Movie reviews, production notes, and more! - "The Banger Sisters"

Movie Production Notes: The Banger Sisters

Notes provided by Fox Searchlight SYNOPSIS In the late '60s, it would have been hard to find a rock star who didn't have Suzette (Goldie Hawn) or Vinnie (Susan Sarandon) on his arm ... or attached to his leg. The self-proclaimed belles of the rock 'n' roll ball rocked the worlds of every music legend whose pants they could take off- and they have the pictures to prove it. But it's been more than two decades since THE BANGER SISTERS earned their nickname - or even laid eyes on one another. Vinnie is now Lavinia - a prim, suburban mother, wife, and pillar of the community, more at home at a garden party than a mosh pit. Suzette is still her brassy self - plus a few tattoos and a remarkably increased bust line. When Suzette's world comes crashing down, she sets off in search of the one friend who might be able to rescue her, or at least give her a few thousand bucks. The reunion of THE BANGER SISTERS is the collision of two women's worlds: one who's living in the past, and one who's hiding from it. Together they learn the value of living in the moment. Academy Award®-winners Hawn (CACTUS FLOWER) and Sarandon (DEAD MAN WALKING) bring THE BANGER SISTERS to life, with the help of Academy Award®-winner Geoffrey Rush (SHINE), who plays Suzette's eccentric travel partner, and Erika Christensen (TRAFFIC) and Eva Amurri (ANYWHERE BUT HERE) as Lavinia's daughters. THE BANGER SISTERS marks Bob Dolman's directorial debut. His writing credits include FAR AND AWAY and WILLOW. ABOUT THE STORY "My only claim to fame is I let a zillion zonked-out musicians get into my pants who didn't give a damn about me. " - Suzette "I really am someone you've never met before Suzette and I'd like to introduce myself to you. People change Suzette. Not that it's easy, it hasn't been. But I could not be the person I was because the person I was was not the person I am. " - Lavinia The concept for THE BANGER SISTERS lived within Writer/Director Bob Dolman's mind for many years before he determined how to fit the pieces of the plot together. He had envisioned two rock groupies as young women and had struggled with how to turn their lives into a story. Dolman said that the overall idea for Suzette and Lavinia was partially inspired by a line from a relatively obscure song written and performed by Jim Morrison called "Stoned Immaculate." The song's lyrics state, "One summer night, going to the pier 1 ran into two young girls. The blonde was called Freedom, the dark one Enterprise." Dolman says, "That idea of freedom and responsibility was part of what I was thinking about even in the early days when I was putting the two characters together; that our lives take two paths and we partly hunger for our freedom and we also want the responsibility that comes with moving ahead in life." He furthered the idea Morrison had planted in his head by writing the women as mature characters rather than young girls. Suddenly Freedom and Enterprise were all the more complicated, the chasm between the two even deeper. Freedom stayed within the rock 'n' roll world, while Enterprise married, settled down and had a family. The two entities became Suzette (Goldie Hawn) and Lavinia (Susan Sarandon), and THE BANGER SISTERS were born. The reunion of the pseudo sisters - who, in the story, were given their unforgettable name by musician Frank Zappa - is a "combustible situation," Hawn says. "The chemistry is sometimes hostile and in conflict, because they've gone in different directions. Lavinia is one way and Suzette's another way, and they rub each other the wrong way." Sarandon says that hostile chemistry underlines the concept at large. "Can you be free and still be responsible, or is freedom really about being irresponsible and not having any kind of structure? The idea that you become a mom and negate your entire past when you used to have fun is a concept I really don't like. This story is really about two women who were crazy and wild and wonderful in the time when you could do that ...and now Suzette's life is kind of desperate and sad, and Lavinia is living in the future... neither is really inhabiting the present. And that's the question: how do you be free within a structure, having a family, taking care of your kids - is there a way to do that? Or does freedom mean not having to account for anything ...do you feel free when you live a life that has no attachments?" Remarkably, throughout their many years in Hollywood, Hawn and Sarandon had never met prior to THE BANGER SISTERS. Sarandon says Hawn's involvement was one of the many reasons she agreed to do the picture. "I've always been a fan and I thought the two of us would get along. We have a lot of the same off-screen values ...so I knew it would be fun." Hawn seconds the sentiment, "She is not only a woman I really respect, but I think I see myself in her and I think she sees herself in me. We are pretty much straight shooters and I like that about her ...There's a lot of affection there." In securing the two actresses, Dolman says he knew instantly what a casting coup had been staged. "The first day that they shot, which was our second day of shooting, it just jumped." Producer Mark Johnson says, "I can't think of any movie I've been involved in where we've actually gotten all of the actors, all of our first choices ...that's the script itself doing the work, because we had a first-time director, so they couldn't look at Bob Dolman and say, `Oh, I loved his last 17 movies.' They just said, `I've got to play this character."' Producer Elizabeth Cantillon says, "The script was just leap-off-the-page funny. And it was two great parts for two female actors. You don't see very many of those scripts these days. It's hard to get movies made with women. And these were women who had lived their lives and they'd made choices in their lives that there was no going back on. I thought that was intriguing, and I thought really great actresses would think that was intriguing, and I was right." Johnson adds, "There are lots of screenplays, some of them very good, that rehash other movies or other stories. This - I never read anything like this before. And these women - as original as they were and as funny as they were - they were also women I could understand and believe ...I so loved all three of our central characters. You could make a movie based on just one of them." When the script first began to circulate and word was out that Hawn and Sarandon were attached to star, there was an interesting debate over who would play which role. Johnson says, "Half of our readers said, 'Oh, I see, so Susan must be playing Suzette,' and the other half said, 'no, Goldie's playing Suzette.' And they all have very legitimate reasons for saying that. we're talking about two extremely important, successful actresses of our time. Susan Sarandon and Goldie Hawn ...the minute their face appears, you can say, 'I fell in love with her in this one, or I thought she was fantastic in this.' So what you do with