Live! (2007)

Director:

Bill Guttentag

Writer (WGA):

Bill Guttentag (written by)

Release Date:

1 November 2007 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A mockumentary following an ambitious TV network executive trying to produce a controversial reality show where contestants play Russian Roulette.

Plot Keywords:

Russian Roulette | Ratings | Mockumentary | Television | Poor

Cast

Eva Mendes	...	Katy
David Krumholtz	...	Rex
Rob Brown	...	Byron
Katie Cassidy	...	Jewel
Jay Hernandez	...	Pablo
Eric Lively	...	Brad
Monet Mazur	...	Abalone
Jeffrey Dean Morgan	...	Rick
Danny Comden	...	Buck
Paul Michael Glaser	...	Network President
Missi Pyle	...	Plummy
Andre Braugher	...	Don
Charlotte Ross	...	Jennifer
Michelle Krusiec	...	Dylan
Mageina Tovah	...	Kelly
Todd Stashwick	...	Dave
Robin Paul	...	Meagan
Patrick Fischler	...	Trevor
Beau Garrett	...	Krista
Karen Landry	...	Advertising Buyer
Jessica Collins	...	Starlet
Bob Levy	...	Director
Michael Cavanaugh	...	Wilken
Robert Gant	...	Casting Director
Jaime Ray Newman	...	Anchorwoman
Catherine McCord	...	Chrissie
John Sanderford	...	Counter Attack Host
Lucy Butler	...	Counter Attack Guest
Marianne Curan	...	Counter Attack Guest
Kevin Kilner	...	Newsbreak Anchor
Scott Paetty	...	Newsbreak Reporter
Amanda Loncar	...	Candy
Jeff Tschida	...	Brad's Buddy
Berlinda Tolbert	...	Clarissa Boyd
Tom Wright	...	Dr. Raymond Boyd
Aixa Maldonado	...	Pablo's Mother
Frank Alvarez	...	East LA Guy
Josue Aguirre	...	Kid on Bike
William Green	...	Brit Pitcher
Shana Sosin	...	Flat Line Pitcher
Jenica Bergere	...	Southern Accent Pitcher
Heather Fox	...	Goth Girl
Donald Elson	...	Oxygen Tank Guy
Winston Story	...	Camouflage Guy
Brittany Shaw	...	Tank Top Student
Rory O'Malley	...	Red Sox Hat Student
Kelly Pendygraft	...	Blond Student
Misha Guttentag	...	Teenager on Rollerblades
Gregory Giles	...	Man in Tie (as Gregory Gifford Giles)
Sasha Guttentag	...	Girl in Sweatshirt
Michael Colon	...	Weight-Lifter
Sal Cecere	...	Jogging Man
Yvette Yates	...	Latina Girl (as Yavette Yates)
Christian Gill	...	German Tourist
50 Cent	...	Himself (as Curtis Jackson)
Mitsuyo Miyazaki	...	Japanese Tourist (as Kiyoka Miyazaki)
Jeff Wiesen	...	Hip Guy
Sarah Maine	...	Hip Girl (as Sarah Allyson Maine)
Jaclyn Napier	...	Waitress
Vikrum Shah	...	1st Taxi Driver
Tom Billett	...	2nd Taxi Driver
Drew Wicks	...	Man with Gun
Stephanie Lugue	...	Pablo's Sister
Scott Harber	...	Sound Man
Stephen Kazmierski	...	Jerry (as Steven Kazmierski)
Don LaFontaine	...	Announcer (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mike Cochrane	...	Game show applicant (uncredited)
Ashika Gogna	...	Teenage Girl (uncredited)
Scott Haze	...	Kafiya (uncredited)
Lisa Richman	...	Leg Waxer (uncredited)
Katie Strand	...	(uncredited)
Mark Valley	...	Blair (uncredited)
Shane Wood	...	Roger (uncredited)

Directed by
Bill Guttentag

Writing credits (WGA)
Bill Guttentag		(written by)

Produced by
Alex Gartner	....	producer
Alan Glazer	....	executive producer
William Green	....	producer
Cynthia H. Margulis	....	line producer
Eva Mendes	....	executive producer
Charles Roven	....	producer
Randy Sosin	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Phil Marshall

