To Die For (1995)

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers (WGA):

Joyce Maynard (book)
Buck Henry (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 October 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

All she wanted was a little attention.

Plot:

Suzanne Stone is an aspiring TV personality who will do anything to be in the spotlight- including enlisting 3 teenagers to kill her husband.

Plot Keywords:

Television | Unfaithfulness | Italian Restaurant | Seduction | Weatherwoman

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 9 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Mar. 18	6:00 PM	TMC
Mon. Mar. 22	11:30 PM	TMC

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Suzanne Stone Maretto
Matt Dillon	...	Larry Maretto
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Jimmy Emmett
Casey Affleck	...	Russel Hines
Illeana Douglas	...	Janice Maretto
Alison Folland	...	Lydia Mertz
Dan Hedaya	...	Joe Maretto
Wayne Knight	...	Ed Grant
Kurtwood Smith	...	Earl Stone
Holland Taylor	...	Carol Stone
Susan Traylor	...	Faye Stone
Maria Tucci	...	Angela Maretto
Tim Hopper	...	Mike Warden
Michael Rispoli	...	Ben DeLuca
Buck Henry	...	Mr. H. Finlaysson
Gerry Quigley	...	George
Tom Forrester	...	Fisherman
Alan Edward Lewis	...	Fisherman
Nadine MacKinnon	...	Sexy Woman
Conrad Coates	...	Weaselly Guy
Ron Gabriel	...	Sal
Ian Heath	...	Student
Graeme Millington	...	Student
Sean Ryan	...	Student
Nicholas Pasco	...	Detective
Joyce Maynard	...	Lawyer
David Collins	...	Reporter
Eve Crawford	...	Reporter
Janet Lo	...	Reporter
David Cronenberg	...	Man at Lake
Tom Quinn	...	Skating Promoter
Peter Glen	...	Priest (as Peter Glenn)
Amber-Lee Campbell	...	Suzanne (Age 5)
Colleen Williams	...	Valerie Mertz
Simon Richards	...	Chester
Philip Williams	...	Babe Hines
Susan Backs	...	June Hines
Kyra Harper	...	Mary Emmett
Adam Roth	...	Band Member
Andrew Scott	...	Band Member
Tamara Gorski	...	Chick #2 at Bar
Katie Griffin	...	Girl at Bar
Carla Renee	...	Girl at Bar
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Melissa Cooper	...	High School Girl (uncredited)
Tom Peterson	...	TV Commercial (uncredited)
Chris Phillips	...	High School Soccer Player (uncredited)
Rain Phoenix	...	Tambourine Player in Band (uncredited)
George Segal	...	Conference Speaker (uncredited)
Isabella Simone	...	High School Student (uncredited)

Directed by
Gus Van Sant

Writing credits (WGA)
Joyce Maynard		(book)
Buck Henry		(screenplay)

Produced by
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	executive producer
Sandy Isaac	....	co-producer
Leslie Morgan	....	co-producer
Jonathan T. Taplin	....	executive producer (as Jonathan Taplin)
Laura Ziskin	....	producer

Original Music by
Danny Elfman

Cinematography by
Eric Alan Edwards

Film Editing by
Curtiss Clayton

Casting by
Deirdre Bowen
Howard Feuer

Production Design by
Missy Stewart

Art Direction by
Vlasta Svoboda

Set Decoration by
Carol Lavoie		(as Carol A. Lavoie)

Costume Design by
Beatrix Aruna Pasztor

Makeup Department
David R. Beecroft	....	hair stylist
Patricia Green	....	makeup artist
Barbara Lorenz	....	personal hair stylist

Production Management
Steve Wakefield	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Buchok	....	third assistant director
Tom Quinn	....	second assistant director
Michele Rakich	....	third assistant director
David J. Webb	....	first assistant director (as David Webb)

Art Department
Ken Clark	....	property master
Rossana DeCampo	....	head painter
Willi Holst	....	scenic artist
Henry Ilola	....	construction coordinator
Sheri O'Rourke	....	assistant property master
Andrew Poulos	....	first assistant art director

Sound Department
Peter Appleton	....	sound effects editor
Kelley Baker	....	supervising sound editor
Mary Bauer	....	sound effects editor
Denis Bellingham	....	boom operator
David A. Cohen	....	sound effects editor (as David Cohen)
Robert Fernandez	....	sound mixer
J. Paul Huntsman	....	supervising sound editor
Bill Jackson	....	sound mixer
Owen Langevin	....	sound mixer
Parker Logan	....	assistant sound editor
David Parker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Philip Rogers	....	sound recordist
Michael Semanick	....	sound re-recording mixer
Burton Sharp	....	adr artist
Concha Solano	....	assistant sound editor
Jim Thompson	....	boom operator
Michael Barnitt	....	sound mixer: Florida (uncredited)
Bruce Lacey	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Linda Lew	....	foley recordist (uncredited)
Rob Whitehurst	....	boom operator: Florida (uncredited)
Patrick Winters	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Laird McMurray	....	special effects coordinator
Tim Good	....	special effects key (uncredited)

