon

Music

The film's title track was recorded by Paltrow and released as a single to country radio on August 23, 2010. [27] Country artist Sara Evans' single "A Little Bit Stronger", is featured on the film's soundtrack [28] and was released as a single in September 2010 (which also served as a single for her sixth studio album, Stronger ). [27] Both singles were promoted by RCA Nashville. The soundtrack debuted at #16 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart upon its release on October 26, 2010. Following the film's release in January 2011, the soundtrack rose to a new peak of #2 on that chart, as well as #6 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart.

The film's score was composed by Michael Brook. "Coming Home" by Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Lindsey, Troy Verges and performed by Gwyneth Paltrow was nominated for Best Original Song at the 68th Golden Globe Awards and 83rd Academy Awards, but it lost both to "You Haven't Seen The Last of Me" from Burlesque and "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3 , respectively.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blythe Danner</span> American actress (born 1943)

Blythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzy Huffstodt on Huff (2004–2006), and a Tony Award for Best Actress for her performance in Butterflies Are Free on Broadway (1969–1972). Danner was twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for portraying Marilyn Truman on Will & Grace, and the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her roles in We Were the Mulvaneys (2002) and Back When We Were Grownups (2004). For the latter, she also received a Golden Globe Award nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwyneth Paltrow</span> American actress and businesswoman (born 1972)

Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

<i>A Perfect Murder</i> 1998 American film

A Perfect Murder is a 1998 American crime thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen. It is a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Dial M for Murder, though the characters' names have been changed and much of the plot has been rewritten and altered from its original form. Loosely based on the play by Frederick Knott, the screenplay was written by Patrick Smith Kelly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garrett Hedlund</span> American actor (born 1984)

Garrett John Hedlund is an American actor and musician. His films include Troy (2004), Friday Night Lights (2004), Four Brothers (2005), Eragon (2006), Death Sentence (2007), Tron: Legacy (2010), Country Strong (2010), On the Road (2012), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), Unbroken (2014), Pan (2015), Mudbound (2017), Triple Frontier (2019), and The Marsh King's Daughter (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Hanson</span> American musician (born 1973)

Jennifer Kathleen Hanson is an American country music artist, songwriter and record producer. She made her artist debut in 2002 with the release of her single “Beautiful Goodbye”. The song went on to become a top 20 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs reaching #16 in March 2003, the highest-charting debut single by a female country artist for that year. Her self-titled debut album, Jennifer Hanson, was released that same year on Capitol Records to critical acclaim, and in 2003 Hanson was nominated for the Top New Female Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music. She received a nomination that same year for CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year for her video “Beautiful Goodbye”, directed by Trey Fanjoy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leighton Meester</span> American actress (born 1986)

Leighton Marissa Meester is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as scheming socialite Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, which ran from 2007 to 2012 on The CW. She has also appeared in films such as Killer Movie (2008), Country Strong (2010), The Roommate (2011), Monte Carlo (2011), The Oranges (2011), The Judge (2014), The Weekend Away (2022), and EXmas (2023). She portrayed Angie D'Amato on the ABC sitcom Single Parents (2018–2020). Meester made her Broadway debut in Of Mice and Men (2014).

<i>The Greatest</i> (2009 film) 2009 film by Shana Feste

The Greatest is a 2009 American drama film written and directed by Shana Feste in her directorial debut, and starring Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Carey Mulligan, and Michael Shannon.

The Substitute (<i>Glee</i>) 7th episode of the 2nd season of Glee

"The Substitute" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the twenty-ninth episode overall. It was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Ryan Murphy, and premiered on Fox on November 16, 2010. The episode guest stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holliday, a substitute teacher who takes the place of glee club director Will Schuester while he is ill. Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester causes problems as the fill-in substitute principal of William McKinley High School after she gets Principal Figgins infected with the flu, and glee club members Mercedes Jones and Kurt Hummel experience tension in their friendship.

