House of D (2004)

Director:

David Duchovny

Writer:

David Duchovny (written by)

Release Date:

23 September 2005 (Turkey)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

See the world a little differently.

Plot:

By working through problems stemming from his past, Tom Warshaw, an American artist living in Paris, begins to discover who he really is, and returns to his home to reconcile with his family and friends. |

Plot Keywords:

Artist | Private School | Shaving | Secret | Impersonation

Cast

Anton Yelchin	...	Tommy
Robin Williams	...	Pappass
Téa Leoni	...	Mrs. Warshaw
Erykah Badu	...	Lady / Bernadette
David Duchovny	...	Tom Warshaw
Frank Langella	...	Reverand Duncan
Zelda Williams	...	Melissa
Magali Amadei	...	Coralie Warshaw
Olga Sosnovska	...	Simone
Orlando Jones	...	Superfly
Bernie Sheredy	...	Sasha (as Bernard Sheredy)
Stephen Spinella	...	Ticket Seller
Alice Drummond	...	Mrs. Brevoort
Harold Cartier	...	Odell Warshaw
Mark Margolis	...	Mr. Pappass
Claire Lautier	...	Madam Chatquipet
Willie Garson	...	Ticket Agent
Gideon Jacobs	...	Gerard
Adam LeFevre	...	Monty
Leslie Lyles	...	Sondra
Mark Richard Keith	...	Pitcher
James Ockimey	...	Another Kid
Jonah Meyerson	...	Kid #2
Jill Shackner	...	Lead Girl in Gym
Lisby Larson	...	Mrs. Loggia
Michael Chapman	...	Doorman
Henry Strozier	...	Civil Servant
Andrée Damant	...	French Woman in Window (as Andree Damant)
Etienne Draber	...	French Man in Window (as Etienne Drabier)
Chantal Garrigues	...	French Wife in Window (as Chantal Guarrigues)
Mary Fortune	...	Nurse #1 (as Mary A. Fortune)
Lester Cohen	...	Irate Trotskyite
Roxy Toporowych	...	Miss Johnson
Francesca Buccellato	...	Mrs. Robinson
Erica N. Tazel	...	Reader
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aristedes Philip DuVal	...	Brooklyn Hipster (uncredited)
Amber Gristak	...	Leon's Mistress (uncredited)
Michael Eric Reid	...	Donald (uncredited)
Stacy Lynn Spierer	...	Dog Walker (uncredited)
W.A. Walters	...	ND Background (uncredited)
Dianne Zaremba	...	Vassar Rebel / Airline Passenger (uncredited)

Directed by
David Duchovny

Writing credits
David Duchovny		(written by)

Produced by
Zanne Devine	....	executive producer
David Gaines	....	co-producer
Melanie Greene	....	co-producer
Richard Barton Lewis	....	producer (as Richard B. Lewis)
Adam Merims	....	executive producer
Adam Merims	....	line producer
Jane Rosenthal	....	producer
Jeff Skoll	....	executive producer
Bob Yari	....	producer

Original Music by
Geoff Zanelli

Cinematography by
Michael Chapman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Suzy Elmiger

Casting by
Avy Kaufman

Production Design by
Lester Cohen

Art Direction by
Teresa Mastropierro

Set Decoration by
Jennifer Greenberg

Costume Design by
Ellen Lutter

Makeup Department
Gary Archer	....	dental prosthetics
Chris Bingham	....	key makeup artist
Dale Brownell	....	key hair stylist
Francesca Buccellato	....	makeup artist
Chris Burgoyne	....	prosthetic lab work
Ryan McDowell	....	prosthetic lab work
Cheri Minns	....	makeup artist: Mr. Williams
Matthew W. Mungle	....	prosthetic aging: Robin Williams
Jackie Payne	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Michael Bederman	....	production supervisor
Blair Breard	....	unit production manager (as M. Blair Breard)
David Gaines	....	post-production supervisor
Robert Katz	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cheyenne Corre	....	third assistant director: Paris
Timothy Donohue	....	second assistant director (as Tim Donohue)
Deanna Leslie	....	second second assistant director (as Deanna Leslie Kelly)
Michael T. Meador	....	second assistant director (as Michael Meador)
Todd Pfeiffer	....	first assistant director
William Pruss	....	first assistant director: Paris
Hans Titze	....	second assistant director: Paris
Adam T. Weisinger	....	additional second assistant director (as Adam Weisengel)

