The Deal (2008 film)
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The Deal is a 2008 American satirical film directed by Steven Schachter. The screenplay by William H. Macy is based on the 1991 novel of the same title by Peter Lefcourt.
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[edit] Plot synopsis
The story focuses on struggling film producer Charlie Berns, who is on the verge of suicide when his aspiring screenwriter nephew Lionel arrives from New Jersey with a script about 19th century English statesman Benjamin Disraeli. Charlie agrees to make the film, but he converts the literate PBS-style script into the action adventure Middle Eastern espionage film Lev Disraeli: Freedom Fighter. He casts African American Bobby Mason, a recent convert to Judaism, in the title role and proceeds to set up locations in South Africa. When Mason gets kidnapped during filming, Charlie devises a way to keep his project going. He moves his crew to Prague and begins to film Lionel's original script without advising studio heads of his plan.
[edit] Production notes
The film was shot in Cape Town and other South African locations.
It premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival but failed to attract a distributor. It has been selected as the opening night attraction at the Sarasota Film Festival in April 2008 [1].
[edit] Principal cast
- William H. Macy ..... Charlie Berns
- Meg Ryan ..... Deidre Hearn
- Jason Ritter ..... Lionel Travitz
- L.L. Cool J ..... Bobby Mason
- Elliot Gould ..... Rabbi Seth Gutterman
- David Hunt ..... Grier Clark
[edit] Principal production credits
- Executive Producers ..... Jason Berk, Matt Lane, Gary Howsam, Lewin Webb
- Original Music ..... Jeff Beal
- Cinematography ..... Paul Sarossy
- Production Design ..... Guy Lalande
- art Direction ..... Birrie Le Roux
- Costume Design ..... Diana Cilliers
[edit] Critical reception
In his review in Variety, Peter Debruge said, "The characters seem to be doing all the laughing, while the general public has nothing to cling to but the horndog flirtation between mismatched leads William H. Macy and Meg Ryan - hardly ideal ingredients for mainstream success . . . Elliott Gould gets laughs as the credit-hungry rabbi pulled in to consult on the film, although a few A-list celebrity cameos in the movie-star roles would have gone a long way toward completing the illusion." [2]
