Lonely Hearts (film)

Infobox Film
name = Lonely Hearts

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director = Todd Robinson
producer = Holly Wiersma
Boaz Davidson
writer = Todd Robinson
starring = John Travolta
James Gandolfini
Salma Hayek
Jared Leto
Laura Dern
Scott Caan
music = Mychael Danna
cinematography = Mark Kohl, Peter Levy
editing = Kathryn Himoff
distributor = Millennium Films
released = 21 October, 2006 (Taiwan)
13 April, 2007 (USA)
runtime = 108 minutes
country = United States
language = English
budget =
amg_id = 1:319155
imdb_id = 0441774

"Lonely Hearts" is a 2006 American film directed and written by Todd Robinson. It is based on the true story of the notorious "Lonely Hearts Killers" of the 1940s, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez. The story of Beck and Fernandez was also the subject of the 1970 film "The Honeymoon Killers", directed by Leonard Kastle.

Plot

Raymond Fernandez (Jared Leto) is a con man who meets single, rich women through personal ads. Upon meeting Martha Beck (Salma Hayek), the two decide to join forces, and begin travelling the country, eventually murdering at least 12 women who responded to their ads. Detective Robinson (John Travolta) and Detective Hildebrandt (James Gandolfini) are the homicide detectives who try to bring the couple to justice.

The director, Todd Robinson, is the grandson of Elmer C. Robinson, the character played by Travolta. The scrapbook in the opening credits left by the director's grandmother before she killed herself was the actual scrapbook that she kept before her death.

Cast

*John Travolta as Elmer C. Robinson
*James Gandolfini as Charles Hildebrandt
*Salma Hayek as Martha Beck
*Jared Leto as Raymond Martinez Fernandez
*Bailee Madison as Rainelle
*Laura Dern as Rene
*Scott Caan as Detective Reilly

Visual Effects by

*Shero Rauf – digital effects artist

Development and production

Filming began on March 21, 2005, with the majority of shooting taking place on location in and around historic venues in Jacksonville, Florida. [ [http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=35451 John Travolta & James Gandolfini Shooting Movie] ] [ [http://www.coj.net/Departments/Jacksonville+Economic+Development+Commission/Film+and+Television/NewsLetters/2006+Newsletter.htm#article1 Hearts Aren't Lonely for Jacksonville's Crew and Businesses ] ] Portions were filmed in the historic Springfield district north of downtown Jacksonville, while additional shooting occurred in nearby Fernandina and Amelia Island. [ [http://www.the-campus-voice.com/voiceVariety.html ‘Lonely Hearts’] ]

Jacksonville had competed with Orlando and Ocala, Florida plus the state of Louisiana for the film. The film consisted of 218 local technicians, actors and actresses, and 833 extras that created a $3.28 million economic impact to the region. [ [http://www.coj.net/Departments/Jacksonville+Economic+Development+Commission/Film+and+Television/NewsLetters/2006+Newsletter.htm#article1 Hearts Aren't Lonely for Jacksonville's Crew and Businesses] ]

Release and reception

"Lonely Hearts" premiered in the U.S. at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 30, 2006. Following this, the film had a screening in Jacksonville at the Jacksonville Film Festival on May 18, 2006. [ [http://www.firstcoastnews.com/life/entertainment/news-article.aspx?storyid=57855 Jacksonville Film Festival Kicks Off, "Lonely Hearts" to Premiere] ] The film was given a staggered release internationally throughout the final quarter of 2006, and into 2007. "Lonely Hearts" was scheduled to be given a limited release by Roadside Attractions in the U.S. on April 13, 2007. It was available to watch on Clickstar on-demand shortly after its domestic release.

The film earned $188,565 in the United States and Canada, and $2,148,095 in the rest of the world, for a combined gross of $2,336,660. [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lonelyhearts.htm] Critical reaction was mixed, and the film has a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/lonely_hearts/]

DVD release

The Region One DVD was released by Sony on July 31, 2007, although it was available for rental in several countries since late 2006.

References

External links

* [http://www.millenniumfilms.com/lonelyhearts/ Official site]
* [http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tixSYS/2006/filmguide/event_np_trailer.php?EventNumber=4170 "Lonely Hearts" trailer]
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* [http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/partners/fernandez/1.html CourtTV's Crime Library Case on The Lonely Hearts Killers]
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