it is, you take that baggage, and you want to play with it, sometimes even against it..." That's exactly what attracted Hawn to play the role of Suzette. "She's not the type of character that typically crosses my desk. She's chancy ...so it gives me an opportunity to sort of delve into a character that I have never played." Sarandon says she was drawn to the film's message. "I thought this could be a really fun film ...the bottom line is it's about friendship between women." During the writing process it had not occurred to Dolman to direct, or even to sell the screenplay. His goal was just to write the story. But once the screenplay was complete, both he and the producers agreed he was the obvious choice to helm. Dolman learned quickly that directing requires a different sort of mentality, "The biggest challenge is trusting that maybe something will happen, but knowing that I've only got two or three minutes for that to happen. Whereas with writing, I could try it so many different ways ...The mood of the production might be, we're running late, we have to hurry. The mood of the scene might be, we're making love. And those two things could be so in conflict with each other. The director has to pull them apart, make sure that one mood doesn't pollute the other." The film opens with Suzette, a far-from-typical bartender on the modern-day Sunset Strip in Hollywood. "She's a pot stirrer ...definitely," Hawn says of her character. "I kind of look at her like a Molotov Cocktail. Throw her in anything and watch what happens, because it's a lot of fun." Suzette has been bartending on this legendary street longer than most of the bar's customers have been alive. "She's living in the past, and she thinks that she's not as old as she is ...that she can still land the rock stars," Hawn says. It was a fine line to "figure out a way to create the character that people would like to be like, but not become." "These women pretty much had every rock star known to man," Hawn laughs. In the story, Suzette fished The Doors' Jim Morrison out of the bar's bathroom after he passed out there ...underneath her - but that was many years ago. Suzette refuses to see that the world around her has changed - the customers are young, the bands are full of angst, and the kid she works for has had enough of her attitude and her penchant for telling it like it is, or was. "Her life hasn't amounted to anything in terms of material substance or relationships. At the beginning of the movie, she bottoms out by losing her job, being humiliated and out of money," Dolman describes. In an attempt to find a piece of herself that she lost a long time ago, or at least to get some cash to pay her rent, Suzette sets off on the ominous journey to Phoenix to find her old friend Vinnie (Susan Sarandon), the other half of THE BANGER SISTERS. Sarandon reflects on her character, "At some point, Lavinia got tired of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll and moved on. The only way she could find to do that was just to denounce the entire past and set herself up with a new identity. Her family doesn't know that she had this crazy past. She's married to a lawyer, and she has these two girls that she's quite strict with, because God forbid they should do any of the things that she did." When Suzette walks back into her life, Lavinia is "just terrified that my whole facade and new identity will be shattered, because basically I don't know that my family would accept me if they knew my past, or that I could even accept myself if I knew my past. So I've gone out of my way to create a whole new kind of anal, boring but safe, very under control, hopefully funny, version of a whole new lifestyle." On the road to find Lavinia, Suzette, who is in need of cash to fill her gas tank, meets Harry, played by Geoffrey Rush. The unlikeliest of characters to emerge from a nearby bus that has just stopped to refuel, he proves to be Suzette's only salvation. But he's not content to just fork over the cash, Harry will join Suzette on the trek to Phoenix, if for no other reason than escaping the germ-ridden cesspool in which he has been traveling. "He's quite obsessive-compulsive and has a very carefully delineated lifestyle," Rush explains of the character he plays. "He has basically shut down any of his natural impulses, so being around a vibrant ex-groupie who lives life to the fullest and is very comfortable in her own skin ...that has a big impact on him." Dolman said Rush delivers an effortless performance "as a man who has repressed all his physicality ...a writer caught in his own intellect and underneath this is this volcano that's waiting to explode." "What's interesting about Harry," Dolman says, "is that he was not planned when I was writing the script ...I thought, maybe if I have Suzette stop and get gas, something will happen. And this character really stepped off the bus into my story, and then I didn't know what to do with him. And the next thing I knew, he had a gun inside a typewriter case... "I was just trying to keep up with what the story was telling me." For Hawn, working with Rush conjured up memories of her days with another comedy great: Peter Sellers. "Peter left an indelible print on my mind. His comedic genius was really unmatched until I worked with Geoffrey ...I laughed the way I laughed at Peter." Dolman, who worked with countless comedic talents during his stint as a writer for SCTV and sitcoms like "WKRP in Cincinnati" says "Geoffrey may be the most gifted, physical comedian I've ever seen." Rounding out the cast are Robin Thomas, who plays Raymond, Lavinia's straight-laced husband, their two teenage daughters - Hannah and Ginger, played by Erika Christensen and Eva Amurri respectively, and Matthew Carey, who plays Hannah's boyfriend. Christensen says of her character, "Hannah is a very smart girl who is being raised in a family where the cards are played close to the chest. Nobody has any confrontations, all the emotions are kept in check, and they're not very honest with each other. To the outside everything looks like they have a perfect family, but everybody's bubbling up inside ...She's trying to break out and be more herself and be more honest with her family and be more honest with everybody." Sarandon provides another perspective on Hannah, "She doesn't see her mom, doesn't even bother trying to figure out - like most kids - who her parents are ...She's the one who's closest to making the same mistakes that I did in the movie. She's the closest to giving away a part of who she is in order to make a deal for her future." In casting Christensen for the part, Dolman says, "Erika is a really gifted actress. She brought more depth to the part than was even on the page. She plays a character who is a little down on herself, who seems to be hurting and frustrated that nobody's listening. Yet Erika is very positive, straightforward and honest and what emerges is that she lets that positive part of herself overcome all the rest." One scene that Dolman found particularly moving was when Hannah delivers her graduation