August (2008 film)

2008 American film

August

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Austin Chick
Written by| Howard A. Rodman
Produced by| Josh Hartnett
David Guy Levy
Charlie Corwin
Clara Markowicz
Elisa Pugliese
Starring| Josh Hartnett
Naomie Harris
David Bowie
Rip Torn
Adam Scott
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Cinematography| Andrij Parekh
Edited by| Pete Beaudreau
Music by| Nathan Larson

Production
companies

Original Media
Periscope Entertainment

Distributed by| First Look Studios

Release dates

* January 22, 2008 (2008-01-22) (Sundance)
* July 11, 2008 (2008-07-11) (United States)

Running time

| 88 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $3.4 million
Box office| $12,636[1]

August is a 2008 American drama film directed by Austin Chick and presented by 57th & Irving. The screenplay by Howard A. Rodman focuses on two brothers, ambitious dot-com entrepreneurs attempting to keep their company afloat as the stock market begins to collapse in August 2001, one month prior to the 9/11 attacks.

The film premiered as an official selection of the Spectrum section at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The film did poorly among film critics and received generally poor reviews.

## Plot

[edit]

Tom and Joshua Sterling are brothers whose Internet startup company, Landshark, is as hot as a New York City summer – only this is the summer of 2001, their company is in lock up, its stock price is plunging and, in a few weeks, the world will change forever.

In the meantime, Tom is living the hedonistic life of an Internet star; he dates multiple women, drives a 67 Camaro convertible and hangs out at a new club called Bungalow 8. Tom Sterling is a true showman, a demigod in a cult – and culture – of personality.

## Cast

[edit]

* Josh Hartnett as Tom Sterling
* Naomie Harris as Sarah
* Adam Scott as Joshua Sterling
* Robin Tunney as Melanie Hanson
* Andre Royo as Dylan Gottschalk
* Emmanuelle Chriqui as Morella Sterling
* Laila Robins as Ottmar Peevo
* Caroline Lagerfelt as Nancy Sterling
* Alan Cox as Burton
* John Lavelle as Brad
* David Bowie as Cyrus Ogilvie
* Rip Torn as David Sterling
* Mozhan Marnò as Ashley

## Festival screenings

[edit]

Festival  | Section  | Screening Dates

|
|

Sundance Film Festival | Spectrum[2] | January 22, 2008
January 23, 2008
January 24, 2008
January 26, 2008
Seattle International Film Festival | Contemporary World Cinema[3] | May 29, 2008
June 2, 2008
Brooklyn International Film Festival | Narrative Feature Films[4] | May 31, 2008
June 6, 2008
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival | Horizons[5] | July 7, 2008
Oldenburg International Film Festival | International Section  | September 11, 2008
Flanders International Film Festival Ghent  | World Cinema  | October 10, 2008
Bahamas International Film Festival | Spirit Of Freedom: Dramatic[6] | December 8, 2008

## Critical reception

[edit]

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film 36% based on 25 reviews, with a consensus that "Josh Hartnett puts in a well-intentioned performance but overall, August only superficially explores its dotcom-burst setting."[7] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 39 out of 100 based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "August (2008)". Box Office Mojo. July 24, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
2. ^ 2008 Online Film Guide Archived January 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Sundance International Film Festival
3. ^ The Festival – Films & Events Archived 2011-01-06 at the Wayback Machine, Seattle International Film Festival
4. ^ 2008 Edition – Category Feature / Film Details, Brooklyn Film Festival Film Library
5. ^ History – Film Archive, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
6. ^ "Bahamas Festival to close with Spike Lee's Miracle of St Anna". Screen Daily. Jeremy Kay. November 13, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
7. ^ "August Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
8. ^ "August (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 13, 2008.

## External links

[edit]

* August at IMDb
* August at Rotten Tomatoes
* August at Metacritic
* August at Box Office Mojo
* August at the Movie Review Query Engine
* International Sales (ContentFilm)