Mr. Deeds


1h 36m 2002

Brief Synopsis

When Deeds inherits controlling interest in a media corporation from his deceased uncle, he's quickly besieged by opportunists gunning for their piece of the pie. When Babe, a television tabloid reporter posing as an innocent smalltown girl, is sent to do an expose on Deeds, she instead feels herse...

Film Details

Also Known As
Deeds, Untitled (Mr. Deeds project), aventures de Mister Deeds
MPAA Rating
Genre
Comedy
Romance
Release Date
2002
Distribution Company
NEW LINE CINEMA (NEW LINE)/SONY PICTURES RELEASING
Location
New York City, New York, USA; Los Angeles, California, USA

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 36m

Synopsis

When Deeds inherits controlling interest in a media corporation from his deceased uncle, he's quickly besieged by opportunists gunning for their piece of the pie. When Babe, a television tabloid reporter posing as an innocent smalltown girl, is sent to do an expose on Deeds, she instead feels herself falling in love.

Crew

Jordan Alport

Production Assistant

Perry Andelin

Production Designer

Pete Anthony

Original Music

Pete Anthony

Music Conductor

Marcy Arnold

Apprentice Editor

Marlene Arvan

Assistant Director

Kathleen Backel

Production Assistant

Eliazar Barraza

Rigging Grip

Eric J Bates

Property Master

Steve Berens

Animal Wrangler

Lark Bernini

Production Coordinator

Bryan Bonwell

Music Coordinator

Felipe Borrero

Sound Mixer

Felipe Borrero

Sound

Bob Bottin

Special Makeup Effects

Gary Bourgeois

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Carla Bowen

Assistant Director

Ralph Brandofino

Assistant Camera

Steven Brill

Other

J. C. Brotherhood

Special Effects

John J Buckman

Transportation Co-Captain

Brian Bulinski

Craft Service

Joseph M Caracciolo

Executive Producer

Joseph M Caracciolo

Unit Production Manager

Stephen Carter

Art Director

Teddy Castellucci

Music

Maya Choldin

Dga Trainee

Jack Chouchanian

Key Grip

Peter Collister

Director Of Photography

Kevin M Conlin

Construction Coordinator

Tom Costain

Assistant Editor

Allen Covert

Associate Producer

Kevin Cross

Set Designer

Wende Crowley

Music Coordinator

Donald K Davidson

Chief Lighting Technician

Darrin Deloach

Assistant Camera

Victor Denicola

Hair Stylist

Michael Dilbeck

Music Supervisor

James Donaruma

Assistant

David Dreishpoon

Craft Service

Susan Dudeck

Adr Supervisor

Corina Duran

Makeup

Paul Eliopoulos

Stunts

Glen Engels

Grip

Deborah C Evans

Accounting Assistant

Paula Fairfield

Sound Effects Editor

Jon Farmer

Photography

John Feinblatt

Transportation Co-Captain

Mary Fleming

Costumer

Lauri Gaffin

Set Designer

Lauri Gaffin

Set Decorator

Sid Ganis

Producer

Karyn Gatt

Assistant

J.j. George

Music Editor

Jack Giarraputo

Producer

Michael Giarraputo

Production Assistant

Cindy Glass

Assistant

Jason Gourson

Assistant Editor

Jeff Gourson

Editor

Hans Graffunder

Production Coordinator

David J. Grant

Production Supervisor

David J. Grant

Unit Production Manager

Scott Gregoire

Chief Lighting Technician

Demetrius Griffin

Production Assistant

Robert Griffon

Property Master

Stuart Grusin

Music Editor

Richard Guinness

Key Grip

Vincent Guisetti

Foley Artist

Jeremy Hays

