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Gigantic (film)

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Gigantic
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMatt Aselton
Written byMatt Aselton
Adam Nagata
Produced byMindy Goldberg
Christine Vachon
StarringPaul Dano
Zooey Deschanel
Edward Asner
Jane Alexander
John Goodman
CinematographyPeter Donahue
Edited byBeatrice Sisul
Music byRoddy Bottum
Distributed byFirst Independent Pictures
Release dates
  • September 8, 2008 (2008-09-08) (TIFF)
  • April 3, 2009 (2009-04-03) (United States)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$165,888[1]

Gigantic is a 2008 independent comedy film directed by Matt Aselton and starring Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Edward Asner and Jane Alexander. The script, written by Aselton and his college friend Adam Nagata, tells of Brian (Dano), a mattress salesman who wishes to adopt a baby from China, but finds himself sharing his passion with the quirky, wealthy Harriet (Deschanel) when they meet in his store. The story was based on Aselton's childhood wish for his parents to adopt a Chinese baby. The film was shot in New York and Connecticut. It had its world premiere at 2008's Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on April 3, 2009.

Premise

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Young mattress salesman Brian decides to adopt a baby from China. Brian's life becomes more complicated and contemplative when he forms a relationship with quirky, wealthy Harriet, whom he meets at his mattress store.[2][3]

Cast

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Production

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Aselton said that, as the youngest child in his family, he wanted his parents to adopt a Chinese baby so that he could have a younger sibling;[4] his younger brother did in fact adopt a baby later.[5] He and co-writer Adam Nagata were fascinated by the idea and built the story around Brian's wanting to adopt a baby.[4] Aselton and Nagata, college friends who both come from literary backgrounds, aimed to write the film as novelistic and surrealist rather than expository. They wanted to show "those little things that are often found in literature but rarely in film", such as Brian and his father's age difference and how it affects their relationship, and Harriet's walking around in her underpants and how it affects her and Brian's relationship.[2] Aselton chose the title Gigantic because "There's an innocence about the [word]" due to its use by young children to describe something fantastic. He felt that the title was "a juxtaposition against Brian's life changing decision to adopt a baby".[2]

The script languished for several years before the film went into production, when producer Mindy Goldberg brought the script to Christine Vachon of Killer Films. Aselton said the most challenging part of making the film was casting the two lead roles of Brian and Harriet.[3] Paul Dano liked the script and was one of the first actors to sign on, which attracted others to join the cast.[6] Aselton said that Dano was one of the first to audition for the role and the first to understand the story; Deschanel was the second actor to understand, and so both were cast.[7] To prepare for his role, Dano talked to salesmen at Sleepy's, a mattress store, and bought Chinese language tapes to learn some of the language as his character did.[8] Filming began on March 3, 2008[9] and lasted for 23 days.[10] As a director of commercials, Aselton brought many of his former crew members with him to work on Gigantic.[3] Most of production took place in Brooklyn and Manhattan but several scenes were filmed in Stamford, Connecticut and Los Angeles.[5][11] Filming locations included Brooklyn Heights' Cadman Plaza West[12] and Cobble Hill's Quercy restaurant.[13] Scenes in the mattress store were filmed inside an abandoned warehouse, which cinematographer Peter Donahue described as "a big space with perfect texture on the walls and windows in the right places for motivated, practical light".[11] Though the producers wanted to use 16 mm film because of the tight budget, Aselton and Donahue chose to use Super 35 format, mainly using medium-long lenses.[11]

Release

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The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2008.[14][15][16] Following its screening at American Film Market, First Independent Pictures bought the film's North American distribution rights.[17] The film was pre-screened at Vassar College in the fall of 2008. It was screened at the Cornell University Cinema on February 14, 2009[18] and in March at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema[19] and the AFI Dallas International Film Festival, where it won the Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature.[20] It was given a limited theatrical release on April 3, 2009, coinciding with its showing at the Gen Art Film Festival.[21]

