Save the Last Dance
Directed by	Thomas Carter
Produced by	Robert W. Cort
Written by	Duane Adler Cheryl Edwards
Starring	Julia Stiles Sean Patrick Thomas Kerry Washington
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	January 12, 2001 (USA)
Running time	112 min.
Language	English
Budget	~ US$13,000,000
Followed by	Save the Last Dance 2 (2006)
IMDb profile

Save the Last Dance is a motion picture produced by MTV Films, directed by Thomas Carter, written by Duane Adler, and released by Paramount Pictures on January 12, 2001. This musical drama stars Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas, then over 30 years old, as a teenage interracial couple in Chicago who work together to help the main character played by Stiles train for a dance audition. A direct-to-video sequel, Save the Last Dance 2, was released in 2006. Save the Last Dance can be considered a modern day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Image File history File links SaveTheLastDance. ... Thomas Carter is an African-American film and television director known for Swing Kids, Save the Last Dance with Julia Stiles, and Coach Carter with Samuel L. Jackson. ... Julia OHara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American stage and screen actress. ... Thomas in Barbershop (2002) Sean Patrick Thomas (born December 17, 1970) is an American actor. ... Kerry Washington (born January 31, 1977) is an American actress. ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Save the Last Dance 2 (earlier known as Steppin Up: Save the Last Dance 2) is a direct-to-video sequel to 2001s theatrical feature Save the Last Dance. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... MTV Films is the motion picture production arm of cable channel MTV. Originally founded in 1995, it has produced films based on MTV programs such as Beavis and Butt-head Do America and Jackass: The Movie, as well as other adaptations and original projects. ... Thomas Carter is an African-American film and television director known for Swing Kids, Save the Last Dance with Julia Stiles, and Coach Carter with Samuel L. Jackson. ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Julia OHara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American stage and screen actress. ... Thomas in Barbershop (2002) Sean Patrick Thomas (born December 17, 1970) is an American actor. ... An interracial couple is a romantic couple or marriage in which the partners are of differing races. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... jus like my ass For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ... A film that is released direct-to-video (also straight-to-video) is one which has been released to the public on home video formats first rather than first being released in movie theaters. ... A sequel is a work of fiction in literature, film, and other creative works that is produced after a completed work, and is set in the same universe but at a later time. ... Save the Last Dance 2 (earlier known as Steppin Up: Save the Last Dance 2) is a direct-to-video sequel to 2001s theatrical feature Save the Last Dance. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Romeo and Juliet in the famous balcony scene by Ford Madox Brown For other uses, see Romeo and Juliet (disambiguation). ...

Plot content

The movie begins with Sara Johnson (Julia Stiles) on a train, thinking about her past. She used to be a promising high school dancer and with the support of her mother, was going to audition for Juilliard's dance school. She wanted her mother to be there at the audition but her mom had many things come up at the last minute and told Sara that she'd meet her there. In her rush to get to Juilliard, her mother was killed in a car crash at the same time that Sara fell while performing, failing to pass the audition. She will always blame herself for her mother's death. Julia OHara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American stage and screen actress. ...

Sara gets off the train and meets up with her dad (Terry Kinney). Her parents had been divorced for some time and since her mother died, she now has to live with her father. He plays the trumpet in a local Chicago jazz band and lives in a poor part of town. Terry Kinney(b. ...

At her new high school she is one of only a handful of white girls but is befriended quickly by Chenille (Kerry Washington). Chenille teaches her the ropes around the school. She also has a brother, Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas), that after a slow start eventually grows to like Sara as well. Kerry Washington (born January 31, 1977) is an American actress. ... Thomas in Barbershop (2002) Sean Patrick Thomas (born December 17, 1970) is an American actor. ...

Chenille invites Sara to a dance club called STEPS that is totally unlike anything Sara has ever seen. She has heard of hip hop but has never danced to it. She and Derek get on the dance floor but she makes a fool of herself dancing like a ... well... a white girl. Derek decides to take her under his wing and teach her about hip hop dancing. They practice in abandoned warehouses, school classrooms and anywhere they can find.

They go back to STEPS and the two of them blow everyone off the dance floor with their dancing. Derek's old girlfriend enters the dance floor and somehow starts dancing with him. Sara can only watch from a distance as Derek and his old flame start "dirty dancing." Derek, realizing what he has just done looks all over the club and eventually finds Sara. He apologizes to her and everything is okay again. He takes her home and they eventually make love while her dad is out for the night.

Derek takes her to the ballet and afterwards, Sara confides in him all about her mother and her dreams of Juilliard. Derek convinces her that she needs to do what SHE wants, and to follow her dreams. She needs to get back into dance shape.

Back at school, things are not going as well. There is a jealous cat-fight between Derek's old girlfriend and Sara. Chenille tells Sara that she didn't approve of the fight but can understand the bitterness since Sara, a white girl, is stealing one of the few good black men in the school. Because of this, Sara breaks it off with Derek.

