The Hairy Bird (also released as
Strike! and
All I Wanna Do) is a
1998 filmThe year 1998 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
written and directed by
Sarah KernochanSarah Kernochan is an Oscar-winning documentarian, film director, screenwriter and producer from the United States.After attending Rosemary Hall and graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1968, she worked as a ghostwriter for The Village Voice for about a year...
and starring
Gaby Hoffmann-Birth:Hoffmann was born in New York, New York. Hoffmann’s mother, Viva , is an actress and writer and appeared in many of Andy Warhol's movies during the 1960s. Hoffmann also has a half-sister, Alexandra Auder, who is 11 years older than her and who also once worked as an actress before becoming a...
,
Kirsten DunstKirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, model, and singer. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories . At the age of 12, Dunst gained widespread recognition playing the role of vampire Claudia in Interview with the...
,
Lynn RedgraveLynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE is an English actress.A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn Redgrave trained in London, before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
, and
Rachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, best known for her role in the hit romantic comedy She's All That and her "Your Brain on Drugs" PSA.-Early life:Cook was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Thomas H...
. The movie was filmed in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
,
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The film is set in 1963, at the fictional "Miss Godard's
Preparatory SchoolA university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education. Some schools will also include a junior, or elementary, school...
for Girls"; the setting is based loosely on Kernochan's experiences at Rosemary Hall during those years. Redgrave plays the headmistress of the school, students of the school are played by Dunst, Hoffman, and Cook, among others.
The first part of the film provides a glimpse into life at an elite
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
boarding schoolA boarding school is a school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board", that is, food and lodging...
in the era between the
Bay of Pigs InvasionThe Bay of Pigs Invasion , was an unsuccessful attempt by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba with support from US government armed forces, to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro.The plan was launched in April 1961, less than three months after John F...
and the assassination of President Kennedy.
Discussion
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The Hairy Bird (also released as
Strike! and
All I Wanna Do) is a
1998 filmThe year 1998 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
written and directed by
Sarah KernochanSarah Kernochan is an Oscar-winning documentarian, film director, screenwriter and producer from the United States.After attending Rosemary Hall and graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1968, she worked as a ghostwriter for The Village Voice for about a year...
and starring
Gaby Hoffmann-Birth:Hoffmann was born in New York, New York. Hoffmann’s mother, Viva , is an actress and writer and appeared in many of Andy Warhol's movies during the 1960s. Hoffmann also has a half-sister, Alexandra Auder, who is 11 years older than her and who also once worked as an actress before becoming a...
,
Kirsten DunstKirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, model, and singer. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories . At the age of 12, Dunst gained widespread recognition playing the role of vampire Claudia in Interview with the...
,
Lynn RedgraveLynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE is an English actress.A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn Redgrave trained in London, before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
, and
Rachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, best known for her role in the hit romantic comedy She's All That and her "Your Brain on Drugs" PSA.-Early life:Cook was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Thomas H...
. The movie was filmed in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
,
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The film is set in 1963, at the fictional "Miss Godard's
Preparatory SchoolA university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education. Some schools will also include a junior, or elementary, school...
for Girls"; the setting is based loosely on Kernochan's experiences at Rosemary Hall during those years. Redgrave plays the headmistress of the school, students of the school are played by Dunst, Hoffman, and Cook, among others.
The first part of the film provides a glimpse into life at an elite
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
boarding schoolA boarding school is a school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board", that is, food and lodging...
in the era between the
Bay of Pigs InvasionThe Bay of Pigs Invasion , was an unsuccessful attempt by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba with support from US government armed forces, to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro.The plan was launched in April 1961, less than three months after John F...
and the assassination of President Kennedy. Odie (Hoffman) is forcibly transferred by her parents from a co-ed school to an all-girls school. After a brief hazing period, she is welcomed into the DAR (Daughters of the American Ravioli) whose members meet in secret to eat cold ravioli stolen from the kitchen, and to discuss their future ambitions. When the group finds out their school is going to merge with a boys' academy, factions form and war is declared. The rest of the film deals with their subversive efforts to kill the merger.
The song "The Hairy Bird" plays during the film's end credits; the song was written by Kernochan and sung by a group which includes Kernochan and five of her Rosemary Hall classmates, including
Glenn CloseGlenn Close is an American actress and singer of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as deranged stalker Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction...
.
