Red (2008)

Directors:

Trygve Allister Diesen
Lucky McKee

Writers (WGA):

Stephen Susco (screenplay)
Jack Ketchum (novel)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They should have told the truth.

Plot:

A reclusive man sets out for justice and redemption when three troublesome teens kill his dog for no good reason.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Blood On Shirt | Film In Film | Shot In The Ear | Lying

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Brian Cox	...	Avery Ludlow
Noel Fisher	...	Danny
Kyle Gallner	...	Harold
Shiloh Fernandez	...	Pete
Kim Dickens	...	Carrie
Marcia Bennett	...	Emma
Richard Riehle	...	Sam
Tom Sizemore	...	Mr. McCormack
Ashley Laurence	...	Mrs. McCormack
Robert Englund	...	Mr. Doust
Amanda Plummer	...	Mrs. Doust
Keith Buterbaugh	...	Dean
Jack Ketchum	...	Bartender (as Dallas Mayr)
Delaney Williams	...	Gun Shop Manager
Tate Ellington	...	Gun Shop Clerk
Greg Stuhr	...	Fire Marshall
John-Luke Montias	...	Cop
Katie Piel	...	Gloria
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lauren Birkell	...	Molly Flick (uncredited)
Kacee DeMasi	...	Girlfriend (uncredited)
Tom Gambrill	...	Tavern Patron (uncredited)
Jesse Hlubik	...	Sheriff Tom Bridgewater Jr. (uncredited)
Ivana Shein	...	Girlfriend (uncredited)
John Smith	...	Sheriff Hill (uncredited)

Directed by
Trygve Allister Diesen
Lucky McKee

Writing credits (WGA)
Stephen Susco		(screenplay)
Jack Ketchum		(novel)

Produced by
Gina Amador	....	post-production producer
Steve Blair	....	producer
Trygve Allister Diesen	....	producer
Norman Dreyfuss	....	producer
Matthew Lesher	....	associate producer
Randy Ostrow	....	executive producer
Chris Ridenhour	....	associate producer
Bill Straus	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Søren Hyldgaard

Cinematography by
Harald Gunnar Paalgard

Film Editing by
Jon Endre Mørk

Production Design by
Leslie Keel
Tiffany Zappulla

Art Direction by
Danielle Clemenza

Set Decoration by
E. Parker Webb

Costume Design by
Michele Posch

Makeup Department
Leah Christopher	....	assistant makeup artist
Nina Darguzis	....	dead dog wrangler
Fiona Distefano	....	makeup artist
Eva Lohse	....	makeup department head
Sheila Moran	....	hair department head
Belinda Sandalon	....	assistant makeup artist
Sherri Zebeck	....	key makeup artist (as Sherri Rybczynski)

Production Management
Randy Ostrow	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alisa Fredericks	....	first assistant director
Eric Glasser	....	second assistant director
Stephanie Lovell	....	second assistant director
Denise Anderson Poore	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
James Addink	....	leadman
Annie Arnette	....	art assistant
J.D. Brown	....	art assistant
Amy Hamilton	....	set dresser
McJoel Hamilton	....	set dresser
Matt Hausmann	....	property master
Greg Manke	....	assistant property master
Sid Nicholson	....	property master

Sound Department
Kyle Billingsley	....	foley mixer
James Dehr	....	sound mixer
Joe Milner	....	sound re-recording mixer
Christian Schaanning	....	supervising sound editor

Special Effects by
Kevin Carter	....	special effects contact lenses
Nina Darguzis	....	dead dog wrangler
Eva Lohse	....	special effects makeup artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Brett Carleton	....	electrician
Brian D'Haem	....	electrician
Jason Dunn	....	grip
Amy Ecklund	....	second assistant camera
Chris Heinrich	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Nick Kovacic	....	second assistant camera
Ryan McCoy	....	gaffer
Jaron Presant	....	additional photographer

Casting Department
Erika Lee	....	extras casting assistant
Betsy Royall	....	extras casting
Michael Schiavone	....	extras casting director

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Danielle Koch	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Tommy Kokvold	....	first assistant editor
Zach Passero	....	additional editor
Andy Williams	....	digital dailies

Music Department
Miles Hankins	....	additional orchestrator
Christian Schaanning	....	music editor
Greg Townley	....	scoring mixer