Derek also has a friend named Malakai (Fredro Starr). He and Derek had a past of being troublemakers but Derek grew up while Malakai just got deeper into trouble. There was a driveby shooting at the basketball court and Malakai wanted revenge and wants Derek to help him. Derek has a lot to lose having just been accepted to Georgetown. The trouble is, he owes a lot to Malakai and has always been there to get him out of trouble. Fredro Starr (born Fredro Scruggs on January 1 1970), also known as Fredro Scruggs or Never, is an American rapper, actor and a member of hardcore rap group Onyx. ...

It's now time for Sara's new audition for Juilliard. She has prepared a classical dance number that she performs beautifully. Next up is a modern dance piece that she created herself. Kind of a combination of ballet and hip-hop. She stumbles and stops her performance. Just as she's about to quit, Derek shouts out from the back to keep trying. The judges all turn around to see Derek running down the aisles and up on to the stage. He gives Sara some encouragement and she continues and is simply wonderful in her routine. The head judge says... "Welcome to Juilliard."

At the same time all of this is happening, Malakai and his friends get into a shoot-out with the rival gang. Some of his friends get killed and Malakai is hauled off to jail.

Derek and Sara are back together and the final scene has the two of them along with Chenille and other friends all dancing and having a great time back at STEPS.

Earnings and awards

The film was a surprise success in theaters especially with a young audience, and is regarded as a breakthrough for its two leading actors, Stiles, and especially Thomas. It was a financial success, as well, with box-office earnings of nearly $131 million worldwide.

'Save the Last Dance' was also successful at a number of lesser-known or humorous movie awards, most notably:

• The '2001 MTV Movie Awards', winning in the category 'Best Kiss' for Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas, who also won 'Breakthrough Male Performance'; and being nominated for 'Best Female Performance' for Julia Stiles and 'Best Dance Sequence' for a scene in the hip hop club.

• The '2001 Teen Choice Awards', winning in the categories 'Film - Choice Actress' for Julia Stiles, 'Film - Choice Breakout Performance' for Kerry Washington and 'Film - Choice Fight Scene' for Julia Stiles and Bianca Lawson; and being nominated as best 'Film - Choice Drama'.

• The '2001 Young Hollywood Awards', winning in the category 'Standout Performance - Male' for Sean Patrick Thomas.

• It was also nominated for the '2002 Black Reel Awards' in the category 'Theatrical - Best Supporting Actress for Kerry Washington and the '2002 Golden Reel Awards' in the category 'Best Sound Editing - Music, Musical Feature Film' for the music editor Michael T. Ryan.

The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV (Music Television). ... The Teen Choice Awards is an awards show that has been annually televised on FOX and on Global TV in Canada[1] since the summer of 1998. ... Bianca Lawson as Kendra Young Bianca Jasmine Lawson (born March 20, 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA) is an American actress. ... The Black Reel Awards began in 2000 and were designed to annually recognize and celebrate the achievements of African-Americans in feature, independent and television films. ...

Soundtrack

Soundtrack cover.

As the title 'Save the Last Dance' implies, this motion picture is also a platform for contemporary music. Therefore, the energetic soundtrack, filled with music underscoring the dance scenes from the film, also became a success. It features a lineup of R&B and hip hop performers such as Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Pink and Notorious B.I.G. on the harder end of the spectrum as well as K-Ci & Jo-Jo, Donnell Jones, and Soulbone for the quieter and romantic moments of the movie. The climatic scene of the movie is illustrated by Athena Cage's "All Or Nothing". Fredro Starr, of hip hop group Onyx, who also appears in the film in a supporting role, performs the main theme on the soundtrack. Image File history File links Save_the_Last_Dance_cd. ... Image File history File links Save_the_Last_Dance_cd. ... This page contains the discography and filmography of Snoop Dogg. ... You Can Do It is a single from War & Peace Vol. ... Alecia Beth Moore (born September 8, 1979 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania), better known by her stage name P!NK (also written as Pink), is an American singer-songwriter who gained prominence in early January of 2000. ... Christopher Wallace (May 21, 1972 - March 9, 1997), also known as Biggie Smalls (after a stylish gangster in the 1975 comedy, Lets Do it Again), but best known as The Notorious B.I.G. (Business Instead of Game). ... K-Ci and JoJo is an American R&B duo, comprised of brothers Cedric K-Ci Hailey and Joel Jo-Jo Hailey. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Kut Klose was a R&B trio that formed in Atlanta, Georgia. ... Fredro Starr (born Fredro Scruggs on January 1 1970), also known as Fredro Scruggs or Never, is an American rapper, actor and a member of hardcore rap group Onyx. ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... Onyx is a hardcore rap group from Queens, New York. ...

See Also

Save the Last Dance 2 Save the Last Dance 2 (earlier known as Steppin Up: Save the Last Dance 2) is a direct-to-video sequel to 2001s theatrical feature Save the Last Dance. ...

External link

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Save the Last Dance

• Save the Last Dance at the Internet Movie Database