Cast
- Gaby Hoffmann
-Birth:Hoffmann was born in New York, New York. Hoffmann’s mother, Viva , is an actress and writer and appeared in many of Andy Warhol's movies during the 1960s. Hoffmann also has a half-sister, Alexandra Auder, who is 11 years older than her and who also once worked as an actress before becoming a...
as Odette "Odie" Sinclair
- Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, model, and singer. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories . At the age of 12, Dunst gained widespread recognition playing the role of vampire Claudia in Interview with the...
as Verena von Stefan
- Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE is an English actress.A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn Redgrave trained in London, before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
as Miss McVane
- Monica Keena
Monica C. Keena is an American actress, known for her roles as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek and Rachel Lindquist on the short-lived comedy Undeclared and her role as Lori Campbell in Freddy vs. Jason.-Early life:...
as Tinka Parker
- Merritt Wever
-Private Life:She graduated from Laguardia High School, and then Sarah Lawrence College. She is trained in acting in New York and has appeared in Brooke Berman's play, Smashing and in Cavedweller with Deidre O'Connell, both Off Broadway.-Career:...
as Maureen 'Momo' Haines
- Heather Matarazzo
Heather Amy Matarazzo is an American actress. Her breakthrough role was as a geeky girl in the film Welcome to the Dollhouse . She played Lilly in The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement...
as Theresa 'Tweety' Goldberg
- Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, best known for her role in the hit romantic comedy She's All That and her "Your Brain on Drugs" PSA.-Early life:Cook was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Thomas H...
as Abigail 'Abby' Sawyer
- Vincent Kartheiser
Vincent Paul Kartheiser is an American actor. As a child actor in the 1990s, he starred in The Indian in the Cupboard , Alaska and Masterminds . He later moved on to more mature roles in independent films...
as Snake - Flat Critter
- Tom Guiry
Thomas John Guiry is an American actor.Guiry was born in Trenton, New Jersey and attended St. Gregory the Great school in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey from kindergarten through eighth grade, and then high school at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey...
as Bradley "Frosty" Frost
- Matthew Lawrence
Matthew William Lawrence is an American actor known for his leading role in the movie Cheats with Trevor Fehrman and his role of Jack Hunter on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World from 1997 to 2000.-Early life:...
as Dennis
- Robert Bockstael
Robert Theodore Bockstael was a Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was a businessman by career....
as Mr. Frank Dewey
- Robin Dunne
Robin Dunne is a Canadian actor, who has had numerous leading roles throughout his career. Among them, television's As If, and Sanctuary. His most creative and notable movie was Cruel Intentions 2 with Amy Adams, Sarah Thompson and Keri Lynn Pratt. He is currently working on a movie called B.F.F....
as Todd Winslow
- Aaron Poole
Aaron Poole is a Canadian actor. His credits include the films Killing Zelda Sparks, Adoration and This Beautiful City, and the television series Strange Days at Blake Holsey High and ZOS: Zone of Separation...
as Beagle - Flat Critter
- Caterina Scorsone
Caterina Scorsone is a Canadian actress.Scorsone was born in Toronto, Ontario. She is the middle child of 5 in her family. She has two older twin sisters, a younger sister and brother...
as Susie
- Danny Smith
Daniel Arthur Smith , is a Canadian actor and musician.-Biography:After high school productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , The Little Shop of Horrors , The Wizard of Oz and more, he began working at Stage West in Mississauga, spending over a year doing dinner...
as Groundhog - Flat Critter
- Brenda Devine as Miss Phipps
- Rosemary Dunsmore as Page Sawyer
- Nigel Bennett
Nigel Bennett is an English actor/director/writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series Forever Knight, for which he won the Canadian Gemini Award for best supporting actor in a dramatic series.-Life and...
as Harvey Sawyer
- Noah Shebib as Conrad Bateman
- Michael Reynolds
Michael Reynolds may refer to:* Michael Reynolds , the lead singer of the country music group Pinmonkey* Michael Curtis Reynolds, convicted American terrorist*Michael D...
as Mr. Armstrong
- Richard McMillan as Bert Chubb (St. Ambrose Boy Housemaster)
- Les Porter as Graham John (St. Ambrose Boy Choirmaster)
- Dorothy Gordon as Mrs. O'Boyle
- Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a...
had a bit partA bit part is a supporting acting role with at least one line of dialogue. In British television, bit parts are referred to as under sixes . Unlike extras, who do not speak any lines at all, actors in bit parts are typically listed in the credits...
as the date of the character played by Monica KeenaMonica C. Keena is an American actress, known for her roles as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek and Rachel Lindquist on the short-lived comedy Undeclared and her role as Lori Campbell in Freddy vs. Jason.-Early life:...
.
- Shawn Ashmore
Shawn Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, most famously known in his role as Jake in the Animorphs. He is easily confused with his twin brother Aaron Ashmore.-Early life:...
had a bit partA bit part is a supporting acting role with at least one line of dialogue. In British television, bit parts are referred to as under sixes . Unlike extras, who do not speak any lines at all, actors in bit parts are typically listed in the credits...
as the photographer of the boys school.
External links and references
- Redeemable Film's webpage for All I Wanna Do
- Script for the film, in PDF format
Portable Document Format is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for document exchange. PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a manner independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system....
, from the director's website
- Lyrics and MP3 for the title song, also from the director's website
- Girls school rules, a May 2000 interview about the film from Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online magazine, with content updated each weekday. American liberal politics is its major focus, but it covers a range of issues. Reviews and articles about music, books and films are also a prominent feature of the site....