Art Department
Martha Fishkin	....	additional shopper
Kathryn Freund	....	assistant property master
Kathryn Freund	....	buyer
Richard Hebrank	....	construction coordinator (as Richie Hebrank)
Daniel Hypes	....	art department production assistant
Autumn Jones	....	charge scenic
Tom LaVecchia	....	set dresser
Cathryn Mazer	....	assistant set decorator
Marc Newman	....	lead man
Celia Parker	....	camera scenic artist
Donna Paul	....	set dresser
Brahm Revel	....	storyboard artist
Dylan Sheridan	....	property master
Christine Skubish	....	second scenic
Diane Soffian	....	on-set dresser
Alex Stapleton	....	art department coordinator
Roksolana Toporowych	....	assistant property master
R.J. Wilson	....	set dresser (as RJ Wilson)

Sound Department
Jeffrey Biggers	....	mix assistant engineer (as Jeff Biggers)
David Boulton	....	adr recording mixer: Sound One (as David Bolton)
Robert Carr	....	sound recordist
Matthew T. Duncan	....	temp. sound recordist
Andy Greenberg	....	adr recording mixer: One Union Recording
Scott G.G. Haller	....	dialogue editor (as Scott GG Haller)
Rick Hart	....	sound re-recording mixer
William Jacobs	....	sound effects editor
Bill Lane	....	assistant sound recording engineer
George Leong	....	boom operator
Howard London	....	adr recording mixer: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Kimberly R. McCord	....	adr editor (as Kimberly McCord-Wilson)
Chris Miller	....	post-production sound services: Visionbox Media
Richard Murphy	....	utility sound (as Rich Murphy)
Brad North	....	foley editor (as Bradley North)
Brad North	....	sound effects editor (as Bradley North)
Brad North	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Bradley North)
Andy Potvin	....	sound consultant: Dolby
William Sarokin	....	sound
Gaël Sicot	....	boom operator: France
Gregg Silk	....	mix assistant engineer
Rich Tosi	....	assistant sound recording engineer
Chris Trent	....	foley recordist
Jerry Trent	....	foley artist
David Weisberg	....	adr recording mixer: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Byron Wilson	....	supervising sound editor

Visual Effects by
Derek Bird	....	digital compositor
Andrew Midgley	....	digital compositing supervisor: THDX
Marlo Pabon	....	visual effects supervisor: THDX
Adam Stern	....	digital compositor
Robert Stromberg	....	matte painting supervisor
Alex Thiesen	....	visual effects producer: THDX
Patrick Zentis	....	digital compositor: Digital Backlot

Stunts
Manny Siverio	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Loïc Andrieu	....	Steadicam operator
Will Arnot	....	Steadicam operator
Angela Bellisio	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Michael Cambria	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Angelo Di Giacomo	....	first assistant camera
Chris Drechsler	....	electrician
Rob Exner	....	grip
Gregory Farrell	....	generator operator (as Greg Farrell)
John Flanagan	....	electrician
Stephen Girouard	....	grip
Sandy Hays	....	Steadicam operator
Tom Kerwick	....	key grip
David Knox	....	camera operator (as Dave Knox)
Eric Kutner	....	electrician
Brian Palko	....	grip
Douglas Pellegrino	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Michael C. Price	....	best boy electric (as Michael Price)
Collin Quinlan	....	gaffer
Ryan Quinlan	....	electrician
Josh Roth	....	dolly grip
Jared Roybal	....	loader
Jonathan Stern	....	additional grip
Craig Striano	....	grip
Cristian Trova	....	second assistant camera
Eric Ulrich	....	grip
Rebecca Venezia	....	second assistant camera
Larry Watson	....	still photographer
William M. Weberg	....	best boy grip
Derrick West	....	video assist operator

Animation Department
Kent Braun	....	animator: Spaff Animation
Steven Dovas	....	animation graphics (as Steve Dovas)
Dave Spafford	....	animator: Spaff Animation
Debbie Spafford	....	animator: Spaff Animation

