Bella (film)
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| Bella | |
| Directed by | Alejandro Gomez Monteverde |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Sean Wolfington Eduardo Verástegui Leo Severino Alejandro Gomez Monteverde Denise Pinckley Jason Jones |
| Written by | Alejandro Gomez Monteverde Patrick Million Leo Severino |
| Starring | Eduardo Verástegui Tammy Blanchard Manny Perez Ali Landry Ewa Da Cruz |
| Cinematography | Andrew Cadelago |
| Editing by | Joseph Gutowski Fernando Villena |
| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
| Release date(s) | Oct 26th, 2007 |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English Spanish |
| Budget | $3,300,000 |
Bella is a 2006 film directed by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde starring Eduardo Verastegui and Tammy Blanchard. Set in New York City, the film is about how one moment changed the lives of three people forever. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
Bella tells the story of Nina, a New York City waitress, and her co-worker Jose, a cook.
"The energy in the kitchen of an elegant Mexican restaurant in Manhattan is cranking up steadily, as the staff braces for the noon rush. One waitress, Nina, is running late, which is becoming a habit. She dashes in at the last minute, but Manny, the owner, tells her this is one time too many, and fires her on the spot. As Nina storms out, the head chef, Manny's brother José (a mysteriously tragic guy, peeking out through a forest of beard and hair), follows her outside to make sure she's OK. When he learns that she is pregnant, he walks away from the restaurant and spends the day at her side, compelled for unknown reasons to try to help her. Over the course of the day, their conversations, encounters, and decisions will send changes rippling through many lives, over many years."[2]
[edit] Production
Bella marks the feature directorial debut for Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, who co-wrote its original screenplay with Patrick Million. Bella features Manuel Perez, Angelica Aragon, Jaime Terelli, Ali Landry and Ewa Da Cruz. The film was produced by Sean Wolfington, Eduardo Verastegui, Leo Severino, Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, Denise Pinckley and Jason Jones. Executive producers were J. Eustace Wolfington, Sean Wolfington, Ana Wolfington and Stephen McEveety. It was financed by producers Sean Wolfington and Eustace Wolfington.
Stephen McEveety, producer of Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ, consulted on the script; after the film was finished, he signed on as an executive producer to help market it. Bella is McEveety's first release under his new company Mpower Pictures.
Bella was produced by Metanoia Films.[3]
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions acquired United States distribution rights to the film and released the film on October 26th, 2007, according to The Hollywood Reporter.[4]
[edit] Reception
The film received mixed critical reviews, scoring 46% at review site Rotten Tomatoes and 47 at Metacritic[5][6] but fared better with audiences, winning the Golden Tomato award from Rotten Tomatoes with a user rating of 96.5, the highest of any film released in 2007. [7]
Bella resonated with adoption and pro-life organizations, who gave the movie high marks for its life-affirming, pro-adoption themes.[8]
[edit] Awards and honors
Bella took the "People's Choice Award" at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.[9]
Bella won the Heartland Film Festival's Grand Prize Award Winner for Best Dramatic Feature and the Crystal Heart Awards for Monteverde as writer/director/producer.[10]
Bella's filmmakers received the Smithsonian Institution's "Legacy Award" for the film's positive contribution to Latino art and culture.[11].[12] "This movie depicts the culture but also transcends it," said Pilar O'Leary, executive director of the Smithsonian Institution's Latino Center. "It has universal appeal."[13]
Bella received the Tony Bennett Media Excellence Award.[9] Bennett said Bella is "a perfect film, an artistic masterpiece that will live in people's hearts forever."[14]
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting rated Bella as the second-best film of 2007 (with Juno)[15] noting that Bella presents an "affirmative pro-life message," along with "themes of self-forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption that should resonate deeply."[16]
The director of the Department of Citizenship gave the director of Bella, Alejandro Monteverde, the "American by Choice" Award at a White House reception for Bella's positive contribution to Latino art and culture in the United States.[17] Monteverde was also invited to join the First Lady in her private box to watch the State of the Union address.[18]
The Mexican Embassy honored the film and gave Bella a screening at their annual Cinco De Mayo celebration.[13]
Bella broke the record for a Latino-themed film in total box office earnings and box office average per screen for films released in 2007. It was the top-rated movie on the New York Times Readers' Poll, Yahoo and Fandango.[19] The Wall Street Journal said Bella was "the fall's biggest surprise" and stated that "after only four weeks in release Bella has total sales of $5.2 million."[20] Bella ended its U.S. theatrical release with more than $10 million in domestic box office, finishing the year in the top 10-grossing independent films of 2007.[9]
[edit] Cast
- Sophie Nyweide as Bella
- Eduardo Verástegui as José
- Tammy Blanchard as Nina
- Manny Perez as Manny
- Ali Landry as Celia
- Ramón Rodríguez as Eduardo
- Ewa Da Cruz as Veronica
- Alexa Gerasimovich as Luchi
- Herbie Lovelle plays a cameo role as a homeless person.
