Where the Heart Is (2000)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Matt Williams

Writers (WGA):

Lowell Ganz (screenplay) &
Babaloo Mandel (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

28 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Laughter is harder... Friendship is stronger... Trust is deeper... When it comes from the heart.

Plot:

A pregnant 17-year-old rebuilds her life after being abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma.

Plot Keywords:

Wal Mart | Oklahoma | Pregnant | Birth | Tennessee

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Dylan Bruno	...	Willy Jack Pickens
Ray Prewitt	...	Tim
Laura House	...	Nicki
Karey Green	...	Rhonda
Natalie Portman	...	Novalee Nation
Keith David	...	Moses Whitecotten
Mary Ashleigh Green	...	Girl in Bathroom
Kinna McInroe	...	Wal-Mart Clerk
Laura Auldridge	...	Wal-Mart Assistant Manager
Stockard Channing	...	Sister Husband
Alicia Godwin	...	Jolene
Dennis Letts	...	Sheriff
James Frain	...	Forney Hull
Richard Jones	...	Mr. Sprock
Kathryn Esquivel	...	Mrs. Ortiz
Ashley Judd	...	Lexie Coop
Mark Mathis	...	Reporter
J.D. Evermore	...	Orderly (as John Daniel Evermore)
Sally Field	...	Mama Lil
Linda Wakeman	...	Hospital Receptionist
David Alvarado	...	Cellmate
Mark Voges	...	Religious Man
Angee Hughes	...	Religious Woman
Todd Lowe	...	Troy
Margaret Hoard	...	Mary Elizabeth Hull (as Margaret Ann Hoard)
Rodger Boyce	...	Officer Harry
Gabriel Folse	...	Policeman #2
Joan Cusack	...	Ruth Meyers
Mackenzie Fitzgerald	...	Americus
Natalie Pena	...	Angela Ortiz
Yvette Diaz	...	Rosanna Ortiz
T.J. McFarland	...	Ray
Richard Nance	...	Johnny DeSoto
Tony Mann	...	M.C. of Banquet
John Swasey	...	Jerry
Scarlett McAlister	...	Kitty
Kylie Harmon	...	Praline
Cody Linley	...	Brownie
Bob Coonrod	...	Ernie
Heather Kafka	...	Delphia
Angelina Fiordellisi	...	Nurse
Cheyenne Rushing	...	Co-Ed
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Deborah Abbott	...	Bar Girl (uncredited)
Alecia Batson	...	Girl in Bar / Girl on the Street (uncredited)
Jim Beaver	...	Clawhammer (uncredited)
Stacy Bellew	...	Wal-Mart Girl (uncredited)
Jeff Cooper	...	Nightclub Customer / Pedestrian (uncredited)
Rebecca Davis	...	Photo Finalist (uncredited)
Lisa Del Dotto	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Jeremy Denzlinger	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Dan Eggleston	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)
Adrian Garza	...	Young Brownie (uncredited)
Thalia Harithas	...	Extra (uncredited)
Susan Hegarty	...	Rosita (voice) (uncredited)
Jim Henry	...	Bar Room Fighter (uncredited)
K. Todd Lytle	...	Customer at Gas Station (uncredited)
Katelin Petersen	...	Americus Nation (voice) (uncredited)
Cassandra L. Small	...	Birthday Party Guest / Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Russell Towery	...	Bass Player (uncredited)
Chris Warner	...	Wal-Mart Employee (uncredited)
Jason C. Young	...	Professor (uncredited)

Directed by
Matt Williams

Writing credits (WGA)
Lowell Ganz		(screenplay) &
Babaloo Mandel		(screenplay)
Billie Letts		(novel)

Produced by
Susan Cartsonis	....	producer
Carmen Finestra	....	executive producer
Gerrit V. Folsom	....	co-producer (as Gerrit Folsom)
Rick Leed	....	executive producer
Diane Minter Lewis	....	co-producer
David McFadzean	....	producer
Roz Weisberg	....	associate producer
Patricia Whitcher	....	producer
Matt Williams	....	producer

