The Future (2011/I)

Director:

Miranda July

Writer (WGA):

Miranda July (written by)

Release Date:

12 August 2011 (Estonia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves. |

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Title Directed By Female | Youtube | Written By Director | Time Freeze

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Hamish Linklater	...	Jason
Miranda July	...	Sophie / Voice of Paw-Paw
David Warshofsky	...	Marshall
Isabella Acres	...	Gabriella
Joe Putterlik	...	Joe / Voice of The Moon
Angela Trimbur	...	Dance Studio Receptionist
Mary Passeri	...	Animal Shelter Receptionist
Ella	...	Real Cat
Kathleen Gati	...	Dr. Straus
Clement von Franckenstein	...	Alain First Solicitation
Tonita Castro	...	Second Solicitation
D.A. Sandoval	...	Neighbor Woman (as Diana Sandoval)
Mark Atteberry	...	Tree by Tree Canvasser
Frank Langley	...	T-Shirt Puppeteer
Erinn K. Williams	...	Tammy
Oona Mekas	...	Sasha
Ryker Baloun	...	Barry at 3
Olivia Thiering	...	Carrie at 3
Taylor Cosgrove Scofield	...	Barry at 10
Sara Rodier	...	Carrie at 10
Matthew Dunn	...	Barry at 15
Brittney Hewitt	...	Carrie at 15
Bru Muller	...	Barry at 35
Aubree Knecht	...	Carrie at 35
Samantha Milazzo	...	Jayleen
Andy Forrest	...	Last Solicitation

Directed by
Miranda July

Writing credits (WGA)
Miranda July		(written by)

Produced by
Aaron Beckum	....	associate producer
Gina Kwon	....	producer
Verona Meier	....	assistant producer
Gerhard Meixner	....	producer
Lissi Muschol	....	assistant producer
Roman Paul	....	producer
Mary Prendergast	....	associate producer
Rod Smith	....	associate producer
Sue Bruce Smith	....	executive producer (as Sue Bruce-Smith)
Chris Stinson	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Jon Brion

Cinematography by
Nikolai von Graevenitz		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Andrew Bird

Casting by
Nicole Abellera
Jeanne McCarthy

Production Design by
Elliott Hostetter

Art Direction by
Ruth De Jong

Set Decoration by
Max Juren

Costume Design by
Christie Wittenborn

Makeup Department
Akiko Matsumoto	....	makeup artist
Sabine Schumann	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Brian Buckland	....	unit production manager
Rebekka Garrido	....	post-production supervisor
Brad Goodman	....	post-production supervisor (as Bradley M. Goodman)
Michael Reuter	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Shawn Bisi	....	second assistant director
Ted Campbell	....	first assistant director
Karla Carnewal	....	second second assistant director
Matt Henderson	....	first assistant director: additional photography (as Matthew Henderson)
Jason Rodgers	....	second assistant director: additional photography

Art Department
William Bryan	....	paw maker
Brett Chapman	....	property master
Claire Hendon	....	art intern
Randy Jameson	....	lead carpenter
Sandra Jameson	....	set painter
Sara Beckum Jamieson	....	art department production assistant
Manette Kaisershot	....	art department production assistant
Drew Livermore	....	video programmer
Austin Lovell	....	carpenter
Terence McFadden	....	storyboard artist
Sally Park	....	assistant props
Kristin Rowland	....	art shopper
Sean Tejaratchi	....	graphic designer
Mari Yui	....	art swing
Nick Mongoni Jr.	....	art department production assistant (uncredited)

