Long Shot (2019 film)

Last updated
Long Shot
Long Shot (2019 poster).png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jonathan Levine
Screenplay by
Story byDan Sterling
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Yves Bélanger
Edited by
  • Melissa Bretherton
  • Evan Henke
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by Lionsgate
Release dates
  • March 9, 2019 (2019-03-09)(SXSW)
  • May 3, 2019 (2019-05-03)(United States)
Running time
124 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million [2]
Box office$53.9 million [3]

Long Shot is a 2019 American romantic comedy film directed by Jonathan Levine and written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah. [4] The plot follows a journalist (Seth Rogen) who reunites with his former babysitter (Charlize Theron), now the United States Secretary of State. O'Shea Jackson Jr., Andy Serkis, June Diane Raphael, Bob Odenkirk, and Alexander Skarsgård also star.

Contents

The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 9, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on May 3, 2019, by Lionsgate. It received generally positive reviews and praise for the chemistry between Rogen and Theron, but underperformed at the box office. [5]

Plot

U.S. Secretary of State Charlotte Field learns from President Chambers, a former television actor, that he does not plan on running for a second term as he is trying to break into the movie industry. Seeing an opportunity, she convinces him to endorse her as a potential presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, New York City journalist Fred Flarsky learns that the newspaper he works for has been bought by Parker Wembley, a wealthy media mogul whose politics directly oppose Fred's. Furious, he promptly quits but cannot find another job. Depressed, he turns to his more successful best friend Lance, who takes him to a charity fundraising event where Boyz II Men are performing. Coincidentally, Charlotte is also there. She and Fred recognize each other, as she was his babysitter and secret crush when they were young. While they catch up, Wembley interrupts them to plan a meeting with Charlotte, leading Fred to loudly condemn Wembley before he storms off and falls down a flight of stairs in front of everyone.

Charlotte reads some of Fred's columns and decides to hire him as a speechwriter, over the protests of her chief of staff, Maggie. Fred voices his skepticism of Charlotte's true commitment to important issues, but takes the job. At a world leaders' summit in Sweden, Charlotte is forced to revise a speech about an environmental campaign to appease industrialists. When Fred calls her out on abandoning her morals (threatening to quit then and there if she goes through with the changed speech), she changes her mind and gives the original speech, which is enthusiastically received.

As the two continue to spend time together under the pretext of Fred learning more about Charlotte for his writing, they grow closer. When they survive a revolution in Manila, they begin a relationship. When Maggie finds out, she warns Charlotte and Fred that the public will never accept them as a couple. When Chambers, under pressure from Wembley, orders Charlotte to remove her plans to preserve the trees, she lets off steam by getting high on ecstasy with Fred. A hostage crisis occurs and, still under the drug's influence, Charlotte has a surprisingly frank talk with the captors and frees the hostage.

Even though the incident increases Charlotte's approval rating, Chambers is livid when she chooses to ignore his orders and call him out. He confronts her in his office alongside Wembley, who has a vested interest in removing the trees as part of his plan. The two blackmail her with a hacked video from Fred's webcam. The hacked video depicts Fred discussing his and Charlotte's relationship and Fred further masturbating to a video of one of her speeches, the hacked video culminating in Fred ejaculating on his own face. Charlotte shows Fred the hacked video and informs him that she has agreed to the ultimatum, and that she wants to introduce him and their relationship publicly once his image is cleaned up. Disappointed and unwilling to change, he refuses and they break up.

Back in New York, Fred talks with Lance. Lance comes out to Fred as a Republican and a Christian. Fred's reaction is initially racist, not believing that African Americans can be Republican, and assuming that the only reason Lance wears a cross is as a black cultural symbol. Lance tells him that he has been too stubborn with his principles and refusal to consider other people's needs and opinions. Fred decides to accede to Charlotte's ideas.

However, during her announcement to run for president in 2020, Charlotte changes her mind and opts for her original plan, also revealing the blackmail from Wembley and Chambers and describing the content of the video before its release. The video is released and Fred is nicknamed "cum guy" by the news media. Fred searches for Charlotte and finds her waiting at his apartment. They admit that they love each other, and meet the press outside where Charlotte introduces Fred as her boyfriend, with the public surprisingly being supportive of them. In 2021, the couple marry and Charlotte is sworn in as the first female president with Fred as "First Mister", him having taken her last name.

