Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

John Gatins

Writer (WGA):

John Gatins (written by)

Release Date:

21 October 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Sport

Plot:

Cale Crane catalyzes the rescue and rehabilitation of Sonador, a race horse with a broken leg.

Plot Keywords:

Horse | Kentucky | Horse Racing | School | Father Daughter Relationship

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Ben Crane
Dakota Fanning	...	Cale Crane
Kris Kristofferson	...	Pop Crane
Elisabeth Shue	...	Lily
David Morse	...	Palmer
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Manolin
Luis Guzmán	...	Balon
Oded Fehr	...	Prince Sadir
Ken Howard	...	Bill Ford
Holmes Osborne	...	Doc Fleming
Antonio Albadran	...	Prince Tariq
John Moyer	...	Security Officer
Kayren Butler	...	Teacher
Tommy Barnes	...	Short Steward
Frank Hoyt Taylor	...	Chairman
David Shamieh	...	Man at Sadir's Door
Varkas Everest	...	Prince Sadir's Horseman
Dick Allen	...	Veteran Gambler
Donna Barton Brothers	...	Female Reporter
Dan Beene	...	Emergency Vet
John Newberg	...	Beefeater
Adam Tomei	...	Reporter
Rhoda Griffis	...	Classroom Mother
Hutchi Hancock	...	Betting Windows Clerk
Rex Peterson	...	Emergency Medical Vet
Trevor Denman	...	Track Announcer / Breeders' Cup Announcer
Ed Burgart	...	Claiming Track Announcer
Mark Warrick	...	Texas Horseman (as Mark Warrack)
Sacrifice	...	Soñador
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maryetta Coleman	...	Race Horse Owner (uncredited)
Bob C. Cooke	...	Keeneland Staff (Green Coat) (uncredited)
Geoff Falk	...	Breeder Cup Horse Owner (uncredited)
Jan Falk	...	Breeder Cup Horse Owner (uncredited)
Rosemary Garris	...	Horse Owner (uncredited)
James Wolford Hardin	...	Breeder Cup Horse Owner (uncredited)
Abbey Healey	...	Horse Buyer (uncredited)
Zac Heath	...	Veterinary EMT (uncredited)
Mike Holman	...	Lexington Police Officer (uncredited)
Chad Hundley	...	Keeneland Race Fan (uncredited)
Henry Jaderlund	...	Horse Handicapper (uncredited)
Dono Langley	...	Ticket buyer (uncredited)
Don Lincoln	...	Race Track Crowd (uncredited)
Daniel Malo	...	Horse Owner (uncredited)
Charles Mattingly	...	Keeneland Official (uncredited)
Wayne Douglas Morgan	...	Stable Hand (uncredited)
Benjamin Mullens	...	Horse Race Gambler (uncredited)
Jaimelee Newburn	...	Extra / horse owner (uncredited)
Denise Robin	...	Horse Owner (uncredited)
Dave Schuetz	...	Horse Owner (uncredited)
Codie Scott	...	Emt horse medic (uncredited)
Jon Shelton	...	Keeneland Race Fan (uncredited)
Scott Sullivan	...	Keeneland Employee (uncredited)
Jerry L. Wallace	...	Breeders Cup Horse Buyer (uncredited)
Anthony Wentzel	...	Reporter (uncredited)

Directed by
John Gatins

Writing credits (WGA)
John Gatins		(written by)

Produced by
Ashok Amritraj	....	executive producer
Stacy Cohen	....	executive producer
William M. Elvin	....	co-producer
Nick Hamson	....	associate producer
Jon Jashni	....	executive producer
Bill Johnson	....	executive producer
Brian Robbins	....	producer
Caitlin Scanlon	....	executive producer
Lars Sylvest	....	associate producer
Michael Tollin	....	producer

Original Music by
John Debney

Cinematography by
Fred Murphy

Film Editing by
David Rosenbloom

Casting by
Sarah Finn		(as Sarah Halley)
Randi Hiller

Production Design by
Brent Thomas

Art Direction by
Scott Plauche

Set Decoration by
Maria Nay

Costume Design by
Judy L. Ruskin		(as Judy Raskin Howell)

Makeup Department
Janice Alexander	....	hair department head
Karen Asano-Myers	....	key hair stylist
Gloria Belz	....	third makeup
Dennis Liddiard	....	makeup department head
Heather Mages	....	prosthetic makeup artist
Francisco X. Pérez	....	key makeup artist (as F.X. Perez)
Bryan Whisnant	....	hair stylist (as Bryan H. Whisnant)
Diane Hardin	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Joe Dishner	....	unit production manager
Stephanie Ito	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stacy Christenson	....	second second assistant director
William M. Elvin	....	first assistant director
Ruben Garcia	....	second second assistant director
Rick Kelly	....	key second assistant director

