The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie
Encyclopedia
The Naked Brothers Band is an American film written and directed by actress Polly Draper
and stars her sons, Nat Wolff
and Alex Wolff
, who portray members of a fictional rock group. It tells of the boys' struggles with their fame and an internal dispute that causes the band to temporarily break up. The cast keep their full names on-screen, though Allie DiMeco
portrays Nat's female interest Rosalina; the siblings' actress cousin (Jesse Draper
) plays the group's gullible babysitter Jesse Cook; and the siblings' jazz pianist father (Michael Wolff
) portrays their accordion-playing dad Mr. Wolff.
Draper shot the film in the style of a mockumentary
—a parody in documentary format—that depicts the daily activities of the characters. It was emboldened by Nat's genuine band, The Silver Boulders, which he created in preschool with his friends—David Levi
, Thomas Batuello, and Joshua Kaye
—who all portray themselves in the film. Nat composed and performed all the music, though one song was by Alex. Principal photography
took place in mid-2004 on location
in New York City, and most of the interior scenes were filmed in the family's Manhattan
apartment.
In late 2005, Polly Draper, of Thirtysomething fame, and her husband Michael Wolff, entered the film in the Hamptons International Film Festival
, where it won the audience award for family feature film. Albie Hecht, a former Nickelodeon
executive and founder of Spike, was in the audience and commissioned the movie, in affiliation with his Worldwide Biggies
label. It became the pilot for the potential Nickelodeon show of the same name
, airing in the United States on January 27, 2007. The series was created and produced by Draper and it premiered in February 2007, to the channel's highest ratings in seven years for viewers in the 6–11 age group.
) signed them to his label, Who's the Man Records. The band performs their new song, "Motormouth" at a concert in the Hammerstein Ballroom
. After the show, the band members describe how their group started and a clip from their music video "Crazy Car" is shown.
The bandmates get along well until Thomas composes the song "Boys Rule, Girls Drool", which Nat dislikes. Nat writes a song called "Rosalina" that is about Josh's elder half-sister. Thomas and Josh ridicule Nat about the song because it shows his feelings for her. On the other hand, Josh composes another song that Nat also dislikes, titled "I'm the God of Rock and Roll", set to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". The band has a food fight in a restaurant, prompting Thomas, David, and Josh to leave and form a new group, The Gold Boulders, managed by the scornful Mort Needleman (Jonathan Pillot).
After watching media reports of the band's split on television, Nat and Alex go into a state of depression. Alex begins to binge on lemon-lime
soda and then falls asleep, while he lay curled in the midst of aluminum cans; whereas Nat writes a song titled "If There Was a Place to Hide" as the band's fans gather outside his apartment, pleading for them to reunite. Despite the absence of the formers, Alex persuades a reluctant Nat to revive the band, and subsequently they renew its title to The Naked Brothers Band. Through a line-up of auditions, Cooper and the brothers select Rosalina as their cellist and Cole Hawkins — a member of the original Naked Brothers Band — as the guitarist.
The newly established band embark on a tour to Chicago
, yet Nat discovers that The Gold Boulders is their opening act. The Gold Boulders start the show with "Boys Rule, Girls Drool" and are immediately booed off the stage. After their performance, The Naked Brothers Band perform "Hardcore Wrestlers (with Inner Feelings)" and "Rosalina", which are greeted with a loud applause by the audience. After the concert, Nat hosts a party for the band in his apartment. In the midst of the party, David, Thomas, and Josh arrive at his front door, asking to join the reconstructed band. Forgivingly, a surprised Nat welcomes them to join the celebration. The film concludes with the outfit performing "Crazy Car" on the roof of the Wolffs' apartment while fireworks detonate in the background.
, and socks tied around his ankles. He has a crush on the band's nanny and tutor, the 19-year-old Jesse Cook (Jesse Draper). Nat is called "The Girl Magnet" and tends to speak with an English accent in front of 11-year-old Rosalina (Allie DiMeco). The group also features David (David Levi) as the keyboardist, Thomas (Thomas Batuello) as the cellist, and Cooper (Cooper Pillot) as the bands' manager. The brothers' father (Michael Wolff) is an accordion player.