Cast

Production

Development

Screenwriter Dan Sterling, who around the early 2010s was working for several TV shows, decided to take a break from that field and wanted to pursue a screenwriting career. The script, then titled Flarsky, described by producer Evan Goldberg as "a romantic comedy in the vein of Pretty Woman ", had been floating around at Point Grey Pictures since its formation, at the time of production on The Green Hornet . Seth Rogen loved the script and wanted to make the film with Charlize Theron; according to him, it took about "7 years to get popular enough to work with her". Theron eventually agreed to do the film due to her eagerness to work with Rogen. Not only did Theron star and produce the movie, but she also helped out Sterling touch up on her character Charlotte. When director Jonathan Levine came on board as director, he wanted to make a film as a callback to romantic comedies of the 1980s, like Tootsie and When Harry Met Sally... . Since the initial draft of the script was written in the early 2010s and the film deals primarily with current political issues, the crew brought in The Post screenwriter Liz Hannah, whose first Hollywood job was at Theron's production company Denver and Delilah Productions, to help polish up and update the script. They even brought in other consultants to help give more authenticity to the script. [6] [7]

Pre-production

In February 2017, the project was announced, with Rogen and Theron attached to star and Levine directing. [4] Rogen was reportedly paid $15 million. [8] In October 2017, O'Shea Jackson Jr. was cast. [9] In November 2017, June Diane Raphael, Ravi Patel, Andy Serkis, Alexander Skarsgård, and Randall Park joined the cast as filming commenced in Montreal. [10] [11] [12]

Filming

Scenes were filmed in Plaza de la Trinidad in Cartagena, Colombia in the end of January 2018. [13] In January 2019, it was announced the film had been retitled Long Shot. [14]

Music

Marco Beltrami and Miles Hankins composed the film's score, having previously worked with the director on The Night Before . Lionsgate Records has released the soundtrack.

Release

The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 9, 2019. [15] Originally slated to be released on February 8, 2019, [16] following highly positive test screenings it was pushed back to June 7, 2019, in order to be positioned as a summer tentpole. [17] It was then moved up to its eventual date of May 3, 2019. [18]

Reception

Box office

Long Shot grossed $30.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $22.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $52.9 million. [3]

In the United States and Canada, Long Shot was released alongside The Intruder and UglyDolls , and was projected to gross $9–16 million from 3,230 theaters in its opening weekend. [19] The film made $3.6 million on its first day, including $660,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $9.7 million, finishing third. [20] The film held well in its second weekend, grossing $6.1 million and finishing in fifth. [21] The Ringer reported that the film underperformed at the box office, which it partially attributed to its premiere one week after the blockbuster success of Avengers: Endgame . [22]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 302 reviews and an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A sharp and deceptively layered comedy that's further fueled by the odd couple chemistry of its leads, this Long Shot largely hits its marks." [23] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [24] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars and a 57% "definite recommend". [20]

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called it "Very funny whatever you think of its more old-fashioned notions, the picture will charm many viewers who can set implausibility aside for a while." [25] Variety 's Peter Debruge described the film as: "More creepy than romantic, more chauvinist than empowered — and in all fairness, funnier and more entertaining than any comedy in months — Long Shot serves up the far-fetched wish-fulfillment fantasy of how, for one lucky underdog, pursuing your first love could wind up making you first man." [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlize Theron</span> South African and American actress

Charlize Theron is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 2016, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Skarsgård</span> Swedish actor (born 1976)

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård is a Swedish actor. Born in Stockholm, son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, he began acting at age seven but quit at 13. After serving in the Swedish Navy, Skarsgård returned to acting and gained his first role in the US comedy film Zoolander (2001). He played Brad Colbert in the miniseries Generation Kill (2008), and had his breakthrough for portraying vampire Eric Northman in the television series True Blood (2008–2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seth Rogen</span> Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker (born 1982)

Seth Aaron Rogen is a Canadian actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series Freaks and Geeks in 1999, and got a part on Apatow's sitcom Undeclared in 2001, which also hired him as a writer. Rogen landed a job as a staff writer on the final season of Da Ali G Show (2004), for which the writing team was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. Apatow subsequently guided him toward a film career.

