Elephant
Elephant movie poster
Directed by	Gus Van Sant
Produced by	Danny Wolf
Written by	Gus Van Sant
Starring	John Robinson Alex Frost Eric Deulen Elias McConnell
Distributed by	HBO Films, Fine Line Features
Release date(s)	18 May 2003 (premiere at Cannes) October 24, 2003 (limited) 24 January 2004 30 January 2004
Running time	81 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$3,000,000 (estimated)
IMDb profile

Elephant is a 2003 American film written and directed by Gus Van Sant. It is set on the day of a massive school shooting. Most of the film takes place about five minutes before the shooting occurs, following several characters as they live out their school lives, unaware of what is about to unfold. The film stars mostly new or non-professional actors, including John Robinson, Alex Frost and Eric Deulen. Download high resolution version (825x1166, 73 KB)Elephant movie poster This is a copyrighted poster. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... John Robinson (born October 15, 1985) is an actor from Portland, Oregon. ... Alex Frost playing piano on the movie Elephant Alex Frost is a young actor from Portland, Oregon. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. ... Fine Line Features was the speciality films division of New Line Cinema. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cannes Film Festival logo. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... School shooting is a term popularized in the United States media to describe gun violence at educational institutions, especially the mass murder or spree killing of people connected with an institution. ... John Robinson (born October 15, 1985) is an actor from Portland, Oregon. ... Alex Frost playing piano on the movie Elephant Alex Frost is a young actor from Portland, Oregon. ...

This is the second movie in Gus Van Sant's Death Trilogy - the first is Gerry and the third Last Days; all three are based on actual events. Elephant takes place in the fictional Watt High School, in Portland, Oregon, and chronicles the events surrounding a fictional school shooting, based in part on the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre. The end of the film stresses the "similarities to actual events are purely coincidental" disclaimer. The Death Trilogy a series of three films directed by Gus Van Sant. ... Spoiler warning: Gerry is a 2002 film directed by Gus Van Sant starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. ... Last Days (2005) is a film by director Gus Van Sant, a fictionalized account of the last days of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. ... Main article: Secondary education High school is a name used in some parts of the world, and particularly in North America, to describe the last segment of compulsory education. ... Nickname: Location in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: Country United States State Oregon County Multnomah County Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  - Mayor Tom Potter Area  - City  145. ... Official language(s) (none)[1] Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado (the CDP of Columbine) near Denver and Littleton. ...

The film was generally acclaimed by critics, and received the prestigious 2003 Palme d'Or at the Festival de Cannes. As the first high-profile movie to address high school shootings since Columbine, the film was controversial for its subject matter and possible influence on teenaged copy-cats. Elephant received an R rating from the MPAA. Palme dOr The Palme dOr (Golden Palm) is the highest prize given to a film at the Cannes Film Festival. ... The Palais des Festivals (2000) The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival international du film de Cannes or simply le Festival de Cannes) is the worlds most prestigious film festival, first held from September 20 to October 5, 1946 in the resort town of Cannes, in the south of... The copycat effect refers to the tendency of sensational publicity about violent murders or suicides to result in more of the same through imitation. ... The MPAA film rating system is a system used in the United States and territories and instituted by the Motion Picture Association of America to rate a movie based on its content. ... The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), originally called the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association of America, is a non-profit trade association based in the United States which was formed to advance the interests of movie studios. ...

Story

Synopsis

The film opens with Mr. McFarland (Timothy Bottoms) driving erratically down a residential street with his son John (John Robinson) in the passenger seat. It becomes apparent that Mr. McFarland is intoxicated as John instructs him to pull over and let him drive. They arrive at John's high school, where he refuses to give his father the car keys and ends up leaving them in the school office for his brother to collect. Timothy Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor. ... John Robinson (born October 15, 1985) is an actor from Portland, Oregon. ... The Drunkenness of Noah by Giovanni Bellini Drunkenness, in its most common usage, is the state of being intoxicated by consumption of ethyl alcohol to a degree that mental and physical facilities are noticeably impaired. ...

The camera follows other students as they walk down the hallways, talk to friends and go to class. Many characters are shown in long tracking shots that do not turn away. Alex (Alex Frost) and Eric (Eric Deulen) are shown being constantly picked on at school by the jocks, several of whom throw spitballs at Alex during science class. Later, Alex and Eric are shown at home ordering weapons from a website and receiving an assault rifle in the mail. The two are later shown formulating an attack plan. The next day, Alex and Eric kiss in the shower before making their way to the school in silence. Alex Frost playing piano on the movie Elephant Alex Frost is a young actor from Portland, Oregon. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The term Jock is a classic American stereotype of an athlete. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ...