Special Effects

Mo Henry

Negative Cutter

Tim Herlihy

Screenplay

Al Hobbs

Set Designer

Anthony Hoffman

Post-Production Assistant

Peter A Hollocker

Production Assistant

Dru Homer

Art Department Coordinator

Laurie A Hoover

Accounting Assistant

Terry Hubbard-legorreta

Assistant Editor

Steele Hunter

Grip

Katherine James

Makeup

Drake Jenevein

Assistant Sound Editor

Orada Jusatayanond

Sound Effects Editor

Pamela Nedd Kahn

Foley Artist

Marissa Kamin

Assistant

Nancy Karlin

Script Supervisor

Clarence Budington Kelland

From Story

Jeannie H Kelly

Costumer

Shane D Kelly

Chief Lighting Technician

Steve Kornacki

Assistant Production Coordinator

Toussaint Kotright

Sound

Tom Landi

Chief Lighting Technician

Dawn Line

Costume Supervisor

Jonathan Loughran

Assistant

Carol Lupo

Costumer

Ellen Lutter

Costume Designer

Sean Madaras

Assistant

Jon Mallard

Assistant Director

Gary Marcus

Assistant Director

Judit Maull

Assistant

Stephen Mccabe

Art Director

John Mcdonnell

Property Master

Robert Mcgavin

Rigging Gaffer

Peter Mercurio

Camera Operator

Tom Mgrdichian

Original Music

Roseann Milano

Wardrobe Supervisor

Carla Murray

Sound Effects Editor

Roger Mussenden

Casting Director

John Naveira

Other

Scott James Nifong

Assistant Property Master

Jim Nugent

Transportation Captain

Bruce Nyznik

Dialogue Editor

Murphy Occhino

Assistant Director

John Orlebeck

Transportation Captain

Greg Orloff

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Anthony Ortiz

Boom Operator

Ann Pala

Makeup

Jubal Palmer

Production Assistant

Ron Petagna

Construction Coordinator

Jeena M Phelps

Dialogue Editor

David Presley

Video Assist/Playback

K B Pugliese

Production Secretary

Cheryl Quarantiello Schnitzler

Unit Production Manager

Thomas Real

Hair

Christopher Regan

Color Timer

Leslie Rider

Production Secretary

Kyle Rochlin

Foley Mixer

Tyler T. Romary

Production Assistant

Beth A Rubino

Set Decorator

Carl Rydlund

Original Music

Adam Sandler

Executive Producer

Adam Sandler

Other

Jackie Sandler

Production Assistant

Leon S Sanginiti

Assistant Camera

Andrew Saxe

Location Manager

Mandy Schwartz

Assistant

John Scott

Assistant Camera

Julie Shack

Production Assistant

Heidi Shulman

Costumer

Alan Shultz

Dolly Grip

Alex Siskin

Coproducer

Andrew Slyder

Costumer

Billy J Smith

Location Manager

Gregg Smrz

Stunt Coordinator

Stuart Spohn

Rigging Gaffer

Margot Therre

Scenic Artist

Nanxy Tong-heater

Hair Stylist

Elizabeth Torres

Casting Associate

Derek Vanderhorst

Sound Effects Editor

Gabe Veltri

Music Scoring Mixer

Elmo Weber

Sound Editor

Adam Weisinger

Production Assistant

Laura Weiss

Apprentice Editor

Michele Wernick

Music

Carla White

Makeup Artist

Nadine Wilson

Production Accountant

Film Details

Also Known As
Deeds, Untitled (Mr. Deeds project), aventures de Mister Deeds
MPAA Rating
Genre
Comedy
Romance
Release Date
2002
Distribution Company
NEW LINE CINEMA (NEW LINE)/SONY PICTURES RELEASING
Location
New York City, New York, USA; Los Angeles, California, USA

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 36m

Articles

Remake - Mr. Deeds


MR. DEEDS & OTHER REMAKES YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT

Most classic movie fans will probably admit that Frank Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) isn't exactly a comic masterpiece but nobody expected Sony Pictures to retool it as an Adam Sandler vehicle entitled simply, Mr. Deeds. The basic premise is essentially the same as the original - a naive, good-natured country boy by the name of Longfellow Deeds inherits a fortune from a relative and moves to the big city where various sharpies try to take advantage of him. But whereas the Capra version was corny but sweet-natured, the remake by Steven Brill (he also helmed Sandler's Little Nicky (2000) has been revived up with a non-stop stream of violent sight gags and body crunching physical slapstick. Just watching the trailer will make your head hurt. There is also an official web site for Mr. Deeds at http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/mrdeeds/ which features a "whack the foot" game which should give you some idea of the film's target audience. If you loved Dudley Do-Right (2000) with Brendan Fraser, you'll probably love this too. By the way, Mr. Deeds isn't the first time that Sandler has ripped off somebody else's movie without acknowledging it. Did anyone notice that his 1998 comedy The Waterboy was practically a scene for scene remake of Harold Lloyd's The Freshman (1925)?.

The fact that Hollywood continues to cannibalize its past for original ideas is nothing new and seeing Mr. Deeds Goes to Town recycled for Mr. Sandler isn't as bad as some of the other projects rumored to be in the works. For example, Steven Soderberg's much-delayed remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris (1972), a moody, dreamlike tale about a disastrous space mission that is set in an unspecified future. It's hard to imagine a more wrong-headed project. Despite the fact that the film has been attached to Soderberg's name (as director) with George Clooney heading the cast, it's hard to get excited about an English language remark of Tarkovsky's poetic meditation on the human race. Another "why bother?" idea is director Neil LaBute's rumored remake of The Wicker Man (1973), a suspense thriller about a pagan cult which was written by Anthony Schaffer and directed by Robin Hardy. Of course, a lot of people never got to see the original Wicker Man (1973) during its initial American release (in a drastically edited version) so LuBute's version might seem like a fantastic new idea to many.

More blasphemous is the possible remake of The Manchurian Candidate (1962), John Frankenheimer's witty, super-paranoid thriller about political assassins that prefigured John F. Kennedy's murder. Tina Sinatra, daughter of Frank (who starred in the film), now controls the rights (which her father passed on to her) and is rumored to have greenlighted a remake. Equally cringe-inducing is a possible remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) from filmmaker Michael Bay. That's right, the guy who directed Armageddon (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001). Variety reported that Chainsaw's original director, Tobe Hooper, and screenwriter Kim Henkel are working on a first draft rewrite.

By Jeff Stafford

MURDEROUS MAIDS - The Mad Sisters of Le Mans

In 1933, the French public was shocked and fascinated by a brutal double murder committed by two sisters in the provincial town of Le Mans. Christine and Lea Papin, who were working as servants, attacked and killed their employer, Madame Lancelin, and her daughter, during a power outage in the house. Even the police were shocked by the extreme violence of the crime; the victims' bodies had been horribly mutilated and their eyes clawed out. When Christine and Lea were brought to trial, their case was highly publicized and created further controversy when it was discovered that the two sisters were lovers. This infamous incident is now the subject of a new film, Murderous Maids (2001), directed by Jean-Pierre Denis.

For years, the Lancelin murders have held a strange fascination for the French, particularly those in the arts. Jean Genet wrote The Maids in 1947 and based his play on the Le Mans case (It was later made into a film in 1974 starring Glenda Jackson and Susannah York). More significant are the number of films inspired by Christine and Lea Papin. First, there was Les Abysses (1963), directed by Nico Papatakis; then, A Judgment in Stone (aka The Housekeeper) appeared in 1986 starring Rita Tushingham and Jackie Burroughs (It was a Canadian film directed by Ousama Rawi). More recent versions include Sister, My Sister (1993), Nancy Meckler's version of the Wendy Kesselman play that emphasized the sexual politics (Joely Richardson and Jodi May played Christine and Lea, respectively) and Claude Chabrol's Le Ceremonie (1995) starring Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert; it presents the tragedy as a class struggle between the upper class bourgeoisie and the working class.

