| Storytelling | |
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DVD cover for Storytelling |
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| Directed by | Todd Solondz |
| Produced by | Christine Vachon, Ted Hope |
| Written by | Todd Solondz |
| Starring | Selma Blair Leo Fitzpatrick |
| Release date(s) | January 27, 2002 |
| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Storytelling is a 2001 film, directed by Todd Solondz. It features original music by Belle & Sebastian, later compiled on an album of the same name. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
Contents |
The film consists of two stories that are unrelated and have different actors, titled "Fiction" and "Non-Fiction." "Fiction," starring Selma Blair, is about a group of college students in a creative writing class taught by a professor who has affairs with his students. "Non-Fiction," starring Paul Giamatti and John Goodman, is about the filming of a high school student and his family through the college application process.
The original version of the film featured a third story, concerning, among other things, a closeted football player played by actor James van der Beek.[1] But for unknown reasons, possibly that the character had an explicit sex scene with a male partner, the entire story was cut from the final version.[2]
During the sex scene in the "Fiction" part of the film, a red box was added for the American version of the film, blocking the audience's view of a rough sex scene between Selma Blair and Robert Wisdom. This was used to bend the rules of the MPAA's rating system, allowing the film to obtain the R rating instead of NC-17. Initially the red box was to have had the word "Censored" on it, but the MPAA also deemed this unacceptable because they do not consider themselves censors. Solondz described the addition of the box as a political statement: "I was prepared to make that political statement. This is something I've always been prepared to do, as long as the audience is aware of what it's not allowed to see. That's how I feel "politically" about that. (...)" [3] The box is not present in the international version of the film, although in the American DVD release, both options are available.
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