Art Department
Sean Bernard	....	paint foreman
Wren Boney	....	on-set dresser
Nicholas Brown	....	carpenter
Guillaume DeLouche	....	property master
Tracey A. Doyle	....	assistant decorator
Chip Eccles	....	construction foreman
Monica Fedrick	....	graphic designer
Richard Fojo	....	assistant to the art director
Stephanie Girard	....	set designer
Kristin Gomez	....	construction accountant
Mark Hurtado	....	storyboard artist
James P. Meehan	....	assistant property master
Trey Merrill	....	painter
Trey Merrill	....	set dresser
John W. Morgan	....	paint foreman
James Passanante	....	lead scenic
Buster Pile	....	construction coordinator
Scott A. Reeder	....	props
Tara Shackelford	....	art production assistant
Jonathan Shaffer	....	set dresser
Suzanne Stover	....	art department coordinator
William Harvey Wallace II	....	set dresser
Kristine Grippo	....	third props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Steve C. Aaron	....	sound mixer
Bruce Barris	....	first assistant sound editor
Bruce Barris	....	sound effects recordist
Steve Bartkowicz	....	sound re-recording engineer
Thom Brennan	....	supervising foley editor
Avram D. Gold	....	supervising dialogue & adr editor
Elliott Koretz	....	sound designer
Elliott Koretz	....	supervising sound editor
Cliff Latimer	....	adr editor
Cliff Latimer	....	dialogue editor
Steve Lee	....	sound effects librarian
Chris Main	....	boom operator
Darrin Mann	....	foley mixer
Rob Nokes	....	additional sound recordist
Nancy Nugent	....	dialogue editor
Erin Michael Rettig	....	sound engineer
Nick Shaffer	....	sound effects editor
Brad Sherman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Unsun Song	....	sound re-recordist
Jon Taylor	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gwendolyn Yates Whittle	....	supervising dialogue adr editor

Special Effects by
Ken Gorrell	....	on-set effects
Ken Gorrell	....	special effects technician
Stephen Howfield	....	special effects assistant
Gary Pilkinton	....	special effects technician
Patrick Tantalo	....	special effects technician
Kathleen Tonkin	....	special effects foreman
Barbara Vazquez	....	special effects assistant
Robert Vazquez	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Ryan Beadle	....	digital I/O
Thad Beier	....	visual effects (as Tad Beier)
Daniel Chuba	....	visual effects executive producer: Hammerhead Productions (as Dan Chuba)
Jamie Dixon	....	visual effects supervisor: Hammerhead Productions
Michelle Eisenreich	....	visual effects producer: Hammerhead
Shaina Holmes	....	digital compositor
Justin Jones	....	digital compositor
Richard Malzahn	....	visual effects supervisor
Amani Williams	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Julie Adair	....	stunts
Dean Bailey	....	ultimate arm driver
Joe Bucaro III	....	stunts (as Joseph Bucaro)
John Casino	....	stunt coordinator
Scott Corgan	....	ultimate arm driver
Tammy Fox	....	stunts
Rick Miller	....	camera quad driver
Mark Munoz	....	stunts
Jane Oshita	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Tim Arasheben	....	aerial unit first assistant camera
Raymond Benthall	....	electrician: rigging
Barry Berona	....	director of photography: splinter unit
Barry Berona	....	first assistant camera
Rod Calarco	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Joe Cassano	....	rigging grip
Mason Donnahoe	....	video assist operator: second unit
Jim Drew	....	best boy rigging electric
Rowland Egerton	....	grip
Russ Faust	....	grip
Michael FitzMaurice	....	aerial director of photography
Michael FitzMaurice	....	camera operator
Michael FitzMaurice	....	director of photography: second unit
Brian Gunter	....	gaffer
Darryl Humber	....	dolly grip
Gary Jay	....	camera operator
Charles Laughon	....	video assist
Joseph Lederer	....	still photographer
Scott W. Leftridge	....	key grip: second unit
Julie 'Doc' Lindstrom	....	rigging electrician: Kentucky
Lance Mayer	....	key second assistant camera
John S. Moyer	....	Steadicam operator
John S. Moyer	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Brian S. Osmond	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
James H. Pair III	....	key rigging grip
Robert Petrin	....	Lev head technician
Andrew Priestley	....	first assistant camera
C. Alan Rawlins	....	key grip
Jacob Ross	....	grip
Riko Schatke	....	best boy grip
Chad Schroeder	....	electrician
Keith Seymour	....	grip: new orleans
Eric Wheeler	....	film loader
Steven J. Winslow	....	aerial camera technician: Wescam camera
Dan Cunningham	....	electrician: KY (uncredited)
Jeffrey McLeid	....	camera intern (uncredited)

