Storytelling is a 2001 film

2001 in film

The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...

, directed by Todd Solondz

Todd Solondz

Todd Solondz is an American independent film screenwriter and director known for his style of dark, thought-provoking, socially conscious satire. Solondz has been critically acclaimed for his examination of the "dark underbelly of middle class American suburbia", a reflection of his own background...

. It features original music by Belle & Sebastian

Belle & Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965...

, later compiled on an album of the same name. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard

Un Certain Regard

Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...

 section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival

2001 Cannes Film Festival

The 2001 Cannes Film Festival started on May 14 and ran until May 25. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian film The Son's Room by Nanni Moretti.-Jury:* Liv Ullmann, President * Mimmo Calopresti * Charlotte Gainsbourg...

.

Plot

The film consists of two stories that are unrelated and have different actors, titled "Fiction" and "Non-Fiction." "Fiction," starring Selma Blair

Selma Blair

Selma Blair is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. She has performed in feature films including Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, Hellboy, The Fog, Purple Violets and Hellboy II: The Golden Army...

, is about a group of college students in a creative writing class taught by a professor who has affairs with his students. "Non-Fiction," starring Paul Giamatti

Paul Giamatti

Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...

 and John Goodman

John Goodman

John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...

, is about the filming of a high school student and his family through the college application process.

Cast

• Selma Blair
  Selma Blair
  Selma Blair is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. She has performed in feature films including Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, Hellboy, The Fog, Purple Violets and Hellboy II: The Golden Army...
  
   - Vi ('Fiction')
• Leo Fitzpatrick
  Leo Fitzpatrick
  Leonardo Aurellio Randy "Leo" Fitzpatrick is an American actor.-Biography:Leo Fitzpatrick was born in West Orange, New Jersey. He was discovered at age 14 by director Larry Clark at Washington Square Park in New York City, skateboarding. Fitzpatrick was trying to perform certain skating tricks,...
  
   - Marcus ('Fiction')
• Robert Wisdom
  Robert Wisdom
  Robert Wisdom is an American actor. He is a graduate of Columbia University.-Biography:Wisdom was born in Washington, D.C. to Jamaican parents. He appeared in four of the five seasons of HBO program The Wire as Howard "Bunny" Colvin...
  
   - Mr. Scott ('Fiction')
• Maria Thayer
  Maria Thayer
  Maria Thayer is an American actress from Boring, Oregon, known for her roles as Wyoma in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Rory in Accepted and Tammi Littlenut in Strangers with Candy. In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Thayer plays a Mormon newlywed on her honeymoon with her new husband, played by Jack...
  
   - Amy ('Fiction')
• Angela Goethals
  Angela Goethals
  Angela Bethany Goethals is an American actress. She is known for her recurring guest appearance on 24 and her roles in the TV sitcom Phenom and the movie Home Alone.- Early life and career :...
  
   - Elli ('Fiction')
• Devorah Rose - Lucy ('Fiction')
• Nancy Anne Ridder - Joyce ('Fiction')
• Steve Rosen - Ethan ('Fiction') (as Steven Rosen)
• Aleksa Palladino
  Aleksa Palladino
  Aleksa Palladino is an Italian American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her lead roles in Manny & Lo, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, Find Me Guilty, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.-Life and career:Palladino was born in New York City, where she grew up...
  
   - Catherine ('Fiction')
• Mary Lynn Rajskub
  Mary Lynn Rajskub
  Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
  
   - Melinda ('Fiction')
• Tina Holmes
  Tina Holmes
  Tina Holmes is an American television and film actress.- Early years and education :Holmes grew up in New York City and Connecticut. An Ivy Leaguer, she attended Yale University for two years followed by a move to Paris, France studying French Literature at the Sorbonne...
  
   - Sue ('Fiction')
• Paul Giamatti
  Paul Giamatti
  Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
  
   - Toby Oxman ('Non-fiction')
• Mike Schank - Mike the Cameraman ('Non-fiction')
• Xander Berkeley
  Xander Berkeley
  Alexander Harper "Xander" Berkeley is an American actor. His roles include George Mason on the television series 24.-Early life:Berkeley was born in Brooklyn, New York, but has lived most of his life in New Jersey...
  
   - Mr. DeMarco ('Non-fiction')
• Mark Webber
  Mark Webber (actor)
  Mark Allen Webber is an American actor, screenwriter and director known for his roles in the films Snow Day and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.-Personal life:...
  
   - Scooby Livingston ('Non-fiction')
• John Goodman
  John Goodman
  John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
  
   - Marty Livingston ('Non-fiction')
• Julie Hagerty
  Julie Hagerty
  Julie Hagerty is an American actress and former model.-Early life:Hagerty was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Harriet Yuellig, a model and singer, and Jerry Hagerty, a musician. Her brother Michael Hagerty was also an actor. Her parents later divorced. Hagerty attended Indian Hill High...
  
   - Fern Livingston ('Non-fiction')
• Noah Fleiss
  Noah Fleiss
  Noah Fleiss is an American film and television actor. He was born in White Plains, New York.Fleiss made his screen debut as a young runaway who drives cross-country with his brother in Josh and S.A.M. , perhaps his best-known film...
  
   - Brady Livingston ('Non-fiction')

Third story

The original version of the film featured a third story, concerning, among other things, a closeted

The Closet

The Closet may refer to:* The Closet , Chinese film* The Closet , French film* The closet, referring to undisclosed homosexuality- See also :* Closet* Closet * In the closet...

 football player played by actor James van der Beek

James Van Der Beek

James William Van Der Beek, Jr. is an American television, film, and stage actor, known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in The WB series Dawson's Creek...

.http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,199194,00.html But for unknown reasons, possibly that the character had an explicit sex scene with a male partner, the entire story was cut from the final version.http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,199194,00.html

Red box controversy

During the sex scene in the "Fiction" part of the film, a red box was added for the American version of the film, blocking the audience's view of a rough sex scene between Selma Blair and Robert Wisdom. This was used to bend the rules of the MPAA's rating system, allowing the film to obtain the R rating instead of NC-17. Initially the red box was to have had the word "Censored" on it, but the MPAA also deemed this unacceptable because they do not consider themselves censors. Solondz described the addition of the box as a political statement: "I was prepared to make that political statement. This is something I've always been prepared to do, as long as the audience is aware of what it's not allowed to see. That's how I feel "politically" about that. (...)" http://www.indiewire.com/people/int_Solondz_Todd_020125.html The box is not present in the international version of the film, although in the American DVD release, both options are available.