How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
Short description
Sidney Young is a British journalist whose career has stalled, but an embarrassing stunt at an awards ceremony brings him to the attention of Clayton Harding, the editor of a glossy New York magazine. Harding offers him a job, and Sidney moves to Manhattan expecting to take the celebrity world by storm. Instead, his clumsy behaviour and tasteless pranks offend the people around him, while his attempts to fit into a culture of superficiality begin to cost him the respect of his colleague Alison Olsen.
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People was released in 2008, directed by Robert B. Weide from a screenplay by Peter Straughan and produced by Robin O'Hara, Stephen Woolley and Toby Young. It is a British production made by Lipsync Productions, Film4 Productions, the UK Film Council and Number 9 Films. Simon Pegg leads the cast as Sidney, with Kirsten Dunst as Alison, Jeff Bridges as Harding, Danny Huston, Megan Fox and Gillian Anderson also appearing. The film runs 110 minutes and mixes comedy, drama and romance.
Against a budget of 28 million US dollars, the film took about 17 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.4 out of 10 from roughly 72,000 votes, and on TMDB 6 out of 10 from around 867 votes. A critics' rating of 5.1 out of 10 from 112 reviews places it below the audience scores on IMDb and TMDB alike.
What's left behind the scenes
- Posters for the films "3:10 to Yuma" (2007) and "Rush Hour 3" can be spotted in the film.
- In one scene, Simon Pegg mixes up his landlady's surname and calls her "Mrs. Lebowski." This can be considered a nod to Jeff Bridges, who starred as the Dude in the Coen brothers' film "The Big Lebowski."
- Toby Young, whose book the film is based on, was removed from the set because he annoyed the actors and tried to tell the director how to shoot.
- When Sydney arrives at a costume party dressed as Count Dracula, he is called Bela Lugosi. This is a reference to the 1931 film "Dracula," in which Bela Lugosi played the Count. This image became the most recognizable portrayal of Dracula on screen.
- Sidney's library card is from Gloucester. Simon Pegg was born in Gloucester.
- Simon Pegg was cast as Sidney back in 2004 in a stage production of the same name, but was unable to participate because he was filming 'Shaun of the Dead' at the time.
- Maddox drinking a White Russian is a reference to Jeff Bridges and his film 'The Big Lebowski'.
- The scene where Sidney passes by Elizabeth Maddox who has fallen on the floor is based on a real-life incident involving Anna Wintour and a 'Vanity Fair' staff member.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