Cinematography by
Stephen Kazmierski

Film Editing by
Jim Stewart

Casting by
Venus Kanani
Mary Vernieu

Production Design by
Robert de Vico

Set Decoration by
Brad Douglas

Costume Design by
Dayna Pink

Makeup Department
Sarah Ault	....	hair stylist daily
Sallie Ciganovich	....	hair stylist
Yuko T. Koach	....	hair department head (as Yuko Tokunaga)
Klexius Kolby	....	makeup department head: Eva Mendes
Cole Patterson	....	key makeup artist
Yvette Shelton	....	hair department head

Production Management
James K. Jensen	....	post-production supervisor
Cynthia H. Margulis	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carl Lawrence Ludwig	....	first assistant director
Anastacia C. Nemec	....	additional second assistant director
Blake Perkinson	....	second second assistant director
Jack Steinberg	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Mark Finer	....	swing
Alexandra Fowler	....	property master
Brian Larkin	....	swing
Robert Montalbano	....	swing
Sarah Prescott	....	assistant set decorator
Amy Wallenberg	....	graphic designer
Tim Woodruff	....	lead man
Justine Wu	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Anthony Adams	....	adr recordist
Christopher Alba	....	sound effects editor
Matt Colleran	....	mix technician
Adam De Coster	....	foley artist
Gary Gegan	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Hackner	....	sound editor
Scott Harber	....	sound mixer
Matthew Iadarola	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jon Klein	....	boom operator
Mark Larry	....	supervising sound editor
Trillby Kim Lowe	....	dialogue editor (as Kimberly Lowe Voigt)
Travis MacKay	....	adr recordist
Greg Mauer	....	foley mixer
Kimberly R. McCord	....	dialogue editor (as Kimberly R. McCord-Wilson)
Chris McDonough	....	foley artist
Rick Owens	....	foley artist
Solange S. Schwalbe	....	sound editor
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Bryan O. Watkins	....	sound effects editor
Nathan Whitehead	....	first assistant sound editor

Visual Effects by
Elad Offer	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Todd Bryant	....	stunt double
James Lew	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Tracy Bennett	....	still photographer
Sharla Cipicchio	....	second assistant camera
Joseph Czerw	....	electrician
Daniel Hagouel	....	jib operator
Xavier Henselman	....	gaffer
Colin Kelly	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Erica Kim	....	electrician
Chris Lindsay	....	key grip
Richard Moriarty	....	key first assistant camera
Sean Prichard	....	best boy grip
Rebecca Roven	....	camera department assistant
Anthony Savini	....	camera operator
Allen Wagoner	....	video assist (as Allen D. Waggoner)
Perry Wolberger	....	best boy electric

Casting Department
J.C. Cantu	....	casting associate
Lindsay Graham	....	casting assistant
Julie Swistak	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Courtney Hoffman	....	costume intern
Corrine Larson	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Kenny Becker	....	color timer
Matt Devino	....	assembly editor
Doug Luberts	....	assistant editor
Ron Stanik	....	first assistant editor
Jeff Stone	....	assistant editor
Thom Whitehead	....	assembly editor

Music Department
Jez Colin	....	composer: additional original music
William Green	....	music supervisor
Mary M. Koetting	....	music consultant
Julie Pearce	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Mark Dobkousky	....	driver
Hector Gonzalez	....	transportation captain
Geno Hart	....	transportation coordinator
Peter Helm	....	driver
Zoa Keith	....	transportation dispatcher
Mark Timpe	....	driver

Other crew
John Arnett	....	assistant: Mr. Green and Mr. Sosin
Dana Bradshaw	....	second accountant
Katie Carlin	....	assistant: Eva Mendes
Nate Cohen	....	office production assistant
Divi Crockett	....	production coordinator
Mary Cybriwsky	....	assistant: Mr. Glazer
Michelle DeForest	....	set production assistant
Gabi Endicott	....	script supervisor
Chris Gutierrez	....	location scout
Jeremy Jed Hammel	....	production assistant
Jonathan Hausfater	....	production assistant
Andy Horwitz	....	assistant: Mr. Roven
Adam Kerpelman	....	production assistant
Brandon Krzyminski	....	set intern
Richard Lilly	....	production assistant
Maeve Mannion	....	key accountant
Nick Miller	....	assistant: Alex Gartner
Jess Nunez	....	payroll accountant
Joseph Palmer	....	assistant: Mr. Roven
Larry Pearson	....	location manager
Marilyn Penn	....	production accountant
Debra Piazzie	....	unit production supervisor
Myron Santos	....	production assistant
Lynda Shapiro	....	second assistant accountant
Elaine Tuennerman	....	product placement and clearance coordinator
Matt Tulve	....	set production assistant

