Little Miss Sunshine
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Jonathan Dayton
Abigail Breslin
Greg Kinnear
Paul Dano
Alan Arkin
Toni Collette
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In her suburban home in Albuquerque, NM, seven-year-old Olive Hoover watches videotapes of the Miss America pageant with rapt fascination. Olive, who is bright and sweet-natured but not conventionally pretty, studies and imitates the winner's ecstatic reaction. Meanwhile, in a classroom, her father Richard, an aspiring motivational speaker, presents his nine-step "Refuse to Lose" program to a tiny audience. Elsewhere in the Hoover home, Olive's teenage half-brother Dwayne exercises in his room beneath a hand-painted poster of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, while Grandpa Edwin snorts heroin in the bathroom. Sheryl, Olive's mother, goes to the hospital where her brother Frank is recovering from a recent suicide attempt. The depressed Frank is released into Sheryl's care, and she takes him home and installs him in Dwayne's room. As the family sits down to a fast-food dinner, Frank learns that the sullen Dwayne has not uttered a word for the past nine months and plans to maintain his vow of silence until he achieves his goal of entering the Air Force Academy to become a test pilot. Olive, who has been practicing her beauty pageant routine with Grandpa, notices the bandages on Frank's wrists and asks him what happened. Despite Richard's disapproval and Grandpa's homophobia, Frank, a college professor and the most highly regarded Proust scholar in the country, reluctantly reveals that he fell in love with one of his male graduate students, who did not return his affection. To make matters worse, the young man instead fell in love with Frank's academic rival, Larry Sugarman, leading Frank to behave irrationally and lose his job. The final blow came two days earlier, when Sugarman was awarded the MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant; upon hearing the news, Frank tried to kill himself. In the uncomfortable silence that ensues, Olive tells Frank that she entered a beauty pageant while visiting her Aunt Cindy in California over spring break and came in second. A phone message from Cindy reveals that the girl who had come in first was disqualified for using diet pills, meaning that Olive is eligible to enter the Little Miss Sunshine contest, which will be held in Redondo Beach, CA, that Sunday. The Hoovers, who are on a tight budget while Richard tries to launch his self-help career, cannot afford to fly to California. Because their two cars are too small to transport the entire family, they set out the next morning in Richard's old, bright-yellow Volkswagen bus. Between Richard's uneasy relationship with his father, Sheryl's fear about the family finances and Dwayne's brooding, only Olive is excited about the trip. After several hours on the road, Sheryl insists on doing some of the driving, but her attempt to learn how to drive a stick shift destroys the clutch. The bus cannot be fixed in time, but a roadside mechanic points out that the clutch is only needed to go from first to second gear, so the bus should be fine for freeway driving if they can start it in third gear. The family develops a system of pushing the bus until Richard can put it in gear, then running alongside and jumping into the moving vehicle. During this process, Frank begins to feel cheerful for the first time in months. Later, at a gas station, Richard calls promoter Stan Grossman, who is trying to get Richard a book deal for his self-help program. Grandpa gives Frank money to buy him some dirty magazines from the convenience store. While Frank is waiting for a slushie, he is mortified to run into Josh, the object of his unrequited love, who is on a vacation with Sugarman. Richard's call to Stan ends with the financially devastating news that the book deal has failed to materialize, and he and Sheryl bicker furiously. With genuine sympathy, Grandpa tells Richard he is proud of him for taking a chance, and the men awkwardly share a tender moment. The family stops for the night at a motel in Arizona. In the room she shares with her grandfather, Olive tearfully admits she is afraid of losing the contest because her father hates losers. Grandpa, who despite his coarse manner is devoted to Olive, reassures the little girl that she is beautiful inside and out. After a terrible fight with Sheryl, Richard pays a teenage boy to borrow his scooter and drives to Scottsdale, where Stan is attending a convention. Richard confronts Stan, who says there was no interest in Richard's program and never will be because Richard is unknown. Early the next morning, Olive goes into her parents' motel room and tells them that Grandpa will not wake up. At the hospital, the family is