Principal Schmoke (Tim Draper
) leads Amigo Elementary School. The Timmerman Brothers is a band consisting of brothers Donnie (Adam Draper), Johnny (Coulter Mulligan), and Billy (Billy Draper). They had a hit single titled "Splishy Splashy Soap Bubble", but their careers ended when their voices changed during puberty. Music critic (Barbara eda-Young) describes The Silver Boulders' music as "nostalgic". The romantic couple (James Badge-Dale
and Gretchen Egolf
) recall the group performing "Crazy Car" at their wedding ceremony.
and Alex began playing the saxophone when he was two. Nat and his brother once shouted, "We're the naked brothers band!" after having a bath, which inspired the name of the movie. As a pre-schooler, Nat and his friends formed a band called The Silver Boulders.
As a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks
, Nat wrote a song titled "Firefighters" when he was six years old, which he performed with his band for charity. The benefit concert was staged behind his family's apartment and raised over US$45,000, which was donated to the children of the personnel from New York City Fire Department
's Squad 18 who were killed as a result of the attacks. After the successful concert, the band began to perform at gay and lesbian
Christmas celebrations, one-year-old birthday parties, and restaurants. Then Alex, inspired by Ringo Starr
, chose to play the drums in the band.
After the break-up of The Silver Boulders, the siblings decided to revive The Naked Brothers Band. Draper did not want her children to be actors; she explained, "Nat kept putting signs on his door: 'I want to be a child actor!' I said, 'No, it's too brutal. However, Nat wrote and directed a sitcom called Don't Eat Off My Plate, which Draper presented in documentary style by interviewing his friends.
Michael Wolff set up a recording session in the studio along with Nat, Alex, and himself. Draper was impressed by the recording and contemplated making a mockumentary about the band, presenting the boys as music icons akin to The Beatles. In a TV Guide
interview in early 2007, Draper explained, "What originally happened was that Nat and Alex had a band, and the idea evolved based on that. Spinal Tap
meets The Little Rascals
was my concept ... I wanted to have that Help!
or A Hard Day's Night
kind of feeling."
. According to Draper, the crew "would sneak into locations and run". Draper wrote and directed the film, which was produced
by Ken H. Keller, Caron Rudner, Jonathan Pillot, Michael Wolff and Draper herself. The film was co-produced by Fotene Trigonis and was edited by the associate producer Craig Cobb. The executive producer
s were Draper, Wolff, and Draper's brother, Tim. Keller used a color framing
, high-definition video camera
. Rudner served as the line producer
, while John M. Davis was the music editor. Rick Butler served as the production designer
, Frederick Howard was the supervising sound editor, and Deb Temco oversaw the casting
.
When Polly Draper told her friend Julianne Moore
and her husband, writer and director Bart Freundlich
, about the film, Freundlich responded, "Julia would love to be in your movie." Moore changed her schedule at late notice to participate in filming, and Draper wrote Moore's scene as it was being filmed; Draper quickly created a set that depicted the backstage green room
of the talk show, Conan O'Brien
. Moore and Nat filmed the scene in one take, and Draper was impressed with her son's performance, while saying that Moore's presence added credibility to the project.
Most of the cast were friends or relatives of the Draper-Wolff clan
. Tim Draper is Polly's brother and John B. Williams is the cellist for Michael Wolff's band Impure Thoughts. Barbara eda-Young, James Badge-Dale, Gretchen Egolf, and Cooper Pillot had previously performed in Draper's playwright Getting Into Heaven. Jesse Draper is Tim's daughter and thus Polly's niece, and Nat and Alex's cousin. Billy and Adam Draper are Tim's sons, and Coulter Mulligan is Jesse's cousin.
Many of Wolff and Draper's show business friends appeared in the film. Wolff had been the music director for jazz singer Nancy Wilson
, who then introduced him to Arsenio Hall
. After Wilson introduced the two together, Hall chose Wolff to conduct the orchestra on The Arsenio Hall Show
. Tony Shalhoub
portrayed Phil in Draper's screenwriting debut The Tic Code
, which was inspired by Wolff's difficulties with Tourette syndrome
as well as his talent as a jazz pianist. Draper guest starred in the first season of Shalhoub's hit sitcom Monk
. Other guest stars in the movie include Cyndi Lauper
, David Thornton
, Brent Popolizio, Cindy Blackman
, and Ricki Lake
. Draper, who had played Ellyn Warren on ABC
's drama series Thirtysomething, also made an appearance with co-stars Tim Busfield, Mel Harris
, Peter Horton
, Melanie Mayron
, Ken Olin
, and Patricia Wettig
.
