Elizabethtown (film)

Elizabethtown is a 2005 film written and directed by Cameron Crowe. It stars Orlando Bloom as a shoe designer visiting his hometown in Kentucky and Kirsten Dunst as an airline stewardess. Alec Baldwin cameos as CEO of an athletic shoe company and Susan Sarandon appears as a grieving widow. The film features dozens of contemporary tracks, and Kentucky natives My Morning Jacket portray a reunited fictional rock group named Ruckus.

Plot

Hours after a ruinous product debut, suicidal industrial designer Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) learns of his father's sudden death. As the only son, Drew must travel to their small hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky to attend to his father's memorial. On the flight to Kentucky, Drew meets Claire (Kirsten Dunst), a quick-witted flight attendant, who helps him navigate the rough waters ahead and proves that amazing things happen when you least expect them.

Credits

Production

Director, Writer, Producer - Cameron Crowe
Producers - Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner
Editor - David Moritz
Original Music - Nancy Wilson

Cast

Orlando Bloom as Drew Baylor
Kirsten Dunst as Claire Colburn
Susan Sarandon as Hollie Baylor
Jessica Biel as Ellen Kishmore
Judy Greer as Heather Baylor
Alec Baldwin as Phil
Emily Rutherfurd as Cindy Hasboro
Jed Rees as Chuck Hasboro
Paul Schneider as Jessie Baylor
Bruce McGill as Bill Banyon
Allison Munn as Desk Girl Charlotte
Dan Biggers as Uncle Roy
Alice Marie Crowe as Aunt Lena
Paula Deen as Aunt Dora
Patty Griffin as Laurie
Billy Tencza as Brett
Tim Devitt as Mitch Baylor

Trivia

Jane Fonda was cast as Susan Sarandon's part, but had to bow out.
Ashton Kutcher, Seann William Scott, Colin Hanks, Chris Evans, and James Franco all auditioned for Orlando Bloom's part. Kutcher was actually hired for the role of Drew, but director Cameron Crowe decided during filming that he really wasn't right for the film and Kutcher left the project.
Jessica Biel auditioned for the main role.
The rain during the cemetery scene was unexpected.
This is Orlando Bloom's first starring role in a wide release movie where he is cast in a modern day setting, and speaks without his British accent.
There is a character named Ben who is mentioned as a love interest of Claire. In the original cut of the film, Ben is revealed to be Claire's brother.
Recognizable settings for scenes shot in Louisville, Kentucky include the Brown Hotel and Cave Hill Cemetery and Arboretum. Although the exterior, lobby and corridors of the Brown Hotel are seen, a passable replica of the Brown Hotel's Crystal Ball Room was recreated on a soundstage (doubtless because of the fire and water effects used.)
The movie takes considerable liberties with regional geography, placing Louisville and Nashville, Tennessee approximately half as far apart as they are in reality, with other spurious geographical relations implied.

The film shares some characteristics with 2004's Garden State in that both main characters are males who travel from the west coast to the east coast for a parent's funeral. Both of the main characters end up falling in love with a girl they had no intentions of falling for.

External links

Official site