Searching for Sonny

Last updated
Searching for Sonny
Searching for Sonny FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by Andrew Disney
Written byAndrew Disney
Produced byGreg Beauchamp
Red Sanders
Starring Jason Dohring
Minka Kelly
Masi Oka
Michael Hogan
Nick Kocher
Brad Sham
Clarke Peters
Jared Knight
Michael Kagan
Richard Folmer
Cinematography Jeffrey Waldron
Edited by Sam Parnell
Music byAlice Wood
Production
company
Distributed by FilmBuff
Release date
  • October 22, 2011 (2011-10-22)(Austin Film Festival)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Searching for Sonny is a 2011 independent film and the feature film debut of writer/director Andrew Disney. [1] The film released on October 22, 2011 and stars Jason Dohring as one of several people involved in a murder mystery. [2]

Contents

Plot

Elliott (Jason Dohring), Calvin (Nick Kocher), Gary (Brian McElhaney) and Eden (Minka Kelly), find themselves chief suspects in a murder mystery at their ten-year high school reunion. The events surrounding the disappearance of their friend Sonny (Masi Oka), is reminiscent of a high school play they once performed, coincidentally written by Sonny himself. Deception leads to scandal and the truth surfaces as the friends learn that shady businessmen and school officials are involved in a complex scheme of money and murder.

Cast

Reception

Critical reception for Searching for Sonny has been mostly positive and The Hollywood Reporter summed the film up as "Quirky, comic film noir proves yet again that high school reunions never turn out well." [3] [4] Much of the film's praise centered around the film's acting and directing, [5] [6] and the Oklaholma Gazette commented that Disney's work helped to make the film look "like several million dollars were poured into the thing". [7]

Awards

Related Research Articles

Mena Suvari American actress

Mena Alexandra Suvari is an American actress, producer, fashion designer and model. After beginning her career as a model and guest-starring on several television shows, she made her film debut in the 1997 drama Nowhere.

<i>I, Robot</i> (film) 2004 American science-fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas

I, Robot is a 2004 American science fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas. The screenplay by Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman is from a screen story by Vintar, based on his original screenplay Hardwired, and named after Isaac Asimov's 1950 short-story collection. The film stars Will Smith in the main role, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, and Alan Tudyk. In 2035, highly intelligent robots fill public service positions throughout the dystopian world, operating under three rules to keep humans safe. Detective Del Spooner (Smith) investigates the alleged suicide of U.S. Robotics founder Alfred Lanning (Cromwell) and believes that a human-like robot called Sonny (Tudyk) murdered him.

<i>Veronica Mars</i> American teen noir mystery drama television series (2004-2019)

Veronica Mars is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW, airing for three seasons total. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros. Television, Silver Pictures Television, Stu Segall Productions, and Rob Thomas Productions. Joel Silver and Thomas were executive producers for the entire run of the series, while Diane Ruggiero was promoted in the third season.

Jason Dohring American actor

Jason William Dohring is an American stage, television and voice actor who is best known for his role as Logan Echolls on the television show Veronica Mars and the 2014 film continuation as well as his roles as Josef Kostan on Moonlight (2007), Adam Carpenter on Ringer (2011), Detective Will Kinney on The Originals (2013) and Chase Graves on iZombie (2015). He is also known as the voice of Terra, one of the main protagonists of the Kingdom Hearts franchise (2010–2019).

Minka Kelly American actress, model (born 1980)

Minka Kelly is an American actress and model. Her first starring role was in the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights (2006–2009) and she has also appeared on the shows Parenthood (2010–2011), Charlie's Angels (2011), and Almost Human (2013). She also provided voice acting and motion capture for North in Detroit: Become Human (2018). Since 2018, Kelly has portrayed Dawn Granger / Dove on the DC Universe / HBO Max series Titans.

