Disturbia (film)
Encyclopedia
Disturbia is a 2007 American thriller film
directed
by D. J. Caruso
and executive produced
by Ivan Reitman
. It is an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock
's classic film Rear Window
. Disturbia stars Shia LaBeouf
as a teenager who thinks he has witnessed a murder when spying on his suspicious neighbor while serving house arrest
.
) father is killed in a car accident, Kale is arrested after attacking a teacher who made a remark about Kale's father, saying "What would your father think?" Pleading guilty to the assault charge, and six months away of being eighteen, the maximum penalty is a year in juvie, considering his prior criminal record, strike three, but the judge is sympathetic towards Kale, sentencing him to three months of house arrest. He is then secured with an ankle monitor
and a proximity sensor which prohibits him from leaving a 100 foot (30 m) radius of his house.
Kale initially satiates his boredom by playing video games, but his mother, Julie Brecht (Carrie-Anne Moss
), cancels his Xbox Live
and iTunes
accounts to keep costs down, due to the running costs of his house arrest, and then cuts the cord of his television to get him to work a little more creatively, forcing him to find something else to do. This leads Kale to start spying upon the surrounding neighborhood, including his new neighbor, Ashley Carlson (Sarah Roemer
).
Kale begins to become suspicious of his neighbor, Robert Turner (David Morse
), after several weird occurrences at his house leads Kale to believe he is a serial killer
. Kale and his best friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo
) begin to research information on Turner and his possible victims. After being alerted to Kale and Ronnie’s spying, Ashley confronts Kale, and subsequently joins the pair in helping them investigate Turner. That night, Kale observes a date of Turner's in a panicked state. After Turner turns off his lights, Kale uses his binoculars to see what's happening. As Kale pans from window to window, he sees Turner looking straight at him. After Kale hides, he sees Turner's date leaving. The next morning, Kale is shocked after he enters his kitchen to see his mom flirting with Turner. Before Turner leaves, he implies threats to Kale that go unnoticed by Julie.
That night, Ashley confronts Kale after he attempts to ruin a party she is throwing. He tells her of his burgeoning feelings for her, and they start kissing. Later, with Kale and Ashley watching, Turner drags a heavy bag to his garage with blood on it. The next day, Kale insists that Ronnie break into Turner's car to get his garage door opener, while Ashley follows Turner to inform Kale if he goes home. Ronnie manages to get the garage code, but accidentally leaves his cell phone behind. Meanwhile, after Ashley loses Turner, he suddenly appears in front of her car. He gets in and tells her that all he wants is privacy, while insinuating that harm may come to her if she continues to spy on him.
That night, realizing that he left his phone in Turner's car, Ronnie attempts to get it back. In Turner’s garage, video camera in hand, Ronnie recovers his phone when the garage door suddenly shuts. Ronnie thinks somebody is there, leading him to run and hide in Turner's house. As Kale attempts to rescue him, his ankle monitor goes off. The police arrive, and Kale informs them that Ronnie is in danger. Hearing the noise, Turner comes out and allows the officers to search his garage. Ronnie is nowhere to be found, when Kale suggests they look in the bloody bag. They open it to reveal the remains of a deer that Turner had hit with his car.
Later, Julie goes across the street to talk to Turner, with the hope of steering him away from pressing charges. Kale’s fears of Ronnie being dead are abated, when Ronnie reveals himself to be alive and unharmed. Kale then watches Ronnie's videotape; in the video, as Ronnie falls over, he accidentally filmed something hidden behind an air vent. Kale zooms in and sees what looks like a clear bag with a dead body inside. At the same time, Julie turns her back on Turner, and he knocks her out.
Turner goes to Kale’s house where he knocks out Ronnie with a bat and after a struggle between the two, binds and gags Kale with duct tape. Turner begins to reveal his plan to frame Kale, when Ashley distracts Turner. Kale attacks Turner, and with Ashley's help, manages to subdue him. With Turner slowed down, Kale and Ashley hide in Kale’s room, and she frees Kale from the duct tape binding him and taping his mouth. Turner suddenly returns and breaks down the door with the baseball bat, as Kale and Ashley escape by jumping out a nearby window down to Ashley’s pool.
