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I Am Sam
Directed by	Jessie Nelson
Produced by	Jessie Nelson Barbara Hall Marshall Herskovitz Ed Zwick Richard Solomon
Written by	Kristine Johnson, Jessie Nelson
Starring	Sean Penn Michelle Pfeiffer Dakota Fanning Laura Dern Richard Schiff Loretta Devine Dianne Wiest Brent Spiner
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date(s)	December 28, 2001
Running time	132 min.
Language	English
Budget	$22,000,000 (estimate)
IMDb profile

I Am Sam is a 2001 drama film that tells a story about a mentally handicapped father and his efforts to retain custody of his daughter. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Marshall Herskovitz (-) is an American film director. ... Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) // Penn was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Leo Penn, an actor and director, and Eileen Ryan (née Annucci), an actress. ... Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (born April 29, 1958) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning, BAFTA-winning American actress. ... Dakota Fanning (born Hannah Dakota Fanning on February 23, 1994) is an American actress. ... Laura Elizabeth Dern-Harper (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. ... Richard Schiff (born May 27, 1955) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor, known for playing Toby Ziegler on the NBC television drama The West Wing, a role for which he won an Emmy Award. ... Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949 in Houston, Texas) is an American actress. ... Dianne Wiest (born March 28, 1948) is a double Academy Award-winning, Golden Globe Award-winning, Emmy Award-winning and BAFTA-nominated American actress. ... Brent Jay Spiner (born February 2, 1949) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television and movie series Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... New Line redirects here. ... is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... USD redirects here. ... For the 1968 science-fiction film and novel, see 2001: A Space Odyssey The year 2001 in film involved some significant events. ... A drama film is a film that depends mostly on in-depth character development, interaction, and highly emotional themes. ...

The film was directed by Jessie Nelson and stars Sean Penn with Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest, Loretta Devine, Richard Schiff, Laura Dern and Brent Spiner and was written by Kristine Johnson and Jessie Nelson. The film also features three people, with disabilities, who are playing themselves: Brad Silverman, Joe Rosenberg, and Brian Bialick, all of them are in a group called L.A. GOAL (Greater Opportunities for the Advanced Living), a social organization that deals with adults with developmental disabilities. Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) // Penn was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Leo Penn, an actor and director, and Eileen Ryan (née Annucci), an actress. ... Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (born April 29, 1958) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning, BAFTA-winning American actress. ... Dakota Fanning (born Hannah Dakota Fanning on February 23, 1994) is an American actress. ... Dianne Wiest (born March 28, 1948) is a double Academy Award-winning, Golden Globe Award-winning, Emmy Award-winning and BAFTA-nominated American actress. ... Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949 in Houston, Texas) is an American actress. ... Richard Schiff (born May 27, 1955) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor, known for playing Toby Ziegler on the NBC television drama The West Wing, a role for which he won an Emmy Award. ... Laura Elizabeth Dern-Harper (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. ... Brent Jay Spiner (born February 2, 1949) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television and movie series Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Kristine Johnson (born May 31, 1952 at the former Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines to a Filipino mother and an American father ) is a co-anchor at WCBS-TV in New York on the 5 and 11 p. ...

Sean Penn was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film. The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ...

Synopsis

Sam Dawson (Sean Penn), a man with intellectual disabilities, is living in Los Angeles and is single-handedly raising his daughter Lucy (Dakota Fanning), whom he fathered from a homeless woman who wanted nothing to do with Lucy and left him the day of her birth. Although Sam provides a loving and caring environment for the 7-year-old Lucy, she soon surpasses her father's mental capacity. Questions arise about Sam’s ability to care for Lucy and a custody case is brought to court. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

Sam is a man with a mental age of 7 who is well adjusted and has a great support system consisting of four similarly developmentally disabled men. His neighbor Annie (Dianne Wiest), a piano-player and agoraphobic, befriends Sam and takes care of Lucy when Sam can't. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder precipitated by the fear of having a symptom attack or panic attack in a setting from which there is no easy means of escape. ...

Sam works at Starbucks bussing tables. Sam is popular with the customers, whom he addresses by name and favorite coffee. His job gets difficult when Lucy starts grabbing objects, making a woman spill iced coffee down her shirt. In a humorous, but innocent exchange, Sam tries to remove an ice cube from the startled woman's cleavage. Sam then brings Lucy to his neighbor and baby Lucy croons, "Annie!" Sam says, "Her first word was Annie." Flustered but flattered, she retorts, "And people worry you aren't smart," and agrees to function as Lucy's babysitter. For other meanings of the name Starbuck, see Starbuck. ... Aria Giovanni displaying cleavage Suzanne Valadon, painting by Renoir, 1885. ...

Lucy is as precocious as Sam is backwards. Sam loves reading Green Eggs and Ham to her, but when she starts reading "real hard" books like Stellaluna, she balks at reading the word "different" because she doesn't want to be smarter than her dad. She knows he's different, "not like other dads", but that's all right with her because he is loving, taking her to the park and to International House of Pancakes (every Wednesday, because "Wednesday is IHOP night"). Stellaluna is a fictional female fruit bat in a childrens book of the same name by author Jannell Cannon, written in 1994. ... The International House of Pancakes or IHOP is a United States-based restaurant chain that specializes in breakfast foods. ... For other uses, see Wednesday (disambiguation). ...