David Levi, Thomas Batuello, and Joshua Kaye were preschool friends of Nat. Moore's son, Cal, has been a classmate of Alex since preschool, while Uma Thurman
's daughter was also a preschool friend of Alex. Ann Curry
's son Walker, an original member of The Silver Boulders, was Nat's friend in preschool. Cole Hawkins, an actor who also starred as Leonard in the 2003 musical comedy film School of Rock
, had no previous involvement with the band. The actress Allie DiMeco was also not a member of the group; she auditioned for her role.
piece "Crazy Car". The song was meant to emulate the music of The Beach Boys
. "Firefighters", the song written by Nat for a local 9/11 fundraiser, was later retitled to "Rosalina" for the movie. Nat wrote "Motormouth" while he was angry at Alex. Another song, "That's How It Is", was written by Alex after an unsuccessful dating attempt with a teenager ten years his senior. Additional songs Nat performed in the film include "Got No Mojo", "Hardcore Wrestlers (with Inner Feelings)", "I Need You", "Sorry Girl", and "If There Was a Place to Hide".
Michael Wolff contributed to the underscore and produced the music with Levine. In the film, Wolff performed in the songs "Rathskeller Polka", "Rathskeller Waltz", "Naked Party Polka", and "Naked Tango". He played the underscore for "Shakey Shakey" (lyrics by Alex), and "Boys Rule, Girls Drool" and "Splishy Splashy (Timmerman Song)", both written by Draper. Nancy Wilson sang a rendition of the song "Crazy Car" for the film.
, Nickelodeon bought it. In an article for The New York Times, Albie Hecht
said, "They're just real: real brothers, real friends; it's all the stuff kids do when they're hanging out on the playground. The idea that you're watching a documentary is so much fun. Then you put them into that fantasy of being a world-famous rock band, and that's the sauce that makes it work." Moreover, "he had an independent production deal with Nickelodeon" and believed the film suited the network and that a television show was feasible. Draper and Wolff did not want their children in show business at such a young age but agreed when Hecht's agent promised to work within the boy's schedule, so that they would not miss school. This meant a summer shooting schedule in New York and short, 13-episode seasons.
Tom Ashiem, the executive vice president and general manager of Nickelodeon explained, "At first, we were intrigued by the idea, but we weren't sure kids would get the vague tongue-and-cheek-of-it
. Then a bunch of us took it home to our own children and they loved it." The Naked Brothers Band television series
ran from 2007 to 2009. Draper was the creator, head writer
, executive producer, and director, while Hecht was the other executive producer and his production company, Worldwide Biggies
produced the series. Later, made-for-TV movies
were created and aired as the series continued—a total of eight have been screened on Nickelodeon. The latter films often consisted of an extended, two-part episode—Nickelodeon usually uses the "movie" definition for these hour-long episodes—and were usually broadcast as part of a holiday event or on weekends.
on May 28, 2007. It also aired in Canada on September 10, 2007 on YTV and in Germany on October 20, 2007. The film received a Region 1 DVD release on April 3, 2007 through Nickelodeon Movies
and Paramount Home Entertainment
.
The film won the audience award for a family feature film at the 2005 Hamptons International Film Festival
. When it premiered on the network, it was seen by an average of 2.7 million viewers. The song "Crazy Car" was downloaded more than 100,000 times on iTunes
; it was placed on the Billboard Hot 100
charts for seven weeks and the track was featured on the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice, Vol 3.
Ronnie Sheib of Variety wrote: "Convincingly faithful to kids' rhythms and speech patterns, and featuring several catchy if one-chorus numbers, this bouncy, feel-good kidpic, with targeted release strategy, could rock peers and parents alike." Felicia R. Lee from The New York Times called the film "an ebullient mock documentary". Tami Horiuchi of Amazon.com
said that this "funny spoof of the Hollywood rockumentary genre is so over-done that some viewers might find it distasteful, offensive, and/or inappropriate for children" and recommended an age group between the ages of 9 and 13.
Polly Draper
Polly Carey Draper is an American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director. She is renowned for her ensemble role in ABC's hit series Thirtysomething. In 1998, Draper starred in her screenwriting debut The Tic Code, featuring Gregory Hines which was inspired by her husband Michael...
and stars her sons, Nat Wolff
Nat Wolff
Nathaniel Marvin "Nat" Wolff is an American child actor, and singer-songwriter, composer, and keyboardist. He is the frontman of Nat & Alex Wolff...
and Alex Wolff
Alex Wolff
Alexander Draper "Alex" Wolff is an American child actor and musician, currently playing in Nat and Alex Wolff. He is best known for his role as himself on the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band, also starring his older brother, Nat Wolff; the series was created by the boys' mother, Polly...