Longshot or long shot may refer to:

Dan Sterling is an American screenwriter and television producer who has worked on many successful television shows, including King of the Hill, Kitchen Confidential, The Daily Show, South Park, The Sarah Silverman Program and The Office.

<i>Young Adult</i> (film) 2011 film by Jason Reitman

Young Adult is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody, and starring Charlize Theron. Reitman and Cody worked together previously on Juno (2007). Young Adult began a limited release on December 9, 2011, before expanding to a wide release on December 16, 2011. It received generally positive reviews from critics, and Theron earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Grey Pictures</span> American independent film production company

Point Grey (PGP) is an American film and television production company, founded in 2011 by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The name of the company comes from Vancouver's Point Grey Secondary School, where Rogen and Goldberg met.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Shea Jackson Jr.</span> American actor, rapper and songwriter

O'Shea Jackson Jr. (born February 24, 1991), also known by the stage name OMG, is an American actor, rapper and songwriter. He is the oldest son of Ice Cube and, in his feature film debut, portrayed his father in the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlize Theron filmography</span>

Charlize Theron is a South African-American actress who made her film debut in an uncredited role as a follower of a cult in the 1995 horror film Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest. Theron followed this with appearances as a hitman’s girlfriend in 2 Days in the Valley, a waitress in the romantic comedy Trial and Error (1997), and a woman plagued with demonic visions in the mystery thriller The Devil's Advocate (1997) with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino. She appeared in the science fiction thriller The Astronaut's Wife with Johnny Depp, and Lasse Hallström's The Cider House Rules. For her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the crime drama Monster (2003), Theron received the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. The following year, she played Swedish entertainer Britt Ekland in the biographical film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.

<i>Atomic Blonde</i> 2017 film by David Leitch

Atomic Blonde is a 2017 American action thriller film directed by David Leitch from a screenplay by Kurt Johnstad, based on the 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart. The film stars Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, and Toby Jones. The story revolves around a spy who has to find a list of double agents that is being smuggled into the West on the eve of the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

<i>Tully</i> (2018 film) 2018 film by Jason Reitman

Tully is a 2018 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody, and starring Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Ron Livingston, and Mark Duplass. The film follows the friendship between a mother of three and her night nanny. It is the third collaboration between director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, following the films Juno (2007) and Young Adult (2011), the last of which also starred Theron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Universe</span> American film production company

Good Universe is an American film production company founded by Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane.

<i>The Art of Self-Defense</i> (2019 film) 2019 American martial arts black comedy film

The Art of Self-Defense is a 2019 American martial arts black comedy film written and directed by Riley Stearns and starring Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola and Imogen Poots. It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 10, 2019, and was released in the United States on July 12, 2019, by Bleecker Street.

Elizabeth Hannah is an American screenwriter and film producer. She is best known for her work on Steven Spielberg's 2017 journalism drama The Post for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay.

<i>Villains</i> (film) 2019 film by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen

Villains is a 2019 American black comedy horror film written and directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen. It stars Bill Skarsgård, Maika Monroe, Blake Baumgartner, Jeffrey Donovan, and Kyra Sedgwick.

<i>Good Boys</i> (film) 2019 coming-of-age comedy film

Good Boys is a 2019 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Gene Stupnitsky, in his directorial debut, and written by Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg. It stars Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, and Brady Noon. The film follows three naive sixth graders who ditch school to replace a broken drone and prep for their kisses after being invited to a major party — but things go epically awry. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg produced the film through their Point Grey Pictures company.

<i>Bombshell</i> (2019 film) 2019 film directed by Jay Roach

Bombshell is a 2019 American drama film directed by Jay Roach and written by Charles Randolph. The film stars Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie, and is based on the accounts of the women at Fox News who set out to expose CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. John Lithgow, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Malcolm McDowell, and Allison Janney appear in supporting roles.