speech. "I was bawling when I watched her do it, because it was a recreation of my son's graduation ...it just killed me ...Goldie and Susan weren't there the morning it was shot. When we showed it to them, they were crying just looking at the monitors." Amurri, who is Sarandon's real life daughter, describes her role as Ginger, Lavinia's youngest daughter, "She is a brat ...just awful. She takes her mother for granted and is always throwing fits and screaming and crying and being obnoxious ...She's very fun to play." Sarandon, whose first on-screen appearance with her daughter was in BOB ROBERTS, takes great pride in her daughter's abilities. "She had just turned 16 when she did the part. That's not an age where you're really ready to make fun of yourself. She really is a character actor ...she's so beautiful and has this incredible body and way of holding herself, and she threw it all away and became this kind of gangly, whining, hysterical comic relief. Every time she came into a scene, she just threw herself there in a major way, and I thought that was so brave." The relationship between Dolman and the cast was one of mutual appreciation. Dolman found himself learning things about these characters he'd created just by watching how the actors interpreted them. Similarly, Dolman's deep relationship with the characters and the script helped the actors to better understand his vision for the film. Hawn says, "He really is a wonderful actor's director ...Bob is open. He's deep. He has written a script that he knows frontwards, backwards, sideways and every which way but Sunday, and so he understands these characters. So when we talk to him about things, he's always coming from a character point of view ...It's a rare joy to have someone like that on set." Adds Sarandon, "His heart is big and he really loves women and he loves these characters. He brings that to the film and that makes it very special ...He was very open to letting the love between these women find itself." ABOUT THE PRODUCTION "I gotta have colors around me or I go nuts. I hate drab. " - Suzette "I 'm the same color as the Department of Motor Vehicles! " - Lavinia After eight weeks of prep work in January and February of 2001, THE BANGER SISTERS was just four days from shooting when the director of photography had an emergency that would require him to leave the production. Producer Mark Johnson managed to secure a replacement - Karl Walter Lindenlaub, a highly respected DP who had worked on such films as INDEPENDENCE DAY and THE PRINCESS DIARIES - to step in and take over the project. With only a few days to catch Lindenlaub up on everything that had previously been prepped for the film, Director Bob Dolman said he sequestered himself, Lindenlaub and Production Designer Mafia Javan in a Santa Monica hotel for a day and night of intensive overview. The trio watched countless films from the '60s and '70s to give Lindenlaub an idea of their vision. Two days later, they began rolling film. One of the major changes that Lindenlaub effected when he joined the production team was making the decision to shoot the film in anamorphic rather than the previously planned super 35. The format, which has a wider aspect ratio that cuts out top and bottom but allows for wider shots, has often been used for epic films and increasingly more often in the last 10 years for dramas and comedies. "It's a great way to give it a classic feel without having to be too tight on the actors. I don't think comedy is from extreme close ups, you want to see body language. There's a lot of comedy and drama between Goldie and Susan and Goldie and Geoffrey and you can play a lot of two-shots as a one-shot and see their reactions without having to cut all the time," Lindenlaub says. The shoot took place over a mere 24 days, which required an elevated concentration on the part of both cast and crew. "These are big movie stars who are used to twice the amount of time and much bigger budgets ...You couldn't have two cameras shooting millions of feet of film. We had one camera, a very small technical package and that means you have to rehearse and make sure it works without having months of safety nets in editing." Lindenlaub prefers the abbreviated schedule. "You have to commit a little more, which is a nice thing. Films are more personal that way. 20 years ago, people didn't have 100-day schedules all the time. They shot fast, and they played fast as well. When you have this kind of talent, you can do that, they have a great sense for timing. You don't have to have safety nets everywhere. You can play it in one shot." One of the biggest missions for Production Designer Maia Javan was creating the two completely different worlds that THE BANGER SISTERS lived in - Suzette's Hollywood life and that of the Phoenix-based, starched and pressed Lavinia. To create the differentiation and develop a visual theme throughout the film, Javan went back to the place that inspired Writer/Director Bob Dolman to write the film in the first place -the graduation of his eldest son. In the screenplay, he had painstakingly described the graduation scene as being filled with hundreds of students in blue robes. She and Costume Designer Jacqueline West weaved that hue, or the lack of it, throughout the film. "We worked toward blue, which was symbolically the phoenix rising from the ashes into the sky ...the resurrected self awareness for both of them and the resurrection of their sense of self." Javan says. In designing the costumes, West worked hand-in-hand with Javan to create the visual separations between Lavinia, who she describes as "trying to tit a mold that she felt was going to be a safe haven for her in life. I made her wardrobe very conservative, almost a little like armor ...Lavinia's whole world is beige. There's nothing that's going to rock the boat or shake anything up. She's going to be accepted by the other corporate lawyer wives even though she comes from this wild background. Her world is all about a lack of color." The beige dress that Sarandon wears throughout much of the early scenes of the film, West describes as "almost a girdle, keeping all her wildness in like armor." To get the right look for Suzette, West followed several older female groupies around to various L.A. clubs to see how they dressed. She had expected to see a lot of short skirts, but was amused to learn through her research that the women prefer pants because "the seats aren't very clean in most of these clubs." The look she designed for Hawn was "someone who grew up in the '60s but was still trying to appeal to rock 'n' rollers and lead a rock 'n' roll lifestyle ....skin and freedom and looseness and flamboyance." The film begins with Suzette working at a Hollywood club, and then at her apartment, which was shot in a real Hollywood apartment. The two environs are "very wet and colorful and visceral," Javan says. West outfitted Hawn in black for the opening scenes and "let her wardrobe get much lighter as she went to the sun from the darkness of Hollywood and the nightclubs and her