Nebraska
Short description
Woody Grant is an elderly man in Montana who becomes convinced that a sweepstakes notice in the mail means he has won a million dollars. He sets out on foot toward Nebraska to collect the prize, and after several attempts to leave, his son David agrees to drive him there. David doubts the ticket is worth anything, but goes along to keep his father out of trouble. A mishap along the way forces the two to stop for a few days in Hawthorne, the small Nebraska town where Woody grew up, and the visit brings him back into contact with people and memories from his past.
Alexander Payne directed the film, working from a screenplay by Bob Nelson, with Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa producing. It followed The Descendants in Payne's filmography and came before Downsizing. Bruce Dern plays Woody, Will Forte plays David, June Squibb plays Woody's wife Kate, and Bob Odenkirk plays his other son Ross, with Stacy Keach and Mary Louise Wilson also appearing in a credited cast of 41.
Made for about 12 million dollars, the film took in roughly 28 million worldwide. On IMDb its rating comes from a broad base of viewers, while on TMDB it holds 7.4 out of 10 from nearly two thousand votes; the critics' rating stands at 8 out of 10 from 254 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the scene where the men in the living room are watching the 'Chicago Bears' game on television, the sound is taken from a radio broadcast of the team. This is noticeable in the voices of the announcers, who, incidentally, never appeared on television.
- The film begins and ends with a showing of the Paramount Studios logo from the 1950s-1960s.
- In the cemetery scene, there is a tombstone with the name Payne. This is a reference to director Alexander Payne.
- In the film's opening scene, Woody appears in boots. In the next scene, at the police station, he is already without them.
- After the family returns the compressor, the boys get in the car. Woody sits in the back seat on the side opposite the driver. But when the car drives away, his reflection can be seen in the rearview mirror on the driver's side.
- Gene Hackman, Robert Forster, Jack Nicholson, and Robert Duvall were considered for the role of Woody.
- Bryan Cranston auditioned for the role of David, but director Alexander Payne decided he was not suitable for the role. Matthew Modine, Paul Rudd, and Casey Affleck were also considered for the role.
- The specifics of shades and textures were revealed during numerous tests. To study the world of black and white cinema, cinematographer Fidon Papamichael and director Alexander Payne conducted thorough research. They re-watched many noirs, studied Italian neorealism, and timeless American classics. As a result, after tests with colors to identify the best transformation into black and white format, the decision was made to shoot on Arri Alexa cameras. Digital image processing opened up more room for maneuver for the filmmakers. During the editing stage, artificial interference was superimposed on the image to achieve the effect of film stock.
- This is director Alexander Payne's first experience with black and white cinematography, using digital cameras and anamorphic lenses. Paramount Studios was initially against the director's choice to shoot a black and white film, but eventually relented when a preview of the film received positive feedback.
- The film was shot in Nebraska, the home state of director Alexander Payne, which, according to the director, allowed him to delve even deeper into the story. This is Payne's fourth film shot in Nebraska. The first three were 'Citizen Ruth' (1996), 'Election' (1999), and 'About Schmidt' (2002).
- When David is watching the news, the DVD player shows a disc being played (with elapsed time displayed on the screen), indicating that it is not a live news broadcast but a recording.
- Traveling on I90 from Montana to Nebraska, the characters should be heading east. A sign pointing towards South Dakota can be noticed before they are overtaken by bikers. This sign indicates they are actually heading west. In the next scene, a sign for Mount Rushmore is visible, meaning they are again traveling east.
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