After arriving at school, Alex and Eric encounter John outside and warn him to run away. Realizing what is about to happen, John attempts to warn others not to enter the school, to little effect. The two boys then enter the school and after their plans to blow up parts of the school with propane bombs fail, begin shooting indiscriminately. Elias photographs them entering the library where they open fire, shooting several students, including Michelle and presumably Elias. Realizing that the gunfire is real, students now begin to panic, while teachers attempt to quickly evacuate everyone. The two boys separate, continuing their killing spree. Alex enters the bathroom where Brittany, Jordan, and Nicole are, presumably shooting all three. Benny approaches Eric but is shot with Eric's TEC-9. Mr. Luce pleads to Eric to spare his life, and Eric initially agrees to let him go, but guns him down seconds later. The Intratec TEC-DC9 is a blow-back operated, semi-automatic 9mm Parabellum caliber firearm, classified by BATF as a handgun. ...

Alex enters the cafeteria and sits down (where he has apparently already opened fire, as a body can be seen in the background). Eric meets up with him, and they have a brief conversation, after which Alex shoots Eric in mid-sentence. Alex then leaves the cafeteria, showing no emotion over shooting Eric. The film ends without resolution, with Alex discovering Carrie and Nathan in a freezer and taunting them as to whom he should kill first. The last shot of the film is a cloudy blue sky. The viewer never finds out which person Alex shot, or if he shot either of them at all.

Production

The film began as a television film that Van Sant had intended to make about the Columbine High School massacre; eventually, the idea of a factual account was dropped, but the film still shows its television roots by being shot in a 1.33 aspect ratio rather than the traditional widescreen cinematic ratio. A television movie (also TV movie, TV-movie, made-for-TV movie, etc. ... The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado (the CDP of Columbine) near Denver and Littleton. ... Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. ... The aspect ratio of an image is its displayed width divided by its height (usually expressed as x:y or x×y, with the joining colon or multiplication symbol articulated as the preposition by or sometimes to). For instance, the aspect ratio of a traditional television screen is 4:3...

The script was "written" to its final form during shooting, with cast members improvising freely and collaborating in the direction of scenes. The result is described by reviewers as "poetic" and "dreamlike", and by Van Sant himself as a rejection of conventional narrative, building on what he learned from work on Gerry. [In the scene in Alex's bedroom where Alex plays Beethoven on his piano while Eric is playing a first person shooter game on Alex's laptop computer, the characters that appear in the game has a very close similarity to the protagonists from Gerry. Futhermore, there is also a scoring system in the corner of the computer screen that reads "GERRY-COUNT". To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A first-person shooter (FPS) is a computer or video game where the players on-screen view of the game world simulates that of the character, and there is some element of shooting involved. ... Spoiler warning: Gerry is a 2002 film directed by Gus Van Sant starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. ...

JT LeRoy is credited as an associate producer for the film, even though no such person exists. LeRoy was, ostensibly, an abused teenager who wrote several novels based on his life, but was in fact the fictional creation of a writer, Laura Albert. Albert did not publicly acknowledge that LeRoy wasn't a real person until The New York Times uncovered her hoax. Jeremy Terminator LeRoy is the name used by an American author who originally published as Terminator and later JT LeRoy. ... Laura Victoria Albert (born 1966) is the author of writings credited to the fictional teenage persona of JT LeRoy, a long-running literary hoax who was presented to the public and publishers as a transgendered, sexually questioning, abused, former homeless drug addict and male prostitute. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ...

Cast

The teen actors were chosen for the parts based on interviews and their ability to improvise before the camera. Some of the characters were developed from details selected from the interviews. Many of the main characters' names are in fact the same as their performers. Some of the students' activities shown in the movie (aside from the shootings) are done by the real cast as well, with Elias being an actual photographer and Alex actually playing the piano during his scenes (as well as incidental music elsewhere). The actors were all real students who had to take time off of school to film; during breaks and retakes, they could be caught catching up on their homework.

The extras were given little instruction and were often simply told to behave as they would if it were real. Many times, they were simply told to run, walk, talk, go to class, eat lunch, or watch. In the cafeteria scene, the food was prepared in advance and left at tables for an extended period of time. When cast members appeared, they were simply told to find a spot and pretend to eat the cold, smelly food. The part of the film that shows one of the attackers in the cafeteria, hearing screaming in his head, was not shot that way. During filming, the attacker rubbed his forehead, screamed for everyone to shut up, and then received jeers from the extras. Because the timing was not working correctly, the format was changed. Alex Frost playing piano on the movie Elephant Alex Frost is a young actor from Portland, Oregon. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... John Robinson (born October 15, 1985) is an actor from Portland, Oregon. ... Nathan Tyson (born 4 May 1982 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English professional football striker, who currently plays for Nottingham Forest in Football League One. ...

Title

The title is a tribute to the 1989 BBC film of the same name, directed by Alan Clarke, which reflects on sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.^{[citation needed]} Like Clarke, Van Sant portrays violence as something unfathomable, not unlike many other disturbing things in the lives of teenagers, which invite convenient explanations but ultimately frustrate analysis. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion (US$7. ... Alan Clarke (28 October 1935 - 24 July 1990) was a television and film director, producer and writer, born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. ... Sectarian violence or sectarian strife is violence inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one particular mode of thought, not necessarily religious (e. ... Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ...