nightlife." Javan also made sure that the vehicle that would take Suzette on her path toward enlightenment - the car she lovingly refers to as "the Shitbox"- was blue. As the film moves into Phoenix, Javan describes Lavinia's world as "dry and very uptight, very monochromatic, the color of the DM V, as Lavinia says, and you can really see how she has become a self-control freak as well as a control freak and has really squeezed all of the essence out of her life. She put her and all of her children's relationships in jeopardy because of this super controlling, uptight nature that she developed to counter-balance how wild she was." To give the Chatsworth-located home the Phoenix/Lavinia feel, Javan added cactus plants to the outside garden areas and changed the "furnishings so that it was very, very controlled and meticulous and Type-A looking ...everything was beige and monotone ...We wanted everything to look like it was about to be shot by "Architectural Digest"' except for the kids' wing, and in particular, Hannah's room. "We decided that Hannah had a lot of Suzette in her ...Hannah's room is green and there are lots of interesting textiles. That's probably what terrifies Lavinia, because she sees a bit of Suzette and herself as a youth." Similar to Lavinia, Geoffrey Rush's character, Harry, also required clothing that worked like a suit of armor. West says, "His wardrobe, when it starts, is all very buttoned up and contained ...His sleeves are buttoned, his neck's buttoned and he's in this vest going to Arizona. Like a turtle shell, the vest was like his cushioning, his padding, his protection against the world." When he meets Suzette, he is freed from his shell, "he loses that vest and his wardrobe opens up, his shirts loosen and his sleeves get rolled." West said the vest, and the loss of it were such a prop to the film that she had copies made for each of the crewmembers at the end of the film. The introduction of blue into the thematic color palette becomes very apparent when Suzette and Harry settle into their hotel. "The walls were a deep, achy, unhealthy blue, because the story is trying to move forward; the characters are trying to break into the sky and the openness and the freedom that they're going to find at the end of the movie." The juxtaposition between the two women's current lives seems never more apparent than when we first see Suzette in Lavinia's perfect beige home. "Suzette brings in this burst of peony pinks and turquoises and lights her world up and finally, Goldie's freedom and her openness and her honesty infect everybody in Lavinia's family to the point that Lavinia wants to just go out on the town with her. It frees her to cut her hair and change her clothes and get out of the rigidity of her girdle-like beige world." But not too far out of her world ...West points out that even when Lavinia borrows Suzette's skin-tight snakeskin pants, she still "chooses the most sedate of Suzette's wild, flamboyant wardrobe." Blue becomes a predominant color in the scene when Lavinia and Suzette go to the club Suzette in her blue tie-back halter. But Javan points out that the shades of blue are different than those of the club Suzette worked in at the onset of the film, "We tried to make it more alive. It's the future for them." The first time blue is introduced into Lavinia's home is when the women return from the club and hole themselves up in Lavinia's basement to explore their infamous collection of celebrity "memorabilia." The basement, which was built on a stage, was designed by Javan with Sarandon's input. "Susan really had us organize the basement. She wanted labels on every shelf. Even though she never threw anything away, everything was very organized ...We really wanted to show that she needed to save everything that she had in that life that she had built for herself in Phoenix to reaffirm that it had really happened ...And once the 'rock cock collection' came out, Lavinia's world really starts to loosen up." As the film builds toward its denouement, the women come to terns with how the choices they've made have affected their lives. It's with a renewed appreciation in themselves that they perch atop a billboard like they did so many years ago. Fittingly, they are surrounded by azure skies. And, as the graduation scene begins, the vision that Dolman had since the day his son graduated is realized - blue robes and crystal-clear blue skies. The film closes with Suzette and Harry riding off into the sunset ...in the blue "Shitbox." ABOUT THE MUSIC The days are bright and filled with pain Enclose me in your gentle rain The time you ran was too insane We'll meet again, we'll meet again -from "The Crystal Ship" by The Doors THE BANGER SISTERS first bonded over their love of music and musicians, so it is only natural that the film and soundtrack would feature songs that the ladies would love. And while Writer/Director Bob Dolman stresses that the film is not a rock 'n' roll movie, he also states that it was necessary to bring back some of the music of the sisters' day in order to tell their back-story. To do so, Dolman enlisted three highly skilled music professionals. Composer Trevor Rabin's music history is widely varied, ranging from performing as a guitarist for the rock group, Yes, for which he also wrote the majority of the material on their best-selling album "90215," to his work scoring blockbuster films like ARMAGEDDON and ENEMY OF THE STATE. Music Supervisor Maureen Crowe's resume includes blockbuster films like THE PERFECT STORM, HEARTBREAKERS and THE BODYGUARD, which received every major award of its release year and boasts the biggest selling soundtrack of all time. Music Supervisor John Bissell has worked on high-profile films like THE DANGEROUS LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS and THE ROOKIE, as well as with legendary director Robert Redford on both THE HORSE WHISPERER and THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE. The songs utilized throughout THE BANGER SISTERS film and soundtrack are a combination of pieces re-recorded for the project and older songs necessary to tell the rich musical history of the two lead characters. One of the first tracks in the film was written and performed by Goldie Hawn's son-in-law, Chris Robinson (husband to her daughter, Kate Hudson), from The Black Crowes. The song, entitled "The Red Road" is first heard after Suzette is fired from her Sunset Strip bartending job and finds herself at home reminiscing about her youthful days with Vinnie. Rabin describes, "It's a great departure song, but also a blast-off song." Fittingly, it becomes her driving song, as portions of it are played when she drives the "Shitbox" to find her old friend, Vinnie, and again when she leaves town, destinations unknown, with her new cohort, Harry. Suzette and Vinnie's dancing sequence opens with The Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House" and transitions into a slow-moving montage that begins with "The Morning Dew," performed by Robert Plant. When the song was first released in 1968, performed by