Original Music by
Mason Daring

Cinematography by
Richard Greatrex		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ian Crafford

Casting by
Mali Finn

Production Design by
Paul Peters

Art Direction by
John Frick

Set Decoration by
Amy Wells

Costume Design by
Melinda Eshelman

Makeup Department
Felicity Bowring	....	key makeup artist
Bridget Cook	....	hair stylist
Beth Miller	....	key hair stylist
Keith Sayer	....	makeup artist
Melissa Forney	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Tony Gardner	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Patricia Whitcher	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Matt Earl Beesley	....	first assistant director
Matt Earl Beesley	....	second unit director
Vincent Palmo Jr.	....	second assistant director (as Vince Palmo Jr.)
Brian Steward	....	second second assistant director
Andrew Foster	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Bart Brown	....	set dresser
Rodney Brown	....	gang boss
Don L. Carr	....	assistant property master
Dan Clermont	....	construction coordinator
Patricia Dillon	....	set dresser
Ramona Fabregas	....	assistant property master
Tommy Fine	....	gang boss
David Goldstein	....	paint boss
David Hack	....	leadman
John Hinkle	....	paint foreman
Jerry Kilber	....	general construction foreman
Christopher Martin	....	greens foreman (as Chrsitopher T. Martin)
Molly Murray	....	art department coordinator
Darren Patnode	....	on-set dresser
Shane Patrick	....	set dresser
Annilee Ballentine Ramirez	....	graphic designer
Janet Stokes	....	set designer
Christopher Stull	....	set dresser
Wallace R. Symns	....	lead greensman
Byron Scott Thomas	....	property master (as Byron Thomas)
Tom Ward	....	gang boss
Jeri Woodward	....	paint foreman (as Jeri Lowe)
Jack Colmenero	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Nanci Elfrez	....	set painter (uncredited)
Archie Hankins	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Kelley A. Hankins	....	signwriter (uncredited)
Randy Huke	....	assistant set decorator (uncredited)
Tracie Laymon	....	property assistant (uncredited)
Shelly Pond	....	production buyer (uncredited)
Tony Rycyk	....	props (uncredited)
Charles Seale	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Randy Severs	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Ronnie White	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Phillip Williams	....	laborer (uncredited)
Randal Woodward	....	lead scenic (uncredited)

Sound Department
Kami Asgar	....	sound effects editor
Richard Burton	....	sound effects editor
David E. Fluhr	....	sound re-recording mixer (as David Fluhr)
Linda Folk	....	adr editor
Hank Garfield	....	sound mixer
Johnny Gidcomb	....	group adr supervisor: Loop De Loop
Adam Jenkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Suhail Kafity	....	sound effects editor
Jonathan Klein	....	foley editor
Michael Magill	....	dialogue editor
Dennis Meehan	....	boom person
Douglas Parker	....	assistant sound editor
Brooke Satrazemis	....	cable person
Charlie Shepard	....	sound supervisor
Matt Temple	....	sound effects editor
Chris Winter	....	assistant sound editor
Stan Ginsel	....	sound transfer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Margaret Johnson	....	special effects coordinator
Randy E. Moore	....	special effects supervisor (as Randy Moore)
Kevin Berve	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Scott Dougherty	....	visual effects producer: Cinesite
David J. Negron Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor
Thomas J. Smith	....	visual effects supervisor: Cinesite
Jonathan Alvord	....	Avid editor (uncredited)
Erin M. Cullen	....	roto artist (uncredited)
Rodney J. McFall	....	CG supervisor (uncredited)
Dante Quintana	....	technical assistant (uncredited)
Dylan Robinson	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Tiffany Smith	....	visual effects production coordinator: Cinesite (uncredited)
Tracy Takahashi	....	visual effects associate producer: Cinesite (uncredited)