, who portray members of a fictional rock group. It tells of the boys' struggles with their fame and an internal dispute that causes the band to temporarily break up. The cast keep their full names on-screen, though Allie DiMeco
Allie DiMeco
Alexandra Jean Theresa "Allie" DiMeco is an American actress and multi-instrumentalist.-Early life and career:...
portrays Nat's female interest Rosalina; the siblings' actress cousin (Jesse Draper
Jesse Draper
Jessica Cook Draper is an American actress. She first became renowned as a co-star on the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band, which starred her cousins Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff and was created by her aunt Polly Draper...
) plays the group's gullible babysitter Jesse Cook; and the siblings' jazz pianist father (Michael Wolff
Michael Wolff
Michael Blieden Wolff is an American jazz pianist, composer, producer, actor, and jazz educator. He was the bandleader and musical director of The Arsenio Hall Show...
) portrays their accordion-playing dad Mr. Wolff.
Draper shot the film in the style of a mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
—a parody in documentary format—that depicts the daily activities of the characters. It was emboldened by Nat's genuine band, The Silver Boulders, which he created in preschool with his friends—David Levi
David Levi (musician)
David Julian Levi is an American teen actor and keyboard player. He is best-known for the role as himself on The Naked Brothers Band...
, Thomas Batuello, and Joshua Kaye
Joshua Kaye
Joshua Kaye is the band's guitarist in The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie . In the series, he was later replaced by Qaasim Middleton.-External links:...
—who all portray themselves in the film. Nat composed and performed all the music, though one song was by Alex. Principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
took place in mid-2004 on location
Filming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
in New York City, and most of the interior scenes were filmed in the family's Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
apartment.
In late 2005, Polly Draper, of Thirtysomething fame, and her husband Michael Wolff, entered the film in the Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to provide a forum for independent filmmakers from around the world to express their vision. The Festival is traditionally held for five days in mid-October in theatre venues from Montauk to Southampton and attracts roughly 15,000 visitors annually...
, where it won the audience award for family feature film. Albie Hecht, a former Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
executive and founder of Spike, was in the audience and commissioned the movie, in affiliation with his Worldwide Biggies
Worldwide Biggies
Worldwide Biggies is a digital entertainment studio that creates original multimedia outlet entertainment products for a diverse age range of consumers, including computer generated features, hi-definition movies and television series, direct to DVD series, and broadband and mobile content aimed...
label. It became the pilot for the potential Nickelodeon show of the same name
The Naked Brothers Band (TV series)
The Naked Brothers Band is an American television musical comedy created by Polly Draper. The show depicts the daily lives of Draper's sons, who lead a faux rock band from New York City. As a mockumentary, the storyline is a hyperbole of their real lives, and the fictional presence of a camera is...
, airing in the United States on January 27, 2007. The series was created and produced by Draper and it premiered in February 2007, to the channel's highest ratings in seven years for viewers in the 6–11 age group.
Plot
The film begins with an introduction to the documentary from the boys. Nat and Alex Wolff, aged nine and six respectively, are members of the fictional band The Silver Boulders which also consists of Thomas, David, Josh, and their manager Cooper Pillot. The band found success after music executive (John B. WilliamsJohn B. Williams (musician)
Not to be confused with Jon B., an American R&B/soul singer.John B is an English DJ and electronic music producer...
) signed them to his label, Who's the Man Records. The band performs their new song, "Motormouth" at a concert in the Hammerstein Ballroom
Hammerstein Ballroom
The Hammerstein Ballroom is a two-tiered, 12,000 square feet ballroom located within the Manhattan Center Studios on 311 West 34th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America. It is known for its elegant appearance and excellent acoustical design...
. After the show, the band members describe how their group started and a clip from their music video "Crazy Car" is shown.
The bandmates get along well until Thomas composes the song "Boys Rule, Girls Drool", which Nat dislikes. Nat writes a song called "Rosalina" that is about Josh's elder half-sister. Thomas and Josh ridicule Nat about the song because it shows his feelings for her. On the other hand, Josh composes another song that Nat also dislikes, titled "I'm the God of Rock and Roll", set to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". The band has a food fight in a restaurant, prompting Thomas, David, and Josh to leave and form a new group, The Gold Boulders, managed by the scornful Mort Needleman (Jonathan Pillot).