Transportation Department
Larry Bell	....	driver
Bruce Comtois	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Kathryn Adams	....	first assistant to director
T.J. Amato	....	second assistant to director
Ruthie Aslan	....	script supervisor
Mark Bentley	....	armorer
Michael Breines	....	set production assistant
William Clark Coit III	....	location manager
William Clark Coit III	....	location supervisor
Michael DeChant	....	production assistant
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh	....	production assistant: Maryland
Morgan Elam	....	key set production assistant
Todd Feaser	....	cast production assistant
Theodore Giapapas	....	location manager
Jon Jolles	....	location manager
Catherina Ren Knerr	....	assistant: Mr. Cox
David Clarke Lawson Jr.	....	production assistant
Lester G. Reynolds	....	stand-in: Tom Sizemore
Matthew Riggieri	....	location manager
Phillip L. Rosen	....	production legal
Silver Tree	....	script supervisor
David Vogel	....	production assistant: Maryland
Phononzell Williams	....	production assistant
Andrew Yeager	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Billy Goat Pictures
• Tenk

Distributors

• Empire (2008) (Romania) (all media)
• Magnolia Pictures (2008) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• HBO Hungary (2009) (Hungary) (TV) (original airing)
• Vendetta Films (2008) (Australia) (all media)
• Vendetta Films (2008) (New Zealand) (all media)

Other Companies

• DIVE  digital dailies
• L.A. Casting Group  extras casting
• Puget Sound  post-production sound services
• Reder & Feig  distribution counsel

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:12 | Norway:15 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Billy Goat Pictures

Trivia:

Lucky McKee was the original director and had been shooting for weeks when he was fired and replaced by Trygve Allister Diesen for unknown reasons. Angela Bettis (a frequent McKee collaborator) was also attached to the project, playing the role of 'Carrie', but was fired and replaced by Kim Dickens for, again, unknown reasons.

Quotes:

Avery Ludlow: I learned one thing during the war: that you fight with whatever you've got, whatever you can lay your hands on... and you never stop. The minute you do, that's the minute the world rolls right over you.

Soundtrack:

Long Way Down

A nuanced story and mesmerizing performance make this a must see

Brian Cox is ranked among the best character actors in the business. Yet, for all his talent, he's seldom chosen as a leading man, instead being called upon to fill supporting roles as far ranging as the original Hannibal Lecter (Manhunter) to William Wallace's dad in Bravehart and William Stryker in X2, the X-Men sequel, among only a few of his 134 roles thus far. So it comes as a bit of a surprise to see him handed the lead in Red, a mini-masterpiece of one man's quest for justice which screened at the 2008 edition of Montreal's Fantasia film festival.

Directed by Trygve Allister Diesen and Lucky McKee (May, The Woods), and based on a story by Jack Ketchum, Red tells the story of aging war vet Avery Ludlow (Cox), whose only remaining companion after a life of tragedy, a dog named Red, is brutally killed by a group of teens. Built upon a remarkably rich, layered and textured script by Stephen Susco (The Grudge), the story doesn't play out as your simple paint-by-numbers revenge thriller. Instead, it unfolds slowly and all too realistically as Ludlow seeks redress, not revenge, from the wealthy father of two of the boys (Tom Sizemore in full sleaze mode), only to be rebuffed by parents and legal channels alike. Even when these attempts fail, Ludlow, ever the civil citizen, tells his story to the local TV news, and launches a lawsuit against the killers.

Drawing parallels between teen dog killer Danny McCormack (Noel Fisher) and Ludlow's chilling account of how his own son single handedly destroyed his family, we're presented with a man whose motivation for justice is driven in large part by a belated attempt to right the wrongs of his past. So much so, in fact, that in the absence of his companion dog, the quest for justice virtually becomes Ludlow's reason for living, to the point where it practically consumes him.

Cox's performance here is nothing short of breathtaking. He carries this movie on his back and is in every scene, mesmerizing you with his nuanced portrayal of a lonely man to whom tragedy has bequeathed a host of inner demons to torment him in his twilight years.

Don't mistake Red for lesser fare such as Death Wish or The Brave One. While it is constructed around a fairly simple premise that on the surface appears primed to appeal to the base human desire for revenge, the story here is so much more than that, and to give it short shrift and dismiss it as mere manipulative movie making would be to miss out on a story and performance that is a true must see.