Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger

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Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger
Directed by Cathy Randall
Produced by Miriam Stein
Stephen Hayes
Heather Ogilvie
Written by Cathy Randall
Starring Danielle Catanzariti,
Toni Collette,
Keisha Castle-Hughes,
Jonny Pasvolsky
Music by Guy Gross
Editing by Dany Cooper
Sadie Crestman
Distributed by Buena Vista International
Release date(s) Flag of Germany Germany
February 2008
(Berlin International Film Festival)[1]
Flag of Australia Australia
March 20, 2008[1]
Country Flag of Australia Australia
Language English
Budget AU$6 million
IMDb profile

Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger is an independent 2008 Australian teenage comedy film, written and directed by debut filmmaker Cathy Randall, starring newcomer Danielle Catanzariti, Toni Collette, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Jonny Pasvolsky. It was shot in Adelaide, South Australia and Sydney, New South Wales.

Open casting calls were held around Australia for children to fill a number of roles, including those of Esther and her twin brother Jacob, in mid-2006.[2] The role of Esther eventually went to Danielle Catanzariti,[3] a 14-year-old girl from Murray Bridge, South Australia; on October 23, news emerged that Christian Byers was chosen to play Jacob.[4]

The film is scheduled to be released in Germany in February 2008 at the Berlin International Film Festival and in Australia on March 20, 2008.[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot

Esther Blueburger (Catanzariti) is a 13-year-old Jewish girl who is an outsider in her own world. Looked down upon as a nerd at her posh private school and pressured to be part of a "normal" family at home, Esther is lonesome and can find nowhere to fit in. In an attempt to escape from her Bat Mitzvah party, she runs into Sunni (Castle-Hughes), the tough, cool girl from the local public school. For Esther, she would do anything to be in Sunni's position. In order to reinvent herself, Esther secretly transfers to Sunni's school as a Swedish exchange student and preferably hangs out with Sunni, her friends, and Sunni's single mother (Collette). Through her experiences with Sunni, Esther eventually learns that being yourself is more important than fitting in.

[edit] Cast

Principal Cast and Characters
Danielle Catanzariti as Esther
Keisha Castle-Hughes as Sunni
Toni Collette as Mary
Christian Byers as Jacob
Essie Davis as Grace
Jonny Pasvolsky as Mr. Hooper

[edit] Reception

Film industry magazine Screen International critic Peter Brunette noted that in spite of minor faults, the film was "an otherwise enjoyable piece of highly competent, commercial filmmaking," which "should perform well in all markets, from theatrical through to ancillary."[5] The Age's Jim Schembri described the film as "an embarrassing, comprehensively abysmal Australian film".[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Release dates for Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger (2008). The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
  2. ^ Hey, hey, it's starstruck teens day Sydney Morning Herald. June 9, 2006.
  3. ^ Hey hey, it's Danielle the 14-year-old drama queen The Australian. September 6, 2006.
  4. ^ For Keisha, the show must go on The Adelaide Advertiser. October 23, 2006.
  5. ^ Brunette, Peter (2008-02-29), “Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger”, Screen International (no. 1634): 20 

[edit] External links

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