<i>Country Strong</i> (soundtrack) 2010 soundtrack album by Various artists

Country Strong is a soundtrack album for the film of the same name. It was released by RCA Nashville on October 26, 2010. It is preceded by two singles: the title track, performed by the film's star Gwyneth Paltrow, which was released on July 26, 2010, and "A Little Bit Stronger", performed by Sara Evans and released on September 27, 2010. In addition to Paltrow, the film's co-stars Garrett Hedlund, Tim McGraw and Leighton Meester all sing on the soundtrack, which also features country music stars Lee Ann Womack, Hank Williams Jr., and Faith Hill, among others. The album has sold 479,000 copies in the US as of February 2013. A follow-up album Country Strong , was released on December 21, 2010, originally as digital download only. The second album has sold 36,349 in the US as of January 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly Holliday</span> Fictional character from the Fox series Glee

Holly Holliday is a recurring fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series, Glee. Portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow, the character appeared in three episodes during the show's second season and two episodes of the fifth. This was Paltrow's first role on television. Holly was developed by Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy, a personal friend of Paltrow's, who suggested that she showcase her vocal and dancing abilities ahead of the release of her film Country Strong, in which she played a country singer. Introduced as a substitute teacher who takes the place of glee club director Will Schuester while he is ill, she forms a romantic bond with Will, but decides to break up with him and takes a teaching job in another town after realizing that he is still in love with Emma Pillsbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Country Strong (song)</span> 2010 single by Gwyneth Paltrow

"Country Strong" is a song written by Jennifer Hanson, Tony Martin and Mark Nesler. It was recorded by singer Britni Hoover in 2007 for her debut album under the same name. Then it was recorded again by actress Gwyneth Paltrow for the movie Country Strong in which Paltrow stars. Vince Gill and Patty Griffin also provide background vocals for the song. The song is included on the movie's soundtrack that was released on October 26, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bright Lights Bigger City</span> 2011 single by CeeLo Green

"Bright Lights Bigger City" is the fourth single from American singer CeeLo Green's third studio album, The Lady Killer. The song was produced by Ben H. Allen, co-produced by Graham Marsh, and written by Cee Lo, Tony Reyes, and Allen. The single was released on March 27, 2011, topping the charts in Israel and peaking at number thirteen in the United Kingdom. A remix of the track features a guest appearance from American rapper Wiz Khalifa. The song, which is featured in the film Monte Carlo, samples "You Only Live Twice" from the James Bond film of the same name.

"Sexy" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the American musical comedy-drama television series Glee, and the thirty-seventh episode overall. It was written by Brad Falchuk, directed by Ryan Murphy, and first aired on the Fox network on March 8, 2011. The episode mainly revolves around the topics of sex and adolescent sexuality. In it, Holly Holliday returns to McKinley High School as a substitute teacher in a class devoted to sex education. Glee club director Will Schuester begins to develop feelings for Holly, and guidance counselor and celibacy club advisor Emma Pillsbury is less than pleased with Holly's lessons. Santana expresses her love for Brittany, and Burt Hummel has a talk with his son Kurt about sex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink Ralph Lauren dress of Gwyneth Paltrow</span> Dress worn by Gwyneth Paltrow to the 71st Academy Awards in 1999

The pink Ralph Lauren dress of Gwyneth Paltrow was designed by Ralph Lauren and worn to the 71st Academy Awards on 21 March 1999 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. The dress received mixed reviews and the style was compared to that of the actress Grace Kelly. The dress was widely copied after the event, and Paltrow was credited for bringing pink back into fashion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Me and Tennessee</span> 2011 single by Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow

"Me and Tennessee" is a song written by Chris Martin and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw and actress Gwyneth Paltrow. It is included on the soundtrack to the film Country Strong (2010), in which the two star. It peaked at number 34 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and at number 63 on the UK Singles chart.