Kale grabs a pair of garden shears and goes to search for his mother, while Ashley goes to warn the police. Meanwhile, an officer (the cousin of the teacher Kale attacked) alerted to Kale’s bracelet, arrives and enters Turner’s house. As he walks through, Turner sneaks up behind him and breaks his neck. Proceeding to the basement of Turner’s house, Kale falls through the floor and lands in a pool containing several dead bodies in various states of decay. He climbs out and eventually finds Julie bound and gagged. Turner suddenly appears and Julie stabs Turner in the leg, giving Kale time to kill Turner with the gardening shears. Kale and Julie exit the house as the police arrive.
Kale's ankle monitor is finally removed and he is released from house arrest for "good behavior". Later, Kale gets revenge on the three kids who egged his house by posing as a satellite TV operator and calling their mother to inform her of their pornographic film viewing. Ashley and Kale are making out on a sofa when they are interrupted by Ronnie filming them. Kale flips him off
as he continues to kiss Ashley.
and Pasadena, California
. Filming began on the morning of January 6, 2006 and ended on April 28, 2006. The homes of Kale and Mr. Turner, which were supposed to be across from each other, were actually located in two different cities. Most of the movie was filmed in Whittier
, California
.
.
gives the film a score of 68% based on reviews from 165 critics, with the consensus that the film is "a tense, subtle thriller with a noteworthy performance from Shia LaBeouf
". On Metacritic
, the film had an average score of 62%, based on 28 reviews.
The film earned a "two thumbs up" rating from Richard Roeper
and A.O. Scott (filling in for Roger Ebert
), with Roeper saying, "This is a cool little thriller with big scares and fine performances."
Many criticized the change of atmosphere two-thirds of the way into the film, when the initial pacing and action morphs into that of a "run-of-the-mill slasher
horror film
".
David Denby
of The New Yorker
judged the film "a travesty", adding: "The dopiness of it, however, may be an indication not so much of cinematic ineptitude as of the changes in a movie culture that was once devoted to adults and is now rather haplessly and redundantly devoted to kids."
The film won 3 Teen Choice Awards including Choice Movie: Horror/Thriller, Choice Movie: Breakout Male (Shia LaBeouf
) and Choice Movie Actor: Horror/Thriller (Shia LaBeouf
) .
, and Universal Studios
on September 5, 2008. The suit alleged that Disturbia infringed on the rights to Cornell Woolrich
's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder" (the basis for the classic Alfred Hitchcock
film Rear Window
), and that DreamWorks never bothered to obtain motion picture rights to the intellectual property
and evaded compensating the rights holder for the alleged appropriation. (Ownership of the copyright in Woolrich's original story "It Had to Be Murder" and its use as the basis for the movie Rear Window was previously litigated before the United States Supreme Court in Stewart v. Abend
, 495 U.S. 207 (1990).)
This claim was rejected by the New York District Court on the basis that Disturbia contained many subplots not in the original story.
and HD DVD
on August 7, 2007 and on Blu-ray Disc
on March 15, 2008. In the 'Making of Disturbia' section of the DVD
's 'special feature's' section it is revealed that LaBeouf
and Morse
did not have much contact off-set, so as to make the fight scenes at the end of the movie as realistic as possible.
"Lonely Day
" by System of a Down
is not featured on the soundtrack even though it was in the movie.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by D. J. Caruso
D. J. Caruso
Daniel John "D.J." Caruso is an American director and producer. Caruso has directed the films Disturbia, Two for the Money, Taking Lives, The Salton Sea, Eagle Eye and I Am Number Four. He has also directed television episodes for shows such as The Shield, Over There, Smallville, and Dark Angel...
and executive produced
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
by Ivan Reitman
Ivan Reitman
Ivan Reitman, OC is a Canadian film producer and director. He is known for the comedies he has directed and produced, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.He is the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 2000.-Early life:...