When they decide to go to Big Boy for a change, Sam causes a disturbance because he cannot get the kind of French pancakes he is accustomed to. At the school Halloween party, he dresses as one of the Beatles but embarrasses his daughter by drawing undue attention. Other kids tease her, calling her dad a "retard". She tells one boy that she is adopted. This causes a crisis at her birthday party, which results in an unexpected visit from a social worker who takes Lucy away. A judge allows him only two supervised, 2-hour visits per week. Two American-style pancakes A pancake is a batter cake fried in a pan or on a griddle with oil or butter. ... This article is about the holiday. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Sam's friends recommend that he hire Rita (Michelle Pfeiffer), a lawyer. He shows up at her office and starts spelling out his situation while she juggles coffee orders to her assistant, Patricia. Socially, Sam is rather high-functioning—more together in many ways than his high-class, respected lawyer whose marriage is falling apart and whose son hates her. For the fish called lawyer, see Burbot. ... Matrimony redirects here. ...

Sam surprises Rita at a party. Stunned, she announces that she's taking his case pro bono, because others see her as cold and heartless. Pro bono is a phrase derived from Latin meaning for the good. The complete phrase is pro bono publico, for the public good. It is used to designate legal or other professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment, as a public service. ...

Rita begrudgingly works with Sam to help him keep his parental rights, but chaos arises when Lucy convinces Sam to help her run away from the foster home she is being kept in during the trial. Over the course of the trial, Sam gets a new job at Pizza Hut and Annie leaves her apartment for the first time in years. Sam also helps Rita with her family problems, and helps her to realize how much her son really means to her. Sam also convinces her to leave her husband, because Rita told him that he cheated on her. Pizza Hut Inc. ...

During the trial, however, Sam breaks down, after being convinced that he is not capable of taking care of Lucy.

Meanwhile, Lucy is placed with a foster family who plan to adopt her. Lucy often runs away from her foster parents in the middle of the night to go see Sam, who moved into a larger apartment closer to her.

In the end, the foster family who planned on adopting Lucy lets Sam have custody of her. Sam says that Lucy still needs a mother and asks if the foster mother would like to help raise Lucy. The movie ends with Lucy's soccer game where Sam is the referee. In attendance are Lucy's former foster family, the newly divorced Rita and her son with whom Rita has renewed her relationship, along with Annie and Sam's other friends.

Cast

• Sean Penn as Sam Dawson
• Michelle Pfeiffer as Rita Harrison Williams
• Dakota Fanning as Lucy Diamond Dawson
• Dianne Wiest as Annie Cassell
• Loretta Devine as Margaret Calgrove
• Richard Schiff as Mr. Turner
• Laura Dern as Randy Carpenter

Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) // Penn was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Leo Penn, an actor and director, and Eileen Ryan (née Annucci), an actress. ... Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (born April 29, 1958) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning, BAFTA-winning American actress. ... Dakota Fanning (born Hannah Dakota Fanning on February 23, 1994) is an American actress. ... Dianne Wiest (born March 28, 1948) is a double Academy Award-winning, Golden Globe Award-winning, Emmy Award-winning and BAFTA-nominated American actress. ... Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949 in Houston, Texas) is an American actress. ... Richard Schiff (born May 27, 1955) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor, known for playing Toby Ziegler on the NBC television drama The West Wing, a role for which he won an Emmy Award. ... Laura Elizabeth Dern-Harper (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. ...

Soundtrack

Main article: I Am Sam (soundtrack)

The soundtrack consists entirely of covers of songs by The Beatles. Initially, Penn wanted to set the movie solely to Beatles recordings. When the producers attempted to obtain the rights to use the songs, they learned that Michael Jackson, who owned the rights, was charging $300,000 per song. Should the rights have been purchased, it would have cost $4.5 million dollars, which would have set a record in terms of money paid for songs in a Hollywood production. Instead, Penn commissioned other artists, such as Stereophonics, Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Rufus Wainwright, The Wallflowers, Ben Harper, and Ben Folds, to cover the songs for the soundtrack. I Am Sam is the soundtrack to the 2001 film I Am Sam. ... In film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ... // In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... Stereophonics are a rock band from Wales with members Kelly Jones, Richard Jones (no relation to Kelly) and Javier Weyler. ... Eddie Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III on December 23, 1964 in Evanston, Illinois) is the lead singer and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. ... Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American blues rock singer, guitarist, bassist, and songwriter. ... Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC,[2] OBC[2] (born January 28, 1968) is a Grammy-winning Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. ... Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter. ... The Wallflowers are a Grammy Award-winning rock band from Los Angeles, California. ... Benjamin Chase Ben Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American musician. ... Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina[1]) is an American singer-songwriter and the former frontman of the musical group Ben Folds Five. ...

Song uses

Sam's daughter is named after the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Lucy's idyllic early years are accompanied by "Across the Universe". At the Halloween party "I'm Looking Through You" drives home the point that Sam is "not the same" as other adults. We see Sam and Rita's relationship grow to "Golden Slumbers". Sam's lawyer's name comes from the Beatles song "Lovely Rita", a point made by Lucy. At the end of the film "Two of Us" is used. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is a song written mainly by John Lennon (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and recorded by The Beatles for their 1967 album Sgt. ... This article is about the song by The Beatles. ... Im Looking Through You is a Lennon-McCartney song, written mainly by Paul McCartney, that first appeared on The Beatles 1965 album and the tenth song of Rubber Soul. ... Golden Slumbers is a Beatles song. ... Lovely Rita is a song by the Beatles off of the album Sgt. ... Two of Us is a 1969 song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney, although John Lennon claimed to have written it in his 1980 Playboy interview. ...

External links

• I Am Sam at the Internet Movie Database
• I Am Sam at Rotten Tomatoes.
• Official Website