- Angélica Aragón as José's mother
[edit] References
This article incorporates text from the official site, licensed under GNU Free Documentation license.
- ^ http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=10263
- ^ http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/2007/bella.html
- ^ http://www.bellafanclub.com/metanoia.html
- ^ Gregg Goldstein (2007-08-30). "Roadside takes Bella on US Trip; First Pickup after Lionsgate deal". TheHollywoodReporter.com. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ia4622155e545932c8628a4cd560b27c4?imw=Y. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
- ^ Bella at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ "Bella (2007): Reviews". MetaCritic. MetaCritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/bella. Retrieved on 2008-06-18.
- ^ "9th Annual Golden Tomato Awards". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/features/rtawards/?category=user_limited&rank=1. Retrieved on 2008-06-18.
- ^ http://www.bpnews.net/printerfriendly.asp?ID=26890
- ^ a b c Robert W. Welkos (2007-12-04). "Bella is a Rallying Point". LATimes.com. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/newsletter/la-et-bella4dec04,1,6719467.story?page=2&cset=true&ctrack=1. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
- ^ Lynda Dorf (2007-10-20). "Heartland Film Festival Announces Top Winners". HeartlandFilmFestival.com. http://www.heartlandfilmfestival.com/news_07release23.aspx. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
- ^ Aaron Glickman (2007-03-13). "Smithsonian Honors Bella". SocialMiami.com. http://www.socialmiami.com/features/SmithsonianHonorsBella.asp. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
- ^ Isabel Lara (2007-08-30). "Smithsonian Legacy Awards". Smithsonian Institution. http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/slc_10th-anniversary-gala.htm. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
- ^ a b William Triplett (May 7, 2007). Buoyant 'Bella' bow. Variety. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Tony Bennett (2007-10-22). "Tony Bennett Sings Bella's Praises". YouTube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdJ6OjAsEz0. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
- ^ "Ten Best List for the Year 2007". USCCB. http://www.usccb.org/movies/topten/topten2007.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
- ^ "Bella Full Review". USCCB. http://www.usccb.org/movies/b/bella.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
- ^ Aaron Glickman (2007-03-01). "Bella Producer Sean Wolfington". SocialMiami.com. http://www.socialmiami.com/features/Bella.asp. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
- ^ Tomas C (2007-01-27). "President invites Mexican Director to sit in first lady's box". HispanicTips.com. http://www.hispanictips.com/2007/01/25/president-george-bush-invited-mexican-film-director-alejandro-monteverde-first-lady%E2%80%99s-during-state-union-address-example-positive-contributions-immigrants-american-society/. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
- ^ publisher (2007-11-03). "Bella Rockets into #1". WorldNetDaily.com. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58496. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
- ^ Anthony Kaufman (2007-11-18). "Stat Snapshot". WallStreetJournal.com. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119542319712297242.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
