Gossip (2000/I)

Director:

Davis Guggenheim

Writers (WGA):

Gregory Poirier (story)
Gregory Poirier (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Everyone does it, no one talks about it

Plot:

Three college students chose a class project on Gossip and how fast it spreads, which spirals out of control.

Plot Keywords:

Gossip | Sex | College | Rape | Rumor

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

James Marsden	...	Derrick Webb
Lena Headey	...	Cathy Jones
Norman Reedus	...	Travis
Kate Hudson	...	Naomi Preston
Eric Bogosian	...	Professor Goodwin
Edward James Olmos	...	Detective Curtis
Joshua Jackson	...	Beau Edson
Sharon Lawrence	...	Detective Kelly
Marisa Coughlan	...	Sheila
Kwok-Wing Leung	...	Chinese Man
Mif	...	Doorman
Poe	...	Female Singer
Vicky Lambert	...	Club Dancer
Kenya Massey	...	Club Dancer
Noam Jenkins	...	Bartender

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content including language, and for brief violence.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (video premiere) | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

NPV Entertainment

Trivia:

The university that the students attend was also used as the setting for several other films including Urban Legend (1998) and _Skulls_. Coincidentally all three films starred Joshua Jackson.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just before Travis comes to tell Derrick and Jones that Naomi is dead, the coffee jug goes from being in Derrick's hand to on the table in between shots. The same thing happens to Jones' cereal bowl.

Quotes:

Jones: Derrick, Travis has a gun.
Derrick: [with a gun to his head] Thanks for the news flash.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Heist (2001/I)

Soundtrack:

Our Lips are Sealed

Pssst... Did you hear? This movie bombed!

Well, not totally. But it definitely left something to be desired. The plot starts out well and is very intriguing. However, the story takes some twists and turns that make it confusing and unbelievable.

The plot begins with three college friends, Cathy (Lena Headey, "The Devil's Advocate,") Derek (James Marsden, "Disturbing Behavior,") and Travis (Norman Reedus, "Deuces Wild,") who find they are very good at starting rumors. They decide to use this talent to do an experiment for a class in which they begin a rumor, track it around campus, and see how it changes and spreads. The poor subjects of their experiment are Beau (Joshua Jackson, TV's "Dawson's Creek") and Naomi (Kate Hudson, "Almost Famous.") While at a party, Derek discovers a situation between Beau and Naomi that soon becomes the rumor. However, when the rumor takes a drastic turn and students start accusing Beau of rape, Cathy and Travis must try and convince Derek that what they've started may lead to something worse. And when Naomi is found dead, the three roomates must fight among themselves and their consciences to fix a rumor that gave them more than what they bargained for.

James Marsden gives an excellent, evil performance. Norman Reedus puts a lot into his character that excels in the end. And Joshua Jackson gives a wonderful performance as a wrongly accused man. I found Lena Headey and Kate Hudson's acting somewhat bland and boring. The movie seems to try too hard when trying to surprise you. In fact, it tries so hard that it creates way too many "I have an ulterior motive" and "I'm not what you think I am" side stories. If it just went down to the basic facts and left a little of the confusion out, it would have been much better. Possibly a 10 star movie. However, because I got hopelessly lost by the end, it only earned ******/10.