. It is an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's classic film Rear Window
Rear Window
Rear Window is a 1954 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes and based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder"...
. Disturbia stars Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
as a teenager who thinks he has witnessed a murder when spying on his suspicious neighbor while serving house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
.
Plot
A year after Kale Brecht's (Shia LaBeoufShia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
) father is killed in a car accident, Kale is arrested after attacking a teacher who made a remark about Kale's father, saying "What would your father think?" Pleading guilty to the assault charge, and six months away of being eighteen, the maximum penalty is a year in juvie, considering his prior criminal record, strike three, but the judge is sympathetic towards Kale, sentencing him to three months of house arrest. He is then secured with an ankle monitor
Ankle monitor
An ankle monitor is a device that individuals under house arrest are often required to wear. At timed intervals, the ankle monitor sends a radio frequency signal containing location and other information to a receiver. If an offender moves outside of an allowed range, the police will be notified...
and a proximity sensor which prohibits him from leaving a 100 foot (30 m) radius of his house.
Kale initially satiates his boredom by playing video games, but his mother, Julie Brecht (Carrie-Anne Moss
Carrie-Anne Moss
-External links:...
), cancels his Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
accounts to keep costs down, due to the running costs of his house arrest, and then cuts the cord of his television to get him to work a little more creatively, forcing him to find something else to do. This leads Kale to start spying upon the surrounding neighborhood, including his new neighbor, Ashley Carlson (Sarah Roemer
Sarah Roemer
Sarah Christine Roemer is an American model and actress. She is best known for her roles in the films Disturbia, Asylum, and Fired Up!.-Life and career:...
).
Kale begins to become suspicious of his neighbor, Robert Turner (David Morse
David Morse (actor)
David Bowditch Morse is an American stage, television, and film actor. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack Morrison in the medical drama St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988...
), after several weird occurrences at his house leads Kale to believe he is a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
. Kale and his best friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo
Aaron Yoo
-Personal life:Aaron Yoo was born in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey to Korean parents. He has an older sister. He played the cello for the East Brunswick High School orchestra and ran track...
) begin to research information on Turner and his possible victims. After being alerted to Kale and Ronnie’s spying, Ashley confronts Kale, and subsequently joins the pair in helping them investigate Turner. That night, Kale observes a date of Turner's in a panicked state. After Turner turns off his lights, Kale uses his binoculars to see what's happening. As Kale pans from window to window, he sees Turner looking straight at him. After Kale hides, he sees Turner's date leaving. The next morning, Kale is shocked after he enters his kitchen to see his mom flirting with Turner. Before Turner leaves, he implies threats to Kale that go unnoticed by Julie.
That night, Ashley confronts Kale after he attempts to ruin a party she is throwing. He tells her of his burgeoning feelings for her, and they start kissing. Later, with Kale and Ashley watching, Turner drags a heavy bag to his garage with blood on it. The next day, Kale insists that Ronnie break into Turner's car to get his garage door opener, while Ashley follows Turner to inform Kale if he goes home. Ronnie manages to get the garage code, but accidentally leaves his cell phone behind. Meanwhile, after Ashley loses Turner, he suddenly appears in front of her car. He gets in and tells her that all he wants is privacy, while insinuating that harm may come to her if she continues to spy on him.
That night, realizing that he left his phone in Turner's car, Ronnie attempts to get it back. In Turner’s garage, video camera in hand, Ronnie recovers his phone when the garage door suddenly shuts. Ronnie thinks somebody is there, leading him to run and hide in Turner's house. As Kale attempts to rescue him, his ankle monitor goes off. The police arrive, and Kale informs them that Ronnie is in danger. Hearing the noise, Turner comes out and allows the officers to search his garage. Ronnie is nowhere to be found, when Kale suggests they look in the bloody bag. They open it to reveal the remains of a deer that Turner had hit with his car.
