Sideways
Short description
Miles, a divorced high school English teacher who has never managed to publish his novel, and Jack, a fading actor whose wedding is only a week away, set off together through the wine country of California's Santa Ynez Valley. Miles knows wine and needs distraction after his divorce; Jack wants one last stretch of freedom before he settles down. Tasting rooms and restaurants along the way draw both men into new encounters with women, and the trip gradually becomes less about the vineyards than about how each of them wants to live.
Alexander Payne directed and wrote the screenplay with Jim Taylor, the fourth of his features after Citizen Ruth, Election and About Schmidt. Paul Giamatti plays Miles, with Thomas Haden Church as Jack, Virginia Madsen as Maya and Sandra Oh as Stephanie, among a credited cast of 37.
Made for about 16 million dollars, the film took in roughly 109 million worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 7.5/10 from around 216,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.1/10 from far fewer, near 2,000. A critics' rating of 8.8/10 from 229 reviews places it clearly above both audience scores. It runs 127 minutes and blends comedy, drama and romance.
What's left behind the scenes
- Most of the dialogue spoken around the table during the conversation between Miles, Jack, Maya, and Stephanie was pure improvisation.
- Alexander Payne independently selected the wine list for the film. Meanwhile, almost all the wines used in the wine tasting scenes were non-alcoholic. The actors had to drink so much that there were even cases of simple poisoning.
- The 1961 Cheval Blanc wine that Miles is saving for a special occasion is actually made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc – two grape varieties that Miles dismisses throughout the film.
- Thomas Hayden Church auditioned for Alexander Payne's previous film, "About Schmidt," but didn't get the role at the time.
- The film's 'wine' theme resonated so strongly with film fans that sales of Pinot Noir wine in the US increased by 20% between 2004 and 2005 (a similar boom was observed in the UK). At the same time, Merlot sales declined significantly during the same period.
- The photograph Miles looks at during his visit to his parents' house is actually a picture of Paul Giamatti and his father (former National Baseball League Commissioner) Bart Giamatti.
- During the preparation for filming, actress Sandra Oh had to learn the art of motorcycle riding.
- The role of Jack was written specifically for George Clooney, however, director Alexander Payne believed that Clooney was too big a star for his project and declined his services.
- The food consumed by the actors during the filming of the scene in Miles Jack's mother's house – Miles and the 'landlady' herself – led to all three becoming victims of severe poisoning.
- The filming of the scene at the "Frass Canyon" winery took place at the "Fess Parker" establishment, owned by 1950s Hollywood star Davy Crockett.
- During filming, a romance blossomed between director Alexander Payne and actress Sandra Oh, and they married shortly thereafter, although their marriage lasted only a few months.
- In the scene where Miles (Paul Giamatti) returns the golf ball to the players so that it ends up behind their backs, the shot is actually performed by the author of the novel on which the film is based, Rex Pickett. He insisted that Paul would never be able to make such a shot, and the film crew had to agree with him.
- Both New York Times crosswords that Miles solves in the film were actually printed in that newspaper on September 27 and October 9, 2003.
- In an English literature class at the end of the film, one of Miles' students reads an excerpt from John Knowles' novel 'A Separate Peace' to the class.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
