Sex and Death 101 (2007)

Director:

Daniel Waters

Writer (WGA):

Daniel Waters (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

One Man. One List. 101 Women. Some Fantasies Are Too True to Be Good.

Plot:

A guy's life is turned around by an email, which includes the names of everyone he's had sex with and ever will have sex with. His situation gets worse when he encounters a femme fatale (Ryder) who targets men guilty of sex crime.

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Death | E Mail | Bachelor Party | Coma

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Robert Wisdom	...	Alpha
Tanc Sade	...	Beta
Patton Oswalt	...	Fred
Simon Baker	...	Roderick Blank
Mindy Cohn	...	Trixie
Winona Ryder	...	Death Nell / Gillian De Raisx (#101)
Keram Malicki-Sánchez	...	Master Bitchslap
Julie Bowen	...	Fiona Wormwood
Neil Flynn	...	Zack
Corinne Reilly	...	Lizzie
Cindy Pickett	...	Roderick's Mother
Winter Ave Zoli	...	Alexis De Large
Dash Mihok	...	Lester
Bryan Fuller	...	Buzzkilling Bodyguard (as Bryan Okes Fuller)
Jessica Kiper	...	Precious / Carlotta Valdes (#30)
Bryan Ross	...	Bachelor Party Buddy (as Brian Ross)
Greg Travis	...	Vulgar Newsstand Vendor
Sophie Monk	...	Cynthia Rose
David Magidoff	...	Video Store Geek
Marshall Bell	...	Victor Rose III
Buckley Norris	...	Club Owner (as Buckley Francis Norris)
Amanda Walsh	...	Stewardess Kathleen
Candice Coke	...	Greta Samsa (#32)
Thom Bishops	...	Malcolm the Bartender
William Caploe	...	Barista Bill
Zachary Gordon	...	Barbecue Brat
Rob Benedict	...	Bow-Tie Bob
Natassia Malthe	...	Bambi (#63)
Pollyanna McIntosh	...	Thumper (#64)
Leslie Bibb	...	Dr. Miranda Storm
Patrick Holland	...	Wonderful Waiter
Ryan Cutrona	...	Officer Krupke
Nicole Bilderback	...	Dr. Mirabella Stone (#66)
Cean Okada	...	Edwina Massey (#67)
Siobhan Flynn	...	Esther Fenchel
Christopher Stapleton	...	Terry Fenchel (#71)
Lauren Hill	...	Amberette (as Lauren Michelle Hill)
Frances Fisher	...	Hope Hartlight (#80)
Retta	...	Ethel Walters (#100) (as Retta Sirleaf)
David Bortolucci	...	Agent
Cate Ferguson	...	Death Nell Wannabee
Annie Kehoe	...	Death Nell Wannabee Two
Skyler James Sandak	...	Roderick Blank Jr. (as Skyler James)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Matt Baker	...	Rejected Clubgoer (uncredited)
Yara Brighton	...	Death Nell Wannabe (uncredited)
Colette Claire	...	School girl (uncredited)
Ingrid Coree	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Aaron Geller	...	Death Nell's First Victim (uncredited)
Marcus Alexander Hart	...	Comic Store Geek (uncredited)
Christy Bella Joiner	...	Party Goer (uncredited)
Ashley McCarthy	...	Mona Farlow (uncredited)
Marshall McClean	...	Party Guy (uncredited)
Jonas Neal	...	Frat Guy (uncredited)
Tony Nowicki	...	Frat Guy (uncredited)
Elisha Skorman	...	Helena Hartford (uncredited)
Heather Tocquigny	...	Catholic School Girl (uncredited)
Indira Varma	...	Devon Sever (uncredited)
Vitaliy Versace	...	Waiter (uncredited)

Directed by
Daniel Waters

Writing credits (WGA)
Daniel Waters		(written by)

Produced by
Cary Brokaw	....	producer
Lizzie Friedman	....	producer (as Elizabeth Zox Friedman)
Aaron Geller	....	executive producer (as Aaron Craig Geller)
Jerry P. Jacobs	....	co-producer
Greg Little	....	producer

Original Music by
Rolfe Kent

Cinematography by
Daryn Okada		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Trudy Ship

Casting by
Andrea Stone-Brokaw		(as Andrea Stone)

Production Design by
John Larena

Art Direction by
Helen Harwell

Set Decoration by
Peggy Paola

Costume Design by
Julia Caston

Makeup Department
Merc Arceneaux	....	makeup artist
Diana Brown	....	makeup artist
Suzanne Diaz	....	makeup artist (as Suzy Diaz-Westmore)
Deborah K. Larsen	....	makeup department head
Lisa Meyers	....	hair stylist (as Lisa J. Meyers)
K.G. Ramsey	....	hair department head