Later, Julie goes across the street to talk to Turner, with the hope of steering him away from pressing charges. Kale’s fears of Ronnie being dead are abated, when Ronnie reveals himself to be alive and unharmed. Kale then watches Ronnie's videotape; in the video, as Ronnie falls over, he accidentally filmed something hidden behind an air vent. Kale zooms in and sees what looks like a clear bag with a dead body inside. At the same time, Julie turns her back on Turner, and he knocks her out.
Turner goes to Kale’s house where he knocks out Ronnie with a bat and after a struggle between the two, binds and gags Kale with duct tape. Turner begins to reveal his plan to frame Kale, when Ashley distracts Turner. Kale attacks Turner, and with Ashley's help, manages to subdue him. With Turner slowed down, Kale and Ashley hide in Kale’s room, and she frees Kale from the duct tape binding him and taping his mouth. Turner suddenly returns and breaks down the door with the baseball bat, as Kale and Ashley escape by jumping out a nearby window down to Ashley’s pool.
Kale grabs a pair of garden shears and goes to search for his mother, while Ashley goes to warn the police. Meanwhile, an officer (the cousin of the teacher Kale attacked) alerted to Kale’s bracelet, arrives and enters Turner’s house. As he walks through, Turner sneaks up behind him and breaks his neck. Proceeding to the basement of Turner’s house, Kale falls through the floor and lands in a pool containing several dead bodies in various states of decay. He climbs out and eventually finds Julie bound and gagged. Turner suddenly appears and Julie stabs Turner in the leg, giving Kale time to kill Turner with the gardening shears. Kale and Julie exit the house as the police arrive.
Kale's ankle monitor is finally removed and he is released from house arrest for "good behavior". Later, Kale gets revenge on the three kids who egged his house by posing as a satellite TV operator and calling their mother to inform her of their pornographic film viewing. Ashley and Kale are making out on a sofa when they are interrupted by Ronnie filming them. Kale flips him off
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
as he continues to kiss Ashley.
Cast
- Shia LaBeoufShia LaBeoufShia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
as Kale Brecht, a 17-year-old high school junior. Caruso auditioned over a hundred males for the role in five weeks before settling on LaBeouf as he was looking for someone "who guys would really like and respond to, because he wasn’t going to be such a pretty boy". LaBeouf was attracted to the role because of the director's 2002 film The Salton SeaThe Salton SeaThe Salton Sea is a 2002 American neo-noir film starring Val Kilmer and Vincent D'Onofrio directed by D. J. Caruso.-Plot:While playing the trumpet in a burning room, the protagonist's voice is heard in narration. His story begins with him posing as "Danny Parker", a speed freak addicted to...
, which he complimented as one of his favorite films. Before filming started, the two watched the thriller films Rear WindowRear WindowRear Window is a 1954 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes and based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder"...
, Straw Dogs, and The ConversationThe ConversationThe Conversation is a 1974 American psychological thriller film written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman...
starring Gene HackmanGene HackmanEugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
. They also viewed the 1989 romantic film Say Anything... and "mixed all the movies together." LaBeouf says he spoke to people on house arrest and locked himself in a room with the bracelet to feel what the confinement of house arrest is like. He commented in an interview, "it's hard. I'm not going to say it's harder than jail, but it's tough. House arrest is hard because everything is available. [...] The temptation sucks. That's the torture of it." Caruso gave him the freedom to improvise whenever necessary to make the dialogue appeal to the current generation. During filming, LaBeouf began a program that saw him gain twenty five pounds of muscle in preparation of his future films Transformers and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. - Sarah RoemerSarah RoemerSarah Christine Roemer is an American model and actress. She is best known for her roles in the films Disturbia, Asylum, and Fired Up!.-Life and career:...
as Ashley Carlson, Kale's neighbor and love interest. - Aaron YooAaron Yoo-Personal life:Aaron Yoo was born in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey to Korean parents. He has an older sister. He played the cello for the East Brunswick High School orchestra and ran track...