told that Grandpa died in his sleep. The hospital will not allow Richard to put off the burial until after the pageant, so Richard devises a desperate scheme to get Olive to the contest on time. Wrapping Grandpa's body in a sheet, Richard and Sheryl lower the corpse out the window to Dwayne and Frank, who put it in the trunk of the bus. On the freeway, Richard honks at a car that cuts them off, and the horn gets stuck. They are soon pulled over by a policeman, and Frank's nervous behavior causes the policeman to open the trunk. When Grandpa's dirty magazines fall out, the policeman is so favorably impressed that he does not even notice the body and lets the family go. As they approach Redondo Beach, with the horn bleating constantly, Olive entertains herself by giving Dwayne the eye test she picked up at the hospital. Dwayne fails the test for color-blindness, and when Frank tells him this means he cannot be a pilot, he flies into a rage. Richard pulls the van over and Dwayne runs out, screaming in frustration, and refuses to get back on the bus until Olive goes to her brother and silently puts her arm around him. The family finally reaches the hotel where the contest is being held, but Ms. Jenkins, the pageant official, turns them away because they are five minutes late. Richard drops to his knees and pleads with her, and a sympathetic associate registers Olive himself. Sheryl takes Olive backstage, where many of the other young contestants are undergoing elaborate beauty rituals, and Richard calls a funeral parlor to pick up Grandpa's body. Sitting in the lobby with Dwayne, Frank looks through a newspaper and comes across a full-page ad for Sugarman's best-selling book on Proust. Later, Frank and Dwayne walk to a pier and converse about the meaning of life, after which Dwayne declares that he does not need the Military Academy to teach him how to fly and that nothing can stop him from doing what he loves. The contest begins, and Richard watches the heavily made-up little girls perform their polished routines with some discomfort. At the end of the talent competition, Olive takes the stage, and after dedicating her performance to her grandfather, proceeds to do a racy dance routine to the song "Super Freak." Many in the audience are offended and walk out, but when the pageant emcee tries to pull Olive off stage, Richard runs up and stops him. Oblivious to the mayhem around her, Olive continues to dance with innocent abandon, and Richard and the rest of the family start to dance with her. Afterwards, the family is detained while Ms. Jenkins confers with the police. The policeman tells them they are free to go as long as they agree never to enter another beauty pageant in California. The family happily push-starts the honking bus and begins the trip back home.
Cast
Abigail Breslin
Greg Kinnear
Paul Dano
Alan Arkin
Toni Collette
Steve Carell
Marc Turtletaub
Jill Talley
Brenda Canela
Julio Oscar Mechoso
Chuck Loring
Justin Shilton
Gordon Thomson
Steve Christopher Parker
Bryan Cranston
John Walcutt
Paula Newsome
Dean Norris
Beth Grant
Wallace Langham
Lauren Shiohama
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Jerry Giles
Geoff Meed
Matt Winston
Joan Scheckel
Casandra Ashe
Mel Rodriguez
Alexandra Alaman
Alissa Anderegg
Brittany Baird
Cambria Baird
Brenae Bandy
Kristen Holaas
Maliah Hudson
Destry Jacobs
Lindsey Jordan
Shane Murphy
Annabelle Roberts
Sydni Stevenson-love
Nicole Stoehr
Lauren Yee
Crew
Christie Abercrombie
Leroy Alaman
Rita Alaman
Heather Anderson
Kenny Anderson
Bryan Arenas
Eric Armao
Michael Arndt
Mike Artino
Rick Ash
Adam Avitabile
Justine Baddeley
Ellis Barbacoff
Greg Barbanell
Matthew Bardocz
Jenn Baum
Ron Bedrosian
Albert Berger
Michael Beugg
Michael Beugg
Tony Bonaventura
Clint J. Borden
Kacie Borrowman
Clay Boss
Erik Bright
Jeb Brody
Andrea Cantrell
Brian Cantrell
Cecilia M. Cardwell
Kerry Ann Carmean
Susan Carol-schwary
Ed Casares
Janis Clark
Richard Cody
George M. Cohan
Josh Comen
Molly Cooper
Peter C. Cullen
Russell Curtis
Patrick Cusack
Mychael Danna
Mychael Danna
Kim Davis-wagner
Andrew Decristofaro
Jill Deibler
Gregory H. Dellerson
Josh Denering
Marguerite Derricks
Angel Desanti
Bob Deschaine
Devotchka
Devotchka
Marc Dodd
Bob Dohrmann
Craig Dollinger
Jamie Dunlap
John Ehrlich
Cate Engel
Thomas Farr
Joe Fineman
Jennifer Freed
David T. Friendly
Carlos M. Gallardo
Joe Garcia
Weba Garretson
Terel Gibson
Faride Gonzalez
Paul H. Goodstein
Jeffrey P. Greeley
Kate Greenberg
Theresa Greene
Rick Gunderson
Francis Hadinoto
Brad Haehnel
Thomas Hagerman
Jennifer Hamilton
Riley Thomas Harper
Tom Robinson Harper
Barbara Harris
Tracie Richelle Harrison
Geno Hart
Keith Hascher
Xocoyotzin Herrera
Troy Hope
Kelly Hunt
Lisa Hyde
Kalina Ivanov
Susan Jacobs
Rick James
Johnny Johnson
Darvin Jordan
James Kaplan
Larry "doc" Karman
Rich King
Shawn King