Production Management
Jerry P. Jacobs	....	unit production manager
Jeffrey M. Rose	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Leah King	....	second second assistant director
Eric A. Pot	....	first assistant director
Robert 'Skid' Skidmore	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Sarah Geller	....	on-set dresser
Andrew Guinn	....	set dresser
Dallas Richard Hallam	....	assistant property master
Jason E. Hatfield	....	set dresser
Tony Howell	....	set dresser
Tom Humphrey	....	on-set dresser (as Tom Humphrey)
Ben Lewis	....	property master
David Lloyd	....	lead man
Matt Pennington	....	construction coordinator
Anthony Price	....	on-set dresser
Brook Shafer	....	on-set dresser
Jeffrey K. Shu	....	carpenter
Jeffrey K. Shu	....	propmaker
Daniel Trainer	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Gary Coppola	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gary Coppola	....	supervising sound editor
Frederick Howard	....	sound effects editor
Yagmur Kaplan	....	adr mixer
Maciek Malish	....	dialogue editor
Coleman Metts	....	production sound mixer
Jordan Pontell	....	dialogue assembly
Edward M. Steidele	....	foley artist
Chris Trent	....	foley mixer
Jerry Trent	....	foley artist
David Warburton	....	post facility coordinator
Ace Williams	....	boom operator
Mandell Winter	....	sound effects editor

Visual Effects by
Christopher Dusendschon	....	digital imaging supervisor: iO FILM
Michael Mintz	....	digital film colorist

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Adcock	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Ron Batzdorff	....	still photographer
Dennis Bishop	....	gaffer
William Boatman	....	camera operator: 'b' camera
Kevin Britton	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
James B. Crawford	....	gaffer (as Jim Crawford)
Nicole Dayton	....	grip
Alfredo Denila	....	dolly grip (as Alfredo S. Denila III)
Michael Druez	....	company grip
Eric Fletcher	....	Steadicam operator
Eric Fletcher	....	camera operator
John C. Flinn IV	....	first assistant camera: 'b' camera
Gerrit Garretsen	....	dolly grip
P.J. Gaynard	....	daily electrician
Michael D. Gonzalez	....	grip
Joe Guzman	....	grip
David Hirschmann	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Mike Hodges	....	key grip
Donald S. Hubbell	....	company grip
Gigi Johnson	....	camera production assistant
Daniel Kauahi	....	dolly grip
Scott Kidner	....	best boy electric
Tommy James Lewis	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (as Tommy Lewis)
Jon Lindsay	....	second assistant: "a" camera
J. Steven Matzinger	....	first assistant camera: 'b' camera
Larry McCarron	....	company grip
Darin Necessary	....	first assistant: "a" camera
Daniel Ochoa	....	lighting technician (as Daniel J. Ochoa)
Doug Price	....	second assistant: "a" camera
Steve Redondo	....	best boy grip
Mike Reyes	....	company grip (as Michael Reyes)
Paul Storino	....	dolly grip
Lacey Terrell	....	additional still photographer
Dave Warfel	....	best boy electric
Joseph Wickner	....	loader
Anders Yarbrough	....	camera loader

Casting Department
Chris Bustard	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jamie Bresnan	....	wardrobe assistant
Rani Cunningham	....	costumer (as Rani Self)
Pamela Havens	....	costume supervisor
Jeannie H. Kelly	....	wardrobe supervisor
Laura E. Little	....	costumer (as Laura Liz Little)
Michelle Margolis	....	on-set costumer
Christina Mongini	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Nicholas 'Nikko' Tsiotsias	....	first assistant editor
Lee Wimer	....	color timer

Music Department
Stephen Coleman	....	music programmer
Trevor Gilchrist	....	music programmer: score
James Sall	....	music supervisor
Ralph Sall	....	executive music producer
Dan Savant	....	music contractor
Nick South	....	music editor
Greg Townley	....	scoring mixer

Transportation Department
Ed Adams	....	driver
Rafael Baires	....	driver
Brian Eastveld	....	driver
Robert Fulps	....	driver
Dan Gearhart	....	driver: honeywagon
Frankie Gearhart	....	driver
Kelly Harkess	....	driver
Philip Henderson	....	driver
Curt Larson	....	driver
Calvin McDowell	....	driver
Jay Norof	....	transportation captain
Hugo Ocana	....	driver
Tony Ruiz	....	transportation coordinator
Don Williams	....	driver: water truck
Ali Yegahne	....	driver