For Murderous Maids (2001), director Denis has chosen to focus closely on the true facts in the case, making it the most faithful film recreation yet of the Papin sisters' relationship and subsequent crime. In a New York Times article by Leslie Camhi, Denis was quoted as saying, "It's a story that touches upon our deepest, darkest impulses. These two women were presented as monsters in the press of the day. Well, I wanted to follow the path from monsters back to human beings." He also added, "During the trial, there were massive demonstrations of people from all social classes, calling for the death of the Papin sisters. Well, recently they were listed in a poll as among the best-known celebrities in the region. Le Mans is known for its 24-hour car race, its rillettes [a kind of meat spread] and the Papin sisters. History had digested their crime and made it a part of the patrimony."

Although the film is currently in limited release in the U.S., it is receiving excellent critical notices. J. Hoberman of The Village Voice wrote: "Revolution for the hell of it? The Papin sisters, who provided no motive for their homicidal mania, let alone its gruesome details of eye-gouging, corpse-mutilating brutality, did seem to embody a particularly extreme vision of class warfare, albeit in a realm beyond articulation. (Afterward, the women dutifully cleaned their implements and took to their bed.) Director Jean-Pierre Denis, returning to filmmaking after 12 years as a customs inspector, reconstructs what he can of the sisters' background, locating them in an oppressive context of household drudgery and authoritarian abuse, while suggesting that their liberation fantasy was a dream of impossible symbiosis....Murderous Maids dramatizes, but it doesn't explain. The inference in this genuinely unnerving movie is that nothing can."

For more information about Murderous Maids and to see if it is playing at a theatre in your area, visit RIALTO PICTURES.