After watching media reports of the band's split on television, Nat and Alex go into a state of depression. Alex begins to binge on lemon-lime
Lemon-lime
Lemon-lime is a common carbonated soft drink flavor, consisting of lemon and lime flavoring. Sprite and 7 Up are the most popular examples.-Description:...
soda and then falls asleep, while he lay curled in the midst of aluminum cans; whereas Nat writes a song titled "If There Was a Place to Hide" as the band's fans gather outside his apartment, pleading for them to reunite. Despite the absence of the formers, Alex persuades a reluctant Nat to revive the band, and subsequently they renew its title to The Naked Brothers Band. Through a line-up of auditions, Cooper and the brothers select Rosalina as their cellist and Cole Hawkins — a member of the original Naked Brothers Band — as the guitarist.
The newly established band embark on a tour to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, yet Nat discovers that The Gold Boulders is their opening act. The Gold Boulders start the show with "Boys Rule, Girls Drool" and are immediately booed off the stage. After their performance, The Naked Brothers Band perform "Hardcore Wrestlers (with Inner Feelings)" and "Rosalina", which are greeted with a loud applause by the audience. After the concert, Nat hosts a party for the band in his apartment. In the midst of the party, David, Thomas, and Josh arrive at his front door, asking to join the reconstructed band. Forgivingly, a surprised Nat welcomes them to join the celebration. The film concludes with the outfit performing "Crazy Car" on the roof of the Wolffs' apartment while fireworks detonate in the background.
Characters
Adults over the age of 18 are nonsensical, and therefore, the children are responsible for undertaking challenging circumstances. Nat is the lead singer-songwriter and keyboardist, while his vulgar brother Alex is the hyperactive drummer. Alex invented a distinctive outfit: a red, white, and blue do-ragDo-rag
A do-rag, also spelled doo-rag, du-rag, durag, is a piece of cloth used to cover the head. According to the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster the term derives from do as in hairdo.- History :...
, and socks tied around his ankles. He has a crush on the band's nanny and tutor, the 19-year-old Jesse Cook (Jesse Draper). Nat is called "The Girl Magnet" and tends to speak with an English accent in front of 11-year-old Rosalina (Allie DiMeco). The group also features David (David Levi) as the keyboardist, Thomas (Thomas Batuello) as the cellist, and Cooper (Cooper Pillot) as the bands' manager. The brothers' father (Michael Wolff) is an accordion player.
Principal Schmoke (Tim Draper
Timothy C. Draper
Timothy Cook Draper is the founder of the global venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson.Draper is third in a line of venture capitalists. His father, William Henry Draper III , founded Draper & Johnson Investment Company in 1962, Sutter Hill Ventures in 1968, Draper International India in...
) leads Amigo Elementary School. The Timmerman Brothers is a band consisting of brothers Donnie (Adam Draper), Johnny (Coulter Mulligan), and Billy (Billy Draper). They had a hit single titled "Splishy Splashy Soap Bubble", but their careers ended when their voices changed during puberty. Music critic (Barbara eda-Young) describes The Silver Boulders' music as "nostalgic". The romantic couple (James Badge-Dale
James Badge Dale
James Badge Dale is an American actor who starred in the AMC drama series Rubicon. He is most famous for his role of Chase Edmunds in the third season of 24 and Robert Leckie in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.-Early years:...
and Gretchen Egolf
Gretchen Egolf
Gretchen Egolf is an American film and television actress.Egolf grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she began acting in theatre as a child. After high school, she attended the Juilliard School for drama in New York and has been living and working in New York and Los Angeles ever since...
) recall the group performing "Crazy Car" at their wedding ceremony.
Development
Through their father, Nat and Alex were exposed to music from birth. As a four-year-old, Nat showed musical gifts that astounded his father. He easily taught himself piano chords, which he called my proud chords. As a five-year-old, he began to compose songs after listening to music by The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and Alex began playing the saxophone when he was two. Nat and his brother once shouted, "We're the naked brothers band!" after having a bath, which inspired the name of the movie. As a pre-schooler, Nat and his friends formed a band called The Silver Boulders.
As a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, Nat wrote a song titled "Firefighters" when he was six years old, which he performed with his band for charity. The benefit concert was staged behind his family's apartment and raised over US$45,000, which was donated to the children of the personnel from New York City Fire Department
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department or the Fire Department of the City of New York has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York City's five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, technical rescue as well as providing first response...
's Squad 18 who were killed as a result of the attacks. After the successful concert, the band began to perform at gay and lesbian
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
Christmas celebrations, one-year-old birthday parties, and restaurants. Then Alex, inspired by Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, chose to play the drums in the band.