Stunts
Danny Lima	....	stunts
Mic Jones	....	relief stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Steve Lucescu	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Pat Romano	....	stunt rigger (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Craig Bulmer	....	electrician
Kevan Dutchak	....	second assistant camera
Steve Ferrier	....	chief lighting technician
Michael Galbraith	....	best boy
Michael Hall	....	first assistant camera
Kerry Hayes	....	still photographer
Perry Hoffman	....	camera operator (as Perry Hoffmann)
Mark Manchester	....	key grip
Malcolm Nefsky	....	second grip
Tracy Shaw	....	dolly grip
Stephen Spurrell	....	rigging gaffer
David J. Woods	....	video playback operator
Gary Deneault	....	rigging gaffer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Meredith Tucker	....	casting assistant
Aric Dupere	....	extras casting assistant (uncredited)
Donna Dupere	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kim W. Chow	....	wardrober
Delphine White	....	wardrobe supervisor
Alexis Scott	....	assistant costume designer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	apprentice editor
Melissa Carter	....	apprentice editor (as Melissa J.T. Carter)
Rosmary Conte	....	assistant editor
Amy E. Duddleston	....	associate editor
Craig Hayes	....	associate editor
Gloria Kaiser	....	color timer
Valerie Weiss	....	second assistant film editor

Music Department
Steve Bartek	....	orchestrator
Warren Fitzgerald	....	musician: guitar
Jeffrey Pollack	....	music consultant
Angie Rubin	....	assistant music editor
Ellen Segal	....	music editor
Edgardo Simone	....	orchestrator
Richard Stone	....	conductor
Paul Wertheimer	....	score recordist

Transportation Department
Bill Hagan	....	transportation coordinator
John Ozlins	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Christopher Archibald	....	production assistant
Lesley Boylen	....	production assistant
Amanda Brand	....	unit publicist
Kathryn Buck	....	script supervisor
Pablo Ferro	....	title designer: main title sequence
David J. Grant	....	assistant: Mr. Caracciolo
Brad Gratkowski	....	location production assistant
Shauna Jamison	....	production secretary
Mindy May Jenkins	....	first accountant
Brian Kring	....	assistant location manager
Jodi Leesley	....	assistant: Ms. Kidman
Diane McWhinnie	....	animal trainer
Carla Meyer	....	dialect coach
Andrea Morse	....	assistant: Ms. Kidman
Jacqueline Parkin	....	animal trainer
Elizabeth Rinella	....	assistant to producer
Regina Robb	....	production coordinator
Sheena D. Robertson	....	studio teacher
Burton Sharp	....	adr artist
Laura Summer	....	additional voices
Carole Wattles	....	production accountant
Chel White	....	death sequence eye effects
Gordon Yang	....	location manager
Stanley Robinson	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Rank Organisation, The

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1995) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Network (1998) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• AFMD (1995) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (1995) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Prooptiki (1995) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar (video)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (1996) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Rank Film Organization
• Rizzoli Corriere della Sera Home Video (RCS) (Italy) (VHS)
• Telegroup (Spain)

Special Effects

• Laird McMurray Film Service

Other Companies

• By David's  catering
• Cinema Research  titles and opticals
• D. Bassett & Associates  negative cutting
• Panavision  camera and lenses
• Post Logic Studios  digital film mastering
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound post-production services
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound re-recording
• Starcraft Services  craft service
• Technicolor  color timing
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, and for language.

Runtime:

106 min | Argentina:110 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Germany:12 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The videotape sequences were shot by Nicole Kidman in character.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: This story takes place in Little Hope, NH. Early in the movie, a newspaper article entitled "Sex, Violence and the Weather" shows a map of southern New Hampshire, with an arrow pointing to Little Hope. But the arrow actually points to a location in Massachusetts.

Quotes:

Jimmy: Any time it rains, or when there's thunder and lightning, or when it snows, I have to jack off.

Movie Connections:

References "60 Minutes" (1968)

Soundtrack:

ALL BY MYSELF

90's Masterwork

Gus Van Zant's wildly original take on the pursuit of fame at any price is a gruesome black comedy that works flawlessly on every level. Van Zant comes at his story from the viewpoint of a series of narrators who see through media lusting Susan Stone Marretto as she stops at nothing to bask in it's spotlight. The media in turn is more than willing to accommodate.

Nicole Kidman as Susan is intimidating beyond the screen as she narrates much of her story into the camera. In addition to her remarkable seductive charm being put to use she also intimidates with a convincing icy coldness. She is the bold and the beautiful and Kidman is perfect to the role.

Having bullied her way into a job as a weather forecaster at a small audience cable station Susan never stops shooting higher. She enlists three aimless high schoolers in a plot to kill her husband so as to unburden her to pursue her career. With sex as a tool it is easy to convince the moronically dim Jimmy who masturbates to her late night forecasts to come on board. The three teens Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck and Allison Foland are uniformly brilliant particularly Phoenix as the clueless doomed Jimmy. Her husband Larry (Matt Dillon)it might be said is in the same boat. Dillon along with Ileana Douglas and Wayne Knight fill out the solid supporting cast as narrators and victims of Susan.

Buck Henry's biting script shows he has not lost his edge since his Graduate days. Director Van Zant's vision of a fin de siecle cross section of America is brutal and original. From those laboring for the American Dream to the bleak Lidsville existence of the teens Die burns with both nervous energy and tragic-comic farce. Accompanied by an all inclusive period music score Vant Zant's wide angle is both brazen and revealing from gaudy colored suburban drab sterility with hints of incest to tragic siding housing and an auto graveyard landscape that serves as a playground to the teens. Told in flash forward and back Van Zant's pace never lingers for a moment as it rapidly presents an in your face comic and tragic pastiche of dark Americana. Van Zant admirably expresses it with a bold visual flair keeping scenes lean and sharp that over a dozen years later still retain there power and energy. It is a vibrant piece of film making and a 90s classic.