Stunts
Randy Fife	....	stunt coordinator
Sam Fife	....	stunts
Ken Greaves	....	stunts
Nadine Grycan	....	stunts (as Nadine Grycan Hoss)
Jim Henry	....	stunts
Mark Kay	....	stunts
Lonnie Nelson	....	stunts
Mike Norris	....	stunts (as Michael Norris)
Tim Short	....	stunts
Diane Towery	....	stunts
Russell Towery	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard Ball	....	key rigging grip
Arthur Blum	....	dolly grip
Buzzy Burwell	....	rigging gaffer
Keith Carter	....	photographer: Novalee
Dwight Cary	....	generator operator (as Dwight 'Curly' Cary)
Theda Cunningham	....	second assistant camera
Edison Jackson	....	electric
Jason Ray Jurica	....	best boy rigging grip
Paul Kloss	....	electric
Kurt Kornemann	....	best boy grip
Paul T. LeBlanc	....	video playback (as Paul LeBlanc)
Ken Light	....	photographer: Moses, from Delta Time, Smithsonian Institute Press
Jimmy Lindsey	....	first assistant camera (as Jimmy W. Lindsey)
Raul 'Bull' Mellow	....	electric (as Raul 'Bull' Mello)
Danny Navarette	....	rigging best boy electric
Mary C. Nelson	....	company grip (as Mary Nelson)
Dayton Nietert	....	gaffer
Matt Richardson	....	company grip
Rigney Sackley	....	camera loader
Ferrell A. Shinnick	....	key grip (as Ferrell Shinnick)
Peter Simonite	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Kevin Sims	....	electric
Todd Smiley	....	best boy electric (as Todd E. Smiley)
Suzanne Tenner	....	still photographer
Tim Travis	....	electric
Joseph Vasquez	....	company grip
Ralph Watson	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Ralph Watson	....	steadicam operator
Greg Lomas	....	grip (uncredited)
Billy MacTavish	....	electrician (uncredited)
Gabe Proctor	....	additional video assist operator (uncredited)
Marc Tempest	....	key grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jo Edna Boldin	....	casting: Texas
Vicki Dempsey	....	extras casting assistant (as Vicki B. Dempsey)
Dara Gray	....	extras casting
Lindsey Hayes Kroeger	....	casting assistant: Los Angeles (as Lindsey Hayes)
Emily Schweber	....	casting associate: Los Angeles
Kelly Bogdan	....	extras casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Melissa Economy	....	assistant to costume designer
Kimmie Furlong	....	set costumer (as Kimmy Furlong)
Collette Jones	....	assistant to costume designer
Jo Kissack	....	costume supervisor
M. Caroline Pruet	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Eric A. Lewy	....	assistant editor (as Eric Lewy)
Dennis McNeill	....	color timer (as Denny McNeill)
Sandra Nash	....	assistant editor
Carrie Shepard	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Dana Brayton	....	orchestrator
Marty Brody	....	conductor
Marty Brody	....	orchestrator
Brent Brooks	....	music editor
Lisa Brown	....	music supervisor
Paul Bryan	....	musician
Michael Golub	....	score recordist
Duke Levine	....	musician
Dave Mattacks	....	musician
Billy Novick	....	musician
John Richards	....	score mixer
David Shacter	....	music coordinator
Kenny White	....	musician
Larry Campbell	....	musician (uncredited)
Andrew Silver	....	music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Monica Allen	....	assistant to transportation coordinator
Greg Faucett	....	transportation co-captain (as Gregory B. Faucett)
Lonnie Nelson	....	transportation captain
Phil Schriber	....	transportation coordinator (as C.P. 'Phil' Schriber)

