Henry & Me

Henry & Me
DVD cover
Directed by	Barrett Esposito
Produced by	Joseph Avallone Joe Castellano
Written by	David I. Stern
Starring	Richard Gere Chazz Palminteri Danny Aiello Cyndi Lauper Paul Simon Austin Williams Lucie Arnaz Hank Steinbrenner
Music by	Charles David Denler
Edited by	Joe Castellano
Production company	Reveal Animation Studios
Distributed by	Henry & Me Productions
Release dates	August 18, 2014 (2014-08-18) (New York City) September 30, 2014 (2014-09-30) (DVD)
Running time	67 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Henry & Me is a 2014 American animated drama film directed by Barrett Esposito and written by David I. Stern. The film stars Richard Gere, Chazz Palminteri, Danny Aiello, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Austin Williams, Lucie Arnaz and Hank Steinbrenner. The film was released on DVD on September 30, 2014.^[1]

Cast

Release

The film premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on August 18, 2014.^[2] The film was released on DVD on September 30, 2014.^[3]

Production

The film began production in 2009.^[4] In January 2010, Yankee Stadium announcer Bob Sheppard recorded his dialogue for the film, six months before his death in July 2010.^[5] In February 2010, Hank Steinbrenner recorded his dialogue in the role of his father George Steinbrenner.^[6] In September 2014, Hank Steinbrenner told The Hollywood Reporter: "When my dad got sick, my dad actually asked me to do the voice, and that was really the whole start of it. I know that people look at my father as an iconic figure, but I was looking at him more as my father. It was something that I knew I could do, and I was actually really excited to do it. I knew that no one else could bring out the gist of my dad and no one knew him like me. And I always considered myself a pretty good actor in my own right."^[3] In August 2010, CC Sabathia and Yogi Berra recorded their dialogue for the film.^[7]

In 2013, after the Biogenesis baseball scandal Alex Rodriguez' scenes were cut from the film. The film's producer Joseph Avallone explained: "Its message of hope in the face of insurmountable odds—as told through the fantastical story of a young boy who goes on a magical journey with the New York Yankees—features, among A-list Hollywood talent, a collection of real-life Yankees, past and present, lending their voices and their spirits to this heartwarming tale. In 2009, Alex Rodriguez accepted an offer to participate in the film, in part, as a way to rehabilitate his image after his first bout with controversy surrounding performance enhancing drugs. When it became clear in summer 2013 that Rodriguez’s commitment to that rehabilitation was not entirely genuine, the film’s producers made the costly and time-consuming, but absolutely essential, decision to remove his voice performance from the final cut in an effort to preserve all of the goodwill that went into making this film—including the work of our charity partners. Henry & Me is family entertainment first and foremost, and we look forward to children, their parents, and sports fans across the country and around the world discovering the film when it premieres on DVD and digital download this fall."^[4] He was replaced with Hideki Matsui.^[4]

References

External links

• Henry & Me at the Internet Movie Database