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The Whole Wide World:
A motion picture about Robert E. Howard





The "Whole Wide World" is a wonderful movie about the later years of Robert E. Howard's life. It is based on the bio-autographies "One Who Walked Alone" and "Day of the Stranger: Further Memories of Robert E. Howard" by Novalyne Price Ellis. The film has won numerous awards at film festivals, and was released to the general public in December 1996. With the feel of a small little art film, The Whole Wide World delivers with a small budget what many mega-budget films can not... a good story.

The following movie summary was copied from the Sony Pictures Classics web site. Below are also links to other web pages relating to the movie, including reviews!


WINNER!

    BEST PICTURE & BEST ACTOR 1996
    Seattle Film Festival
      BEST ACTRESS 1996
      Mar De Plata Film Festival
        BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 1996
        Fort Lauderdale Film Festival
          BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER -
          Renee' Zellwedger for the "Whole Wide World" and "Jerry Maguire" 1996 -
          National Board of Review


Video and DVD News

The Whole Wide World is now currently available for rental at most video rental stores. There is also a "director's cut" wide screen version on laser disc that contains two or three scenes not released on either the VHS or DVD video versions. In 2002, a bare bones DVD containing only the short, theatrical version of the movie was released in Canada (Region 1).

On July 29, 2003, a new DVD of the Whole Wide World was reseased in the U.S. market. The new DVD is (sadly) the short version of the movie -- running 106 minutes long, rather than the 111 minute long version. It doesn't contain deleted scenes, but (happily) it does include some excellent running commentary by the cast and crew including Dan Ireland (director), Vincent D'Onofrio (producer and star), Michael Scott Myers (screen writer), Benjamin Mouton (co-producer and co-star), and Harry Gregson Williams (composer). One additional special feature is an interesting interview between Dan Ireland (director) and Renee Zellweger (star).


The Whole Wide World is a movie that seemed to have a very short playing time at theaters. There were some reports of the movie starting at a local theater and only seven days later leaving the theater and town. The cause for this short playing time seems to have been the poor choice of release date for the movie -- December of 1996 -- where it went up against the year's blockbuster movies. The choice to release the movie in December was an attempt to profit from the publicity and interest generated by actress Renee Zellwedger's performance in "Jerry Maguire" which was relased less than one month prior to "The Whole Wide World." It is thought that delaying the release of the movie for a few more months, perhaps in Feburary or March of the next year, might have allowed the public's interest in Renee Zellwedger to mature enough to lead an audience to seek her out in "The Whole Wide World." Although the movie was not a big budget hit at the box office, it did receive excellent press, excellent reviews, and many esteemed awards.





THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD

Opening: Winter 1996

Based on her acclaimed autobiographical book, THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD tells the story of Novalyne Price, an attractive feisty West Texas schoolteacher and her bittersweet, romantic and turbulent relationship with Robert E. Howard, the great pulp fiction writer of the 1930's. Howard was the creator of such classics as Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja, Kull the Conqueror, Solomon Kane, etc. Price's intense desire to become a writer initially drew her to Howard. Their brief two year relationship met with many obstacles, including Howard's offbeat eccentric ways. But theirs was a romance like no other; deeply passionate, intellectually stimulating, and always challenging. This is an unforgettable love story that ultimately changed the course of their lives. Featuring career making performances from Renee Zellweger (Jerry Maguire, Empire) and Vincent D'Onfrio (Full Metal Jacket, Blood Brothers, Strange Days).

CAST:Vincent D'Onofrio, Renee Zellweger, Ann Wedgeworth, Harve Presnell and Benjamin Mouton

DIRECTOR:Dan Ireland


Copyright: Sony Pictures Classics



Whole Wide World Links

The Official Sony Pictures Classics Whole Wide World Website (very cool!)
Whole Wide World Wins at Seattle Film Festival! "The Whole Wide World"
Movie Review
Kushner-Locke Productions Movie Review #2
Listen to Director Dan Ireland Movie Review #3
12 Festival Internacional De
Cine De Mar Del Plata
Movie Review #4
  Mr. Showbiz - Review #5








 
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