Casting Department
Cody P. Beke	....	casting assistant
Jessica Daniels	....	casting assistant
Karen E. Etcoff	....	extras casting
Elizabeth Greenberg	....	casting associate
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	....	adr voice casting (as Caitlin McKenna)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Derek J. Baskerville	....	costumer: Mr. Williams (as Derek Baskerville)
Laurie Buehler	....	seamstress
Pashelle Clayton-Robinson	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Pascelle L. Clayton)
Pier Dicarlo	....	wardrobe production assistant
Debbe DuPerrieu	....	additional set costumer
Marta Font	....	set costumer
Careen Fowles	....	wardrobe supervisor
Estella Marie	....	additional seamstress
Barbara Presar	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Sal Baldomar	....	post-production facilities: LA Digital Post
Sally Anne Edger	....	post-production coordinator
Philip Harrison	....	associate editor
Dan Muscarella	....	color timer
Hilary Peabody	....	first assistant editor
Mike Sowa	....	final telecine timer
Ginny Turner	....	post-production facilities: LA Digital Post

Music Department
Bob Becker	....	musician: viola
Denyse Buffum	....	musician: viola
James Burt	....	music editor
Darious Campo	....	musician: violin (as Darius Campo)
Larry Corbett	....	musician: celli
Buck Damon	....	music supervisor
George Doering	....	musician: guitar
Bruce Dukov	....	musician: violin
Elizabeth Finch	....	orchestrator
Michael Finnigan	....	musician: organ
Bruce Fowler	....	supervising orchestrator
Walt Fowler	....	orchestrator (as Walter Fowler)
Berj Garabedian	....	musician: violin
Suzie Katayama	....	music contractor
Suzie Katayama	....	musician: celli
Michael Lang	....	musician: piano/organ
Alan Meyerson	....	music scoring mixer
Alan Meyerson	....	music scoring recordist
Yvonne S. Moriarty	....	orchestrator (as Suzette Moriarty)
Sid Page	....	musician: violin
Gina Polcaster	....	score coordinator
Walfredo Reyes	....	musician: percussion
Steven A. Saltzman	....	music editor (as Steven Saltzman)
Amanda Scheer-Demme	....	music supervisor (as Amanda Scheer Demme)
Lee Sklar	....	musician: bass
Dan Smith	....	musician: celli
Christina Soule	....	musician: celli (as Tina Soule)
Alan Steinberger	....	musician: piano
David Stone	....	musician: string bass
Bobby Tahouri	....	assistant to composer
Martin Tillman	....	musician: solo cello
Michael Valerio	....	musician: string bass
Brad Warnaar	....	conductor: strings
Booker White	....	copyist
Hans Zimmer	....	executive producer: music score

Transportation Department
Kenny Gaskins	....	transportation captain
Bobby Marsh	....	transportation co-captain
Lenny Shiller	....	picture vehicles provider

Other crew
Segolene Amice	....	production secretary
Patricia Arbelaez	....	set production assistant
Lyssa Aruda	....	adr loop group
Chris Baker	....	assistant caterer
Cassandra Barbour	....	rights and clearances: Entertainment Clearances Inc.
Erica Beck	....	adr loop group
Jonathan Bernier	....	office production assistant (as Jon Bernier)
Raymond Braun	....	adr loop group
April L. Brooks	....	assistant production coordinator (as April Brooks)
Adam Bryant	....	stand-in: Robin Williams
Wendy Cutler	....	adr loop group (as Wendy E. Cutler)
Ged Dickersin	....	location scout
Michelle Dingoor	....	assistant: David Duchovny
Laura Fearon	....	accounting clerk
Andrew Fiero	....	set production assistant
Kevin S. Fish	....	assistant caterer (as Kevin Fish)
Aaron D. Forste	....	set production assistant (as Aaron David Forste)
Eddie Frierson	....	adr loop group
Donald Fullilove	....	adr loop group
Elisa Gabrielli	....	adr loop group
Ariana Garfinkel	....	assistant: Jane Rosenthal
Sarah Rae Garrett	....	set production assistant
Simone George	....	set production assistant
Aaron Grady	....	adr loop group
Gabriel Greenberg	....	location scout
Jamie Gregor	....	assistant: Richard B. Lewis
Nicholas Guest	....	adr loop group
Kristy Hamer	....	payroll accountant
Jake Hart	....	office production intern
Leah Holmes	....	post-production accountant
Marshall Johnson	....	location production assistant
Ronnie Kupferwasser	....	location scout
Matthew Laborteaux	....	adr loop group (as Matthew Labyorteaux)
Martin J. Lawler	....	immigration legal service: Lawler & Lawler
Donna Lynn Leavy	....	adr loop group
Michael J. Linowes	....	legal affairs
Nicolette Little	....	adr loop group
Shane Long	....	adr loop group
Francisco Marcial	....	parking coordinator (as Cisco Marcial)
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	....	adr loop group (as Caitlin McKenna)
Brian McLaughlin	....	adr loop group
Josh Michael	....	craft service
Sean Michael	....	adr loop group
Jean-Marie Modet	....	location assistant: Paris
George Nannas	....	chef
Buckley Norris	....	insurance: AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services
Sheila Paige	....	script supervisor
Joan Parisi	....	immigration legal service: Lawler & Lawler
Peter Pastorelli	....	assistant location manager
Kim Pelletier	....	insurance: AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services
Anissa Rose-Deida	....	office production assistant
Allison Scagliotti	....	adr loop group (as Allison Scagliotti-Smith)
Roxanne Senesman	....	production accountant
Laura Sevier	....	rights and clearances: Entertainment Clearances Inc.
Lisa Shriver	....	choreographer
Susan Silas	....	location scout
Peter J. Silbermann	....	unit publicist
Wayne Sosin	....	delivery bike builder and provider: Worksman Trading Corporation
Dave Spafford	....	title designer: main titles
Aaron Spann	....	adr loop group
Rebecca Erwin Spencer	....	assistant: Robin Williams
Mason Steinberg	....	assistant: Richard B. Lewis
Anita Sum	....	production coordinator
Wendy Taylor	....	location assistant
Ben Thompson	....	additional craft service
Gayle Vangrofsky	....	location scout
Rose Viggiano	....	location manager
Claudette Wells	....	adr loop group
Dan Zola	....	office production assistant (as Daniel Zola)
Courtney E. Hansen	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Michael J. Harker	....	completion bond company representative (uncredited)