Sonny Valentine UK soap opera character, created 2006

Sonny Valentine is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Aaron Fontaine. The role was initially played by Devon Anderson until 2007 when producer Bryan Kirkwood fired Anderson. In 2014, the role was recast when Kirkwood decided to reintroduce the character. On 12 November 2014, Sonny was killed off in a train explosion along with Carmel McQueen, when Carmel rescued her cousin Theresa McQueen from Sonny.

Zachary Gordon American actor

Zachary Adam Gordon is an American actor. He began his professional acting career at the age of eight and as a child came to prominence playing Greg Heffley in the first three films of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series. He then went on to play Tate Wilson in Good Trouble and Jason Cohen in Dead of Summer.

Rooney Mara American actress

Patricia Rooney Mara is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Born into the Rooney and Mara families, she began her career acting in television and independent films, such as the coming-of-age drama Tanner Hall (2009), and she gained further recognition for a supporting role in David Fincher's biographical drama The Social Network (2010).

<i>Veronica Mars</i> (season 1) Season of television series

The first season of Veronica Mars, an American drama television series created by Rob Thomas, premiered on UPN in the United States on September 22, 2004. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Television, Silver Pictures Television and Rob Thomas Productions, and Joel Silver and Thomas served as the executive producers.

The Bear Necessities are an award-winning, TTBB acappella group from Brown University. They were established in 1992 making them the youngest of the three TTBB acappella groups at Brown. The Bears have released 7 albums, and are currently in the process of recording their 8th. They are best known for wearing suspenders and former member Masi Oka, one of the best known alumnus of a college a cappella group and actor in the television series Heroes. Also known as “The Bears,” the group performs at Brown, across the country and internationally. Their repertoire ranges from R&B to jazz to classic rock to pop to Disney songs. Founded as an alternative a cappella ensemble, the group has a tradition of highly theatrical, interactive performance and is known for creating a fun, down-to-earth atmosphere in both rehearsal and concert. This is evident in the final track of each of their albums, titled “Bear-a-oke,” a karaoke version of one of the album’s songs designed to invite the listener to sing along. The group’s alumni song is Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen, arranged by member Andrew Callard in 1995.

The Festivus Film Festival is a Denver, Colorado-based annual film festival held in November. It features independent films at historical venues in the Denver Highlands, including the Bug Theatre and the Oriental Theater. The Festivus Film Festival was founded in 2008, suspended operation in 2013 due to budget constraints and relaunched in 2019 after getting support from the Denver art centre and other NGOs. The festival lasts for five days and plays a variety of films including features, short films, animation and music videos. It is the largest independent film festival in Denver.

<i>The Roommate</i> 2011 film by Christian E. Christiansen

The Roommate is a 2011 American psychological thriller film directed by Christian E. Christiansen and written by Sonny Mallhi. The film stars Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet, Danneel Harris, Matt Lanter, and Aly Michalka.

BriTANicK

BriTANicK is an internet sketch comedy duo from Atlanta, Georgia, that consists of Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher. McElhaney graduated from the Atlanta International School and Kocher graduated from The Paideia School. They attended New York University together. The duo's videos have been featured on internet video sites including YouTube, CollegeHumor, Cracked, Break, and FunnyOrDie. BriTANicK was nominated by the ECNY Awards as Best Sketch Comedy Group in New York in 2008 and by Comedy Central's inaugural Comedy Awards for best web video. In 2012, BriTANicK appeared in Joss Whedon's 2012 adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing.

Kaniehtiio Horn Canadian actress (b. 1986)

Kaniehtiio Alexandra Jessie Horn, sometimes referred to as Tiio Horn, is a Canadian actress. She was nominated for a Gemini Award for her role in the television film Moccasin Flats: Redemption and she has appeared in the films The Trotsky, Leslie, My Name Is Evil, and The Wild Hunt, as well as the web horror series Hemlock Grove and the sitcoms 18 to Life and Letterkenny.