<i>The Day Shall Come</i> Film directed by Chris Morris

The Day Shall Come is a 2019 comedy film directed by Chris Morris and written by Morris and Jesse Armstrong. It stars Marchánt Davis, Anna Kendrick, Danielle Brooks and Denis O'Hare. The film satirises a number of real-life FBI sting operations including the Liberty City Seven.

<i>Joy Ride</i> (2023 film) American film directed by Adele Lim

Joy Ride is a 2023 American comedy film directed by Adele Lim, in her feature directorial debut, and written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, from a story by Lim, Chevapravatdumrong, and Hsiao. The film stars Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu, with Ronny Chieng, Meredith Hagner, David Denman, Annie Mumolo, Timothy Simons, and Daniel Dae Kim appearing in supporting roles.

References

  1. ↑ "Untitled Seth Rogen/Charlize Theron". South by Southwest . Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  2. ↑ Mendelsohn, Scott (May 4, 2019). "Friday Box Office: 'Intruder' Opens Okay, But 'Avengers' Squashes 'Long Shot' And 'UglyDolls'". Forbes . Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Long Shot (2019)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  4. 1 2 McNary, Dave (February 23, 2017). "Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen to Star in Comedy 'Flarsky'". Variety . Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  5. ↑ "'Long Shot' Flopped. What's Next for Rom-Coms?". 7 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "All's Fair in Love and Politics: Making Long Shot" (Interview). Lionsgate Home Entertainment.
  7. ↑ Olsen, Mark (May 2, 2019). "How Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen gave 'Long Shot' its 'secret power'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  8. ↑ Lang, Brent; Kroll, Justin (May 8, 2018). "Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence and Other Star Salaries Revealed". Variety .
  9. ↑ McNary, Dave; Kroll, Justin (October 9, 2017). "O'Shea Jackson Jr. Joins Seth Rogen Movie 'Flarsky' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  10. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (2017-11-20). "June Diane Raphael & Ravi Patel Cast In Lionsgate's Comedy 'Flarsky'". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
  11. ↑ Kit, Borys (November 21, 2017). "Andy Serkis Joins Seth Rogen in Lionsgate Comedy 'Flarsky' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  12. ↑ Kit, Borys (November 28, 2017). "Alexander Skarsgard, Randall Park Join Seth Rogen in 'Flarsky' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  13. ↑ "La actriz Charlize Theron está en Cartagena". ELESPECTADOR.COM. 25 January 2018.
  14. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 29, 2019). "Untitled Seth Rogen-Charlize Theron SXSW Comedy Now Titled 'Long Shot'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  15. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (January 16, 2019). "SXSW: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey to Premiere New Work". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  16. ↑ McNary, Dave (October 3, 2017). "Charlize Theron-Seth Rogen Comedy 'Flarsky' Gets Release Date". Variety. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  17. ↑ McNary, Dave (15 August 2018). "Seth Rogen-Charlize Theron Comedy 'Flarsky' Moving to Summer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  18. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 17, 2019). "Seth Rogen-Charlize Theron Comedy Moves Up To First Weekend In May After Scoring SXSW Slot". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  19. ↑ Rebecca Rubin (May 1, 2019). "Box Office: 'Avengers: Endgame' Eyes Heroic Second Weekend". Variety . Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  20. 1 2 Anthony D'Alessandro (May 4, 2019). "'Avengers: Endgame' Mows Down 'Long Shot', 'Intruder' & 'UglyDolls' With $146M+ Second Weekend, Crosses $600M In Record Time". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  21. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 12, 2019). "'Pokémon Detective Pikachu' Grabs $58M In 'Endgame' Dominated Universe; Marvel Pic 3rd Highest Domestic With $724M+ – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  22. ↑ Surrey, Miles (May 7, 2019). "'Long Shot' Flopped. What's Next for Rom-Coms?". The Ringer . Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Long Shot (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Long Shot Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  25. ↑ "'Long Shot': Film Review | SXSW 2019". The Hollywood Reporter . 10 March 2019.
  26. ↑ Debruge, Peter (March 10, 2019). "Film Review: 'Long Shot'". Variety .
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.