Akeelah and the Bee
Short description
Akeelah Anderson is an eleven-year-old growing up in South Los Angeles who discovers she has an unusual gift for spelling. After winning her school competition, she sets her sights on bigger contests, even though her classmates mock her and her mother Tanya would rather she focused on homework. A demanding English teacher, Dr. Larabee, takes her under his wing, and support from people in her neighbourhood helps her keep going. As she advances toward the national spelling bee and gets to know the other competitors, she learns that winning is not the only thing that matters.
Doug Atchison wrote and directed the film, which was released in 2006 and runs 113 minutes. Keke Palmer plays Akeelah, with Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Larabee, Angela Bassett as Tanya, Curtis Armstrong as Mr. Welch, and J.R. Villarreal and Sean Michael Afable among the young competitors. Fishburne also produced alongside Nancy Hult Ganis and Danny Llewelyn.
Made for about 8 million dollars, the film took roughly 19 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.4 out of 10 from around 23,000 votes, and on TMDB 7 out of 10 from about 364 votes. A critics' rating of 7.1 out of 10 from 139 reviews places it close to the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The last word Dylan received in the word-off—"logorrhea"—is a symptom of a speech pathology characterized by uncontrollable, incoherent speech at a rapid pace.
- The character of Laurence Fishburne was based on the school principal that director and screenwriter Doug Etchison attended.
- The role of Roman was played by George Ornedo, who also served as a sort of consultant, as he had participated in spelling bees in his time and even became a national champion.
- There is a plaque with a quote on the wall of the principal's office. The film erroneously claims that these words were spoken by Nelson Mandela (1918-2013, South Africa's first Black president) in his inaugural speech. This is a widespread misconception, as Mandela did not actually use this quote in any of his subsequently published speeches. The words were spoken by Marianne Williamson, an American author, speaker, and political activist.
- Akila and Dylan intentionally lost and threw the match. In reality, such a decision would have cost a fortune. The 2005 contest winner took home the equivalent of $30,000 in cash and prizes, while the runner-up had to settle for much less.
- When Akila (played by Keke Palmer) wins a prize in a regional competition, a zoomed-in image of a local newspaper article appears on screen. The names of the school principal and Akila's main rival mentioned in the article do not match the names of those characters in the movie. This suggests that the prop was created (and used) before the final decision regarding the names was made.
- Sidney Poitier was initially considered for the role that eventually went to Laurence Fishburne, but a younger actor was ultimately preferred.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