By Jeff Stafford

Remake - Mr. Deeds

Remake - Mr. Deeds

MR. DEEDS & OTHER REMAKES YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT Most classic movie fans will probably admit that Frank Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) isn't exactly a comic masterpiece but nobody expected Sony Pictures to retool it as an Adam Sandler vehicle entitled simply, Mr. Deeds. The basic premise is essentially the same as the original - a naive, good-natured country boy by the name of Longfellow Deeds inherits a fortune from a relative and moves to the big city where various sharpies try to take advantage of him. But whereas the Capra version was corny but sweet-natured, the remake by Steven Brill (he also helmed Sandler's Little Nicky (2000) has been revived up with a non-stop stream of violent sight gags and body crunching physical slapstick. Just watching the trailer will make your head hurt. There is also an official web site for Mr. Deeds at http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/mrdeeds/ which features a "whack the foot" game which should give you some idea of the film's target audience. If you loved Dudley Do-Right (2000) with Brendan Fraser, you'll probably love this too. By the way, Mr. Deeds isn't the first time that Sandler has ripped off somebody else's movie without acknowledging it. Did anyone notice that his 1998 comedy The Waterboy was practically a scene for scene remake of Harold Lloyd's The Freshman (1925)?. The fact that Hollywood continues to cannibalize its past for original ideas is nothing new and seeing Mr. Deeds Goes to Town recycled for Mr. Sandler isn't as bad as some of the other projects rumored to be in the works. For example, Steven Soderberg's much-delayed remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris (1972), a moody, dreamlike tale about a disastrous space mission that is set in an unspecified future. It's hard to imagine a more wrong-headed project. Despite the fact that the film has been attached to Soderberg's name (as director) with George Clooney heading the cast, it's hard to get excited about an English language remark of Tarkovsky's poetic meditation on the human race. Another "why bother?" idea is director Neil LaBute's rumored remake of The Wicker Man (1973), a suspense thriller about a pagan cult which was written by Anthony Schaffer and directed by Robin Hardy. Of course, a lot of people never got to see the original Wicker Man (1973) during its initial American release (in a drastically edited version) so LuBute's version might seem like a fantastic new idea to many. More blasphemous is the possible remake of The Manchurian Candidate (1962), John Frankenheimer's witty, super-paranoid thriller about political assassins that prefigured John F. Kennedy's murder. Tina Sinatra, daughter of Frank (who starred in the film), now controls the rights (which her father passed on to her) and is rumored to have greenlighted a remake. Equally cringe-inducing is a possible remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) from filmmaker Michael Bay. That's right, the guy who directed Armageddon (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001). Variety reported that Chainsaw's original director, Tobe Hooper, and screenwriter Kim Henkel are working on a first draft rewrite. By Jeff Stafford MURDEROUS MAIDS - The Mad Sisters of Le Mans In 1933, the French public was shocked and fascinated by a brutal double murder committed by two sisters in the provincial town of Le Mans. Christine and Lea Papin, who were working as servants, attacked and killed their employer, Madame Lancelin, and her daughter, during a power outage in the house. Even the police were shocked by the extreme violence of the crime; the victims' bodies had been horribly mutilated and their eyes clawed out. When Christine and Lea were brought to trial, their case was highly publicized and created further controversy when it was discovered that the two sisters were lovers. This infamous incident is now the subject of a new film, Murderous Maids (2001), directed by Jean-Pierre Denis. For years, the Lancelin murders have held a strange fascination for the French, particularly those in the arts. Jean Genet wrote The Maids in 1947 and based his play on the Le Mans case (It was later made into a film in 1974 starring Glenda Jackson and Susannah York). More significant are the number of films inspired by Christine and Lea Papin. First, there was Les Abysses (1963), directed by Nico Papatakis; then, A Judgment in Stone (aka The Housekeeper) appeared in 1986 starring Rita Tushingham and Jackie Burroughs (It was a Canadian film directed by Ousama Rawi). More recent versions include Sister, My Sister (1993), Nancy Meckler's version of the Wendy Kesselman play that emphasized the sexual politics (Joely Richardson and Jodi May played Christine and Lea, respectively) and Claude Chabrol's Le Ceremonie (1995) starring Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert; it presents the tragedy as a class struggle between the upper class bourgeoisie and the working class. For Murderous Maids (2001), director Denis has chosen to focus closely on the true facts in the case, making it the most faithful film recreation yet of the Papin sisters' relationship and subsequent crime. In a New York Times article by Leslie Camhi, Denis was quoted as saying, "It's a story that touches upon our deepest, darkest impulses. These two women were presented as monsters in the press of the day. Well, I wanted to follow the path from monsters back to human beings." He also added, "During the trial, there were massive demonstrations of people from all social classes, calling for the death of the Papin sisters. Well, recently they were listed in a poll as among the best-known celebrities in the region. Le Mans is known for its 24-hour car race, its rillettes [a kind of meat spread] and the Papin sisters. History had digested their crime and made it a part of the patrimony." Although the film is currently in limited release in the U.S., it is receiving excellent critical notices. J. Hoberman of The Village Voice wrote: "Revolution for the hell of it? The Papin sisters, who provided no motive for their homicidal mania, let alone its gruesome details of eye-gouging, corpse-mutilating brutality, did seem to embody a particularly extreme vision of class warfare, albeit in a realm beyond articulation. (Afterward, the women dutifully cleaned their implements and took to their bed.) Director Jean-Pierre Denis, returning to filmmaking after 12 years as a customs inspector, reconstructs what he can of the sisters' background, locating them in an oppressive context of household drudgery and authoritarian abuse, while suggesting that their liberation fantasy was a dream of impossible symbiosis....Murderous Maids dramatizes, but it doesn't explain. The inference in this genuinely unnerving movie is that nothing can." For more information about Murderous Maids and to see if it is playing at a theatre in your area, visit RIALTO PICTURES. By Jeff Stafford

Quotes

Trivia

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Summer June 28, 2002

Released in United States on Video October 22, 2002

Remake of "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (USA/1936) directed by Frank Capra.

Released in United States Summer June 28, 2002

Released in United States on Video October 22, 2002