Casting Department
Janelle Cochrane	....	casting associate
Shirley Fulton Crumley	....	location casting
Kathleen Doise	....	casting production assistant
Yvette Foy	....	extras casting
Tamara Hunter	....	casting assistant
Marisa Christine Medina	....	casting assistant
Nicholas Ross	....	casting associate
Robert Saba	....	casting assistant
Matt Seckman	....	extras casting intern
Michael Leslie Williams	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charlene Amateau	....	costume supervisor
Michelle Beress	....	wardrobe production assistant
Bridget Fenlason	....	costumer
Zandra Harding	....	costume ager/dyer
Zandra Harding	....	costumer
Zandra Harding	....	tailor
Delia Hauser	....	wardrobe production assistant
Rachel A. Walker	....	costumer
Beverly Woods	....	key costumer
Katherine Wright	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Samantha Becker	....	post-production coordinator
Martin Cohen	....	post-production executive
Tony D'Amore	....	digital colorist
Kacie Haggerty	....	digital intermediate producer
Kevin Lefler	....	assistant editor
Gregory Plotkin	....	associate editor
Lee Wimer	....	color timer

Music Department
Wolfgang Amadeus	....	electronic scoring mixer
Pete Anthony	....	orchestrator
Philip Ayling	....	musician: oboe solo (as Phil Ayling)
Joshua Bell	....	musician: violin solos
Gary Bovyer	....	musician: clarinet solos
John Debney	....	conductor
Brad Dechter	....	supervising orchestrator
George Doering	....	musician: acoustic guitar and dulcimer
Mark Graham	....	music librarian
Dennis Karmazyn	....	musician: cello solos
Tom Kramer	....	preview music editor
Michael Lang	....	musician: piano solos
Melanie Mullens Hoyson	....	score production supervisor
Dean Parks	....	musician: acoustic guitar and mandolin
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation

Transportation Department
Tina Del Castillo	....	driver: cast
Robert Gillis	....	transportation captain
Justin Nance	....	driver
Lee Siler	....	transportation coordinator
Scott Siler	....	transportation: camera truck
Kim Smallwood	....	transportation office coordinator
Tim J. Walters	....	picture car coordinator

Other crew
Jessica Abrams	....	travel coordinator
Charlie Araki	....	key second assistant accountant
Adam P. Balthrop	....	set production assistant: Kentucky
Cassandra Barbour	....	rights and clearances
Anthony Batarse	....	adr voice
Brian Bidlingmeyer	....	location assistant
Autumn Boh	....	location assistant
Amanda Brand	....	publicist
Lisa Brown	....	horseback riding instructor
Jamie Buckner	....	location assistant
Jan Cerwonka	....	studio teacher: Ms. Fanning
Robb Conner	....	stand-in: Freddy Rodriguez
Scott Connolly	....	production assistant: Kentucky
Scotch James Diaz Crisostomo	....	production assistant: prep
Stephenson Crossley	....	assistant location manager: Kentucky
J.J. Dalton	....	set production assistant
Michelle DeForest	....	production assistant
Ben Dietz	....	assistant: Mr. Amritraj
Joe Dornich	....	set production assistant
Susie Esparza	....	assistant: Mr. Robbins
Yvette Foy	....	production assistant
William Charles French	....	craft service
Kevin Gill	....	on-set interviews
Zac Heath	....	production assistant
Rusty Hendrickson	....	lead horse wrangler
Jaime San Andres	....	stand-in
James Jereza	....	on-set medic
Thomas Johnston	....	script supervisor
Nicole Joubert	....	location assistant
Kelly Kernan	....	assistant location manager
Nick Kihlman	....	production assistant
Andrea Larsen	....	first assistant accountant
Bruce Larsen	....	mechanical horses department head
John Lopez	....	assistant: Ms. Cohen
Suzanne Mayes	....	assistant: Mr. Tollin (as Suzanne Craig)
Kathy McHugh	....	script supervisor: second unit
Greg Metcalf	....	accounting clerk
Gregory Metcalf-Hall	....	accounting clerk
Steven R. Molen	....	production executive
Doug Moreno	....	production accountant
Frédéric North	....	helicopter pilot
Peter J. Novak	....	location manager
Peggy Pere	....	aerial coordinator
Rex Peterson	....	horse trainer
Kent Richardson	....	production secretary
John Ridley	....	assistant: Mr. Russell
Win Riley	....	location scout
Jason M. Roberts	....	set production assistant: Kentucky
Jeremy Roberts	....	payroll accountant
Ramón Rodríguez	....	second assistant accountant
Ellen Rydzewski	....	assistant: Mr. Gatins
Wendy L. Schilling	....	script coordinator
Laura Sevier	....	rights and clearances
Adam Snyder	....	location assistant
Janice F. Sperling	....	production coordinator
Toni Sprague	....	stand-in: Ms. Shue, Kentucky
Bryan Stamp	....	assistant: Mr. Jashni
Charline St. Charles	....	assistant production coordinator
Max Sturgeon	....	production assistant
Rex M. Teese	....	projectionist
Matthew A. Thomas	....	assistant: Mr. Johnson
Tonja Thomas	....	production assistant
Mark Warrick	....	wrangler (as Mark Warrack)
Mari Wilson	....	script supervisor: second unit
Ken C. Wu	....	set production assistant
Kelly Young	....	assistant to executive producer (as Kelly E. Young)
Lynnanne Zager	....	voice

