Norman (2010 film)
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Kim Blackburn
Dan Keston
Rich Cowan
| Norman | |
|---|---|
_Poster_2014.jpg) Film poster | |
| Directed by | Jonathan Segal |
| Written by | Talton Wingate |
| Produced by | Jonathan Segal Kim Blackburn Dan Keston Rich Cowan |
| Starring | Dan Byrd Emily VanCamp Adam Goldberg Richard Jenkins |
| Cinematography | Darren Genet |
| Edited by | Robert Hoffman |
| Music by | Andrew Bird |
Production company | North by NorthWest Entertainment |
Release dates | |
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Norman is a 2010 drama film directed by Jonathan Segal from a screenplay written by Talton Wingate. It stars Dan Byrd, Emily VanCamp, Adam Goldberg, and Richard Jenkins. It follows the titular protagonist, a young teenager faking his cancer in order to face the problems of his life and to deal with his father's terminal illness.
Norman was shot in Spokane, Washington in a four-week period. The film features an original score and songs by multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird in his film scoring debut. The film was screened at various film festivals before its limited theatrical release at various locations in United States on October 21, 2011. It received positive reviews for its emotional depth, Byrd and Jenkins' performance.
Norman is an alienated, but self-aware and outsmarted high school teenager who faces a tough life, as his mother died in a car accident and his father Doug suffering from stomach cancer. He then pretends to die from cancer so that he could cope up the realities of his daily existence. Though creating a persona as a loner, he is supported by his best friend James, a homosexual, his English teacher Mr. Angelo and Emily, a freshman junior, whom Norman befriends.
Cast
- Dan Byrd as Norman Long
- Emily VanCamp as Emily Harris
- Richard Jenkins as Doug Long
- Adam Goldberg as Mr. Angelo
- Billy Lush as James
- Camille Mana as Helen Black
- Jesse Head as Bradley
- John Aylward as Robert Bessent
- Sewell Whitney as Dr. Malloy
Production
"I'm interested in psychology and storytelling [...] The craft of filmmaking is a fusion of the two. Every time you approach a scene, you're trying to reverse-engineer an emotion: where do you put the camera, how do you want your actors to be, what do you want the audience to feel. It's like a Rubik's cube—there are so many different ways to approach it."
The film marked the sophomore directorial of Jonathan Segal, who made his debut with The Last Run (2004). One of his agents had presented him the spec script of Norman written by Talton Wingate and was fascinated by the "elements of adolescent psychology, the identity-changing experiences and the high stakes" which he further considered it "a great love story".[3]
Segal auditioned numerous actors and actresses for the protagonist and his love interest, before finalizing on Dan Byrd and Emily VanCamp. Segal liked Byrd's choices and the approach to the character being "spot-on" while VanCamp was a chosen as the "perfect choice as the girl next door but who also has an enchanting quality". VanCamp did not have time to rehearse for the role owing to her commitments on the fifth season of Brothers & Sisters.[4]
He expected Jenkins' casting would be difficult, but his agent liked the script and sent it to Jenkins, who then called Segal from London. They discussed the film and his role as Norman's father for about a half hour, and Jenkins signed on for the film the next day. Getting Adam Goldberg to play Norman's teacher involved a similar process.[3][5]
Segal paid close attention to the tone of the film, avoiding being melodramatic despite its being a "heavy film" but also wanted certain things to be funny even in the darkest times. He wanted the audience to go through a broad spectrum of emotions, taking an emotional rollercoaster, but also wanted them to feel uplifted. In a sequence where Norman pretends to be a cancer patient, by shaving his head, which Byrd does on camera, Segal considered it as an exciting and logistical challenge, as that scene was shot in a single take. He added "it's one of those quintessential things for an actor: gaining weight for a role or shaving your head. Dan was nervous about it but it went pretty quickly. We had to prepare meticulously."[5] The film was shot in Spokane, Washington, in 21 days within a four-week period.[3]
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack features, in majority, songs composed and performed by multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird, and three songs performed by other notable acts: The Blow with Richard Swift, Chad VanGaalen, and Wolf Parade. The soundtrack was released by Mom + Pop Music on October 11, 2011.[6]
Release
Norman premiered at the Waterfront Film Festival on June 11, 2010,[1] and was then shown at fifteen other film festivals across United States, including Rhode Island International Film Festival, San Diego International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival amongst others.[4] The film received a limited release across AMC Theatres in the United States on October 21, 2011.[3] It was further released by Freestyle Digital Media in DVD and Blu-ray home media formats in early 2013.[7] It was available on Netflix as of early 2019.[8]
