The Family Stone
Short description
The Family Stone centres on Everett Stone, who brings his girlfriend Meredith home to his family's New England house for Christmas. Meredith is a career-minded New Yorker, while the Stones are bohemian and free-spirited, and the visit quickly turns awkward as the family makes little effort to welcome her. Meredith's sister Julie arrives to give her support, and the holiday gathering becomes the setting for shifting relationships and long-kept secrets.
Thomas Bezucha directed and wrote the film, his first feature as director. It was followed in his filmography by Monte Carlo in 2011 and Let Him Go in 2020. Dermot Mulroney plays Everett, with Sarah Jessica Parker as Meredith and Diane Keaton as family matriarch Sybil. Luke Wilson, Claire Danes and Rachel McAdams appear as Ben Stone, Julie Morton and Amy Stone. The credited production involved 26 cast members and 248 crew members, and the film runs 103 minutes.
Released in December 2005, the film cost about 18 million US dollars to make and took roughly 92 million US dollars worldwide, a return well above its budget. On IMDb it holds 6.3 out of 10 from around 90,000 votes, and on TMDB it has 6.3 out of 10 from about 1,200 votes. The critics' rating of 6.1 out of 10 from 160 reviews is close to those audience scores, suggesting a similar overall response from both groups.
What's left behind the scenes
- Writer and director Thomas Bezucha rehearsed with nine actors chosen for the roles of the Stones for several weeks before filming, so they could get to know each other well enough to convincingly portray a family on camera. They also underwent an accelerated course in learning American Sign Language (ASL), as eight of them had to communicate with Tadeusz or translate his statements. And although some critics, as well as members of the film crew, admitted that their command of sign language was below average, the depiction of a middle-class family forced to use sign language for understandable reasons ultimately came across as quite authentic on screen.
- Filming began on February 28, 2005.
- Throughout the film, Diane Keaton skillfully communicates in sign language, a skill she honed since her role in "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" (1977), where she played a teacher for deaf children.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