Lulu, who was married to Bee Gee member Maurice Gibb, it charted within the top 50 in the U.S. Bissell says of the song, "It's pretty obscure, but the way Robert treats it is beautiful. I think it's the best post-Zeppelin song I've heard him sing." Rabin adds, "There's a beautiful sort of wispiness to it ...Robert's voice is so perfect for what this movie is." Considering the fact that one of Suzette's great claims to fame in the story is that Jim Morrison passed out underneath her while in "the act," Dolman says it was important to the story that there be a song from The Doors in the picture. "The Crystal Ship," written and performed by The Doors, immediately follows the present-day montage in the club and features images from THE BANGER SISTERS' lives circa 1969. Rabin describes, "Listening to the lyrics certainly brings you back to the time, but also deals with the fragility of memory. It's a very beautiful, fragile, almost glassy song." Returning to their lives with a newfound appreciation, THE BANGER SISTERS climb atop a billboard in present day to reflect on the passage of time and their youth. The music playing in the background is a re-recording by Rabin of The Animals' "Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." The soundtrack for THE BANGER SISTERS will be available by Combustion Music on September 10. It features the following tracks: "The Red Road" -Chris Robinson "Fame" -Tommy Lee "Home" - Dishwalla "Burning Down The House" - Talking Heads "One Last Goodbye" - Richie Sambora "Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" - Trevor Rabin "Doctor My Eyes" - Ben Folds "Hour Of Need" - Peter Frampton "Trippin"' - Rhymes With Orange "Child Of Mine" - Roger Daltrey "Crushed" - Buck Cherry "Burn Out' - Slack "Rock Me" - Steppenwolf Singles that will be released are Chris Robinson's "The Red Road," Roger Daltrey's "Child Of Mine" and Richie Sambora's "One Last Goodbye." ABOUT THE CAST GOLDIE HAWN (Suzette) Academy Award®-winner Goldie Hawn plays Suzette, a colorful free spirit who sets off on a quest to find something she lost long ago. Most recently, Hawn starred along with Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Andie MacDowell and Garry Shandling in TOWN & COUNTRY for New Line Cinema. In March of 1998, she re-teamed with her HOUSESITTER co-star, Steve Martin, in the Paramount Pictures comedy THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS. Prior to that, Hawn was seen in two critically acclaimed films, THE FIRST WIVES CLUB, starring with Bette Midler and Diane Keaton, and Woody Allen's musical comedy EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU. In 1997, Hawn made her debut behind the camera as the director of the Turner Network Television original film "Hope," which starred Christine Lahti, J.T. Walsh and Jena Malone. Hawn made her feature film debut in THE ONE AND ONLY, GENUINE, ORIGINAL FAMILY BAND before playing opposite Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman in CACTUS FLOWER, for which she won the 1969 Academy Award® for Best Supporting Actress. She went on to star in BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE and THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS, Steven Spielberg's feature debut. Her additional early films include THERE'S A GIRL IN MY SOUP, THE GIRL FROM PETROVKA and THE DUCHESS AND THE DIRTWATER FOX, among others. She also starred opposite Warren Beatty in the 1975 box office hit, SHAMPOO. Following a two-year hiatus, in which she devoted time to her family, Hawn returned to the screen to star with Chevy Chase in FOUL PLAY. She then executive produced and starred in the 1980 box office smash PRIVATE BENJAMIN, garnering a Best Actress Academy Award® nomination. She went on to star in SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES, again with Chevy Chase; BEST FRIENDS, with Burt Reynolds; and Jonathan Demme's SWING SHIFT. Hawn continued her success, both as an actress and producer, with a variety of film projects including PROTOCOL, WILDCATS, OVERBOARD, MY BLUE HEAVEN, CRISSCROSS and SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, which starred Julia Roberts. She then appeared in the action hit BIRD ON A WIRE, opposite Mel Gibson; the thriller DECEIVED; HOUSESITTER, with Steve Martin; and DEATH BECOMES HER, with Meryl Streep and Bruce Willis. Born in Tacoma Park, Maryland, Hawn began training for a career as a dancer at the age of 3. By the time she was 17, she was running her own ballet school. Hawn was still a high school student when she acted professionally for the first time, playing Juliet in a Williamsburg, Virginia production of "Romeo and Juliet." After studying drama at American University for two years, she made her professional dancing debut at the Texas Pavilion of the New York World's Fair in 1964-65 and remained in New York to perform as a singer and dancer in off-Broadway productions of "Kiss Me, Kate," "Guys and Dolls," "Pal Joey," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and "The Boyfriend." She continued to work steadily as a dancer, which led to television work in Los Angeles, culminating in her appearance in the classic comedy/variety show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." Hawn has also headlined her own show in Las Vegas and has returned to television for several specials over the years including "Pure Goldie," "Goldie and the Kids - Listen to Us," "Goldie and Liza Together" and "The Goldie Hawn Special." Hawn is a principal in Cosmic Entertainment, a production entity comprised of her own banner, Clear Light, as well as the production companies of Kurt Russell, Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson. The company is actively producing and developing over a dozen projects for film and television. SUSAN SARANDON (Lavinia) Academy Award®-winning actress Susan Sarandon plays Lavinia, a tightly wound, type-A mother of two who appears to be as far from the world of rock 'n' roll as she is from her true self. Sarandon brings her own brand of sex appeal and intelligence to every role - from her fearless portrayal in BULL DURHAM to her Oscar®-nominated performances in THELMA & LOUISE, LORENZO'S OIL, THE CLIENT and ATLANTIC CITY, and her Academy Award®-winning and SAG Award-winning role as Sister Helen, a nun consoling a death-row inmate in DEAD MAN WALKING. Sarandon made her acting debut in the movie JOE, which she followed with a continuing role in the drama A WORLD APART. Her early film credits include THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER, LOVIN' MOLLY, THE FRONT PAGE and the 1975 cult classic THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. In 1978, she played Brooke Shields' mother in Louis Malle's controversial PRETTY BABY and went on to receive her first Oscar® nomination in Malle's ATLANTIC CITY. Sarandon's additional feature credits include: KING OF THE GYPSIES, THE HUNGER, THE SWEET HEARTS, COMPROMISING POSITIONS, JANUARY MAN, WHITE PALACE, THE BUDDY SYSTEM, SWEET HEARTS DANCE, A DRY WHITE SEASON, THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, BOB