as Ronnie, Kale's best friend. - David MorseDavid Morse (actor)David Bowditch Morse is an American stage, television, and film actor. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack Morrison in the medical drama St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988...
as Robert Turner, Kale's neighbour and the serial killer next door. - Carrie-Anne MossCarrie-Anne Moss-External links:...
as Julie Brecht, Kale's mother. - Matt CravenMatt Craven-Life and career:Craven was born Matthew John Crnkovich in Port Colborne, Ontario, the son of Joanne Leslie, a hairdresser, and Nick Crnkovich. He has an older sister, Deborah...
as Daniel Brecht, Kale's deceased father. - Rene Rivera as Señor Gutierrez, Kale's Spanish teacher.
- Jose Pablo CantilloJose Pablo CantilloJose Pablo Cantillo is an American actor of Costa Rican descent.Jose Pablo Cantillo grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, and attended Terre Haute South Vigo High School where he was a tennis standout for all 4 years, leading the Terre Haute South Braves to a State Runner-Up finish in 1996...
as Officer Gutierrez, the cousin of Señor Gutierrez. - Viola DavisViola DavisViola Davis is an American actress.Known primarily as a stage actress, Davis won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and a Drama Desk Award for her role in King Hedley II . She won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role in the...
as Detective Parker
Production
Disturbia was filmed on location in the cities of Whittier, CaliforniaWhittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
and Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. Filming began on the morning of January 6, 2006 and ended on April 28, 2006. The homes of Kale and Mr. Turner, which were supposed to be across from each other, were actually located in two different cities. Most of the movie was filmed in Whittier
Whittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Box office
Disturbia was released on April 13 in the United States and opened at #1 in its first week at the box office with $23 million. Despite a 10 million decrease in its second week, it remained on top of the box office. In its third week, it held on with $9.1 million. In its fourth week, it earned $5.7 million and finished second behind the record-breaking Spider-Man 3Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
.
Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gives the film a score of 68% based on reviews from 165 critics, with the consensus that the film is "a tense, subtle thriller with a noteworthy performance from Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
". On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had an average score of 62%, based on 28 reviews.
The film earned a "two thumbs up" rating from Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
and A.O. Scott (filling in for Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
), with Roeper saying, "This is a cool little thriller with big scares and fine performances."
Many criticized the change of atmosphere two-thirds of the way into the film, when the initial pacing and action morphs into that of a "run-of-the-mill slasher
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
".
David Denby
David Denby (film critic)
David Denby is an American journalist, best known as a film critic for The New Yorker magazine.-Background and education:Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A...
of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
judged the film "a travesty", adding: "The dopiness of it, however, may be an indication not so much of cinematic ineptitude as of the changes in a movie culture that was once devoted to adults and is now rather haplessly and redundantly devoted to kids."
The film won 3 Teen Choice Awards including Choice Movie: Horror/Thriller, Choice Movie: Breakout Male (Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
) and Choice Movie Actor: Horror/Thriller (Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
) .
Lawsuit
The Sheldon Abend Revocable Trust filed a lawsuit against DreamWorks, its parent company ViacomViacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
, and Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
on September 5, 2008. The suit alleged that Disturbia infringed on the rights to Cornell Woolrich
Cornell Woolrich
Cornell George Hopley-Woolrich was an American novelist and short story writer who sometimes wrote under the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley....
's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder" (the basis for the classic Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
film Rear Window
Rear Window
Rear Window is a 1954 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes and based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder"...
), and that DreamWorks never bothered to obtain motion picture rights to the intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
and evaded compensating the rights holder for the alleged appropriation. (Ownership of the copyright in Woolrich's original story "It Had to Be Murder" and its use as the basis for the movie Rear Window was previously litigated before the United States Supreme Court in Stewart v. Abend
Stewart v. Abend
Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 , was an important United States Supreme Court decision which held that a copyright owner has the exclusive right to permit the creation and exploitation of derivative works, regardless of potentially conflicting agreements by prior copyright holders.-Facts:Cornell...
, 495 U.S. 207 (1990).)
