The Nines

Infobox Film
name = The Nines

---

caption = Theatrical release poster
director = John August
producer =
writer = John August
starring = Ryan Reynolds
Hope Davis Melissa McCarthy Elle Fanning
music = Alex Wurman
cinematography = Nancy Schreiber
editing = Douglas Crise
distributor = Newmarket Films
released = UK: Start_date|2007|11|30
runtime = 99 min
tagline = Y9u never kn9w when y9ur number is up
country = USA
language = English
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0810988

"The Nines" is a 2007 Psychological thriller / Drama, written and directed by John August, and starring Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, Melissa McCarthy, and Elle Fanning. The film debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and made $63,165 in the U.S. box office through October 11, 2007. [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=nines.htm Box Office Mojo: The Nines] ]

Plot

"Part One - The Prisoner" tells of a troubled actor, Gary, who is wearing the green lace on his wrist. Gary is under house arrest living in another person's house because he burned down his own, the owner of the house is described as a TV writer away on work. While living in the house he is befriended by both a P.R. 'handler', Margaret, and the single mom next door, Sarah, who may or may not be interested in him romantically. Over the course of his house arrest, Gary becomes convinced that he is being haunted by the number nine, including finding a note saying "Look for the nines" in "his" handwriting. He also sees different versions of himself around the house, which freak him out causing him to break out of his house arrest barrier, which in turn causes a blip in reality.

"Part Two - Reality Television" tells of a television writer, Gavin, trying to get his pilot made. He leaves his house to go away and work on his TV show, "Knowing", about a mother and daughter who are lost, which stars his friend Melissa as the lead actress. In a conversation about reviews and critics Melissa tells Gavin to look for the nines which he then writes on a piece of paper, the same piece which Gary found in Part One, he also tells Melissa he thinks he is haunted by "himself". During the process of post production, a television executive, Susan, pushes for Gavin to ditch his friend Melissa as the unconventional lead actress of his project, in favor of a more attractive, well-known accress. This causes an argument between him and Melissa, which leads to his telling the reality TV cameraman to leave him alone. A pedestrian then asks him who he is talking to, and it is shown that the reality television cameraman does not exist, and also that he has the number nine floating above his head.

A flashback from Part One shows Gary's P.R. handler, Margaret, telling him he is a God-like being and that God is a 10, humans are a 7 and that he is a 9, therefore he can destroy the world with a single thought, and that he exists in many different forms and that none of them are real. Gary does not believe this and flips out, which is revealed to be the real reason for his breaking his house arrest barrier in Part One.

"Part Three - Knowing" tells of an acclaimed video game designer, Gabriel, whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Gabriel leaves his wife, Mary, and young daughter, Noelle, to try to get a better signal on his phone. He meets a woman, Sierra, who leads him off into the woods to her car, so she can give him a lift to the gas station. Suddenly Gabriel feels weak and Sierra tell him she has poisoned him with the water she gave him. Meanwhile back at the car Noelle watches a video on a digital camera showing Gavin talking to Melissa from Part Two and Margaret talking to Gary in Part One. She is confused and shows her mom, who appears confused as well. Sierra then tells Gabriel about the three parallel universes he has created, and has been living in, and that he forgot who he was, and that he forgot it wasn't real. Sierra tells Gabriel to go back with her. Back at the car Noelle has gone missing. Gabriel then returns to the car with Noelle in his arms and the family goes home. Mary, who realises that he is not who he seems, tells Gabriel he needs to go and that the world is not real. Gabriel tells her that there were ninety different variations of the universe and this is the last one. Gabriel then realises he must go and removes the green lace from his wrist, at which point the universe peels away into nothing. The film ends with the woman from all three parts married to Ben, whom she is married to in Part Two, and Noelle as their daughter. Noelle tells her mother that "he's not coming back" and that "all the pieces have been put together" and that "this is the best of all possible words", Melissa then looks up and says "thank you", smiles and the credits roll.

Production

The movie was shot over 22 days in Los Angeles and two days in New York,cite web | url = http://johnaugust.com/archives/2006/so-i-made-a-movie | title = So I made a movie | accessdate=2007-01-12 | work = John August] with some scenes in John August's house.cite web | url = http://johnaugust.com/archives/2006/movies-look-nothing-like-reality | title = Movies look nothing like reality | accessdate=2007-01-12 | work = John August] The movie was shot in a combination of video and film with everything being posted in high-definition.cite web | url = http://johnaugust.com/archives/2006/so-i-made-a-movie | title = So I made a movie | accessdate=2007-01-12 | work = John August] Despite this, the film has yet to be released on Blu-ray disc.

Rating

MPAA Rated R for language, some drug content and sexuality. BBFC Rated 15.

Cast

*Ryan Reynolds as Gary a troubled actor/ Gavin a TV writer/ and Gabriel a Computer-Game designer
*Melissa McCarthy as Margaret, Gary's PR handler/ Melissa an actress in Gavin's TV show/ and Mary, the wife of Gabriel.
*Hope Davis as Sarah, Gary's Neighbor/ Susan a TV excutive for Gavin/ and Sierra a mysterious woman who tries to help Gabriel
*Elle Fanning as Noelle
*David Denman as the Parole Officer/ and the Agitated Man
*Octavia Spencer as a Streetwalker
*Ben Falcone as Himself
*Dahlia Salem as Herself
*John Gatins as Himself
*Andy Fielder as the Moderator

Awards and nominations

34th Saturn Awards

1 nominationcite web|url=http://www.saturnawards.org/nominations.html |title=The 34th Saturn Award Nominations |accessdate=2008-02-20 |publisher=The Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror Films] :
* Best DVD release

Triva

*The segment in Part Two about Melissa being ditched was somewhat inspired by writer/director John August's own experiences in the television industry.
*The house used in the movie as Gavin's house and the house that Gary stays in, is the real house of writer/director John August.cite web | url = http://johnaugust.com/archives/2006/movies-look-nothing-like-reality | title = Movies look nothing like reality | accessdate=2007-01-12 | work = John August]

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0810988|title=The Nines
* [http://www.lookforthenines.com/ Look for the Nines] Official Website