Production Companies

• Atlas Entertainment
• Mosaic Media Group

Distributors

• Bazuca Films (2008) (Chile) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Independent Films (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• NonStop Entertainment (2008) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Pretty Pictures (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• Scorpio East (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• D Productions (2007) (Turkey) (all media)
• HBO Hungary (2009) (Hungary) (TV) (original airing)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Seven Films (2008) (Greece) (all media)
• Vivendi Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Weinstein Company, The

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Creative Artists Agency (CAA)  domestic sales
• Danetracks  sound design and editing
• Hollywood-DI  HD screening services
• Widget Post Production  sound post-production
• Wilshire Stages, The  ADR recording facility

MPAA:

Rated R for some violent content, language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

Argentina:96 min | France:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | USA:R | France:U | Finland:K-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Mexico:B15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Atlas Entertainment

Goofs:

Factual errors: Early on, Katy mentions the decapitations of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette. The first name should be Louis XVI, who died January 21, 1793. By then, Louis XIV (September 5, 1638 - September 1, 1715) had been dead for 77 years.

Movie Connections:

References "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Never Leave The Sun

A Nutshell Review: Live!

As reality television become staple programming, we have contestants playing games around the world, or just doing so on an island. We have those that propel some into instant fame upon winning a singing competition, and audience participation is key if ratings are to rocket through the sky. Live! allows the audience a little of behind the scenes action in a mockumentary that takes a look at how such programmes get conceived with always an eye looking at the ratings, and the other eye looking at potential revenue stream in the form of selling air time to advertisers.

Eva Mendes, who also serves as executive producer, stars as Katy, a network station's programming manager out to look for the next big thing to save their flagging station ratings amongst the CBS and the NBCs. In one brainstorming session, the thought of Russian roulette got bounced around, and given the nature of the game - where one puts a loaded gun to the head and pulls the trigger - it borders on simple human decency, and who would want to allow someone getting killed live on air being put out by their station?

And there's where the mockumentary kicks into full gear for the first hour, where we follow Katy (conveniently she has an indie film crew following her in a bid to make their own documentary) around the office and engage in some heavy politicking and lobbying of her brainchild through departments such as marketing, sales, legal as represented by corporate counsel Don (Andre Braugher) and even to convince the network presidents herself. And it is indeed interesting as you see all the corporate backstabbing, back-biting, and elevator pitches get delivered with conviction to sell something as radical as this, with the stroking of egos constantly being proved to be effective.

We also get to be chummy with the would be contestants, as we dig a little into their backgrounds as diverse as an extreme sports athlete, to a farmer struggling to keep his family afloat, from an actress wannabe, to a gay Latino looking for some self-respect. Naturally you expect some stereotyping here, but one thing common with everyone is, so long as you're holding a loaded gun to your head, all bets are off and only a pull of the trigger, if they survive, will decide if they get to stay alive and walk away with the prize money of US$5 million. Which makes you wonder, would you risk it all to do the same, for the same amount of money?

The last moments of the film provide that debut episode, and truth be told, it is rather interesting to watch, playing to our voyeuristic tendencies which make reality TV so popular these days. It's openly admitting to satisfying our blood lust, with death on screen for the masses, like old styled gladiatorial fights, or public executions where you deliberate attend just to see what you've come to see. Those unfamiliar with how live or game shows are produced, get a look behind the scenes as well in the coordination of technical expertise and manipulation to milk shots of the moment, for the goggle box audience.

While this is fiction through and through, I wouldn't help but shudder if one day we do have such game shows being put live on the air, packaged as entertainment. Written and directed by Bill Guttentag (who brought us the documentary Nanking), this film does seem rather plain sailing, until of course a shocker of a finale which you probably didn't see it coming, re-emphasizing of course, whether TV violence has a negative aspect to daily lives.