"dugg" Kirkpatrick
Michael Klingerman
Ashley Kravitz
John Krovoza
Rick Lawrence
Heather Lea
Eric Lee
Melissa Levander
Joe Lewis
Christopher Licata
Felipe Linz
Bart Lipton
Anne Litt
Kevin Maier
Jason Mandel
Joshua Mandel
Laurent Marchand
David Marple
Diane Marshall
Judith Martin
Pamela Martin
Lyn Matsuda-norton
Joe May
Paul W. Mcilvaine
Charissa Deann Mclain
Andrea Mclaws
Emily Mcmaster
Robin Mcmullan
Joe Everett Michaels
Alonzo Miller
Chris Miller
Christine Miller
Alan "monk" Morier
Steven A. Morrow
Sebastian Arocha Morton
Alan E. Muraoka
Dan Murbarger
Steven F. Nelson
Scott Nickoley
Nancy Kyong Nugent
Jessica Otto
Chris Pappas
Adam Pinkstaff
Michelle Pizanis
Gordon Pogoda
Sara Pollack
Michyl-shannon Quilty
Angel Radefeld
Yasmin Redoblado
Liron Reiter
Bob Remstein
Mike Revell
Stephen P. Robinson
Terry Rodman
Steve Rollins
Chris Rossi
Rigney Sackley
Negar Saddigh
Rocsana Saddigh
Jesse Salka
Peter Saraf
Jeanie Schroder
Robert Sharman
Chris Sidor
Gregory Smith
Raymond A. Smith
Thomas Patrick Smith
Nicole Sortillion
David Sparkman
Jennifer Starzyk
Greg Steele
Nancy Steiner
Sufjan Stevens
Marcy Stoehr
Theda Streetman
John C. Stuver
Tim Suhrstedt
Lucy Sustar
Suzanne C. Swindle
Katherine A. Taylor
Matt Taylor
Nate Taylor
Tony Tisdale
Michael Toji
Tim Trella
Alex Turtletaub
Marc Turtletaub
Cori Uchida
Barry Upton
Nick Urata
Nick Urata
Aaron Vyvial
Rion Waller
Mark Wheaton
Lee Wimer
Josh Winget
Torsten Witte
Jenny Worman
Bryan Yaconelli
Teresea Yee
Ron Yerxa
Paul Young
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Wins
Best Original Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Original Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Award Nominations
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actress
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Only the title appears at the beginning of the film; all other credits are at the end. The credits include the following dedication: "In loving memory of Rebecca Annitto, a true beauty inside and out." Annitto, the niece of co-producer Peter Saraf, was a 14-year-old competitive rower who was killed in a car accident in Princeton, NJ.
Various articles in Los Angeles Times and an August 11, 2006 Entertainment Weekly provide the following information about the film's five-year development process: First-time screenwriter Michael Arndt, a former personal assistant, sold the screenplay for $150,000 to producers David T. Friendly and Marc Turtletaub in 2001. In a November 17, 2006 Hollywood Reporter interview, Arndt stated that his twin brother is "a depressed academic who teaches Proust" and that his family had a VW bus when he was growing up. "Everything that happened with the car [in the film] happened to my family."
Both Dean Parisot and Goldie Hawn expressed interest in directing the film before the assignment went to Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Dayton and Faris, who are married, were known for their work on commercials and music videos, but had never directed a feature film. The project was sold to Focus Features, which argued that the film needed a major star and commissioned a rewrite from screenwriter Steve Conrad. Conrad is not credited onscreen and his contribution, if any, to the final film has not been determined. Jim Carrey, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller, Kevin Kline and Robin Williams were considered for one or both of the male roles; Bill Murray was sought for the role of "Frank"; and Laura Linney, Jennifer Aniston and Diane Lane were considered for the role of "Sheryl." A November 1, 2006 Los Angeles Times article adds that David Duchovny was considered for role of "Richard" and Donald Sutherland was considered for the role of "Grandpa."
Dayton and Faris objected when Focus proposed shooting the film in Canada to save money, in part because Canada lacks America's fascination with beauty pageants for young girls, which would have made it difficult to cast the roles of the other Little Miss Sunshine contestants. After two years of development, Focus dropped the project, and Turtletaub decided to buy the script back and finance the production himself. Big Beach, which is jointly owned by Arndt and Turtletraub, eventually co-financed the picture with Bona Fide Productions, a company co-owned by Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa. Little Miss Sunshine was shot in less than a month, for an $8 million budget.
According to a June 25, 2006 Los Angeles Times news item, the beauty pageant was shot at the Radisson Hotel in Culver City, and many of the scenes in the VW bus were filmed near Palmdale, CA. Entertainment Weekly adds that portions of the film were shot in the Arizona desert. In their DVD commentary, the directors noted that the extras in the scenes at the hotel were actual contestants and parents from the beauty pageant circuit.
