| Front of the Class | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Peter Werner |
| Produced by | Andrew Gottlieb |
| Written by | Tom Rickman |
| Starring | Patricia Heaton Treat Williams Jimmy Wolk Johhny Pacar |
| Music by | Lawrence Shragge |
| Cinematography | Miroslaw Baszak |
| Editing by | Ron Wisman |
| Production company | Hallmark Hall of Fame |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Release date | December 7, 2008 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Preceded by | Sweet Nothing in My Ear |
| Followed by | Loving Leah |
Front of the Class is a 2008 American drama film based on the book by Brad Cohen, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, co-authored by Lisa Wysocky.
The book was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie starring newcomer James Wolk—a 2007 University of Michigan graduate[1]—and featuring Treat Williams and Emmy Award-winning actress Patricia Heaton as Cohen's parents; the movie aired on CBS on December 7, 2008.[2]
Contents |
Brad Cohen's story starts as a young boy whose mother helped doctors to realize that he had Tourette syndrome. With his mother's help and the support of his school principal, Brad eventually becomes an award-winning teacher.
Thanks to his mother never giving up, Brad is a success story and shares his success with everyone around him.
Dominic Scott Kay portrays Cohen as a child.[3]
The script was adapted from the book by Tom Rickman[3] and the movie was directed by Peter Werner.[4] Production was in Shreveport, Louisiana.[5]
Following his 2006 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in 2007 Cohen spoke at a conference after Timothy Shriver of the Special Olympics. According to Shriver, "The audience 'was laughing, then crying, then laughing, then crying, then cheering, and at the end, they gave him a huge standing ovation.'"[1] Shriver suggested the movie to Cohen, and became the executive producer one year later.
To portray Cohen's tics accurately, Wolk and Kay viewed videotapes and worked with a dialect coach,[6] describing their preparation as a "Tourette's boot camp".[7] Cohen said the portrayal of his tics is "very, very authentic".[8] Heaton, the mother of four children, was attracted to the script because she related to the strong mother: "Finally, she went to the library herself—as mothers will do to fight for the end for their kids and find out what's wrong—and realized he had Tourettes," Heaton explained.[9]
Although tics steadily decline for most children as they pass through adolescence,[10][11] Cohen still has frequent and loud vocal tics and barking. He joked: "I'm hoping I don't get kicked out of my own movie."[8]
The movie was released on DVD in January 2009. A signed copy by author Brad Cohen was also released on DVD.
Cohen was concerned that the movie should stay truthful and avoid sensationalizing Tourette syndrome. He was pleased with the overall result, although he noted some dates in his life were sped up for effect (for example, the date of his wedding).[1]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||