ROBERTS, LIGHT SLEEPER, LITTLE WOMEN and SAFE PASSAGE. More recently, Sarandon starred opposite Paul Newman and Gene Hackman in TWILIGHT; with Julia Roberts in the poignant comedy STEPMOM; in the erotic farce ILLUMINATA, directed by John Turturro; Tim Robbins' drama CRADLE WILL ROCK; Wayne Wang's ANYWHERE BUT HERE; and Stanley Tucci's JOE GOULD'S SECRET. She provided one of the voices for the hit animated features RUGRATS IN PARIS, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH and CATS & DOGS, and served as narrator for Laleh Khadivi's documentary 900 WOMEN about female prison inmates. She also starred in HBO's "Earthly Possessions," based on the Anne Tyler novel and directed by James Lapine. On Broadway, Sarandon appeared in "An Evening with Richard Nixon" and received critical acclaim for her performances off-Broadway in "A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talkin"' and the thriller "Extremities," and off-off-Broadway in "The Guys." She will soon be seen in Brad Silberling's MOONLIGHT MILE, with Dustin Hoffman, and with Jeff Goldblum in the comedy IGBY GOES DOWN. GEOFFREY RUSH (Harry) Academy Award®-winner Geoffrey Rush plays the meticulous, neurotic Harry, who can only be released from his mental prison by the boundary-less Suzette. Rush won the 1997 Best Actor Oscar®) and Golden Globe for his performance as the pianist David Helfgott in SHINE, which drew acclaim from critics and audiences around the world. In 2000, Rush was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar®, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for his chilling portrayal of the Marquis de Sade in Fox Searchlight Pictures' QUILLS. He received Academy, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his memorable portrayal of Philip Henslowe in the Oscar®-winning Best Picture of 1999, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE. Also in 1999, Rush starred opposite Cate Blanchett in Shekar Kapur's ELIZABETH, for which he won a BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. Other recent projects include: LANTANA, with Barbara Hershey and Anthony LaPaglia; Gillian Armstrong's OSCAR AND LUCINDA; the role of Inspector Javert in LES MISÉRABLES, with Liam Neeson; THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and MYSTERY MAN. In 2002, Rush will also appear in Julie Taymor's FRIDA, starring Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina. Rush just finished production on the Coen brothers' INTOLERABLE CRUELTY and is currently working on Sydney Pollack and Walter Salles' THE ASSUMPTION, which will star Academy Award®-winners Juliette Binoche and Vanessa Redgrave. An acclaimed and distinguished stage actor, Rush's career has spanned more than 70 theatrical productions. He began by studying mime, movement and theater in Paris in the 1970s, returning to his native Australia to play the fool in Warren Mitchell's "King Lear" and starring with the young Mel Gibson in "Waiting for Godot." He then joined Jim Sharman's Lighthouse ensemble company, playing many classic roles throughout the early '80s. Rush went on to star in several acclaimed Australian feature film productions including Gillian Armstrong's STARSTRUCK, Neil Armfield's TWELFTH NIGHT, George Whaley's ON OUR SELECTION and CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION, starring Judy Davis and Sam Neil]. ERIKA CHRISTENSEN (Hannah) Erika Christensen plays Hannah, Lavinia's eldest daughter, who has a little more inner BANGER SISTER than her mother is comfortable with. Christensen stunned audiences as Michael Douglas' drug-addicted daughter in Steven Soderbergh's Oscar® and Golden Globe-winning film TRAFFIC. She, along with the rest of the cast, received the prestigious Screen Actors Guild Award. Christensen individually received the Movieline Award for Standout Performance and MTV's Breakthrough Performance Female Award for her role. Christensen has gravitated toward dramatic roles in award-winning television dramas including: "The Practice," "Touched by an Angel," "Time of Your Life," "The Pretender" and "Nothing Sacred," for which she was nominated by The Hollywood Reporter for the Young Star Award: Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama TV Series. Christensen was also seen in Universal's LEAVE IT TO BEAVER. She has guest starred on the television sitcoms "That '70s show," "Frasier," "Third Rock From The Sun," and more recently, "Movie Stars." Other projects include the Disney film CAN OF WORMS, in which she played the teen heroine, and the CBS/Touchstone summer comedy series "Thanks." In September 2002, Christensen can be seen in Twentieth Century Fox's SWIMFAN, in which she will play the role of the classic femme fatale in a love triangle. EVA AMURRI (Ginger) Eva Amurri had ample experience to play the part of Lavinia's hysterically adolescent daughter Ginger; she is Susan Sarandon's daughter in real life. Amurri, who turned 16 years of age during THE BANGER SISTERS' shoot, made her feature film debut in 1992 in Tim Robbins' BOB ROBERTS and followed that role up with a small part in Robbins' DEAD MAN WALKING. In 1999, Amurri appeared in the HBO drama "Earthly Possessions" and in Fox 2000's ANYWHERE BUT HERE, directed by Wayne Wang. She will soon be seen in a starring role in MADE-UP, which was awarded Best Independent Feature at the 2002 Santa Barbara Film Festival. ROBIN THOMAS (Raymond) Robin Thomas plays the starched, corporate lawyer husband of Lavinia, who is as oblivious to the uprising occurring in his own family as he is to his wife's colorful past. In addition to THE BANGER SISTERS, in 2002, Thomas will play a lead role in Paramount's sci-fi time travel film CLOCKSTOPPERS and will star opposite Ed Asner in MISSING BRENDAN. Thomas made his feature film debut in Edward Zwick's 1986 cult classic ...ABOUT LAST NIGHT, starring Rob Lowe and Demi Moore, and had a lead role the following year opposite Mark Hannon and Kirstie Alley in Carl Reiner's SUMMER SCHOOL. He has appeared in THE CONTENDER, for which he and the cast received a Broadcast Film Critics Award; Michael Browning's MORE DOGS THAN BONES; BREAK UP, starring Bridget Fonda and Kiefer Sutherland; STAR MAPS directed by Miguel Arteta and released by Fox Searchlight; the Warren Beatty-directed BULWORTH; William Friedkin's JADE; WELCOME HOME, ROXY CARMICHAEL, starring Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels; and his voice is featured in Steven Spielberg's Award®-winning film SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. A seasoned television actor, Thomas has been featured in Movies of the Week including: "Wild Horses," "Halloweentown," "High Stakes," "Color Me Perfect," "Rape of Dr. Willis," "Element of Truth" and "From The Dead of Night." He has enjoyed recurring roles on: "The Division," "The Court," "Party of Five," "thirtysomething" and "Murphy Brown." Thomas has appeared on the following television programs: "The West Wing," "Chicago Hope," "The Practice," "JAG," "High Incident," "Touched by an Angel," "Diagnosis Murder," "Walker, Texas Ranger," "To Have and To