Sound Department
Adrian Baumeister	....	dialogue editor
Amber Conroy	....	boom operator
Dominic Fitzgerald	....	sound effects editor
Lars Ginzel	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dennis Grzesik	....	sound mixer: additional photography
Johannes Hampel	....	foley recordist
Rainer Heesch	....	sound designer
Christian Lerch	....	dolby consultant
Peter Roik	....	foley artist (as Peter Roigk)
Tula Snoeck	....	boom operator: additional photography
Kent Sparling	....	recordist: Paw Paw voice
Michael Tyabji	....	recordist: voice-over
Rosa Tyabji	....	recordist: voice-over
David F. Van Slyke	....	adr supervisor
Patrick Veigel	....	sound mixer
Roman Volkholz	....	foley editor
Rainer Heesch	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)
Eric Horstmann	....	re-recording stage engineer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Britt Dunse	....	title artist
Rudolf Germann	....	visual effects
Grant Keiner	....	visual effects supervisor
Eliza Pelham Randall	....	visual effects supervisor
Andreas Schellenberg	....	visual effects artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Matt Bizer	....	set lighting technician
Jean-Pierre Caner	....	second assistant camera: additional photography
Tobias Datum	....	director of photography: additional photography
Jose Elias Felix	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Jose Felix)
Dan Kanes	....	digital imaging technician
Rex Kenney	....	key grip
Seth Kotok	....	additional first assistant camera
Nick Lancaster	....	grip
Erwin Landau	....	steadicam operator
Steve Mansour	....	swing
Mark Manthey	....	chief lighting technician
Martin Moody	....	second assistant camera
Kevin Mucha	....	assistant chief lighting technician: additional photography
Ian K. Myron	....	additional set lighting technician
Gabriel Patay	....	additional set lighting technician
Jeff Porter	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Jeff Porter	....	first assistant camera
Janis Rutmanis	....	chief lighting technician: additional photography
Timothy Robert Ryan	....	set lighting technician
Josh Stamps	....	best boy grip: additional photography
Sérgio	....	additional grip (as Sergio Silva)
Matt Thomas	....	best boy grip
Dan Turek	....	additional first assistant camera (as Daniel Turek)
Jesse Vallejo	....	additional grip
Nate Wayman	....	key grip: additional photography
Jared Wellman	....	additional set lighting technician
David Pierson	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Terry Zumalt	....	lighting technician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Joanne Bloom	....	casting associate
Brandi S. Hawkins	....	extras casting director (as Brandi Hawkins)
Ruth Lambert	....	voice casting
Robert McGee	....	voice casting
Jessica Munks	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mairi Chisholm	....	assistant costume designer
Anni Speckheuer	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Sandra Aichinger	....	in-house producer: ARRI
Jens Beyer	....	digital colorist
Madeleine Gavin	....	additional editor
Javier Marcheselli	....	assistant editor
Gregor Pfüller	....	digital intermediate supervisor (as Gregor Pfueller)
Mary Prendergast	....	post-production coordinator
Lissette Rodriguez	....	additional assistant editor
Beate Trathnigg	....	in-house producer: ARRI
Gregor Wille	....	digital intermediate supervisor
Robert Grigsby Wilson	....	assistant editor (as Robert G. Wilson)
Kristin Yawata	....	post-production intern

Music Department
Peter Afterman	....	music consultant
Eric Cadieux	....	music editor
Tim Koh	....	music consultant
Greg Koller	....	score engineer
Alison Litton	....	associate music supervisor
Bret Rausch	....	music assistant
Margaret Yen	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Jay Norof	....	transportation captain
Hugo Ocana	....	driver
Tony Ruiz	....	transportation coordinator
Donald Tillman	....	driver
Matt Voytish	....	transportation co-captain (as Matt ;B.B.' Voytish)
Evan Fitzsimmons	....	additional driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Sean Afsahi	....	key set production assistant
Elizabeth Ai	....	intern: Project Involve
Heather Askew	....	script supervisor
Frauke Aulbert	....	voice artist
Antje Bankmann	....	cash flow financier
Case Barden	....	set intern
Jameson Barker	....	office intern
Aaron Beckum	....	assistant: Miranda July
Aaron Beckum	....	behind the scenes
Eli Born	....	behind the scenes
Frank Brauner	....	production legal (as Dr. Frank Brauner)
Gloria Breazeal	....	craft service
Tara Burrows	....	stand-in: Sophie
Marty Carlin	....	studio teacher
Bill Cleavelin	....	stand-in: Joe (as William Cleavelin)
Matt Cross	....	location scout (as Matthew Cross)
Spencer Crossland	....	production assistant
Michelle Delgado	....	assistant production coordinator
Court Dickert	....	set intern
Harry Dixon	....	head of business affairs: Film 4
Karin Ebert	....	cash flow financier
Whitney Ellis	....	office intern
Tecia Esposito	....	script supervisor: additional photography
Martha Fearnley	....	intern: Miranda July: additional photography
Monica Ford	....	stand-in: Sophie
Edith Forster	....	production legal
Lowell Frank	....	production assistant
Alex Gibson	....	location scout
Roger Goff	....	production legal
Monika Helmer	....	accountant: Germany
Justin Hogan	....	production assistant: additional photography
Lisa Hoover	....	location manager
Benay Karp	....	head animal trainer
T. Scott Keiner	....	location manager (as Scott Keiner)
Ali Kendall	....	office intern
Angie Kern	....	set medic (as Angela Kern)
Nina Kharytonova	....	assistant to producer
Olaf Kühle	....	cash flow financier
David Lewis	....	production assistant
Matt Maguire	....	set intern
Gerry Maravilla	....	office intern
Cord McConnell	....	key set production assistant
C.B. Mullen	....	production assistant
Louise Nemschoff	....	legal consultant
Ari Nova	....	set intern
Shane Patterson	....	set intern
Susan Porche	....	location scout
Lisa Provost	....	photo double: Sophie
Steven Reker	....	choreographer
Marie-Hélène Riverain	....	location scout (as Marie Gelen Riverain)
Thomas Roach	....	animal trainer
Genaro Rodriguez	....	chef
Felipe Rodriquez	....	assistant chef
Harmony Ross	....	office production assistant
Kerri Rothell	....	animal trainer
Stephen L. Saltzman	....	legal consultant (as Steve Saltzman)
Hannah Saunder	....	production assistant: Film 4
Hannah Saunders	....	production assistant: Film 4
Joan Scheckel	....	workshopped with
Betty Schmidt	....	office intern
Nadine Schnappinger	....	office intern
Josh Schneider	....	intern
Samantha Schwartz	....	key office production assistant
John Semikian	....	production assistant
Craig Shannon	....	production assistant
Michael Sheldon	....	set intern
Trish Sie	....	additional choreographer
Rob Spence	....	production accountant
Wednesday Standley	....	production coordinator
Bryan Stanis	....	key set production assistant: additional photography
Ken Thompson	....	production assistant
Simon Vu	....	office intern
Jeff Welch	....	office intern
Daniel Wolf	....	office production assistant: additional photography
Peter Wulff	....	location manager
Kathryn Burns	....	dance receptionist choreographer (uncredited)
Alexandra Gibson	....	location manager (uncredited)
Merrideth Lesyshyn	....	dance studio wrangler (uncredited)
Olivia Martynchenko	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Josh Schneider	....	production assistant intern (uncredited)

