August 11th: MARGARET (Kenneth Lonergan, 2011)

A high school student witnesses a tragic accident, plunging her into a moral and ethical dilemma which takes a heavy toll on her personal life and worldview.

New York City native Kenneth Lonergan graduated from NYU and wrote speeches and commercials before writing his Off-Broadway stage debut. His first screenplay was for box office hit Analyze This and led to his first feature as a director, You Can Count On Me, which earned him various critics' awards as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

His follow-up was a story with a considerable gestation period, and one which changed dramatically in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. An early draft of the script ran over 350 pages (the equivalent of a 6-hour film). Lonergan's first choice for the lead role was Anna Paquin, who had appeared in a London run of his play This Is Our Youth.

Lonergan retained two actors from his previous film, Matthew Broderick and Mark Ruffalo. The cast also includes J. Smith-Cameron (Lonergan's real-life spouse), Matt Damon, Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married), French actor Jean Reno (The Professional), Alison Janney, and Jeannie Berlin (Inherent Vice).

The actors went through for weeks of rehearsals before the on-location shooting commenced in 2005.  Lonergan chose Polish cinematographer Ryszard Lenczewski (Ida) in part because of his unfamiliarity with the city and fresh perspective. Much attention was paid to authentic geographical continuity.

The post-production process took longer than usual, though it was originally scheduled for release in the fall of 2007. Lonergan was contractually obligated to keep the running time to 150 minutes or less, but was not pleased with his results. His contract also gave him "final cut" authority, which presented a stalemate between the director and studio Fox Searchlight.

Eventually, lawsuits were brought against one of the film's financiers by the studio, with a countersuit by the financier against Fox Searchlight and Lonergan. Various filmmaking friends and associates were drafted into helping Lonergan complete a cut, including Martin Scorsese and his longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker, producer-director Sydney Pollack, and producer Scott Rudin. In 2011 Scorsese   did another pass which was finally approved by all parties.

The film was barely promoted by the studio and failed to make a dent at the box office, but an online campaign by enthusiastic supporters managed to earn the film a handful of year-end critics' awards. In 2012, Lonergan's preferred extended cut appeared with the home video release of the theatrical version, which includes an different approach to the musical score in addition to extra scenes.

Running time is approx. 3 hrs.