$9.99

$9.99
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Tatia Rosenthal
Written by	Etgar Keret Tatia Rosenthal
Starring	Geoffrey Rush Anthony LaPaglia
Music by	Christopher Bowen
Distributed by	Regent Releasing Maximum Films Memento Films
Release date(s)	4 September 2008 (Toronto)
Running time	78 minutes
Country	Australia Israel
Language	English
Box office	~$708,354

$9.99 is a 2008 Australian/Israeli stop motion film written and directed by Tatia Rosenthal, with the screenplay by Etgar Keret.^[1] This film marks the third collaboration between Rosenthal and Keret. The film features a voice cast of Geoffrey Rush, Samuel Johnson, Anthony LaPaglia and Claudia Karvan.

Plot

The film mainly focuses on 28-year-old Dave Peck, who is unemployed but prefers the search for the meaning of life to the search for gainful employment. While looking in a magazine, Dave finds an advertisement for a book that will tell him the meaning of life "for the low price of $9.99." Dave, fascinated by this, begins his journey in his Sydney apartment to find the true meaning of life.

As the film progresses, stories of Dave's family and neighbours are woven in and examine the post-modern meaning of hope.

Cast

• Geoffrey Rush as The Angel / Homeless Man
• Anthony LaPaglia as Jim
• Samuel Johnson as Dave
• Claudia Karvan as Michelle
• Joel Edgerton as Ron
• Barry Otto as Albert
• Leeanna Walsman as Tanita
• Ben Mendelsohn as Lenny
• Jamie Katsamatsas as Zack
• Brian Meagan as Clement

Crew

• Production Designer – Melinda Doring
• Original Music – Christopher Bowen
• Camera (color) – Susan Stitt, James Lewis, Richard Bradshaw

Release and reception

$9.99 premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 4 September 2008.^[2] The film was then released in Los Angeles and New York on 19 June 2009 and then in Australia on 17 September 2009. Upon release, the film earned mostly positive reviews. As of April 2010, it holds a "Fresh" score of 78 percent on the film review Web site Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 6.7 out of 10.^[3]

Box Office

$9.99 took $47,300 at the box office in Australia.^[4]

Awards and nominations

• Winner of the Audience Award for best feature at FICCO 2009
• Winner of EXXONMOBIL best female director Award at FICCO 2009
• Winner of Anima Brussels BeTV best feature Award 2009
• Winner of the Grand Prize at Monstra Lisbon Animated film Festival 2009

The film has been nominated for the Annie Awards for Best Animated Feature and Directing in an Animated Feature Production.

References

1. ^ Thompson, Anne (2008-11-12). "Can $9.99 Get You an Oscar These Days? (Maybe in the Toon Category)". Variety: Thompson on Hollywood (Reed Business Information). http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2008/11/can-999-get-you.html. Retrieved 2008-12-10. 
2. ^ "Toronto festival to screen six Australian films" (Press release). Screen Australia. 2008-08-20. http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/news_and_events/2008/mr_080820_toronto.asp. Retrieved 2010-11-25. 
3. ^ "$9.99". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/$9.99/. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
4. ^ [1] Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office.

External links

• Official site
• $9.99 at the Internet Movie Database
• $9.99 at AllRovi
• Box Office Mojo
• The Numbers