First Daughter (2004 film)

Infobox Film
name = First Daughter


imdb_id = 0361620
writer = Jessica Bendinger and Jerry O'Connell (story);
Jessica Bendiger and Kate Kondell (screenplay)
starring = Katie Holmes
Marc Blucas
Amerie
Michael Keaton
director = Forest Whitaker
producer = John Davis
distributor = 20th Century Fox
released = September 24 2004 (U.S.)
runtime = 106 min.
language = English
music = Michael Kamen and Blake Neely
awards =
budget = US$30,000,000

"First Daughter" is a romantic comedy film released by 20th Century Fox in 2004. It stars Katie Holmes as Samantha Mackenzie, a Presidential daughter who enrolls at a college and develops a relationship with another student at the college played by Marc Blucas. The film follows Samantha as she is given a new sense of freedom during her time away from the White House, and the advantages and disadvantages of her college life and education. It co-stars Michael Keaton as the President of the United States and Amerie as Samantha's roommate.

The film was directed by Forest Whitaker, written by Jessica Bendinger, Kate Kondell and Jerry O'Connell and produced by John Davis. Whitaker likened "First Daughter" to a fairy tale, characterising it as "the story of a princess who leaves the 'castle' [the White House] to go out in the world to discover who and what she is." [ [http://www.writingstudio.co.za/page718.html Page Title ] ] The film languished in development hell for several years, and was further delayed even after its completion.Fact|date=June 2007 It was not a commercial success upon its eventual release, and reviews criticised its bland storyline, the cloying direction, and an unconvincing performance from Katie Holmes.Fact|date=June 2007

Plot

Samantha Mackenzie (Katie Holmes), the President's daughter, has been in the public eye for quite a long time. She has recently spent a sheltered existence in the White House with her father (Michael Keaton), who is usually too busy taking care of the country to look after his daughter. Accompanied by Secret Service agents everywhere she goes, Samantha finally believes she has the chance to break out of her cocoon when she is given the opportunity to attend college.

Though still followed by Secret Service agents, Samantha at last feels as if she is leading a normal life. She ends up sharing a dorm with tough-talking Mia (Amerie), and the two instantly strike up a friendship and embrace their new freedom. In a classroom, Samantha meets James (Marc Blucas), who Samantha feels is the icing on the cake of her new life at the college. But there is more to James than she initially thought, and Samantha must learn that the two sides of her life do not have to be separate from each other in order for her entire life to be content.

Cast

*Katie Holmes as Samantha Mackenzie. The final episode of Holmes' television show "Dawson's Creek" had aired shortly after she had signed up for the film, and this was one of the reasons she became interested in the project: "It was a movie I felt like sort of catered to the audience of "Dawson's Creek". [ [http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/550/550262p2.html IGN: Interview: Katie Holmes ] ]
*Marc Blucas as James Lansome.
*Amerie as Mia Thompson. "First Daughter" was the R&B singer's acting debut. Of Forest Whitaker, Amerie said "It was a blessing to work with such a great director. He's an actor as well, so he knew how to get the best out of me and teach me." [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2002470674_amerie06.html The Seattle Times: Arts & Entertainment: R&B artist Amerie has confidence and a new album ] ]
*Michael Keaton as President Mackenzie.
*Margaret Colin as Melanie Mackenzie, the First Lady.
*Lela Rochon as Liz Pappas, the President's secretary.

Production

The film was in development as far back as March 1999, when actor Jerry O'Connell sold a screenplay he had written to Regency Enterprises for a six figure sum, with O'Connell also intending to star in the film. Originally to shoot in the summer of that year, the project was pushed back to the spring of 2000 (under the direction of Brian Robbins) to allow O'Connell to film "Mission to Mars", and then Rob Thomas was hired to rewrite the script. [ [http://www.melissajoanhart.net/news/hollywood_reporter/036.shtml melissajoanhart.net - news from hollywood reporter ] ] [ [http://www.earth62.net/transcripts/oconnell20oct99.htm Jerry O'Connell - 20 Oct 99 ] ] For reasons unknown, the film was not produced at that time, although O'Connell later received a "story by" credit for the film from the Writers Guild of America. (The film's original producer, Mike Karz, was also credited as a producer in the final print of the film.)

Filming began on June 2, 2003 [ [http://www2.filmjerk.com/new/article474.html FilmJerk.com - News - "First Daughter" Showdown: Katie Holmes vs. Mandy Moore ] ] on a budget of US$30 million, [ [http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2004/1STDF.php First Daughter - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information - The Numbers ] ] and continued into July. [ [http://www.katieholmespictures.com/enc/enc13.shtml Katie Holmes Pictures.com ] ] The film was shot on location in Southern California. For the film's opening scene where Samantha descending a red-carpeted stairway, the lobby of the Los Angeles Theatre in Los Angeles was used, while the auditorium of the building was used for a scene where Samantha and James go to see a movie. On-campus scenes were shot at UCLA. The Huntington Library in San Marino stood in for the exterior of the building in the first scene. [ [http://www.seeing-stars.com/Locations/FirstDaughter1.shtml Filming Locations of "First Daughter" (part 1) ] ]

Reception

A number of viewers and reviewers pointed out that the film's plot is very similar to the film "Chasing Liberty" (In fact "Chasing Liberty's" working title was "First Daughter"), involving the President's daughter trying to experience life away from the White House. Like "Chasing Liberty", the film was not well received by critics. The consensus among the reviewers is that "First Daughter" has a more realistic yet slower storyline than "Chasing Liberty",Fact|date=June 2007 although in the end it was "Chasing Liberty" which appealed more to its target audience, winning three Teen Choice Awards.Fact|date=June 2007

The film was a financial failure. Opening in fifth place at the box office, [ [http://www.boxofficeguru.com/archives2.htm Weekend Box Office Archives ] ] "First Daughter" ended up with just $9.1 million in domestic ticket sales and $10.4 million worldwide. [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=firstdaughter.htm First Daughter (2004) ] ] It was Katie Holmes' second least successful mainstream film after "Teaching Mrs. Tingle". [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=katieholmes.htm Katie Holmes Movie Box Office Results ] ] The film performed better on home video and DVD, where it made $13.14 million in combined rentals and sales. [ [http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/wbotitle.php?t=2593&section=4 First Daughter :: Lee's Movie Info ] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.firstdaughtermovie.com/ Official site]
*imdb title|id=0361620|title=First Daughter
*rotten-tomatoes|id=first_daughter|title=First Daughter
* [http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/firstdaughter "First Daughter"] at Metacritic