<i>Heroes</i> (season 1) Season of television series

The NBC superhero serial drama series Heroes follows the lives of people across the globe who possess various superhuman powers as they struggle to cope with their everyday lives and prevent foreseen disasters from occurring. The series premiered on American and Canadian television on September 25, 2006. The first season, which finished 21st of 142 American primetime television programs in Nielsen ratings, was released on DVD and HD DVD on August 28, 2007. The Blu-ray was released on August 26, 2008. Within the seasons of the show are "volumes", which allow the writers to focus on shorter story arcs. The first season comprises a single volume of 23 episodes called Genesis, which is also the same title of the show's pilot episode.

Jason Morgan and Sam McCall Soap opera character

Jason and Sam Morgan are fictional characters and a supercouple from the ABC daytime drama, General Hospital. They are known to be one of daytime's most popular supercouples. Jason is portrayed by actor Steve Burton; formerly, the role was played by Billy Miller. On December 1, 2017, Miller's character was revealed to be Jason's identical twin brother, Andrew Cain, conditioned to believe he was Jason and assume Jason's identity. Sam is portrayed by Kelly Monaco.

<i>Veronica Mars</i> (film) 2014 American film

Veronica Mars is a 2014 American neo-noir mystery film produced and directed by Rob Thomas, who co-wrote the script with Diane Ruggiero. It is a continuing film adaptation based on the television series of the same name created by Thomas. The film stars Kristen Bell as the titular character, alongside a supporting cast that includes Jason Dohring, Francis Capra, Krysten Ritter, Percy Daggs III, Tina Majorino, Ryan Hansen, Chris Lowell, Max Greenfield and Enrico Colantoni, each reprising their roles. Set nine years after the events of the series finale, the plot follows Veronica Mars returning to her hometown in Neptune to investigate the death of a former classmate allegedly murdered by Mars' ex-boyfriend, Logan Echolls.

<i>Balls Out</i> (2014 film) 2014 American film

Balls Out is a 2014 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Andrew Disney, based on a script by Bradley Jackson. The film stars Jake Lacy, Beck Bennett, Jay Pharoah, Nikki Reed, Kate McKinnon, DC Pierson, Nick Kocher, Brian McElhaney, Nick Rutherford and Gabriel Luna, and focuses on a group of college seniors that decide to form an intramural football team before graduating.

Andrew Disney is a Texas filmmaker and writer. He has attended the Tisch School of the Arts, where he received a BFA in Film Production.

<i>Death Note</i> (2017 film) 2017 film directed by Adam Wingard

Death Note is a 2017 American supernatural crime thriller film loosely adapted from the Japanese manga of the same name created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The film is directed by Adam Wingard and written by the writing team of Charles and Vlas Parlapanides and Jeremy Slater. The film stars Nat Wolff, Lakeith Stanfield, Margaret Qualley, Shea Whigham, Paul Nakauchi, Jason Liles, and Willem Dafoe, and follows the story of an American high school student named Light Turner who finds a mysterious supernatural notebook known as the "Death Note", which can kill anyone whose name is written in its pages, using it to murder criminals, while a secretive detective only known as L seeks to find him.

References

  1. Topel, Fred. "Genius, Dude: Jason Dohring on Searching for Sonny". Crave Online. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  2. "Searching for Sonny". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  3. Scheck, Frank. "Searching for Sonny: Film Review". THR. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  4. Arbeiter, Michael. "'Searching for Sonny' Review: Veers Too Dark, But Good for Some Wacky Fun". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  5. Foster, Tyler. "Searching for Sonny (review)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  6. Sullivan, Gordon (14 September 2012). "Searching for Sonny (review)". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  7. Lott, Rodd. "Searching for Sonny: At least two-thirds of it is worth seeking out". OK Gazette. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Feature Film Awards". PFF. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  9. Festivus Film Festival (2012). "Festivus Film Festival Archives". festivusfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2012-12-26.