Other crew
Ed Adams	....	fueler
Emma Baksi	....	assistant: Winona Ryder
Brian Beard	....	digital optical conformist
Kristin Brokaw	....	directorial assistant
Yvonne Caycedo	....	assistant to producers
Lily Garcia	....	set production assistant
Andrew R. Gardiner	....	key assistant location manager
Judy Geletko	....	post-production accountant
Russell Gremillot	....	location manager
Ali Jazayeri	....	production financing
Lisa McNeil	....	additional script supervisor
Lindsey Mesa	....	assistant: Ms. Friedman
Bryan Meyers	....	first assistant accountant
Tracy L. Moody	....	script supervisor
Julie Morgan	....	production coordinator
Patrick Priest	....	production assistant
Shari Sontag	....	key production accountant
Ryan Tighe	....	production assistant
Alex L. Worman	....	unit publicist
Francie Brown	....	dialect coach (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Avenue Pictures Productions
• S and D Productions
• Sandbar Pictures

Distributors

• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Hoyts Distribution (2008) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Top Film (2007) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Spentzos Film Home Video (2008) (Greece) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Departure Studios  post-production audio services
• Eisner & Frank  production legal
• Murphy PR  publicity
• NovaStar Digital  sound post-production
• ShowBiz Studios  studio
• Sound Satisfaction  sound post-production

Also Known As:

Adicto al sexo (Argentina) (DVD title) [es]
Cazando al seductor (Mexico) [es]
Ta panta gyro apo to sex (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Tutti i numeri del sesso (Italy) [it]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content and language.

Runtime:

Germany:100 min (European Film Market) | USA:100 min | USA:117 min (Starz)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | Italy:T | Singapore:R21 | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Avenue Pictures Productions

Trivia:

The character names Bambi and Thumper were also used in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever (1971), but their last names in "Sex and Death 101" are Wint and Kidd, the last names of the two assassins in the James Bond movie.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The school bus driver's nametag has a commonly misspelled word: "Your" instead of "You're".

Quotes:

Gillian: Some dreams are too true to be good.

Movie Connections:

References Some Like It Hot (1959)

Dark RomCom 101. Nailed it!

In a world where good ol' fantasy movie making has just three letters attached to it (you guessed it: "SFX" - a la everything from majestic Lord of the Rings to cheesy Godzilla - jeez, even the romantic ventures like City of Angels couldn't do away with the bag of tricks), comes a different kind of fantasy-based movie. It's different - I'll tell ya that.

So what does this movie bring to us? The (blatantly visible) low budget. A cast almost riddled with relatively unknown (but promising) actors. A suite of devilishly hot women in stand-in (well, mostly "lie-down") roles. And, needless to say, a premise that is the part of every hot blooded human male's wet dreams. Are you with me yet? I promise, I'm not talking about the the 70s campy soft porn movie that you saw recently.

What would happen if a strapping young man (Simon Baker) got a magical e-mail one fine day listing all the women he had slept with and was going to ever sleep with in future? And, what if that lucky SOB actually had 101 names listed on that list? "Sex & Death 101" tries to answer. And, for most part, gets it right.

Someone once said: "Control your fate or somebody else will". And so goes the story of the young man who allows the piece of printed email to take control over his actions - which in this case means... well, he notches another one over his already very full belt. Somewhere between the disbelief over the email (despite the reassurances of the geek squad who manage the wondrous machine that sent out the hoopla causing email) and disbelief over his good fortune, our hero undergoes those human emotions that we all know very well: Guilt, Angst, Desperation. The intermix of his friends' advice and bickering adds an element of realism even in an escapist fantasy like this.

Winona Ryder plays the "death knell" sounding temptress who has been seducing perverted men to coma ridden sleep to, you know, get back at the evil men who have inflicted untold suffering on women. And you just know that Poison Ivy's parallel track story has to intersect with the story of our list-holding loverboy at some point. And it does. Therein is that taste of "stretching at the thread" that the viewer is left with. The setup seems a little bit forced. But hey, it's supposed to be escapist dark funny romcom - so what the hell, right?

The movie's premise ain't real, but the events and reactions are. Which is that unique mix of traits that makes this movie a little more than the regular spiel that Hollywood throws at us. It's definitely a good watch. And not to miss the allegoric play on the number in the title. It takes 101 women to teach the protagonist the basic meaning of sex - and death. Clever, no?