The Lie is a 2011 American drama-comedy film, directed by Joshua Leonard, from a screenplay by Leonard, Jess Weixler, Mark Webber, and Jeff Feuerzeig. It is based upon a short story of the same name by T. Coraghessan Boyle, which was printed in The New Yorker.[1] It stars Leonard, Weixler, Webber, Kelli Garner, Jane Adams, Alia Shawkat, Gerry Bednob, Holly Woodlawn, Kirk Baltz, Tipper Newton and Violet Long.
The Lie | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Joshua Leonard |
Written by |
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Based on | The Lie by T. Coraghessan Boyle |
Produced by | Mary Pat Bentel |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Benjamin Kasulke |
Edited by | Greg O'Bryant |
Music by | Peter Raeburn |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Screen Media Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2011. It was released on November 18, 2011, by Screen Media Films.
A man's life is altered unexpectedly after telling a lie to get out of work.
Joshua Leonard had been on the lookout for a story to be made into a movie, when he read the short story, The Lie, which was in the April 14, 2008 issue of The New Yorker. He realized that the story was a good fit for an independent film that could be made in Los Angeles, using collaborators he already knew in the area.[2] The original short story was sixteen pages long.[3] The crew spent two and a half weeks shooting the film, and six months editing it.[4] For the baby Xana, the filmmakers cast Violet Long (an infant at that time) whose parents are Daniel (the film's co-producer) and Darby Long.
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2011.[5] Shortly after, Screen Media Films acquired distribution rights to the film.[6] It was released on November 18, 2011.[7]
Though the scenes for 'The Lie' have a preconceived shape and direction, there are only spare snippets of specific dialogue written, in the hope that the tightrope walk of the creative moment will help capture some real-life spark.
[T]his ultra-low-budget dark-comedy also may be one of the upcoming Sundance Film Festival's most touching family dramas.
Beautifully acted and emotionally resonant -- in the film's best scene, Clover's face silently telegraphs the dawning realization that Lonnie's hideous new song is really a terrible confession -- 'The Lie' is about adjusting one's self-portrait to accommodate changing realities.
In 'The Lie', Lonnie, Clover, and Baby Xana go on a weekend camping trip, and we see they truly do make up a family, and Leonard does this in a convincing and affectionate way.
... from a production standpoint, ['The Lie' story] resonated because it was something that could be done in Los Angeles as a truly independent film, it was a story that could be told in large part with a group of collaborators that I already had surrounding me.
I took the original short story, which was sixteen pages, which was phenomenal, but it needed a lot of work to translate it into a feature film.
We shot the film for two and a half weeks but we were in the editing room putting it together for six months.
[B]etween work, school and looking after the baby, their free time has all but disappeared, which means Lonnie never gets to jam with his loser buddy Tank.
Films directed by Joshua Leonard | |
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