Production Companies

• DreamWorks SKG (as DreamWorks Pictures) (presents)
• Hyde Park Entertainment (in association with)
• Tollin/Robbins Productions
• Brass Hat Films
• Epsilon Motion Pictures
• S.K.G. Productions

Distributors

• DreamWorks Distribution (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Eagle Pictures (2006) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• RCV Film Distribution (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Ledafilms (2006) (Mexico) (TV)
• Nordisk Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Paradise Group (2005) (Russia) (all media)
• PlazaVista Entertainment (2006) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• VideoFilmes (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Custom Film Effects (digital opticals)
• Perpetual Motion Pictures (visual effects)
• Hammerhead Productions (visual effects)
• East Coast Films

Other Companies

• Atlantic Cine Equipment  helicopter mounts
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies and remote camera systems
• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• Pivotal Post  FCP HD systems provided by
• Sony Classical  soundtrack
• Sony Music Soundtrax  soundtrack

Also Known As:

Dreamer (Australia) (TV title)
Untitled Kurt Russell/Dakota Fanning Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild language.

Runtime:

106 min | Canada:98 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:PG | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/6 | Netherlands:MG6 | USA:PG (certificate #41758) | Malaysia:U | Germany:o.Al. | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | South Korea:All | Finland:K-7

Filming Locations:

Frankfort, Kentucky, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

In the film, a real stallion named Giant's Causeway is mentioned. As well as being Europe's top racehorses and one of the best stallions in America, his dam (mother) was Mariah's Storm, the horse on which this movie is based.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Near the beginning of the movie when the vet has finished his examination, Ben is shown holding an x-ray which the vet says is the one from the track and he says it confirms his x-rays of a spiral fracture of the cannon bone. Also Ben tells Cale that it is 'non-displaced', however this x-ray clearly shows a displaced fracture of the radius bone from the knee up about five inches long (all x-rays are life size). The cannon bone (also called the metacarpus) is below the knee joint. The x-ray is also clearly marked with an 'L' meaning 'Left', but all scenes of the horse with the cast show it on the right front leg.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cale Crane: There used to be horses in that barn. At least, that's what my Grandfather says. We're probably the only horse farm in Lexington, Kentucky, that doesn't have one horse. Not one.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hamlet 2 (2008)

Soundtrack:

Dreamer

A Nutshell Review: Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story

The premise of this movie is so similar to 2003's Seabiscuit, you'd think you're watching yet another biography of a real horse in some extraordinary, inspiring film that might just make you want to head down to the nearest race course and observe a real race.

But Dreamer (or Sonador as the horse is named) takes a slightly different angle in this tale about second chances and comebacks. If compared to Seabiscuit, yes, we have a horse with great potential faced with the troubles of breaking a leg during a competitive race. As with all race horses, this means instant death, as they have no future value, and are bred for the sole purpose of racing.

We also have a superb trainer, Ben Crane, played by Kurt Russell, and the doctor (Holmes Osborne), the written-off jockey (Freddy Rodriguez), the stable-hand (Luis Guzman), etc. But here's where the similarities end. Dreamer is a more personal film, with family friendly characters, like the daughter (Dakota Fanning), the wife (Elizabeth Shue), and the grandfather (Kris Kristofferson). Nursing the horse back to health had actually brought the family closer together, and that in itself makes this film quite cliché in its many "been-there-done-that" before moments to touch.

Dakota Fanning has held her own against "father-figure" heavyweights like Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington, and Tom Cruise, though many would have pointed out that she had rivaled Naomi Watts for the 2005 Scream Queen honors with her performance in War of the Worlds. Here, Fanning has returned to more credible acting, albeit in a safer role.

Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story, is a heartwarming tale about believing in oneself, having dreams, believing that you can achieve, and take action to achieve those dreams. While watching the movie, I can't help but chuckle at the parallels in seeing how my team and I are sticking together, just like those characters, in wanting to see our dream of making a short film, and entering it into competitions (in this case, the Breeder's Cup) come to a reality.

It's that kind of film, an inspiring one. It might be clichéd, the premise might be too good to be true, but hey, success might come to those who dare to dream, believe, and more importantly, do.