Pieces of April: The Shooting Script - Softcover

Hedges, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1557046042 ISBN 13: 9781557046048

Publisher: Newmarket Press, 2003

Synopsis

Written over a period of three years, picked upand shut down three times before it wasfinally "greenlit," Pieces of April became aSundance Film Festival 2003 favorite, capturingthe attention of critics, festival moviegoers, and arecord sale to distributor United Artists. Markingthe directorial debut of Oscar®-nominatedscreenwriter and novelist Peter Hedges, the moviestars Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, and DerekLuke, with Sean Hayes and Oliver Platt.

A poignant and funny film about a day in thelife of a family trying to create new memoriesand make peace with the old, the acclaimed,independent film was shot in 16 days, mainly inNew York City's Lower East Side. The story centerson 21-year-old April Burns, who has neverbeen on good terms with her mother and is convincedby her boyfriend to host the familyThanksgiving dinner. While April discovers heroven is broken and seeks neighbors to help, theBurns family drives toward the city recountingApril's failures. Although his wife persists inundermining his plans, April's father is determinedto create a bonding experience for thefamily, including April's perfect-daughter sister,younger brother, and forgetful grandmother.

In the esteemed Newmarket ShootingScript® Series format, Hedges includes an introductionand scene notes, written exclusively forthis edition, as well as the complete shootingscript, his original opening of the screenplay, stills,and cast and crew credits. Also featured is aninsightful conversation with Hedges on his acting,playwriting, and film career.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Hedges adapted his first novel, What'sEating Gilbert Grape, for director Lasse Hallström.His second novel was An Ocean in Iowa. His otherscreenplay adaptations include A Map of the Worldand About a Boy, which was nominated for anAcademy Award^® for Best Adapted Screenplay.

From the Back Cover

Written over a period of three years, picked upand shut down three times before it wasfinally "greenlit," Pieces of April became aSundance Film Festival 2003 favorite, capturingthe attention of critics, festival moviegoers, and arecord sale to distributor United Artists. Markingthe directorial debut of Oscar®-nominatedscreenwriter and novelist Peter Hedges, the moviestars Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, and DerekLuke, with Sean Hayes and Oliver Platt.

A poignant and funny film about a day in thelife of a family trying to create new memoriesand make peace with the old, the acclaimed,independent film was shot in 16 days, mainly inNew York City's Lower East Side. The story centerson 21-year-old April Burns, who has neverbeen on good terms with her mother and is convincedby her boyfriend to host the familyThanksgiving dinner. While April discovers heroven is broken and seeks neighbors to help, theBurns family drives toward the city recountingApril's failures. Although his wife persists inundermining his plans, April's father is determinedto create a bonding experience for thefamily, including April's perfect-daughter sister,younger brother, and forgetful grandmother.

In the esteemed Newmarket ShootingScript® Series format, Hedges includes an introductionand scene notes, written exclusively forthis edition, as well as the complete shootingscript, his original opening of the screenplay, stills,and cast and crew credits. Also featured is aninsightful conversation with Hedges on his acting,playwriting, and film career.

Reviews

In the late 1980s, Hedges, who adapted What's Eating Gilbert Grape, first had the idea for the screenplay Pieces of April-about a 20-something living in Manhattan's Alphabet City who tries to bridge an estranged relationship with her mother who's sick with cancer. Getting the movie made "was its own particular adventure," he writes in his introduction. He and his colleagues started production on Pieces of April three different times before it finally got off the ground, with InDigEnt, a company that makes digital films on a shoestring budget. This companion to the movie (which stars Katie Holmes and Patricia Clarkson) offers, in addition to the screenplay, stills, an interview with Hedges (he wrote and directed the film) and cast and crew credits. Hedges calls Pieces of April "probably the purest experience I may ever get to have in the movie business," and this book serves as a compact tribute to that experience.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Newmarket Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1557046042
• ISBN 13: 9781557046048
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160