Reception

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Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 36% approval rating based on 83 reviews, with a weighted average of 4.57/10. The site's consensus reads: "This overly quirky, incessantly whimsical indie is too self-conscious for its own good".[22] Slant Magazine called the film a "meager sum of quirky details" and gave it (½ out of four stars), though it complimented Dano's "fine performance."[23] Stephen Holden called it a "serious comedy about the children of privilege...a cautiously surreal, absurdist movie" with a protagonist (played by Dano) who's a "close spiritual relative of the polite young men who drift through mumblecore films".[24] The review concludes:

With its off-center dialogue and upscale industrial settings, Gigantic strains to be original. But beneath its indie affectations it is really another contemplation of generational misunderstanding. Instead of the passionate '60s and '70s rebels pursuing authenticity in the material world, or '80s and '90s nihilists flamboyantly self-destructing, the movie's meek lovebirds only want something worth their commitment.[24]

The Village Voice called it "another flimsy indie comedy for the heap" with a "screenplay's per-page quota of 'unexpected' tweaks [that leave] little room for much else."[25]

Gigantic earned $102,704 in gross revenue in its limited thirteen-week, eleven-theater release, with its one-theater opening weekend collecting $10,294 of that total. Worldwide, the film grossed $165,888.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Gigantic". Box Office Mojo.
  2. ^ a b c Brooks, Brian; Knegt, Peter; Sung, Jenny (September 11, 2008). ""Paris," "Valentino," "Gigantic" and "Lymelife" Among Toronto Offerings". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Guerrasio, Jason (May 15, 2008). ""Gigantic," "Peter and Vandy," "Phantomschmerz," "The Seminar with Robert McKee," and "You Won't Miss Me."". IndieWire. Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Guerrasio, Jason (September 12, 2008). "TIFF '08: Matt Aselton". Filmmaker Magazine. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  5. ^ a b Bui, Kim (April 8, 2008). "Dano reminisces about the University, discusses Gigantic". Pace Press. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
  6. ^ Roberts, Soraya (September 11, 2008). "Paul Dano Breaks the Silence". AOL. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
  7. ^ Perez, Rodrigo (September 10, 2008). "TIFF: 'Gigantic' Q&A With Paul Dano And Director Matt Aselton". The Playlist. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "92YTribeca Q&A with Paul Dano, Actor". 92YTribeca. March 31, 2009. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  9. ^ "Goodman, Asner, Alexander in 'Gigantic'". Entertainment Weekly. March 3, 2008. Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  10. ^ Fipphen, Daniel (February 13, 2009). "From the Hill to Hollywood". The Cornell Daily Sun. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  11. ^ a b c Fisher, Bob (April 2, 2009). "How Peter Donahue Turned a Hobby into One Gigantic Career". MovieMaker. Archived from the original on April 23, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  12. ^ "Paul Dano's 'Gigantic' Films in Brooklyn Heights Wednesday". McBrooklyn. March 12, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  13. ^ Gallagher, Aileen (March 21, 2008). "Quercy Serves As Movie Set for a Night". New York. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  14. ^ "Gigantic". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  15. ^ "TORONTO '08 DISPATCH: "Paris," "Valentino," "Gigantic" and "Lymelife" Among Toronto Offerings". IndieWire. September 11, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  16. ^ Dixon, Guy (September 13, 2008). "A week of reel deals". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  17. ^ Goldstein, Gregg (November 10, 2008). "FIP has 'Gigantic' in its grasp". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  18. ^ Fenchel, Luke Z. (February 12, 2009). "Cornell Cinema to offer sneak peek at 'Gigantic' Saturday night". The Ithaca Journal. Retrieved February 13, 2009. [dead link‍]
  19. ^ "Gigantic". Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
  20. ^ Rocchi, James (April 3, 2009). "AFI Dallas - Gigantic, Prom Night in Mississippi and Crude Win Top Prizes". American Movie Classics. Archived from the original on April 7, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  21. ^ Thielman, Sam (March 3, 2009). "'Lymelife' to open Gen Art festival". Variety. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  22. ^ "Gigantic". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  23. ^ Stewart, Henry (March 29, 2009). "Gigantic". Slant Magazine. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  24. ^ a b Holden, Stephen (April 3, 2009). "The Swagger of Fathers, the Drift of Children". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  25. ^ Pinkerton, Nick (March 31, 2009). "Matt Aselton's Gigantic — Another for the Indie Comedy Heap". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on April 5, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  26. ^ "Gigantic (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
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