Secretary (2002)

Director:

Steven Shainberg

Writers:

Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay)
Mary Gaitskill (short story)
(more)

Release Date:

14 November 2002 (Israel)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Assume the position.

Plot:

A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Secretary | Mental Hospital | Employer Employee Relationship | Masochism

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 14 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

James Spader	...	Mr. Grey
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Lee Holloway
Jeremy Davies	...	Peter
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Joan Holloway
Stephen McHattie	...	Burt Holloway
Patrick Bauchau	...	Dr. Twardon
Jessica Tuck	...	Tricia O'Connor
Oz Perkins	...	Jonathan
Amy Locane	...	Lee's Sister
Mary Joy	...	Sylvia
Michael Mantell	...	Stewart
Lily Knight	...	Paralegal
Sabrina Grdevich	...	Allison
Lacey Kohl	...	Louisa
Julene Renee	...	Jessica
Lauren Cohn	...	First Secretary
Ezra Buzzington	...	Typing Teacher
Kyle Colerider-Krugh	...	Mr. Garvey
Steven Fierberg	...	First Date
Herbert Russell	...	Second Date (as Russell Harper)
David Wiater	...	Tomato Date
Shannon Convery	...	New Secretary
Alison Tatlock	...	TV Reporter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emmy Collins	...	Zoo Protester (uncredited)
Diane McGee	...	Woman with the Purple Boots (uncredited)
Cali Ross	...	Dancing Party Guest (uncredited)
Steven Shainberg	...	Richard Arevalos (sex therapist on tape) (voice) (uncredited)
Erin Cressida Wilson	...	Sitting In Mr. Grey's Waiting Room (uncredited)

Directed by
Steven Shainberg

Writing credits
Erin Cressida Wilson		(screenplay)
Mary Gaitskill		(short story)
Steven Shainberg		(story adaptation) and
Erin Cressida Wilson		(story adaptation)

Produced by
Jamie Beardsley	....	executive producer
Andrew Fierberg	....	producer
Amy Hobby	....	producer
Joel Posner	....	executive producer
P.J. Posner	....	executive producer
Michael Roban	....	executive producer
Steven Shainberg	....	producer

Original Music by
Angelo Badalamenti

Cinematography by
Steven Fierberg

Film Editing by
Pam Wise

Casting by
Ellen Parks

Production Design by
Amy Danger

Art Direction by
Nick Ralbovsky

Set Decoration by
Michael Baker
Michael Murray

Costume Design by
Marjorie Bowers

Makeup Department
Raqueli Dahan	....	key makeup artist
Robert Hall	....	special effects makeup designer
Cynthia Laws	....	hair stylist
Robert Ramos	....	additional hair stylist
Cynthia P. Romo	....	hair stylist: Lesley Ann Warren (as Cynthia Romo)
Nicholas Serino	....	additional hair stylist

Production Management
Kyle A. Clark	....	production manager (as Kyle Clarke)
Jennifer Lane	....	post-production supervisor
Anthony Perretti	....	production manager: second unit

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kiran Gonsalves	....	first assistant director
Solita Hanna	....	first assistant director: second unit
Ivan Kraljevic	....	second second assistant director
Carl Lawrence Ludwig	....	first assistant director
Vince P. Maggio	....	first assistant director (as Vince Maggio)
Jim Simone	....	second assistant director
Stephen Jeffries Smith	....	first assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Jami Anderson	....	on-set dresser (as Jamie Anderson)
Richard Ankrom	....	swing gang
Fernando Arevalos	....	swing gang
Jesus Arevalos	....	lead man
Luis A. Arevalos	....	swing gang (as Luis Arevalos)
Norman Barajas	....	carpenter
Jimmie Beardsley	....	scenic artist
John Besse	....	construction coordinator
Matt Bourque	....	scenic artist
Tom Brayton	....	swing gang
Carlos Castellanos	....	on-set dresser
Ben Conable	....	additional art director
Ben Conable	....	art director: second unit
Olivier Desplat	....	on-set dresser
J. Enderson	....	carpenter
Kara Engel	....	scenic artist
Maria Folger	....	carpenter
Robin Jacobson	....	property master
Eric Johnston	....	on-set dresser
David Lim	....	illustrator
Seth Manchester	....	carpenter
Melissa Murren	....	art production assistant
E. Michael Olson	....	art coordinator
Rebekah Schultz	....	property assistant
Erik Shumpert	....	carpenter
Travis Stevens	....	swing gang (as Travis T. Stevens)
Angela Tafoya	....	scenic artist
Dionisio Tafoya	....	scenic artist (as Dionisio A. Tafoya)
Trifon Trifonopoulos	....	swing gang
Lee Turner	....	general foreman
Christoph Von Wangerheim	....	art production assistant
Erik von Wodtke	....	lead man
Tracey Woolfolk	....	gang boss (as Tracy Woolfolk)
Derek Crimmel	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jon Ailetcher	....	production sound mixer
Ryan Collison	....	foley engineer
Seth Cooper	....	boom operator
Dustin DuPilka	....	sound editorial intern
Eric Free	....	boom operator (as Eric A. Free)
Thomas Kodros	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Malaika Langa	....	audio post coordinator
Brian Langman	....	supervising sound editor
Eric McAllister	....	assistant sound editor
Brett Michael	....	boom operator (as Bret Michel)
Katherine Gordon Miller	....	apprentice sound editor
James H. Nau	....	adr editor (as Jim Nau)
Steve Schwartz	....	sound effects editor
Ahmad Shirazi	....	foley editor (as Maddy Shirazi)
Paul P. Soucek	....	sound effects editor
Reilly Steele	....	re-recording mixer
Eric Strausser	....	assistant sound editor
Brian Vancho	....	foley artist
Thomas Varga	....	production sound mixer
Jonathan Wolff	....	production sound mixer