Shana Feste is an American film director and screenwriter. She has directed and written The Greatest, Country Strong, Endless Love, Boundaries, Run Sweetheart Run, and also has writing credits for You're Not You. She also teaches at the American Film Institute.

"Give In to Me" is a song written by Billy Falcon, Rose Falcon, and Elisha Hoffman and recorded by American country pop singer Faith Hill for Country Strong, the soundtrack to the 2010 film of the same name. The song was produced by Jay Joyce. It is the only track on the album to not be included in the film itself. Despite not being released as a single, Hill's recording reached number 56 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 2011 due to unsolicited airplay.

"Words I Couldn't Say" is a song written by Steve Robson, Tammi Kidd, and Gregory Becker and recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts for their fourth studio album, Me and My Gang (2006). The song found renewed popularity in 2010 after it was featured in the drama film Country Strong as performed by American actress and singer Leighton Meester. Her cover, from the soundtrack album released by RCA Records Nashville, appeared on multiple Billboard sales charts in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goop (company)</span> Lifestyle brand founded by Gwyneth Paltrow

Goop is a wellness and lifestyle brand and company founded by the American actress Gwyneth Paltrow. It was launched in September 2008 as a weekly e-mail newsletter providing new age advice, such as "police your thoughts" and "eliminate white foods", and the slogan "Nourish the Inner Aspect". Goop expanded into e-commerce, collaborating with fashion brands, launching pop-up shops, holding a "wellness summit", launching a print magazine, a podcast, and a docuseries for Netflix.

References

  1. ↑ "Country Strong (2010)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Nicolas Cage's 'Season of the Witch' Poised for Modest Box-Office Opening". The Hollywood Reporter . January 6, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Country Strong (2010)". The Numbers. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "$15 Million Screen Gems Project Hires Local Cast and Crew". January 14, 2010. Archived from the original on January 21, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  5. ↑ Leydon, Joe (December 1, 2010). "Shana Feste's Nanny Diaries". MovieMaker Magazine. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  6. 1 2 "COUNTRY STRONG - Production Notes". CinemaReview.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  7. ↑ Smith, Krista (January 7, 2011). "Country Strong Director Shana Feste: Is Garrett Hedlund the Next Brad Pitt?". Vanity Fair . Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  8. ↑ "COUNTRY STONG - Production Notes". CinemaReview.com. p. 4. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  9. ↑ Harp, Justin (22 December 2010). "Paltrow: 'Country Strong role hard to tackle'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  10. ↑ Ziegbe, Mawuse (December 16, 2010). "Britney Spears Inspired 'Country Strong' Lead, Director Says". MTV.com . Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  11. 1 2 "COUNTRY STRONG - Production Notes - Filming In Music City". CinemaReview.com. p. 5. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Country Strong Screening Hits Hollywood". US99Country.Radio.com. December 14, 2010. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Country Strong (2010)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Country Strong Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Country Strong". Metacritic .
  16. ↑ "CinemaScore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  17. ↑ "Country Strong".
  18. ↑ "Weekend Box Office: January 7–9, 2011". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Nominations and Winners - 2010". GoldenGlobes.org. Archived from the original on April 8, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  21. ↑ "2010 Nominations" (PDF). International Press Academy. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  22. ↑ "The Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards". AwardsDaily . Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  23. ↑ "Denver Film Critics Society 2009-2010 Award Nominations". DenverFilmCritics.com. Retrieved Feb 23, 2023.
  24. ↑ "2011 Golden Reel Award Nominees: Feature Films". MPSE Golden Reel Awards. 2011. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  25. ↑ "teenchoiceawards.com". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-07-24. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Academy of Country Music | Search Winners".
  27. 1 2 "Gwyneth Paltrow's "Country Strong" on Country Radio". Country Music Tattle Tale. Archived from the original on 2010-08-01. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  28. ↑ Gallagher, Pat (June 15, 2010). "Sara Evans Gets Up Close and Very Personal With Fans". TheBoot.com. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.