After the break-up of The Silver Boulders, the siblings decided to revive The Naked Brothers Band. Draper did not want her children to be actors; she explained, "Nat kept putting signs on his door: 'I want to be a child actor!' I said, 'No, it's too brutal. However, Nat wrote and directed a sitcom called Don't Eat Off My Plate, which Draper presented in documentary style by interviewing his friends.
Michael Wolff set up a recording session in the studio along with Nat, Alex, and himself. Draper was impressed by the recording and contemplated making a mockumentary about the band, presenting the boys as music icons akin to The Beatles. In a TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
interview in early 2007, Draper explained, "What originally happened was that Nat and Alex had a band, and the idea evolved based on that. Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
meets The Little Rascals
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
was my concept ... I wanted to have that Help!
Help! (film)
Help! is a 1965 film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Help! was the second feature film made by the Beatles and is a...
or A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
kind of feeling."
Filming
The film was originally intended as an extended family project, and was shot over five weeks in mid-2004 for less than US$1 million. Filming took place on location in New York City, and at the Draper-Wolff family apartment in Lower ManhattanLower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
. According to Draper, the crew "would sneak into locations and run". Draper wrote and directed the film, which was produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by Ken H. Keller, Caron Rudner, Jonathan Pillot, Michael Wolff and Draper herself. The film was co-produced by Fotene Trigonis and was edited by the associate producer Craig Cobb. The executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s were Draper, Wolff, and Draper's brother, Tim. Keller used a color framing
Color framing
In video engineering, color framing refers to the color frame sequence of fields in a composite video signal through which the video frame timing and chrominance subcarrier signal timing—in particular, that of the color burst -- cycle through all possible phase relationships.The exact nature of the...
, high-definition video camera
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
. Rudner served as the line producer
Line producer
A line producer is the key manager during the daily operations of a motion picture production.The line producer supports the vision given by the director but does not have direct influence on the creative expression or narrative of the film....
, while John M. Davis was the music editor. Rick Butler served as the production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
, Frederick Howard was the supervising sound editor, and Deb Temco oversaw the casting
Casting (performing arts)
In the performing arts, casting is a pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.-Casting process:...
.
When Polly Draper told her friend Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
and her husband, writer and director Bart Freundlich
Bart Freundlich
Bartholomew "Bart" Freundlich is an American film, television director, screenwriter and film producer.-Life and career:...
, about the film, Freundlich responded, "Julia would love to be in your movie." Moore changed her schedule at late notice to participate in filming, and Draper wrote Moore's scene as it was being filmed; Draper quickly created a set that depicted the backstage green room
Green room
In British English and American English show business lexicon, the green room is that space in a theatre, a studio, or a similar venue, which accommodates performers or speakers not yet required on stage...
of the talk show, Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
. Moore and Nat filmed the scene in one take, and Draper was impressed with her son's performance, while saying that Moore's presence added credibility to the project.
Casting
| "We've always performed for each other at family reunions. We're constantly singing songs at Christmas, goofy songs we've made up, or we'll put on little family plays or make family movies. So when Polly said, 'Let’s make a family movie,' we didn't realize it was like, a real movie." |
| —Jesse Draper |
Most of the cast were friends or relatives of the Draper-Wolff clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
. Tim Draper is Polly's brother and John B. Williams is the cellist for Michael Wolff's band Impure Thoughts. Barbara eda-Young, James Badge-Dale, Gretchen Egolf, and Cooper Pillot had previously performed in Draper's playwright Getting Into Heaven. Jesse Draper is Tim's daughter and thus Polly's niece, and Nat and Alex's cousin. Billy and Adam Draper are Tim's sons, and Coulter Mulligan is Jesse's cousin.
Many of Wolff and Draper's show business friends appeared in the film. Wolff had been the music director for jazz singer Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson (singer)
Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
, who then introduced him to Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian, and former talk show host. He is best known for his talk show The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran between 1989 and 1994, and his roles in the films Coming to America and Harlem Nights.Hall is also known for his appearance as Alan Thicke's sidekick on the...
. After Wilson introduced the two together, Hall chose Wolff to conduct the orchestra on The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show is an American variety/talk show that aired late weeknights in syndication from January 3, 1989 to May 27, 1994. The show was created and hosted by comedian/actor Arsenio Hall.- Background :...
. Tony Shalhoub
Tony Shalhoub
Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
portrayed Phil in Draper's screenwriting debut The Tic Code
The Tic Code
The Tic Code is an independent American drama film directed by Gary Winick and written by Polly Draper. It tells of the interactions between a single mother, the relationship she forms with a jazz musician who has Tourette syndrome, and her young son—a jazz piano prodigy—also with the disorder...