Van Sant has also offered other reasons for the title.^{[citation needed]} It is an allusion to the idiom "an elephant in the room", which refers to a large problem that no one talks about but everyone must find their way around as they go about their daily lives. A drawing of an elephant as well as an image of an elephant on a throw on the bed can be seen in Alex's room, while he plays the piano. It also evokes the Indian parable about the blind wise men who, unable to grasp the whole, interpret the elephant only in terms of the part they can comprehend: "An elephant is a tree," said the blind man who grasped the leg; "An elephant is a snake," said the one who touched the trunk; etc. An idiom is an expression (i. ... The elephant in the room (also elephant in the living room, elephant in the corner, elephant on the dinner table, elephant in the kitchen, etc. ... // For a comparison of parable with other kinds of stories, see Myth, legend, fairy tale, and fable. ... Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or psychological factors. ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus † Elephas beyeri † Elephas celebensis † Elephas cypriotes † Elephas ekorensis † Elephas falconeri † Elephas iolensis † Elephas planifrons † Elephas platycephalus † Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea...

Motifs

• Nature - Nature is shown frequently in the hour leading up to the shooting. This begins with the opening scene of John's father driving, where the audience watched from a birds-eye point of view, between the trees on each side which are shedding their maple leaves. The film also includes many references to animals, e.g. the title and the bull on one character's shirt. Also, during the shooting, the sounds of birds chirping and singing can often be heard.

• Yellow - The colour yellow is shown in a subtle manner throughout the film. Examples include John's shirt and Benny's jersey.

• Depersonalisation - The film follows each character through their day, which is uneventful: A couple spend time together; a girl works at the library; a boy takes photographs for his work. This is later shattered as Alex and Eric open fire, and several of these characters are killed quickly and coldly, in a style different to the rest of the film.

Galunggung in 1982, showing a combination of natural events. ... A yellow Tulip. ... In psychiatry, depersonalization (or derealization) is the experience of feelings of loss of a sense of reality. ...

North American premiere and release

Elephant premiered in North America at a benefit for the Outside In youth shelter in Portland, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, October 4, 2003, with several teenagers who appeared in the film in attendance. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Outside In social service agency in Portland, OR Outside In is a social service agency founded in 1968 in Portland, Oregon. ... Nickname: Location in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: Country United States State Oregon County Multnomah County Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  - Mayor Tom Potter Area  - City  145. ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The film was released for incremental distribution by HBO, in 100 theaters in the United States, beginning October 24, 2003. English language release on DVD and VHS began on May 4, 2004. HBO (Home Box Office) is a premium cable television network with headquarters in New York City. ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS is a recording and playing standard for analog video cassette recorders (VCRs), developed by Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC) and launched... May 4 is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Controversies

• Prior to its distribution, the film generated minor controversy and divided reviews following the Cannes debut, particularly in the gay community.^{[citation needed]} In the movie the two male killers kiss one another in the shower before they dispassionately commence their Columbine-like frenzy.

• Although it was made afterward, Elephant's release coincided with that of the lower budget Zero Day. Coincidentally, the directors of both films received degrees in film from the Rhode Island School of Design.

• The 2005 Red Lake High School Massacre was briefly blamed on the film Elephant as it was watched by Jeffrey Weise 17 days prior to the shooting. [1] A friend of Weise said that he brought the movie over to a friends house and skipped ahead to parts that showed two students planning and carrying out a school massacre, although they talked about the film afterwards Jeffrey Weise said and did nothing to make anyone suspect what he was planning. [2]

GAY can mean: Gay, a term referring to homosexual men or women The IATA code for Gaya Airport Category: ... The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado (the CDP of Columbine) near Denver and Littleton. ... Zero day or 0day refers to software, media, or information that is obtained either slightly prior to or on the day of the official release. ... The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD, pronounced /RIZ-dee/) is one of the premier fine arts institutions in the United States. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Aerial photograph taken during the aftermath of the school massacre. ... Jeff Weise around 9 years of age Jeffrey Weise (August 8, 1988 – March 21, 2005) was a high school student of Red Lake, Minnesota responsible for the Red Lake High School massacre, a school shooting in which he killed nine people and injured more than a dozen others before...

See also

• Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the shooters on whom characters Alex and Eric are based
• Red Lake High School Massacre, for which Elephant briefly received blame in 2005
• Zero Day, another 2003 film inspired by the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre
• Heart of America, a movie which uses both similar plot and similar filming techniques
• 2:37, a 2006 Australian film that uses a similar filming style (tracking shots, unknown cast, time shifts), but instead deals with a student's on-campus suicide

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold Eric David Harris (April 9, 1981 – April 20, 1999) and Dylan Bennet Klebold (September 11, 1981 – April 20, 1999), both high school seniors, were the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre. ... Aerial photograph taken during the aftermath of the school massacre. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Zero day or 0day refers to software, media, or information that is obtained either slightly prior to or on the day of the official release. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado (the CDP of Columbine) near Denver and Littleton. ... Heart of America is a 2004 drama film by German director Uwe Boll about a fictional school shooting in a suburban high school. ...

External links

• Official site
• Elephant at the Internet Movie Database
• Film criticism article on Elephant's politics Alternate Takes
• A student reviews Elephant in Cambridge, Mass.