Thanks
Garry Shandling	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Bob Yari Productions
• Jeff Skoll Productions
• Southpaw Entertainment (I)
• Tribeca Productions

Distributors

• Lions Gate Films (USA) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2006) (Argentina) (all media)
• Avsar Film (2004) (Turkey) (all media)
• Bob Yari Productions
• House of D Productions LLC
• Imagem Filmes (2006) (Brazil) (VHS) (DVD)
• Ovation Entertainment LLC
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Title House Digital (digital visual effects)
• Pacific Title and Art Studio (opticals)
• Digital Backlot (matte painting)

Other Companies

• AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services  insurance (as AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services)
• Blue Wave Studios  re-recorded at
• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• Foto-Kem Industries  printing (as Fotokem Industries)
• G. A. Enterprises  dental prosthetics by
• Getty Images  stock footage provided by
• Groovemasters Studio  recorded at
• Haddad's  cast trailers and production vehicles (as Haddad's)
• International Film Guarantors  completion guaranty
• Kee Casting  extras casting
• L.A. Digital Post  post-production facilities (as LA Digital Post)
• Laser Pacific Media  finishing video services
• Lawler & Lawler  immigration legal services provided by
• Linowes & Burkin  legal consulting
• Paramount Stock Footage  stock footage provided by
• Paramount Studios  foley recorded at
• Post Factory NY  post-production facilities
• Premiere Catering  catering
• R.C. Baral & Co.  post-production accounting (as RC Baral & Co.)
• RD Negative Cutting  negative cutting
• Spaff Animation  animation sequence
• Technicolor New York  dailies lab
• The Image Group  dailies telecine (as Image Group)
• Thompson Brothers  craft services
• Visionbox Media Group  post-production sound services (as Visionbox Media)
• Worksman Trading  delivery bike built and provided by

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual and drug references, thematic elements and language.

Runtime:

USA:96 min (Tribeca Film Festival) | USA:97 min | Argentina:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Brazil:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40700) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | South Korea:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Bob Yari Productions

Trivia:

Marks the film writing and directing debut of David Duchovny.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As Tom and Pappas are in the cab crossing the bridge, a crewmember can be seen in the car immediately behind them waving to the other drivers to begin passing as the take begins.

Quotes:

Tommy Warshaw: Hey! My mom says it's crazy in there! She says you've got rats, roaches... lesbianism...
Lady: [laughing] I guess I'm safe from that last one. I'm in solitary.