This claim was rejected by the New York District Court on the basis that Disturbia contained many subplots not in the original story.
Home media
The film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
on August 7, 2007 and on Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on March 15, 2008. In the 'Making of Disturbia' section of the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
's 'special feature's' section it is revealed that LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
and Morse
David Morse (actor)
David Bowditch Morse is an American stage, television, and film actor. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack Morrison in the medical drama St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988...
did not have much contact off-set, so as to make the fight scenes at the end of the movie as realistic as possible.
Soundtrack
- "Always Love" – Nada SurfNada SurfNada Surf is an American alternative rock band. Formed in 1992, the New York band consists of Matthew Caws , Ira Elliot and Daniel Lorca .-Early years:...
- "Don't Make Me Wait" – This World FairThis World FairThis World Fair was a rock act based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The line-up included the singer-songwriter Chris Kalgren , along with a touring band consisting of Alexander Young and Matt Lennander . This World Fair internationally released their first full-length album, self-titled This...
- "One Man Wrecking MachineOne Man Wrecking Machine"One Man Wrecking Machine" is the 4th song from Guster's 2006 album Ganging Up on the Sun.The song was included for the soundtrack to the 2007 movie Disturbia, and was played at the closing scene...
" – GusterGusterGuster is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 1991, the group is known for its live performances and humor, founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel came about to begin practice sessions while attending Tufts University in Medford,... - "Whoa Now" – Louque
- "Gangsta Boogie" – Love Stink
- "Next 2 You" – BuckcherryBuckcherryBuckcherry is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1995. The band released two albums, Buckcherry and Time Bomb , before partially dissolving in the summer of 2002. In 2005, lead vocalist Josh Todd and lead guitarist Keith Nelson reformed Buckcherry and released a new album...
- "Because I Got High" – AfromanAfromanJoseph Edgar Foreman , better known by his stage name Afroman, is an American rapper who came to prominence with his singles "Because I Got High" and "Crazy Rap". "Because I Got High" circulated around the Internet before becoming a hit worldwide...
- "We Love Reggae" – Noiseshaper
- "The Great American Napkin" – The Summer Skinny
- "Dream" – Priscilla AhnPriscilla AhnPriscilla Ahn is an American singer-songwriter.-Early life and education:Ahn was born Priscilla Natalie Hartranft in Fort Stewart, Georgia to Kay and Harry Hartranft and spent her childhood living in the USA and South Korea. She lived in Berks County, Pennsylvania for several years and attended...
- "Lovin' You" – Minnie RipertonMinnie RipertonMinnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...
- "You'll Never Find Another Love Like MineYou'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine"You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" is a song performed by R&B singer Lou Rawls on his 1976 album All Things in Time. The song proved to be Rawls' breakthrough hit, reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the R&B and Easy Listening charts. The single also reached...
" – Lou RawlsLou RawlsLouis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"... - "Taper Jean GirlTaper Jean Girl"Taper Jean Girl" is a song by American rock band Kings of Leon. It is the third track on their 2005 album Aha Shake Heartbreak. A fan favorite, the song is known for its tight spiraling guitar, barely discernible, unmistakably dirty chorus, and as Rolling Stone calls it, "a final double-time...
" – Kings of LeonKings of LeonKings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...
"Lonely Day
Lonely Day
"Lonely Day" is the second single from the 2005 album Hypnotize by the band System of a Down. It was written by guitarist Daron Malakian, who also provides lead vocals on the track. The song received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards."Lonely Day" features...
" by System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
is not featured on the soundtrack even though it was in the movie.
Score
- "Disturbia" (7:02)
- "Fishing" (3:52)
- "Poofoot" (1:15)
- "Voyeurism" (2:35)
- "Every Killer Lives Next Door to Someone" (3:35)
- "I Like to Play" (1:46)
- "Stealth Ranie" (5:10)
- "Walking Ashley Home" (2:01)
- "The Club Girl" (2:47)
- "Stalking a Killer" (7:15)
- "The Basement Graveyard" (8:50)