New York for beginners

Movie
German title	New York for beginners
Original title	How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
Country of production	Great Britain
original language	English
Publishing year	2008
length	110 minutes
Age rating	FSK o. A.
Rod
Director	Robert B. Willow
script	Peter Straughan
production	Elizabeth Karlsen , ; Stephen Woolley
music	David Arnold
camera	Oliver Stapleton
cut	David Freeman
occupation
	Simon Pegg : Sidney Young; Kirsten Dunst : Alison Olsen; Gillian Anderson : Eleanor Johnson; Jeff Bridges : Clayton Harding; Miquel Brown : Clayton's assistant; Danny Huston : Lawrence Maddox; Emily Denniston : Assistant to Maddox; Megan Fox : Sophie Maes;

New York for Beginners (Original title: How to Lose Friends & Alienate People ) is a British comedy film from 2008 . Directed by Robert B. Weide , the script was written by Peter Straughan based on the memories of Toby Young , based on his book "How To Lose Friends And Alienate People".

action

Sidney Young is a journalist and editor of a small celebrity magazine in England , which has made it its business to publish catchy press releases about celebrities. He received a call from Clayton Harding, editor of Sharps Magazine. This offers him a job in New York City , which Sidney accepts. Clayton warns Sidney on his first day at work that if he wants to succeed, he'd better be nice to everyone and only write friendly reviews to the stars from now on. But with his carefree, critical manner, he messed up with most celebrities in no time. His suggestion to write a slap on a current and hip director is turned down by Clayton. At the same time, Sidney falls in love with his pretty colleague Alison Olsen, who is already in a relationship with Sidney's immediate superior, Lawrence Maddox. However, after Lawrence was fired, his position became vacant, and Clayton gave Sidney the chance to prove himself one last time. This time he bows to the instructions of his boss and makes himself the puppet of the manager of Sophie Maes, an attractive film actress. It works and even wins Sophie's attention. At an event he meets his former boss Lawrence, who in the meantime has not had as much success as Sidney. Lawrence tells him that Alison has left him. Sidney manages to make an unconventional appearance at this event one last time before he travels after Alison to win her over.

background

The film was shot in London and New York City . Shooting started on June 4, 2007. Its world premiere took place on May 15, 2008 at the Cannes International Film Festival . The widespread release in US and British cinemas started on October 3, 2008. The German and Swiss cinema release was on November 27, 2008. The film opened in Austrian cinemas on March 13, 2009. The first broadcast on free TV of German television took place on January 24, 2011 by Sat.1 .

The film project was funded by the UK Film Council , among others . Its production amounted to an estimated 27 and 28 million US dollars . In the United States, nearly $ 2.8 million were made, including over $ 1.4 million on the opening weekend. In UK cinemas, revenue was over £ 4m, with a good £ 1.15m on the opening weekend. Worldwide revenues of nearly 17.3 million US dollars were achieved.

The plot was inspired by the memories of Toby Young , a well-known British journalist and son of sociologist and politician Michael Young , of his work for Vanity Fair magazine . The relationship between Sidney and Alison shown in the film does not come from the book. The role of Clayton Harding is closely related to Graydon Carter , chief editor of Vanity Fair magazine. The protagonist of the film received his last name as a tribute to Toby Young. Toby Young was expelled during the filming of the film set for both disturbing actors and interrupting director Robert B. Weide in his work.

Simon Pegg originally wanted to play the role of Sidney Young in a stage work back in 2004 . However, this project collided with the shooting of " Shaun of the Dead ".

The film "New York for Beginners" was advertised, among other things, with a trailer for a fictional, erotic film biography Mother Teresa , in which actress Megan Fox can be seen in the role of the young, passionate protagonist. In the film "New York for Beginners" you can see Megan Fox and her then fiancé Brian Austin Green . The British actress Janette Scott appeared on the screen for the first time after the 1967 film “ Bikini Paradise ” after a break in filming of 41 years in “New York for Beginners”. The producer Stephen Woolley can be seen with a cameo on the scene at the airport, where he is standing in line behind Simon Pegg.

The library card that Sidney Young pulls out in the film is issued to the library in the city of Gloucester and thus pays homage to the birthplace of Simon Pegg. The film also contains various allusions to the film " The Big Lebowski " by Ethan and Joel Coen . Sidney accidentally calls his landlady Kowalski by the name “Lebowski”. Lawrence Maddox also drinks White Russians , the favorite drink of "The Dude", the leading actor in the movie "The Big Lebowski". In addition, Simon Pegg calls his boss Clayton Harding “Dude” in one scene, whereupon he replies that he is not the “Dude”. After all, Alison Olsen comes from Port Huron in the US state of Michigan . In “The Big Lebowski” the “Dude” is named as co-author of the radical Port Huron Declaration . Reference is also made to Simon Pegg's film " Run, Fatboy, Run ", because at the beginning of the film "New York for Beginners" Sidney tries to attract the attention of Thandie Newton, who is the love of his life in "Run, Fatboy, Run" was. During the course of the film, Sidney tries several times to gain access to events by being put on the guest list under a false name. One of these names is Oscar Wright , who is the younger brother of British director, writer and producer Edgar Wright .

criticism

Christina Krisch writes in the Kronen-Zeitung on March 12, 2009 that the way Simon Pegg stirs up Manhattan's vain celebrity scene has satirical-clownish moments. The weird course of tactlessness would win sympathy above all through the refreshing charm of Kirsten Dunst , who gently but firmly arouses the romantic streak in the rowdy anarcho writer.

The editorial team of Cinema says: “Based on the true story of a British journalist, the celebrity satire plays with all the clichés that the topic has to offer. That might not be new, but it's always fun. Wonderfully absurd and moral in an entertaining way. "

In the opinion of the Lexicon of International Films , the film is a “turbulent comedy with amusing satirical swipes at the celebrity world and the glossy jungle. The sneaky joke of the film, however, all too often silts up in the less subtle tendency to slapstick and in punch lines below the belt. "