Movie Connections:

References "Soul Train" (1971)

Soundtrack:

As

interesting independent film

We struggle to grow up all our lives. Many grow old without doing the work involved in truly growing up. We mistakenly think that growing up just happens to us, when in fact that very passivity is what causes us to grow old without ever actually maturing. Growing up requires conscious personal effort. House Of D is about such a man, who in middle age, with a 13 year old son, realizes he is beginning to grow old without having grown up. As his son crosses the threshold to manhood, Tom (Duchovny) makes the decision to confront & resolve the issues that caused him to retreat into himself at 13 rather than advancing into real manhood.

I enjoy Duchovny's acting, and he handled his on screen time capably in the second part of the film. However, the establishing scenes were slightly awkward & stilted. The film only begins to show its spirit when we flash back to New York City 1973.

Anton Yelchin portrays the young Tommy, and has a staggering amount of potential to grow into as an artist. Duchovny has a great feel for directing young people, a task known to be notoriously difficult. There are also some embarrassingly terrible performances, from Robin Williams & Tea Leoni. Williams falls off the horse right at the outset of his portrayal of the 'retarded' Pappass and never manages to get back on again. It seems to be partly poor definition in the writing of the character, and partly the actor's failure to connect with & breathe life into him. This despite a clear on screen rapport between himself & Yelchin. It mars what would have otherwise been a better film. Tea Leoni's performance adds nothing to her career or to the film. It isn't a portrayal, rather a thumbnail sketch. Leoni is an actress of limited ability, who needs strong direction to deliver a capable performance. It was a mistake to have her in the film, as she too succeeds in diminishing it, delivering what comes across as a deliberately bad performance. Leoni's appearance also embarrasses because she is Duchovny's wife and one or both of them should've known better than to allow this.

I was disappointed Frank Langella, undoubtedly the best actor in the movie, had so little to do. His few scenes are wonderful. A pleasure to see Orlando Jones, albeit briefly. Erykah Badu's singing is sublime, and she delivers a strong, warm performance.

Other performances ranged from adequate to forgettable.

Most of the music in the film is decent and well placed.

Duchovny has the potential to be a fine director. This was already known to those who enjoyed the episodes of X-Files he directed. Does he expand his directing skills in House of D? Yes. He shows a real flair for directing young actors, which I had never previously suspected. Duchovny scored high with inexperienced young actors, evoking clean, impressive performances, from Yelchin in particular; but low with veterans Williams & Leoni.

The writing is wildly uneven. Inventive, clever, inspired, insightful & touching in places. At other times it fails to ring true, and some of the plot devices are frankly ludicrous. It's almost as though 2 completely different people worked on the screenplay without ever meeting or actually engaging in a collaboration. I found this a little disconcerting at times. I know Duchovny is a better than average writer, so the unevenness of the script, and the bizarre disjointed quality, had me scratching my head more than once. I wonder what the screenplay originally looked like. Did some heavy-duty editing compromise the coherence of the script?

The cinematography was awesome, whether we were looking at Paris at night or a toilet bowl full of cigarette butts. No surprises there when you realize it's the work of Michael Chapman, who has worked with Scorsese, Allen, and many others. He also worked on Duchovny's film "Evolution."

We're at an interesting stage in our psychological evolution. A quiet revolution is taking place as more & more individuals are learning to embrace a new understanding of personal responsibility. People ARE learning to "see the world a little differently" to refer to the tag line. Some have made the hurtle and are seeing, and living in a new way. A larger number of people are resisting making that leap right now. Change is rarely easy. Letting go of old, outmoded ways of seeing & doing things is hard. House Of D is the story of one human being who makes that leap. Achieving personal sovereignty is a crowning experience that many have deprived themselves of. As more of us step forward to claim this privilege of genuine personal autonomy, and society begins to noticeably shift as a result, films like House Of D will be regarded with more understanding & affection.

Duchovny could've traded on his established image & popularity, played it safe, manufactured a piece of typical Hollywood junk, and have everyone pat him on the back. He didn't and I like that about his attitude.

That's part of what's admirable about him. He's willing to take chances and make an ass of himself. He has made mistakes which would finish other actors. Yet he also has courage, intelligence, daring, originality, humor, and most of all, genuine talent, which keeps bringing us back to consider his work, and finding merit in it. Duchovny has cut his directorial teeth on an unconventional, rewarding first film.

I perceive an iconoclastic, Almodovarian streak lurking in Duchovny both as writer and director. It's there, as a delicious undercurrent running through House Of D. I'd love to see him have the confidence to express that side of himself more in the future. To thine own self be true, David.