Ask the Dust (film)
Encyclopedia
Ask the Dust is a 2006 film based on the book Ask the Dust
by John Fante
. The movie was written and directed by Robert Towne
. Tom Cruise
(with Paula Wagner
and Cruise/Wagner Productions
) served as one of the film's producers. The film was released on a limited basis on March 17, 2006. It was filmed almost entirely in South Africa
with the use of stages to portray Los Angeles
.
. Camilla (Salma Hayek
) is a fiery, beautiful Mexican
café waitress who aspires one day to be above her current standing in society. She wishes to do this by marrying a wealthy man from the United States
. Her plan is thrown into disarray when she meets Italian
-American Arturo Bandini (Colin Farrell
). Farrell's character is portrayed as a struggling writer who comes to Los Angeles's Bunker Hill
area to start his writing career.
, though he let them lapse. Towne met Fante in the 1970s. This meeting led to his interest in the project. Despite finishing the script in the early 1990s, he couldn't find financial backing from a studio. During this time Farrell's role was originally set to be played by Johnny Depp
but he dropped out. Later Val Kilmer
accepted the role and also dropped out. Another delay was Hayek initially rejecting the role to avoid being typecast as a Mexican immigrant. She accepted the role eight years later.
reported that 37% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 100 reviews. Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 58 out of 100, based on 33 reviews.
Ask the Dust
Ask the Dust is the most popular novel of Italian-American author John Fante, first published in 1939 and set during the Great Depression-era in Los Angeles. It is one of a series of novels featuring the character Arturo Bandini as Fante's alter ego, a young Italian-American from Colorado...
by John Fante
John Fante
John Fante was an American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Italian descent. He is perhaps best known for his work, Ask the Dust, a semi-autobiograpical novel about life in and around Los Angeles, California, which was the third in a series of four novels, published between 1938...
. The movie was written and directed by Robert Towne
Robert Towne
Robert Towne is an American screenwriter and director. His most notable work may be his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown .-Film:...
. Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
(with Paula Wagner
Paula Wagner
Paula Wagner is an American film producer and film executive.-Early career:Wagner began her career at Creative Artists Agency. In 1993 she launched Cruise/Wagner Productions with her former CAA client Tom Cruise. C/W's first film, Mission: Impossible, was an international hit that brought the...
and Cruise/Wagner Productions
Cruise/Wagner Productions
Cruise/Wagner Productions is an American independent film production company. The company was founded by actor Tom Cruise and former casting agent Paula Wagner....
) served as one of the film's producers. The film was released on a limited basis on March 17, 2006. It was filmed almost entirely in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
with the use of stages to portray Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Plot
The story is set during the Great Depression, specifically around the time of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake1933 Long Beach earthquake
The Long Beach earthquake of 1933 took place on March 10, 1933 at 17:55 PST , with a magnitude of 6.4, causing widespread damage to buildings throughout Southern California. The epicenter was offshore, southeast of Long Beach on the Newport-Inglewood Fault. An estimated fifty million dollars worth...
. Camilla (Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
) is a fiery, beautiful Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
café waitress who aspires one day to be above her current standing in society. She wishes to do this by marrying a wealthy man from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Her plan is thrown into disarray when she meets Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-American Arturo Bandini (Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
). Farrell's character is portrayed as a struggling writer who comes to Los Angeles's Bunker Hill
Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, California
Bunker Hill, in the downtown area of Los Angeles, California, is a short, developed hill with its peak located roughly around 3rd Street. It is located directly east of the Harbor Freeway...
area to start his writing career.
Cast
- Colin FarrellColin FarrellColin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
as Arturo Bandini - Salma HayekSalma HayekSalma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
as Camilla Lopez - Donald SutherlandDonald SutherlandDonald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
as Hellfrick - Eileen AtkinsEileen AtkinsDame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
as Mrs. Hargraves - Idina MenzelIdina MenzelIdina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...
as Vera Rivkin - Justin KirkJustin KirkJustin Kirk is an American stage and film actor. He is known for playing Prior Walter in Mike Nichols's screen adaptation of Angels in America and for his portrayal of Andy Botwin in Showtime's Weeds.-Early life and education:Kirk was born in Salem, Oregon, son of a...
as Sammy - Dion BascoDion BascoDion Basco is an American film and television actor of Filipino heritage. His brothers, Dante, Darion and Derek Basco are also actors. He is best known for his roles as Alberto "Al" Ramos on the NBC television sitcom, City Guys and as Flip in the 2003 film, Biker Boyz. Dion played Marco Quito in...
as Patricio/houseboy - Jeremy Crutchley as Solomon, the bartender
- William MapotherWilliam MapotherWilliam Reibert Mapother, Jr. is an American actor and former teacher, perhaps best known for his role as Ethan Rom on the television series Lost.-Personal life:...
as Bill - Tamara Craig Thomas as Sally
Film delays
The rights to the novel once belonged to Mel BrooksMel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
, though he let them lapse. Towne met Fante in the 1970s. This meeting led to his interest in the project. Despite finishing the script in the early 1990s, he couldn't find financial backing from a studio. During this time Farrell's role was originally set to be played by Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
but he dropped out. Later Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
accepted the role and also dropped out. Another delay was Hayek initially rejecting the role to avoid being typecast as a Mexican immigrant. She accepted the role eight years later.
Critical reception
The film received negative to mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 37% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 100 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 58 out of 100, based on 33 reviews.