The DVD included, as added content, footage shot but not used for the film's ending. In one version, the family stops for picnic after leaving the contest and reminisces about Grandpa. In their DVD commentary, the directors noted that the scene was "too sappy" and did not fit the tone of the rest of the movie. In another version, the adult members of the family are handcuffed together while "Ms. Jenkins" confers with the policeman after the contest. Additional footage shows the family stealing a giant trophy from the hotel before leaving.
Little Miss Sunshine had its premiere at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, where it was optioned for a record $10.5 million, the biggest deal for a single film in the festival's history, surpassing the previous high of $10.25 million for Happy, Texas in 1999. Little Miss Sunshine was screened at the inaugural Sundance Institute at the Brooklyn Academy of Music film series in mid-May 2006 and was shown as part of Film Independent's Los Angeles Film Festival on 2 July 2006.
Little Miss Sunshine was a critical and popular success. The Los Angeles Times review praised the film's performances and stated, "Little Miss Sunshine hilariously punctures the grotesque bubble of the competitive American spirit in which `winners' are recognized by their rigorous ability to conform to the standards imposed by the market, and `losers' include anyone who won't bow to its mighty will." Variety reported on September 11, 2006 that the film had earned $36.7 million, which put it in the top tier of independent films. According to Internet financial database Box Office Mojo, the film's worldwide grosses exceeded $86 million as of January 2007.
In addition to being selected as one of AFI's Movies of the Year for 2006, Little Miss Sunshine received the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award (Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa) from the Producers Guild of America. Alan Arkin received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Michael Arndt received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film was also nominated by the Academy in the categories of Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Breslin). The picture earned two Golden Globe nominations, one for Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy, and another for Best Actress in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy (Toni Collette). The film received the Screen Actors Guild ensemble award for Outstanding Acting by a Cast, and received SAG nominations for Arkin for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and Breslin for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor. The film also received the following Independent Spirit Awards: Best Feature, Best Director, Best First Screenplay and Best Supporting Male (Arkin). Paul Dano was also nominated in the Best Supporting Male category. Dayton and Faris were nominated for Directorial Achievement in Film by the Directors Guild of America, and Arndt received the Writers Guild of America award for Best Original Screenplay.
Miscellaneous Notes
Voted one of the 10 best films of 2006 by the American Film Institute (AFI).
Winner of the 2006 award for Best Ensemble Cast by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
Winner of the 2006 award for Best Original Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America (WGA).
Winner of the 2006 Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures by the Producers Guild of America (PGA).
Winner of the 2006 New Generation Award by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).
Winner of the Audience Award at the 2006 San Sebastian Film Festival.
Winner of the Grand Prize award at the 2006 Deauville Festival of American Cinema.
Winner of two 2006 awards including Best Original Screenplay and Best Ensemble by the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA).
Winner of two 2006 awards including Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin) by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
Limited Release in United States July 26, 2006
Released in United States Summer July 26, 2006
Released in United States on Video December 19, 2006
Released in United States 2006
Released in United States January 2006
Released in United States August 2006
Released in United States September 2006
Released in United States January 2007
Shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival (Closing Night) June 22-July 2, 2006.
Shown at Edinburgh International Film Festival (Gala) August 14-27, 2006.
Shown at Locarno International Film Festival (Closing Night/Piazza Grande) August 2-12, 2006.
Shown at San Sebastian Film Festival (Zabaltegi/Pearls) September 21-30, 2006.
Shown at Deauville Festival of American Cinema (Competition) September 1-10, 2006.
Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (Talking Pictures) January 4-15, 2007.
Deep River purchased the spec by Michael Arndt.
Literary Sale Date: 07/12/2002.
Project was included on the 2005 Black List.
Feature film directing debut for husband-and-wife team, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.
Fox Searchlight acquired worldwide distribution rights at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival for a reported sum of $10 million.
Limited Release in United States July 26, 2006
Released in United States Summer July 26, 2006
Released in United States on Video December 19, 2006
Released in United States 2006 (Shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival (Closing Night) June 22-July 2, 2006.)
Released in United States January 2006 (Shown at Sundance Film Festival (Premiere) January 19-29, 2006.)
Released in United States August 2006 (Shown at Edinburgh International Film Festival (Gala) August 14-27, 2006.)
Released in United States August 2006 (Shown at Locarno International Film Festival (Closing Night/Piazza Grande) August 2-12, 2006.)
Released in United States September 2006 (Shown at San Sebastian Film Festival (Zabaltegi/Pearls) September 21-30, 2006.)
Released in United States September 2006 (Shown at Deauville Festival of American Cinema (Competition) September 1-10, 2006.)
Released in United States January 2007 (Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (Talking Pictures) January 4-15, 2007. )
Winner of the John Schlesinger Award, 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