, which was inspired by Wolff's difficulties with Tourette syndrome
Tourette syndrome
Tourette syndrome is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by multiple physical tics and at least one vocal tic; these tics characteristically wax and wane...
as well as his talent as a jazz pianist. Draper guest starred in the first season of Shalhoub's hit sitcom Monk
Monk (TV series)
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
. Other guest stars in the movie include Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, David Thornton
David Thornton (actor)
David Thornton is an American actor. He is the husband of Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper, whom he married in 1991. Their son, Declyn Wallace Thornton Lauper, was born on November 19, 1997.- Filmography :...
, Brent Popolizio, Cindy Blackman
Cindy Blackman
Cindy Blackman is an American jazz and rock drummer. Blackman is best-known for recording and touring with Lenny Kravitz...
, and Ricki Lake
Ricki Lake
Ricki Pamela Lake is an American actress, producer, and television host. She is best known for her starring role as Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray, her ground-breaking documentary film The Business of Being Born, and her talk show which was broadcasted internationally from...
. Draper, who had played Ellyn Warren on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's drama series Thirtysomething, also made an appearance with co-stars Tim Busfield, Mel Harris
Mel Harris
Mel Harris is an American actress.-Personal life:Harris was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the daughter to Mary Michael "Mike", a high school science teacher, and Warren Harris, a university football coach...
, Peter Horton
Peter Horton
Peter Horton is an American actor and director. He played the role of Prof. Gary Shepherd on the popular television series Thirtysomething until 1991.-Early life:...
, Melanie Mayron
Melanie Mayron
Melanie Joy Mayron is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for portraying the role of photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama Thirtysomething.-Biography:...
, Ken Olin
Ken Olin
Kenneth Edward "Ken" Olin is an American actor, director and producer. He is known for his starring role on the television series Thirtysomething, and most recently as Executive Producer, director, and recurring guest star of the television series Brothers & Sisters .-Career:As an actor, Olin...
, and Patricia Wettig
Patricia Wettig
Patricia Wettig is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her roles in the television series Thirtysomething, Prison Break and Brothers & Sisters...
.
David Levi, Thomas Batuello, and Joshua Kaye were preschool friends of Nat. Moore's son, Cal, has been a classmate of Alex since preschool, while Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
's daughter was also a preschool friend of Alex. Ann Curry
Ann Curry
Ann Curry is an American television news journalist and co-anchor on NBC's morning television program Today. She is the former news anchor on Today, a role she began in March 1997, and was the host of Dateline NBC from 2005-2011.Curry is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Biography:Curry was born in...
's son Walker, an original member of The Silver Boulders, was Nat's friend in preschool. Cole Hawkins, an actor who also starred as Leonard in the 2003 musical comedy film School of Rock
School of Rock
School of Rock, also called The School of Rock, is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, written by Mike White, and starring Jack Black...
, had no previous involvement with the band. The actress Allie DiMeco was also not a member of the group; she auditioned for her role.
Music
Nat wrote most of the songs performed in the film. As a six year old, he composed a melody without lyrics, which he later used as the basis for the bubblegum popBubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
piece "Crazy Car". The song was meant to emulate the music of The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
. "Firefighters", the song written by Nat for a local 9/11 fundraiser, was later retitled to "Rosalina" for the movie. Nat wrote "Motormouth" while he was angry at Alex. Another song, "That's How It Is", was written by Alex after an unsuccessful dating attempt with a teenager ten years his senior. Additional songs Nat performed in the film include "Got No Mojo", "Hardcore Wrestlers (with Inner Feelings)", "I Need You", "Sorry Girl", and "If There Was a Place to Hide".
Michael Wolff contributed to the underscore and produced the music with Levine. In the film, Wolff performed in the songs "Rathskeller Polka", "Rathskeller Waltz", "Naked Party Polka", and "Naked Tango". He played the underscore for "Shakey Shakey" (lyrics by Alex), and "Boys Rule, Girls Drool" and "Splishy Splashy (Timmerman Song)", both written by Draper. Nancy Wilson sang a rendition of the song "Crazy Car" for the film.
Television spin-off
According to Michael Wolff, the family made the film without expecting a television series spin-off. Their agent believed the film would be lucrative and market research showed a positive reaction with a young audience. After the film was shown at the Hamptons International Film FestivalHamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to provide a forum for independent filmmakers from around the world to express their vision. The Festival is traditionally held for five days in mid-October in theatre venues from Montauk to Southampton and attracts roughly 15,000 visitors annually...