Other crew
Colleen Arnaud	....	first assistant accountant
David Bennett	....	production accountant
Tod Campbell	....	production assistant
Lisa D. Carey	....	payroll accountant (as Lisa Carey)
Shanti Delsarte	....	production coordinator (as Shanti Del Sarte)
Jessica Drake	....	dialect consultant
Robbie Friedmann	....	location manager (as Robbie Friedman)
Gina Grande	....	script supervisor
Susan Hegarty	....	dialect consultant
Mike Hitch	....	mechanic
Monica Johnson	....	office production assistant
Karen Jones	....	assistant: Ms. Judd
Kristen Lea	....	assistant: Mr. Williams
Robert A. Levine	....	unit publicist (as Robert Levine)
Cindy Lindauer	....	set teacher
Kathleen Lungren	....	assistant to producers
Mark Miller	....	second assistant accountant
Travis C. Murphy	....	production assistant
Shobie Partos	....	assistant location manager
DeLayne Rasmussen	....	production secretary (as Delayne Barnett)
Jennifer Spinks	....	office production assistant
Raigen Thornton	....	medic
Rose Topping	....	assistant: Mr. Ganz and Mr. Mandel
Leigh A. Wilbourn	....	production coordinator (as Leigh Wilborn)
Eric A. Williams	....	location manager
Jill Wolinsky	....	assistant: Ms. Portman
Ruhi Zandra	....	production assistant
Mateo Barnstone	....	location scout (uncredited)
Thomas Griffin	....	office runner (uncredited)
K. Todd Lytle	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Wind Dancer Productions

Distributors

• 20th Century Fox (Far East)
• FS Film Oy (2001) (Finland) (VHS)
• Helkon Filmverleih GmbH (Germany)
• Intermedia
• Nelonen (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• New Films International
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Special Effects

• Cinesite (Hollywood) (visual effects and tornado animation)
• Alterian (prosthetics)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• RCA Victor  soundtrack

Also Known As:

¿Dónde quedó el amor? (Mexico) [es]
A Voz do Coração (Brazil) [pt]
Där mitt hjärta finns (Sweden) [sv]
Hvor hjertet er (Denmark) [da]
La fuerza del amor (Spain) [es]
La petite voix du coeur (Canada: French title) [fr]
Où le coeur nous mène (France) [fr]
Onde Mora o Coração (Brazil) [pt]
Qui dove batte il cuore (Italy) [it]
Siellä missä sydän on (Finland) [fi]
Wo Dein Herz schlägt (Germany) [de]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, language and sexual content.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Denmark:A | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Wind Dancer Productions

Trivia:

Claire Danes and Sarah Michelle Gellar both auditioned for the part of "Novalee Nation".

Goofs:

Continuity: Lexie's car disappears when Ray's car pulls into the abandoned lot. But it reappears moments later when we see Ray approaching Novalee and Lexie.

Quotes:

Novalee Nation: I lied, Forney.
Forney Hull: You lied? You didn't go to Tennessee?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "ER: Where the Heart Is (#7.21)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Shake My Soul

A very good date movie.

Where the Heart Is is a special kind of movie. City of Angels, Message in a Bottle, and Where the Heart Is all have that special ingredient that just grabs the viewer and holds him or her until the very last tear flows from their eye. Natalie Portman is very well cast in her role as Novalee Nation, a 20 year old pregnant woman who decides to move to California with her boyfriend. The sad thing is, when her and her boyfriend stop at a Wal-Mart in the middle of Oklahoma, he leaves her behind, and moves on without her.

The movie follows her life after she realizes that her boyfriend has left her stranded, and is not coming back. A very unique screenplay allows this movie to radiate a love for Novalee, and allows the viewers to develop a friendship with her. Lexie Coop (Ashley Judd) becomes Novalee's best friend when they meet in the hospital after Novalee has her baby. Where the Heart Is has everything it takes to be a great movie. The choice of actors is superb, and the direction is wonderful. Of course with every movie made, at least all that I have viewed, there was a few things wrong with the movie. For instance, Novalee's mother abandoned her when she was about 8 years old. Right after she gives birth to her baby, her mother shows up by her side, and quite frankly, nothing ever becomes of that scene. It's completely irrelevant. Also, there is the whole living in Wal-Mart for six weeks thing to consider. I mean can that really happen?

At any rate, by no means should these `mistakes' thwart your intention of watching this movie, it a real tearjerker, and I believe the best date movie since For Love of the Game.