Patrick Stettner Movies
A filmmaker whose humanistic consideration toward the inner-workings of his sophisticated characters found him procuring both a well-established film star and one of Hollywood's hottest up-and-comers for his very first feature film, writer/director Patrick Stettner made a notable impression on critics and arthouse audiences alike with the dialogue-driven Sundance Film Festival favorite The Business of Strangers. A complex tale of two businesswomen who plot revenge against an assumed rapist while stuck at an airport hotel over the course of 24 hours, The Business of Strangers not only earned the recent Columbia Film School graduate a Grand Jury Prize nomination at the 2001 Sundance proceedings, but also earned star Stockard Channing an AFI nomination for Best Female Actress and helped to prove that emerging actress Julia Stiles had much more to offer to the world of film than just another pretty face. However, Stettner's luck didn't start with the production of his first feature.It was during preparation for his student short Flux at Columbia University that Stettner had the good fortune of casting actress Allison Janney before her breakout performances in Big Night and The West Wing made her a hot commodity in Hollywood, and when the award-winning film made the festival rounds, thanks in part to the impressive performance of its female lead, it seemed that the filmmaker's career had successfully launched even before his graduation. Though it would be a good five years before Stettner's feature debut would see the light of the projector bulb, his time was well spent as he deliberately perfected the dialogue and characterization of The Business of Strangers. Inspired by the director's interaction with high-powered businesswomen while working at various advertising agencies and law firms during his graduate-school years, The Business of Strangers needed an experienced and self-assured female lead to truly be effective. When Stettner sent the script to the manager and agent of actress Stockard Channing, the subsequent interest expressed by the actress assured the emerging director that he had found just the right woman for the part. Fortunately for Stettner, both Channing and Stiles were being represented by ICM at the time, and the script quickly made its way into the hands of the eager young actress.
Equally deliberate in the preparation for his sophomore effort as a director, Stettner next chose to collaborate with author Armistead Maupin and screenwriter Terry Anderson for an adaptation of Maupin's controversial novel The Night Listener. When rumors of the adaptation began to float through the Hollywood ranks and the finished script eventually landed in the hands of popular comic-turned-actor Robin Williams, the material proved so powerful that Williams eventually agreed to a dramatically reduced salary to essay the role of a homosexual talk-radio host who is drawn into a dark mystery concerning abused children, AIDS, and obsessive fans. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A man whose life has been touched by tragic illness is drawn into the life of another victim whose story has an unsettling twist in this drama. Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams) is a radio talk show host who has developed a loyal following for his deeply personal on-air monologues, many of which deal with his relationship with his companion Jess (Bobby Cannavale), who is HIV-positive and struggling with his health. When Jess' condition improves, he surprises Gabriel by announcing he needs his space and has decided to break up with him. Gabriel is shaken and feels creatively blocked until Ashe (Joe Morton), a friend in the publishing business, gives him an advance copy of a memoir by Pete Logand (Rory Culkin), a 14-year-old boy living with AIDS. Pete's book is a harrowing memoir of a childhood fraught with abuse of all sorts meted out at the hands of his parents, and Gabriel is deeply moved by his story. One night, Gabriel gets a phone call from Pete, who claims to be a big fan of his radio show, but the call is cut off by Donna (Toni Collette), Pete's stern and protective stepmother. While Gabriel admires Pete's book, he begins to question its veracity, and with the help of Anna (Sandra Oh) tries to research the facts behind the story. As he uncovers more loose ends, Gabriel begins to suspect that Pete isn't the true author of the work, and that Donna has created his terrible past in the name of literary celebrity. The Night Listener was adapted from the novel by Armistead Maupin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Toni Collette, (more)
Two women on different ends of the spectrum of corporate power come together with explosive results in this drama. Julie Styron (Stockard Channing) is a successful executive with a major international corporation who is starting to feel the pressure of her position; she has few friends and no family to buffer her from the responsibilities of her work, and she suspects that the company's CEO is thinking about replacing her. Trying to get one step ahead, she meets with the slightly manipulative headhunter Nick Harris (Frederick Weller). Julie's anxieties come to a head when she has to give a major out-of-town presentation without the help of her assistant Paula Murphy (Julia Stiles), who failed to show up on time. Furious, Julie gives Paula a severe dressing down before firing her, but then Julie is called into a meeting with Nick in which she gets some unexpected news -- she's going to be taking over his job. Eager to celebrate, Julie runs into Paula, and tries to apologize for their earlier encounter by offering her a hotel room for the night and a few drinks. In time, Nick also turns up at the hotel and the women - upon running into him - realize that he is a mutual acquaintance. Later, Paula shares a secret with Julie -- Nick raped one of her friends while they were in college, and since then Paula has pondered taking revenge against him. Julie is eventually drawn into Paula's plan when they encounter Nick later that evening. But there may be more to Paula than meets the eye. The Business of Strangers was the first feature from writer and director Patrick Stettner; the film was shown in competition at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stockard Channing, Julia Stiles, (more)