Thanks
Miguel Arteta	....	special thanks
Spike Jonze	....	special thanks
Joe Putterlik	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• GNK Productions
• Haut et Court
• Match Factory, The
• Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg
• Razor Film Produktion GmbH

Distributors

• ABC Distribution (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Alamode Film (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Cinemien (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Haut et Court (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Roadside Attractions (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Atalanta Filmes (2011) (Portugal) (all media)
• Golem Distribución (2011) (Spain) (all media)
• Homescreen (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Joint Entertainment International (2011) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (all media)
• MegaCom Film (MCF) (2011) (Yugoslavia) (all media)
• Mongkol Major (2011) (Thailand) (all media)
• NonStop Entertainment (2011) (Sweden) (all media)
• Picturehouse Entertainment (2011) (UK) (all media)

Special Effects

• Chiodo Brothers Productions (t-shirt puppet created by)

Other Companies

• ARRI München  lab work
• Benay's Birds and Animals  cat provider (as Benay';s Bird and Animal Source)
• C.M. Meiers Co.  insurance provided by (as CM Meiers)
• Cast & Crew Motion Picture Catering  catering
• Central Casting  extras casting
• Cinelease  grip and electric equipment provided by
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Dub Room  adr stage
• Fancy Film Post Services  post-production facilities
• Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA)  funding
• HD-Cinema  red camera equipment provided by
• Hollywood-DI  HD screening services
• ILB Investitionsbank desLandes Brandenburg  cash flow financing (as Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg)
• Limitless Sky Records  adr stage
• Lori's Kitchen  additional catering
• Media Services  payroll services
• Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg  funding
• Post Haste Sound  adr stage
• Post Republic, The  post-production services
• Slick Sounds  adr stage
• Three Point Capital  brokerage

Also Known As:

"El futuro" - Spain (imdb display title)
"Gelecek" - Turkey (Turkish title) (imdb display title)
"Przyszlosc" - Poland (imdb display title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexual content

Runtime:

Germany:91 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Ireland:15A | Germany:6 (f) | UK:12A | South Korea:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

GNK Productions

Quotes:

Jason:You know how, like in cartoons, when the building gets hit by the wrecking ball, right before the building falls down, there's always like this moment where it's perfectly still right before it collapses? We're in that moment. The wrecking ball has already hit all of this, and this is just the moment before it all falls down.

Soundtrack:

Master of None

Fear of Commitment

An odd-duck couple who have had plenty of years to be married (read: get bored) and far too much time on their hands decide to adopt a cat. They can't pick it up for a month because it's undergoing some medical treatments, and they're warned that if they fail to arrive on the designated date the cat will be euthanized. The prospect of that last month of freedom before they make a commitment to something other than themselves opens up a fissure in their lives and threatens to destroy a complacency they had begun to take for granted.

The fact that adopting a cat counts in their lives as a commitment great enough to alter their lives forever should tell you a little something about the personalities of these main characters, and if we end up being fed up with both of them, and her especially, I think we're meant to. It's nearly impossible to sympathize with people whose lives are basically so cushy that taking on a pet takes on the momentous proportions of a major life event -- but then I think of my own life, and how good I basically have it, and how good even the most average American basically has it, and how most of my problems would seem pretty petty to a lot of other people out there in the world, and realize that maybe what annoys me about these characters are the qualities I see in them that most annoy me about myself.

"The Future" I think is a cautionary tale about what happens to people when they spend all of their lives worrying about what their lives could be instead of accepting what their lives actually are. At some point, everyone gets to an age where he or she has to simply commit to SOMETHING, whether it be another person, a child, a cause, a pet, a life path, a career. Whatever it is, they have to make a conscious choice to make the best of what they have and stop worrying about what could have been. Easier said than done, probably, or many many people would be much happier.

I liked "The Future" well enough while I was watching it, but I can't say it really stuck with me. Miranda July has an off-beat writing and directorial (not to mention acting) style that will probably turn off some. I'm o.k. with it, and I must say that for once it was refreshing to see a movie in which it's the female rather than the male who does a worse job of dealing with a mid-life crisis. Thank you Ms. July for equaling the playing field a bit.

Grade: B