The Search for John Gissing
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| The Search for John Gissing | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Mike Binder |
| Written by | Mike Binder |
| Produced by | Jack Binder Marc Frydman James Harbaugh |
| Starring | Alan Rickman Mike Binder Janeane Garofalo |
| Cinematography | Sue Gibson |
| Edited by | Roger Nygard |
| Music by | Larry Groupé |
Release date | 2001 |
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Search for John Gissing is a comedy film written and directed by Mike Binder, produced by Jack Binder, and starring Alan Rickman, Janeane Garofalo, and Mike Binder. The movie is set in London.
Tagline: An American businessman (Mike Binder) and his wife (Janeane Garofalo) have their lives turned upside-down by the British co-worker (Alan Rickman) he has unknowingly come to replace. The film won Best Picture at the 2002 Sarasota Film Festival.
Plot
Matthew Barnes is a young executive on the move up who finds himself a pawn in corporate in-fighting when he's sent to London to oversee a merger. He's to replace John Gissing; Gissing's gotten wind of it, and he makes sure that Matthew and his wife Linda, who has dutifully but reluctantly come to England, have a miserable first few days there. By the time Matthew figures out what's happening and declares a counter offensive, it may be too late to save himself from a transfer to Detroit. With Gissing still holding lots of cards and Linda more unhappy by the moment, Matthew must reevaluate. All out war? A partnership with Gissing? Some third way?
Cast
- Alan Rickman — John Gissing
- Mike Binder — Matthew Barnes
- Janeane Garofalo — Linda Barnes
- Sonya Walger — Sister Mary
- Juliet Stevenson — Gwyneth Moore
- Allan Corduner — Francois "Fuller" Feulliere
- Owen Teale— Giles Hanagan
- Nigel Terry — Alan Jardeen
- Frank Harper — Dexter
- James Lance — Donny
- Lee Oakes — Carl Gissing
- Angela Pleasence — Johanna Frielduct
- Tim Briggs — Hotel Clerk
- Caroline Holdaway — Gissing's Assistant
Response
Not having found an appropriate distribution deal, Sunlight Productions set the film aside following its festival premieres. Shortly thereafter, an online petition was formed in a plea for the release of the film, garnering more than 3,000 signatures. Mike and Jack Binder's Sunlight Productions made the film available online.
Awards and nominations
Awards won
Official selection
- AFI Fest 2001
- Hamptons International Film Festival 2002
- Rome Film Festival 2002
- Palm Springs International Film Festival 2002
- U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Aspen 2002
- South by Southwest
- Newport Beach Film Festival 2002
- Victoria Film Festival 2002
- Raindance Film Festival
Releases
This film was released on UK DVD by Simply Media 2 July 2018.
External links
- The Search for John Gissing at IMDb
- Clips at Mike Binder's personal site
- Clips, Photos, and Info at the Sunlight Productions official site