Hold" and "It's Like, You Know." Thomas' stage experience includes "Laura," starring with Linda Hamilton at the Tiffany Theatre, "Dogs" for Circle Rep West, "Straw Head" for the Actors Studio and Director Norman Mailer, and numerous other plays in New York City and Los Angeles. He most recently appeared as Julius Rosenberg in "Worse Than Murder," again starring with Linda Hamilton. MATTHEW CAREY (Jules) In the role of Jules, Matthew Carey is Hannah's partner in crime as she begins to discover the wild side she has always suppressed. In addition to THE BANGER SISTERS, in 2002 Carey will appear in ROAD TRIP Director Todd Phillips' OLD SCHOOL, opposite Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson and Will Farrell. Carey has also just completed filming PARTY MONSTER, opposite Seth Green and Macaulay Culkin. Carey currently has a recurring role on Fox's "24" and previous recurring roles on "Bless This House" and "Family Rules." Additionally, Carey was a series regular on MTV's "Live Through This" and has guest appeared on "Judging Amy," "Undressed," "Saving Graces," "Early Edition," "ER," "Party of Five," "Law & Order," "The Pretender" and "Too Something." Carey starred in independent films WAR OF THE ANGELS and VILLAGE OF IDIOTS and appeared in BILLBOARD DAD and LEAVE IT TO BEAVER. ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS BOB DOLMAN (Writer/Director) THE BANGER SISTERS marks the directorial debut of award-winning writer Bob Dolman, who also penned the film's screenplay. In addition to his uncredited work on numerous screenplays, Dolman's writing credits include WILLOW and FAR AND AWAY. His career as a writer began when he joined the staff for the '70s sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati." He went on to write for SCTV and won two Emmy Awards. Following the creation of the Showtime comedy series "Poison," Dolman shifted to writing screenplays. Dolman was raised on Vancouver Island. MARK JOHNSON (Producer) The release of THE BANGER SISTERS marks Academy Award®-winning producer Mark Johnson and his production company Gran Via's third film to open in 2002. In March, Universal released the Kevin Costner suspense drama DRAGONFLY and Disney released THE ROOKIE, starring Dennis Quaid. Johnson will round out the year with the release of the Brad Silberling-directed MOONLIGHT MILE, starring Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon and Jake Gyllenhaal, due in September from Disney. He is currently preparing THE NOTEBOOK. In television, Johnson serves as an executive producer for CBS' "The Guardian," which is the highest rated new drama of the season and was picked up for 2003. Johnson began his career in feature films after being accepted into the Directors Guild training program and working on Paul Mazursky's NEXT STOP, GREENWICH VILLAGE. Over the next few years, he worked on such films as MOVIE, MOVIE, THE BRINKS JOB, ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ and HIGH ANXIETY, where he first met Barry Levinson, one of the film's writers. Shortly thereafter, Johnson began working on Levinson's debut film, DINER, which Johnson executive produced. That film was the start of along and successful collaboration between Johnson and Levinson, as they went on to make THE NATURAL (1984), YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES (1985), TIN MEN (1987), GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM (1987), and RAIN MAN (1988), which won four Academy Awards® including a Best Picture Oscar® for Johnson. The 1990 film AVALON was the first film under the pair's Baltimore Pictures banner, followed by BUGSY (1991), nominated for 10 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, TOYS (1992), QUIZ SHOW (1994) and JIMMY HOLLYWOOD (1994). Johnson was also honored with Golden Globe Awards for his work on both RAIN MAN and BUGSY. In November 1998, Johnson produced the quirky comedy HOME FRIES, starring Drew Barrymore and Luke Wilson. Over the past few years he has produced films such as the gangster drama DONNIE BRASCO, with Al Pacino and Johnny Depp; A PERFECT WORLD, starring Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood; GALAXY QUEST, starring Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver; the critically acclaimed family film MY DOG SKIP, with Kevin Bacon, Diane Lane and Frankie Muniz; and he executive produced the thriller WHAT LIES BENEATH, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford. ELIZABETH CANTILLON (Producer) Elizabeth Cantillon has served as senior vice president of production at MGM since December 2001. THE BANGER SISTERS marks the second feature film Cantillon produced while serving as president of production at Mark Johnson Productions. The first was GALAXY QUEST, a Dreamworks film starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman. Cantillon co-produced her first feature film, HOW I GOT INTO COLLEGE, in 1989 with Michael Shamberg and produced the 1996 film SUNSET PARK with Jersey Films. For television, Cantillon and Johnson produced "L.A. Doctors" and "Falcone," both for CBS. Cantillon has held posts as president of Jersey Films and executive vice president of Turner Feature Pictures and Turner Feature Animation. DAVID BUSHELL (Executive Producer) A producer of feature-length films since 1994, David Bushell served as executive producer on THE BANGER SISTERS and is currently producing DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, which is set to be directed by MONSTER'S BALL-helmer Marc Forster for Universal Pictures. Bushell's producing credits include critically acclaimed films such as: Billy Bob Thornton's Academy Award®-winning SLING BLADE, Bob Gosse's NIAGARA, NIAGARA, Nick Gomez's ILLTOWN, Hampton Fancher's THE MINUS MAN and ONCE IN THE LIFE, written, starring and directed by Laurence Fishburne. KARL WALTER LINDENLAUB (Director of Photography) Since moving to the U.S. in 1991, award-winning German Director of Photography Karl Walter Lindenlaub, ASC, bvk, has worked steadily on a wide variety of feature films. Before serving as director of photography on THE BANGER SISTERS, Lindenlaub shot Director Michael Caton-Jones' CITY BY THE SEA, starring Robert DeNiro and Frances McDormand. He is currently shooting THE CHAMBERMAID, directed by Wayne Wang and starring Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes. Lindenlaub's recent credits include: THE HAUNTING, with Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones, directed by Jan de Bont; ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL'S, with Liv Tyler and Matt Dillon; and Garry Marshall's THE PRINCESS DIARIES, starring Julie Andrews. For Director John Avnet, Lindenlaub shot UP CLOSE & PERSONAL, starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer and the Chinese courtroom drama RED CORNER, starring Richard Gere. He served as cinematographer on Michael Caton-Jones' epic romance ROB ROY, starring Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange and as director of photography on his thriller THE JACKAL, starring Richard Gere, Bruce Willis and Sidney Poitier. Lindenlaub