Rushmore (film)

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Rushmore is a 1998 movie directed by Wes Anderson. The film was shot in and around Houston, Texas where Wes Anderson grew up and even used his high school alma mater, St. John's School, as the site for the fictional Rushmore Academy.

A DVD of the movie with various supplemental materials and remastered picture and sound is available from DVD archivists The Criterion Collection.

This film is number 34 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies.

Contents

1 Plot
2 Awards
3 Technical data
4 Trivia
5 See also
6 External links

Plot

The film is about Max Fischer (played by Jason Schwartzman), a 15-year-old whose sole ambition is to indefinitely continue to attend Rushmore Academy, a private school. He is inspired by Herman J. Blume (played by Bill Murray), a rich industrialist who gives a speech at the school and has two boys who attend there. Max is known to be very active in extracurricular activities, but is a poor student. As a result of this, he is put on academic probation. At around the same time, he meets Rosemary Cross (played by Olivia Williams), an elementary school teacher with whom Max finds himself infatuated. Unfortunately for Max, Miss Cross does not share the same sentiments, and a love triangle forms when Mr. Blume begins to have the same feelings for her that Max has. Max and Mr. Blume begin to become rivals, and the two find themselves warring with one another for the affections of Miss Cross.

Awards

Rushmore won the following awards:

Year	Award	Category
1998	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actor (Bill Murray, tied with Billy Bob Thornton for A Simple Plan) and the New Generation Award (Wes Anderson)
1998	New York Film Critics Circle Award	Best Supporting Actor (Bill Murray)
1999	American Comedy Award	Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Bill Murray)
1999	Golden Satellite Award	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (Bill Murray)
1999	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Director and Best Supporting Male (Bill Murray)
1999	Lone Star Film & Television Award	Best Actor (Jason Schwartzman), Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Bill Murray)
1999	National Society of Film Critics Award	Best Supporting Actor (Bill Murray)
1999	YoungStar Award	Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy Film (Jason Schwartzman)

It was also nominated for the following awards:
Year Award Category
1999 British Independent Film Award Best Foreign Film - English Language
1999 Chicago Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor (Bill Murray) and Most Promising Actor (Jason Schwartzman)
1999 Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Bill Murray)
1999 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor (Mason Gamble)
1999 YoungStar Award Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy Film (Mason Gamble)

Technical data

writing credits: Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson
music: Mark Mothersbaugh
runtime: 93 minutes
sound: DTS / Dolby Digital / SDDS
aspect ratio: 2.35 : 1
release date: September 17, 1998 (Canada, Toronto Film Festival), October 9, 1998 (USA, premiere)
budget: $10,000,000 (estimated)
total gross (USA): $17,105,219
distributor: Buena Vista International
MPAA rating: R

Trivia

St. John's School was the filming site for the private school, while Lamar High School was the filming site for the public school. In real life, the two schools are directly across the street from one another.
The famous shot of Max sitting on the go-kart used in the "Making Time" montage is based on a photograph by Jacques Henri Lartigue[link]. Anderson would later reference Lartigue's work again in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
The penciled-in quote inside a book Max was reading is a quote attributed to Jacques-Yves Cousteau: When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself. The book was Diving For Sunken Treasure, co-authored by Cousteau and Philippe Diole. In Anderson's later film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Steve Zissou is both a parody of and homage to Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
In the scene where Max meets Rosemary, he is carrying the book, The Powers that Be by David Halberstam, an account of the rise of journalistic media to political power.
Wes Anderson originally envisioned the entire soundtrack to be comprised of songs by The Kinks. While listening to a compilation of songs on set, though, the soundtrack eventually transformed completely, until only one Kinks song remained in the film.

External links

The Films of Wes Anderson
Features Bottle Rocket (1996) \| Rushmore \| The Royal Tenenbaums \| The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou \| Fantastic Mr. Fox
Shorts Bottle Rocket (1994)