Fox Searchlight is Gonna 'Whip It!' Good
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Distribution, Fox Searchlight
Roller derby diehards and grrl-power folks will be pleased to know that Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It! has finally gotten a distributor and a release date: Fox Searchlight will be unleashing it in wide release on October 9th, 2009. Drew Barrymore is also an executive producer; her production company Flower Films is behind the release.Based on the novel Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, Whip It! is the story of a small-town Texas gal named Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) who channels her inner bad-ass with help from a roller derby league in nearby Austin. Cross is also a derby girl from Texas; her not-to-be-messed-with nom de rink is Maggie Mayhem.
Whip It! also stars Drew Barrymore as Smashley Simpson, Juliette Lewis as Dinah Might, Kristen Wiig as Malice in Wonderland, real-life stunt woman Zoe Bell as Bloody Holly, Eve as Rosa Sparks, and many more as derby grrls throwing elbows and jeers on eight wheels. Marcia Gay Harden plays Bliss's prim 'n' proper mom.
Although some people are hard on Ellen Page and her deadpan Juno vibe, I think she will be great as Bliss and frankly, I've missed seeing her face onscreen. I have to admit to skipping Smart People, and I've yet to catch The Tracey Fragments or An American Crime on DVD. (If you've seen either, please chime in! I'm curious about An American Crime, especially given the brutal nature of the story.)
So much girl power! Can audiences handle it? Judging by the screaming hordes of fans I've seen at any roller derby race I've been to, the answer is hell yes.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-02-2009 @ 10:58AM
sam said...
Smart people would have been good had Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker's storyline been scrapped. Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church are both great in it. An American Crime is a lot less brutal than I was expecting it to be, don't get me wrong, there are some relatively gut wrenching parts, but it's not the constant torture I was expecting from it. Ellen Page is of course fantastic in it. And, the Tracey Fragments was the worst of the bunch in my opinion, the only real thing the movie has going for it is Page's acting. I feel like it would have been much better had the story been told in a straightforward way rather than the multiple screens at a time way. Of course, with all this said, Hard Candy is still her best movie in my opinion. I'm looking forward to Whip It! and others from her though.
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5-02-2009 @ 12:02PM
Hell on Wheels said...
Hell yeah! And if you wanna see the kick ass documentary about the birth of modern derby (that started in Austin in 2001), catch the critically acclaimed "Hell on Wheels." www.HellOnWheelsTheMovie.com
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5-02-2009 @ 12:04PM
Hell on Wheels said...
“Hell on Wheels is an epic doc. It's fast, fun, and inspiring.”
- Chris Gore (founder, Film Threat Magazine)
“…the kind of twists, drama, cat fights and compound fractures that only happen in real life. …the story is extremely compelling, sometimes laugh-out-loud outrageous and above all inspiring.”
- Ain't It Cool News
"Hell on Wheels is full of adrenaline-fueled highs, heartbreaking lows, and lots of chicks in short skirts kicking the shit out of each other."
- The Onion's A.V. Club
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5-04-2009 @ 1:12PM
Perky Set said...
YAY!!! Can't wait for this movie!!!!
Tracy Fragments is an interesting artistic film by canadian Bruce McDonald. Most of it was shot in my home town Hamilton, Ontario! I say watch it.....you just have to be open to the "fragmented" shots.
Cheers,
Perky Set - Hammer City Roller Girls
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6-05-2009 @ 10:26PM
Izzie said...
I love Ellen Page. Smart People was not great but An American Crime was hard to get through but worth it. I agree with Sam knowing a small amount about the crime I expected a little more torture but it was incredible and had really enough to get the idea across. The ending was absolutely gut retching. The Tracey Fragments is actually one of my favorite movies but I think you almost have to read the book to appreciate it fully. Bruce McDonald if great. It's sad when I see Ellen Page around Halifax more than I do on screen she is a very talented person and best of all intelligent.
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7-07-2009 @ 2:48PM
RoadWarrior said...
Can't wait for Whip It! Huge Ellen Page fan and really looking forward to this film....especially with Alia Shawkat playing her best friend. As for her other movies mentioned....I liked The Tracey Fragments....its a trippy movie and Ellen was superb in the title role. An American Crime was tough to watch....not a real fan of anyone being tortured. Smart People....well the scenes with Ellen in it were very good....and like an earlier poster mentioned, would have been better if the focus was on Ellen and Thomas Haden Church. It will be great to see a new Ellen movie
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