has also had a long-standing relationship with Director Roland Emmerich, having collaborated on six films in total including: INDEPENDENCE DAY; the sci-fi adventure STARGATE starring Kurt Russell and James Spader; UNIVERSAL SOLDIER; MOON 44, for which Lindenlaub won the German Camera Award for Best Cinematography; GHOST CHASE and EYE OF THE STORM, which Emmerich produced. MAIA JAVAN (Production Designer) Maia Javan has designed numerous films, commercials and music videos. Her feature film credits include: CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL, THE WAY OF THE GUN and THE CROW: SALVATION. She recently designed the first season of CBS's hit drama series "The Guardian" for THE BANGER SISTERS' producer Mark Johnson. ARAM NIGOGHOSSIAN (Editor) THE BANGER SISTERS marks Aram Nigoghossian's feature film debut as an editor. Previously, Nigoghossian served as apprentice editor on the Brian Robbins-directed, Keanu Reeves-starrer HARDBALL and edited a documentary on Cabrini Green that has yet to be released. He began his film career working as a P.A. on Robbins' READY TO RUMBLE after graduating with honors from UC Santa Barbara's film program. Nigoghossian's next assignment will once again pair him with Robbins on THE PERFECT SCORE for Paramount Studios. JACQUELINE WEST (Costume Designer) One of Jacqueline West's early forays into film - as a creative consultant on HENRY & JUNE - drew the attention of award-winning director Philip Kaufman. She has since costumed several of his pictures including Fox Searchlight Pictures' QUILLS - starring Kate Winslet, Geoffrey Rush, Michael Caine and Joaquin Phoenix -for which West received numerous nominations for Best Costume Design including an Academy Award® nomination; and RISING SUN with Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes. West also served as Costume Designer for Director Alan Jacobs' JUST ONE NIGHT, starring Timothy Hutton and Maria Grazia Cucinotta. She recently completed LEOPOLD BLOOM, starring Joseph Fiennes, Elisabeth Shue, Sam Shepard and Dennis Hopper; and is currently working on THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN for Twentieth Century Fox. From 1988 to 1997, West ran her own clothing company and designed a nationally acclaimed line of clothes. She owned retail stores and had a contemporary department in Barney's New York and Japan. MAUREEN CROWE (Music Supervisor) Music Supervisor Maureen Crowe has worked on several recent blockbusters including HEARTBREAKERS and THE PERFECT STORM, directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. Her greatest career success to date was the Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner starrer, THE BODYGUARD, which boasts the biggest selling soundtrack of all time, is the fifth best selling record of all time and received every major award of that year including Grammys® for Best Album of The Year and Record of the Year, multiple awards from Billboard and the American Music Awards, and two Oscar® nominations for best song. In addition to supervising the music for the entire soundtrack, Crowe is credited with finding the song "I Will Always Love You." Previously, Crowe was vice president of A&R Soundtracks for Arista Records, where she was involved in the release of MONEY TALKS and THE PREACHER'S WIFE. Before that, she was vice president of soundtracks for Columbia Records, where she was responsible for such noteworthy soundtracks as DEAD MAN WALKING, BAD BOYS, READY TO WEAR, THE MASK, CLERKS, NOW AND THEN and COOL RUNNINGS. Crowe is currently at work on A GUY THING starring Jason Lee, Julia Stiles and Selma Blair and is wrapping up work on the film version of the musical CHICAGO. JOHN BISSELL (Music Supervisor) John Bissell has served as Music Supervisor on a wide variety of films that feature artists ranging from Duke Ellington to Bob Dylan to George Strait. He has twice worked with the legendary director Robert Redford, for whom he supervised the soundtracks for THE HORSE WHISPERER and THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE. For release in 2002, in addition to THE BANGER SISTERS, Bissell also worked on the soundtracks for THE ROOKIE and THE DANGEROUS LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS. For 2001 release, Bissell worked on HEARTS IN ATLANTIS and Twentieth Century Fox's JOY RIDE. His early films include: TAIL LIGHTS FADE, THE HI LINE, SHEGALLA, MY FATHER'S ANGEL, RUPERT'S LAND and KITCHEN PARTY. Bissell also music supervises the ABC-TV series "Push, Nevada," and has overseen the music for commercial campaigns for Nike, Major League Baseball, Lycos and Price Waterhouse. TREVOR RABIN (Composer) Included on the list of recent blockbusters Trevor Rabin has scored are CON AIR, ARMAGEDDON, ENEMY OF THE STATE, DEEP BLUE SEA, GONE IN 60 SECONDS, REMEMBER THE TITANS and BAD COMPANY, for Joel Schumacher. Rabin's first work in film was composing additional music for Joel Silver's production of FAIR GAME. He later wrote and produced the end title music and a song for Arnold Schwarzenegger's ERASER. His first score was for the Stephen Segal thriller THE GLIMMER MAN, which he followed with a dynamic score for the Nicholas Cage adventure CON AIR. A year later, he showed his skill with quirkier subject matter on the comedy HOMEGROWN, while completing the spectacular Jerry Bruckheimer epic ARMAGEDDON and providing an intricate, unnerving electronic score for the fascinating techno-thriller ENEMY OF THE STATE. At the opposite end of the spectrum was a lyrical orchestral score for the Michael Keaton family story, JACK FROST. In 1999, Rabin provided a pulsating, overpowering thriller score for Renny Harlin's tale of super-intelligent sharks, DEEP BLUE SEA. Rabin also returned to his South African roots, drawing on traditional African instrumentation, vocal performances and rhythms in his atmospheric score to the documentary WHISPERS. A member of the rock group YES since 1983, Rabin played guitar for the group and wrote most of the material on the group's best-selling album "90125," including the No. I single "Owner of a Lonely Heart." He also penned the majority of the songs and served as co-producer on YES's next album, "Big Generator," which sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Prior to YES, Rabin co-produced Manfred Mann's "Chance" album and released three solo albums on Chrysalis records. Rabin also wrote or co-wrote all the songs, played every instrument but drums and produced and engineered most of the recordings on his solo albums. In his native South Africa, Rabin studied classical piano and was trained as a conductor and arranger. His first professional band performed original anti-apartheid songs and his family was heavily involved in anti-apartheid activities. Rabin later founded a band called Rabbit, which became the most popular South African rock band in history, rivaling the Beatles in the scale of their local popularity. Official Web Site: http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/thebangersisters/in Back to main movie page Showing Today at: Click here for other showings