, Nickelodeon bought it. In an article for The New York Times, Albie Hecht
Albie Hecht
Albie Hecht is the CEO of Worldwide Biggies, founder of Spike TV, and a former president of Nickelodeon Entertainment.Hecht oversaw the development and production of SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, and the live-action show All That at Nickelodeon...
said, "They're just real: real brothers, real friends; it's all the stuff kids do when they're hanging out on the playground. The idea that you're watching a documentary is so much fun. Then you put them into that fantasy of being a world-famous rock band, and that's the sauce that makes it work." Moreover, "he had an independent production deal with Nickelodeon" and believed the film suited the network and that a television show was feasible. Draper and Wolff did not want their children in show business at such a young age but agreed when Hecht's agent promised to work within the boy's schedule, so that they would not miss school. This meant a summer shooting schedule in New York and short, 13-episode seasons.
Tom Ashiem, the executive vice president and general manager of Nickelodeon explained, "At first, we were intrigued by the idea, but we weren't sure kids would get the vague tongue-and-cheek-of-it
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
. Then a bunch of us took it home to our own children and they loved it." The Naked Brothers Band television series
The Naked Brothers Band (TV series)
The Naked Brothers Band is an American television musical comedy created by Polly Draper. The show depicts the daily lives of Draper's sons, who lead a faux rock band from New York City. As a mockumentary, the storyline is a hyperbole of their real lives, and the fictional presence of a camera is...
ran from 2007 to 2009. Draper was the creator, head writer
Head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
, executive producer, and director, while Hecht was the other executive producer and his production company, Worldwide Biggies
Worldwide Biggies
Worldwide Biggies is a digital entertainment studio that creates original multimedia outlet entertainment products for a diverse age range of consumers, including computer generated features, hi-definition movies and television series, direct to DVD series, and broadband and mobile content aimed...
produced the series. Later, made-for-TV movies
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
were created and aired as the series continued—a total of eight have been screened on Nickelodeon. The latter films often consisted of an extended, two-part episode—Nickelodeon usually uses the "movie" definition for these hour-long episodes—and were usually broadcast as part of a holiday event or on weekends.
International debuts
The film aired worldwide, debuting in the United States on January 27, 2007, and in the United KingdomNickelodeon (UK & Ireland)
Nickelodeon is a children's television channel available on Sky, Virgin Media, Smallworld Cable, TalkTalk TV and UPC Ireland in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including on demand on BT Vision. The channel was launched on 1 September 1993...
on May 28, 2007. It also aired in Canada on September 10, 2007 on YTV and in Germany on October 20, 2007. The film received a Region 1 DVD release on April 3, 2007 through Nickelodeon Movies
Nickelodeon Movies
Nickelodeon Movies is the motion picture production arm of children's cable channel Nickelodeon, originally launched in 1995. Its first film was Harriet the Spy. It has produced films based on Nickelodeon programs, as well as other adaptations and original projects...
and Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment is the division of Paramount Pictures dealing with home video founded in late 1975.-History:...
.
Reception
| "Like Roberto [sic] Rodriguez Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet... , who fashioned his The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D , is a 2005 adventure and fantasy film directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film uses the same anaglyph 3-D technology used in Spy Kids 3D: Game Over. The film stars Taylor Lautner, Cayden Boyd, Taylor Dooley and George Lopez... screenplay from his offspring's story, Draper has modeled her scenario on her sons' actual behavior and musical compositions, set within the cliched rise-and-fall structures of VH-1's 'Behind the Music' bios." |
| —Ronnie Scheib |
The film won the audience award for a family feature film at the 2005 Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to provide a forum for independent filmmakers from around the world to express their vision. The Festival is traditionally held for five days in mid-October in theatre venues from Montauk to Southampton and attracts roughly 15,000 visitors annually...
. When it premiered on the network, it was seen by an average of 2.7 million viewers. The song "Crazy Car" was downloaded more than 100,000 times on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
; it was placed on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
charts for seven weeks and the track was featured on the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice, Vol 3.
Ronnie Sheib of Variety wrote: "Convincingly faithful to kids' rhythms and speech patterns, and featuring several catchy if one-chorus numbers, this bouncy, feel-good kidpic, with targeted release strategy, could rock peers and parents alike." Felicia R. Lee from The New York Times called the film "an ebullient mock documentary". Tami Horiuchi of Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
said that this "funny spoof of the Hollywood rockumentary genre is so over-done that some viewers might find it distasteful, offensive, and/or inappropriate for children" and recommended an age group between the ages of 9 and 13.