directed by - kirsten sheridan
screenplay by - nick castle & james v. hart
music by - mark mancina (official site)
genre - drama, musical
rating - PG
runtime - 116 min
budget - $30,000,000 (est.)
gross - $57,157,376
theatrical release - november 21, 2007
                                    (pushed back from october 19, 2007)
                                    (pushed back from august 2007)
                                    (pushed back from february 2007)
dvd release date - march 11, 2008 (us - region 1)
                                  march 17, 2008 (uk - region 2)
filming - february 13, 2006 > may 1, 2006
               (decemer 2006; reshoots)
filming locations - new york, ny
production company - southpaw entertainment
distribution by - warner bros (us)
                             rcv film distribution (netherlands)
                             magna pacific (australia)
                             tiglon (turkey)
                             distribution company (argentina)

wizard
You gotta love music. More than you love food, more than life, more than you love yourself.

august
It was like someone was calling out to me. Only some of us can hear it.
wizard
Only some of us are listening.

In this case, one film in particular - Warner Bros. aptly-titled August Rush. ComingSoon recently attended a special preview screening of footage from the upcoming film and we liked what we saw.

"Rush" is the story of a chance encounter between two young musicians (Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Keri Russell) who are unexpectedly torn apart, leaving an infant, August Rush (Freddie Highmore), orphaned by circumstance. Eleven years later, August leaves the orphanage in which he is raised to find his birth parents. Along the way, and with the help of several caring strangers, he discovers a remarkable musical gift he believes to be the key to bringing his family together.

Billed as a "music-driven fantasy," the film seems to be in the same vein of the musically-driven, yet not quite full-blown musical, Once. "Rush" is loaded with talent on both sides of the camera and in addition to Highmore, Russell and Meyers, the cast includes all-stars Robin Williams and Terrence Howard. Behind the camera is semi-newcomer Kirsten Sheridan, best known for co-writing 2004's In America. In charge of the film's heavy music load are award-winning composers Hans Zimmer and Mark Mancina, as well as legendary music producer Phil Ramone, who produced three of the music tracks in the film.

Based on the 30 minutes of footage and behind-the-scenes cast interviews we were shown, "Rush" looks to have massive general audience appeal. That and Freddie Highmore's place in the title role easily cancels out our misgivings about the potentially maudlin red flags. We should also mention that all three of the main actors actually play their respective musical instruments on camera - Rhys Meyers even does his own singing. (Phil Ramone confessed he initially thought they were going to have to dub over Meyers with a professional, but rescinded the thought the instant he heard Meyers sing.) And watch out for scene-stealing newcomer Jamia Simone Nash, whose powerful pipes and spunky church choir girl turned August's unlikely music tutor had everyone at the screening talking.

As long as the studio keeps the running time at the estimated two-hour mark and they steer clear from cheesy melodramatics, August Rush might be the perfect blend of feel-good fantasy to stand-out among the more serious and dramatic fare that dominate the fall movie season.
© comingsoon.net

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budget - $30,000,000 (est.)
gross - $31,664,162 (us)
              $25,493,214 (foreign)
              $57,157,376 (total)
opening weekend - $9,421,369 (2,310 theaters)
widest release - 2,310 theaters
in release - 100 days / 14.3 weeks
closing date - february 28, 2008

Here's an overview of festivals and dates of where August Rush will be screened. For more detailed information, please click here.

Date	Festival
Sat Oct 06 Hatchfest Sat Oct 13 Chicago Film Festival Thu Oct 18 Heartland Filmfest Thu Oct 18 Heartland Filmfest Thu Oct 18 Heartland Filmfest Sat Oct 20 Rome Intl. Film Festival Sat Oct 20 Hampton Intl. Film Festival Sun Oct 21 Hampton Intl. Film Festival Sun Oct 21 Hampton Intl. Film Festival Sat Oct 27 Savannah Col. Film Festival Wed Nov 14 Cancun Int'l Film Festival

Filming wrapped up in Central Park, New York on April 14 (2006), and will then go into post-production. Robin finished filming earlier though, and will start filming "License to Wed" in May (2006).

   
© markmancina.com

Oscars
Nom - 2008 - Best Song (Raise It Up)

Critics Choice Awards
Nom - 2008 - Best Young Actor (Highmore)
Nom - 2008 - Best Family Film