A Prairie Home Companion (film)
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A Prairie Home Companion (previously known as The Last Broadcast) is a comedy film directed by Robert Altman and released on June 9, 2006. It is based on A Prairie Home Companion, a program broadcast on public radio stations in the United States and elsewhere. The film is a fictional representation of behind-the-scenes activities on a long-running radio show that has unexpectedly been cancelled.
It stars the show's creator, Garrison Keillor, who wrote the screenplay and plays himself. It also features:
- Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, portraying Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson who hail from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the last two of what was once a popular family country music act;
- Lindsay Lohan, as Lola, the poetry-writing daughter of Streep's character;
- Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly, as singing cowboys Lefty and Dusty, respectively;
- Tommy Lee Jones as the Axeman, a businessman from Texas come to shut down the show;
- Kevin Kline as Keillor's radio character Guy Noir, repurposed as the program's security guard;
- Virginia Madsen as the Dangerous Woman, who may or may not be the Angel of Death;
- Tim Russell and Maya Rudolph, as the stage manager and his assistant;
- Singing duo Robin & Linda Williams as themselves;
- Sue Scott, as the make-up artist.
Production notes
Principal photography for the film began on June 29, 2005 at the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota (the usual venue for the radio show). Filming ended on July 28, 2005.Because the Fitzgerald is a rather small building, other stage theaters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region had been considered as stand-ins. With some effort, the necessary film equipment was crammed into the structure. The basement was also used for sets due to lack of space. Set design also had to make the show more visually interesting, and fake dressing rooms were used in the film (the movie's production designer noted that Keillor's actual dressing room is "about the size of a very, very small bathroom"). Mickey's Diner, a landmark of downtown St. Paul, is also featured.
Critics' responses
The general reaction to the film by critics has been favorable, as it has garnered a 78% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes, a site that tallies prominent reviews. Roger Ebert awarded the film four out of four stars, saying, "What a lovely film this is, so gentle and whimsical, so simple and profound." [link]
It has had its detractors, however. The controversial film critic Michael Medved gave the film one and a half stars (out of four) saying, "The entertainment value stands somewhere between thin and non-existent…" and, "…[it may be] the worst movie ever made that pooled the talents of four (count ‘em - four!) Oscar winners…"[link]
Desson Thomson from The Washington Post came between the two, saying that while the movie had its strengths, it was weaker than it should have been, in a review headlined "Honey, You Could Ask For More" (a reference to the opening theme song of the radio show and film). [link]
Trivia
- Altman was parodied on the radio program a few weeks before filming started in a Guy Noir skit on the June 4, 2005 edition of the show, recorded in Los Angeles. In it, he was portrayed as directing a film entitled People Standing Around Talking and Using Hand Gestures.
- Tom Waits and Lyle Lovett were originally slated to play Dusty and Lefty.
- On July 23, 2005, The New York Times reported[link] that to receive insurance for the shoot, 80-year-old Altman had to hire Paul Thomas Anderson as a "backup" director to observe filming at all times and be prepared to take over for Altman in case of his incapacitation.[link][link].
- APHC is the second major picture to be filmed in Minnesota in 2005. Northern parts of the state were abuzz a few months earlier when North Country, starring Charlize Theron and Woody Harrelson, was filmed there. Few movies had been made in Minnesota in recent years, leading many to believe that the Minnesota Film and TV Board — intended to promote the state as a filming destination — had disbanded. It still exists, though the board is "restructuring" as of July 2005.
- On November 1, 2005, the Star Tribune reported that an early screening in New York for film distributors resulted in a heavy bidding war. Picturehouse bought the rights, and company President Bob Berney, "aiming to capitalize on the name recognition of the 31-year-old radio program, recommended that the title revert to A Prairie Home Companion. 'At the screening, Garrison (Keillor, the radio show's host and writer) said that to broaden the film's appeal, they were thinking about changing the name to Savage Love, so we may have an argument there,' Berney said."
- APHC was the opening movie for the 2006 South by Southwest film festival on March 10.
- The film premiered in St. Paul on a briskly cold May 3, 2006 at the Fitzgerald Theater, which had movie projection and sound equipment brought in for the purpose. The film's stars arrived in ten horse-drawn carriages. Brian Williams of the NBC Nightly News anchored his newscast from neighboring Minneapolis that night so that he would be able to attend.
- Asphodel is a flower. It is referenced in the poem Demeter And Persephone by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
- While comparisons to Altman's Nashville are easy to make, A Prairie Home Companion features a striking reference to an earlier Altman film: Virginia Madsen plays a role that is remarkably similar in dress and behavior to the angelic woman in Brewster McCloud played by Sally Kellerman. They could easily be the same character.
External links
- [A Prairie Home Companion Official Movie Site]
- [Fitzgerald Theater: Tracking the Prairie Home Companion Movie]
- [A Prairie Home Companion] at Rotten Tomatoes
- [June 2005 press release about the film] from American Public Media
- [Guy Noir script for June 4, 2005], including the Altman parody
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