CANADA/FILM LOCATIONS: KIMBERLY PEIRCE'S DEBUTE FILM 'BOYS DON'T CRY' RECEIVES RAVE REVIEWS

Record ID: 388727

  • Title: CANADA/FILM LOCATIONS: KIMBERLY PEIRCE'S DEBUTE FILM 'BOYS DON'T CRY' RECEIVES RAVE REVIEWS
  • Date: 13th September 1999
  • Summary: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA (SEPTEMBER 13) (RTV-ACCESS ALL) (SOUNDBITE) (English) KIMBERLY PEIRCE SAYING OF THE FILM'S MESSAGE, "You know, you don't start out with a political message. You just start out with your own desire, and, my desire if that people fall in love with Brandon and instead of hating him for being different, love him and identify with him and, in terms of
  • Embargoed: 28th September 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: Canada
  • Reuters ID: LVA2UCAL08BIA9Z2FDBJFY6AFT9C
  • Story Text: After making an auspicious debut at the recent Toronto Film Festival, first time feature filmmaker Kimberly Peirce is soaking in critical raves for her debut film "Boys Don't Cry,"
    the real life story of a young woman who becomes a young man in the heartland of America.
    Peirce's film is based on a real life 1993 incident that took place in the dusty, rural southeastern corner of Nebraska, in the heart of the American west.One night, two ex-cons committed a multiple murder, and one of the victims was a young man named Brandon Teena, who, upon closer examination, was actually a young woman named Teena Brandon, who had changed her identity, moved to a new town, and fallen in love with a local teenaged girl.
    Filmmaker Kimberly Peirce was drawn to the story when she first read about it in the New York City alternative weekly paper The Village Voice.She went on to conduct exhaustive research about the case, including interviews with the convicted killers, the victims' families and the young girl Brandon fell in love with, triggering the shooting.
    After filming a documentary on the subject, Peirce decided she wanted to make a feature film out of it and set about the daunting challenge of casting a talented actress who could also pass herself off as a boy.
    She settled on newcomer Hilary Swank, who, aside from small roles in the films "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "The Next Karate Kid" and a reoccurring role on television's "Beverly Hills 90210," had never landed a breakthrough role.
    For her audition, Swank wore a curve-hiding flannel shirt and a cowboy hat borrowed from her husband with her long blonde hair tucked up inside of it.Peirce knew they had found their Brandon immediately.
    Once cast, Swank set about the difficult task of becoming a boy through both drastic physical and emotional changes.
    She cut her hair short, strapped down her breasts and padded her jeans with a sock before stepping out into the world as a boy.Peirce charged her with trying to convince strangers she was a boy and, when she failed, would bring her back in to analyze where she failed and how to correct the mistakes.
    Swank admits the experience was a life-changing one for her and gave her a real insight into the challenges cross-gendered people must face every day of their lives.
    Production got underway in and around Dallas, Texas, which stood in for the empty plains of Falls City, Nebraska, where the real story took place.Peirce decided early on that it would be too difficult to try to shoot in Falls City, where the controversy over Brandon's life and death continues to rage.
    Also in the cast are "Kids" and "Last Days of Disco" star Chloe Sevigny as Lana, the girl Brandon falls in love with, while Peter Sarsgaard plays John, Lana's ex-boyfriend who is one of the gunmen who take Brandon's life when his secret is exposed.
    Although the real-life Lana Tisdel and her family are complaining about their portrayal in the film, American critics are almost unanimous in their praise for it, with many talking of a potential Oscar nomination for Swank.
    "Boys Don't Cry" is now playing in limited release throughout the United States.
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