August is a 2008 American drama film directed by Austin Chick and presented by 57th & Irving. The screenplay by Howard A. Rodman focuses on two brothers, ambitious dot-com entrepreneurs attempting to keep their company afloat as the stock market begins to collapse in August 2001, one month prior to the 9/11 attacks.

August
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAustin Chick
Written byHoward A. Rodman
Produced byJosh Hartnett
David Guy Levy
Charlie Corwin
Clara Markowicz
Elisa Pugliese
StarringJosh Hartnett
Naomie Harris
David Bowie
Rip Torn
Adam Scott
Emmanuelle Chriqui
CinematographyAndrij Parekh
Edited byPete Beaudreau
Music byNathan Larson
Production
companies
Original Media
Periscope Entertainment
Distributed byFirst Look Studios
Release dates
  • January 22, 2008 (2008-01-22) (Sundance)
  • July 11, 2008 (2008-07-11) (United States)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3.4 million
Box office$12,636[1]

The film premiered as an official selection of the Spectrum section at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The film did poorly among film critics and received generally poor reviews.

Plot

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Tom and Joshua Sterling are brothers whose Internet startup company, Landshark, is as hot as a New York City summer – only this is the summer of 2001, their company is in lock up, its stock price is plunging and, in a few weeks, the world will change forever.

In the meantime, Tom is living the hedonistic life of an Internet star; he dates multiple women, drives a 67 Camaro convertible and hangs out at a new club called Bungalow 8. Tom Sterling is a true showman, a demigod in a cult – and culture – of personality.

Cast

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Festival screenings

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Festival Section Screening Dates
Sundance Film Festival Spectrum[2] January 22, 2008
January 23, 2008
January 24, 2008
January 26, 2008
Seattle International Film Festival Contemporary World Cinema[3] May 29, 2008
June 2, 2008
Brooklyn International Film Festival Narrative Feature Films[4] May 31, 2008
June 6, 2008
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Horizons[5] July 7, 2008
Oldenburg International Film Festival International Section September 11, 2008
Flanders International Film Festival Ghent World Cinema October 10, 2008
Bahamas International Film Festival Spirit Of Freedom: Dramatic[6] December 8, 2008

Critical reception

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Rotten Tomatoes gives the film 36% based on 25 reviews, with a consensus that "Josh Hartnett puts in a well-intentioned performance but overall, August only superficially explores its dotcom-burst setting."[7] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 39 out of 100 based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[8]

References

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  1. ^ "August (2008)". Box Office Mojo. July 24, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  2. ^ 2008 Online Film Guide Archived January 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Sundance International Film Festival
  3. ^ The Festival – Films & Events Archived 2011-01-06 at the Wayback Machine, Seattle International Film Festival
  4. ^ 2008 Edition – Category Feature / Film Details, Brooklyn Film Festival Film Library
  5. ^ History – Film Archive, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
  6. ^ "Bahamas Festival to close with Spike Lee's Miracle of St Anna". Screen Daily. Jeremy Kay. November 13, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  7. ^ "August Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
  8. ^ "August (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
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