Visual Effects by
Matthew Adams	....	digital compositor: Cinesite
Randall Balsmeyer	....	visual effects
J. John Corbett	....	digital artist
Kathy Kelehan	....	visual effects producer
Danny Albano	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Mark Edwards	....	visual effects producer: Title House Digital (uncredited)

Stunts
José Ignacio Álvarez	....	stunt coordinator (as Ignacio Alvarez)
Marguerite Happy	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Robin Acutt	....	best boy electric
Leo Alverez	....	key grip: second unit
Kelly Baldwin	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Richard Benda	....	director of photography: second unit (as Rich Benda)
Anthony Bertola	....	grip
Bruce Birmelin	....	still photographer
Jeremy Brussell	....	best boy grip (as Jeremy Brussels)
Carol Carimi	....	electrician
Harris Charalambous	....	electrician
Gregory Code	....	Steadicam operator
Carlos de Varona	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Kyle Drevlo	....	grip
Kathleen Farry	....	second assistant camera (as Kat Farry)
John Foster	....	director of photography: second unit
Garrett Griffin	....	underwater camera operator: second unit
Prashant Gupta	....	still photographer
John Hankammer	....	Steadicam operator
Gayle Hilary	....	camera loader
John Hoffma	....	grip
J. Alan Hostetter	....	gaffer: second unit (as Alan Hostetter)
Takuro Ishizaka	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Lila Javan	....	second assistant camera
Scott Kevan	....	director of photography: second unit
Chris Lally	....	key grip: second unit
Kenji Luster	....	Steadicam operator
Emily Mackley	....	first assistant camera
Steve Madigan	....	assistant camera: insert unit
Chris W. Martin	....	electrician
Josh Martin	....	grip
Gabriel Olguin	....	electrician
Michelle Opseth	....	second assistant camera
Jason Paris	....	grip
Scott Repp	....	electrician
Sonja Rom	....	director of photography: second unit
William Russell	....	gaffer
Megan Schoenbachler	....	electrician
Aaron Schulte	....	electrician
Lisa Stacilauskas	....	electrician
Holly Stein	....	still photographer
Rick Tucker	....	key grip
Tracy Tucker	....	dolly grip
Alpheus Underhill	....	grip
Isabella Vosmikova	....	still photographer
Greg Williams	....	underwater assistant camera: second unit
Ben Wolf	....	first assistant camera: second unit

Casting Department
Lauren Cohn	....	casting associate
Sondra James	....	voice casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Corrie Mendes	....	costumer
Lisa Neil	....	costumer
Allison Siegel	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Katie Bevell	....	post-production assistant
Bob Fredrickson	....	color timer
Nadia Fugazza	....	assistant editor
Jamie Governale	....	apprentice editor (as James Governale)
Mark Moran	....	post-production assistant
Jay Rabinowitz	....	additional editor
Mattia Romeo	....	assistant editor
Greg Tennant	....	assistant editor
Kenneth Wachtel	....	assistant editor
Scott Zone	....	colorist

Music Department
Angelo Badalamenti	....	orchestrator
James Flatto	....	music editor
Phil Marshall	....	orchestrator
Bill Pearson	....	music engineer
Beth Rosenblatt	....	music supervisor (as Beth Amy Rosenblatt)

Transportation Department
Tom Calzia	....	driver
John 'Bud' Cardos	....	driver
P. Gerald Knight	....	transportation captain
Mark E. Mobley	....	driver
Jason Rider	....	driver
Dan O. Wiseman	....	driver: honeywagon

