Ask the Dust
Short description
Ask the Dust is a romantic drama set in Los Angeles during the Great Depression. Arturo Bandini, the American-born son of Italian immigrants, has come from Colorado hoping to make his name as a writer. He has published a single short story in a small magazine and lives in a cheap hotel in the Bunker Hill area, declaring his own genius to anyone who will listen while struggling to survive. He meets Camilla Lopez, a Mexican waitress who sees marriage to a wealthy American as her way out of poverty. The two are drawn into a difficult, drawn-out relationship shaped by ambition, pride, poverty and the social barriers between their communities, and neither finds it easy to reveal what they actually feel.
The film was directed by Robert Towne, who also wrote the screenplay, adapting John Fante's novel. It was his third feature as director, following Tequila Sunrise in 1988 and Without Limits in 1998. Colin Farrell plays Arturo and Salma Hayek Pinault plays Camilla, with supporting turns from Donald Sutherland, Eileen Atkins, Idina Menzel and Justin Kirk. Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner were among the producers.
Released in 2006, the film runs 117 minutes and took in about 3 million dollars worldwide, a modest return. On TMDB it holds a rating of 5.5 out of 10 from 169 votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- Val Kilmer was initially involved in the project, but for unknown reasons, he soon dropped out.
- The film is based on the novel Ask the Dust (1939) by John Fante.
- When Robert Towne first offered the role of Camilla Lopez to Salma Hayek, she rejected the idea because she did not want to be cast by a director based on a Mexican stereotype. Eight years later, she changed her mind.
- During an early stage of the project, Johnny Depp was attached to it for a year.
- The film's producer and screenwriter, Robert Towne, became obsessed with the idea of making this movie after meeting the novel's author, John Fante.
- In order to travel to South Africa for filming, Idina Menzel had to step away from her starring role in the Broadway production of Wicked for several weeks.
- The film rights to the novel once belonged to Mel Brooks, but they expired.
- Robert Towne finished writing the script back in the early 90s, but could not find financial support. Despite Johnny Depp's interest in the project, the script was passed from studio to studio.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