Other crew
Natalie Aston	....	office production assistant
Marina Bailey	....	unit publicist
Brian Bell	....	development executive: Double A Films
Brian Bell	....	production associate
D. Cole Berry	....	set production assistant
Sharon Cingle	....	script supervisor
Lloyd Clark	....	craft service
Ron Coelho	....	set production assistant
Clinton J. Collins	....	stand-in: James Spader
Marlena Defabrizio	....	stand-in: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Minnie Duerr	....	production accountant
Sam Dunn	....	stand-in: James Spader (as Sam Dunnavent)
John Dybdahl	....	assistant to director
Louise Fenton	....	product placement coordinator
Louise Fenton	....	production associate
Danny Gamez	....	set production assistant
Scott Goldman	....	assistant accountant
Carol Grant	....	stand-in: Maggie Gyllenhaal (as Carol Lynn Grant)
Brenda Herrold	....	set production assistant
Lu Cien Hioe	....	production coordinator
Kristin Hjellegjerde	....	stand-in: Maggie Gyllenhaal (as Kristin Hielleguerde)
Jan Kean	....	unit publicist
Nora Killoran	....	production associate
Aaron Kogan	....	production assistant
Carl Lawrence Ludwig	....	production associate (as Carl Ludwig)
Kenneth Lui	....	set production assistant
Richard Mancuso	....	post-production accountant
Max Medema	....	location assistant
Robert Medema	....	location manager
Nicole Alexandra Miller	....	stand-in: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Kathy O'Neill	....	stand-in: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Leslie Parry	....	set production assistant
Jane Pien	....	production intern: double A films
Tara Platt	....	assistant to director
Phil Rodowsky	....	continuity and spotting
Todd Rodowsky	....	continuity and spotting
Jason Rody	....	production assistant: second unit (as Jason Rowdy)
Jared Rowdy	....	production assistant: second unit
Roy Ruiz	....	security officer
Jenny Schweitzer	....	development executive: Double A Films
Jenny Schweitzer	....	production associate
Arantxa Silvestre	....	set production assistant
Stephen Jeffrey Smith	....	set production assistant
Babette Sofer	....	set production assistant
Susan Stoebner	....	location assistant
Eric Ustian	....	set production assistant
Spencer Wetmore	....	set production assistant
Richard Yett	....	stand-in: James Spader
Carol Grant	....	stand-in: Lesley Ann Warren (uncredited)
Peter Pamela Rose	....	adr loop group (uncredited)
Bill Timoney	....	adr voice group (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Slough Pond
• TwoPoundBag Productions
• double A Films

Distributors

• Arsenal Filmverleih (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2003) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Eagle Pictures (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• GAGA (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films (2002) (USA) (theatrical)
• Luxor Entertainment (200?) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Manga Films (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Polyfilm Verleih (2004) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Star Winner (2004) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• Artisan Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Canvas (2006) (Belgium) (TV)
• Eagle Films (2002) (non-USA) (all media) (Middle East)
• GAGA (2003) (Japan) (all media)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Lionsgate (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sunfilm Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Big Film Design (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Bill Dance Casting  extras casting
• Brick Enterprises  grip equipment
• Donna Daniels Public Relations  publicity
• Entertainment Post  video dailies
• Epstein, Levinsohn, Bodine, Hurwitz & Weinstein  legal services
• Leonetti Company  electric equipment
• On-Core Productions  continuity and spotting
• Otto Nemenz International  camera equipment provided by
• Planet 10 Post  post-production sound services
• Sound One Corporation  sound re-recording facilities
• Title House Digital  titles and opticals
• Viv Kim Negative Cutting Service  negative cutting

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, some nudity, depiction of behavioral disorders, and language.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Ireland:18 | Finland:K-15 (self applied) (2006) (TV rating) | Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2006) (DVD) | Italy:T | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:18A | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Philippines:R-13 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #38664) | Canada:16+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

La Boca Restaurant - 5368 Wilshire, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Slough Pond

Trivia:

Cameo: [Erin Cressida Wilson]In a scene in Mr. Grey's waiting room, where there are three people waiting to see him, one of them is played by the film's screenwriter.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The misspelling of Clermont is also visible on the sign for Clairmont Community College, where Lee learns to type.

Quotes:

Burt Holloway: You are the child of god's holy gift of life. You come from me. But you are not me. Your soul and your body are your own, and yours to do with as you wish.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Happy Endings (2005)

Soundtrack:

Me and Baby Brother

Not Your Typical Office Romance

Maggie Gyllenhaal deserves an Oscar nomination for her brilliant portrayal of borderline psychotic, self-mutilating Lee Holloway, a former mental institution patient seeking to sustain herself - vocationally and emotionally - in a challenging world where she has few safe harbors. She comes from a messy family background although that alone can't explain her illness.

Learning typing, she gets a secretary's job with lawyer E. Edward Grey (James Spader, who also turns in a first-rate, nuanced performance). Grey refuses to have any computers in his very smart, expensive law office. Like many lawyers he's a perfectionist who abhors typographical errors but his obsession with perfection reflects more than an anal personality hitched to a law degree. His solo practice seems to thrive better than his self-control of a suppressed sexuality, awakened by Maggie at first unknowingly.

This is a film about what many consider to be deviant behavior (sado-masochism and bondage-discipline, not your usual Hollywood romantic fun and games) that most will concur is uncommon in the workplace. Director Steven Shainberg and his cast - and Gyllenhaal and Spader carry the film, forget the supporting actors - show Lee and Grey's rocky and developing relationship with candor, without condemnation and without exploitation. The lawyer and his secretary are sexualized in a way few have experienced and those who have don't talk to folks outside their circle.

This is a black comedy/a black drama. It either grabs or repels the viewer: there's no in-between. The resolution? Is it realistic or a cop-out? I'd love to hear from those able to comment from experience on IMDb's discussion board. But I have a feeling few will post reactions.

A very different film that I rate 8/10 on a personal scale where I value the deep and tortured acting projecting the absorbing conflict of this sexualized working (initially) relationship.