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Almost Heroes AI simulator
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Almost Heroes AI simulator
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Almost Heroes
Almost Heroes is a 1998 American adventure comedy Western film directed by Christopher Guest, narrated by Guest's friend and frequent collaborator Harry Shearer, and starring Chris Farley and Matthew Perry. The film marked Farley's last leading film role and was released posthumously, five months after his death in 1997. Almost Heroes was produced by Turner Pictures and DiNovi Pictures and released by Warner Bros. on May 29, 1998. The film received negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing $6.1 million against a $30 million budget.
In 1804, Leslie Edwards, a foppish aristocrat, and the loud, low-brow Bartholomew Hunt are competing against the renowned Lewis & Clark to be the first to chart and make it across the United States to the Pacific Ocean. In the beginning of the film, Edwards has high hopes to head the first expedition to make it across the United States, but while he has ambition and funding, he has grown up sheltered and knows little of the wilderness he seeks to cross. To aid in his journey, he hires the services of a supposedly knowledgeable wilderness-man and tracker, Hunt, who, once they get underway, turns out to be less than advertised.
They are aided by a crew of varied, rugged and grizzled frontiersmen, including the group's version of Sacagawea, a young Indian woman by the name Shaquinna, who is integral in helping them find their way across the dangerous and unknown terrain ahead, as well as eventually becoming Edwards' love interest. Along the way, the group goes through various mishaps and ordeals such as having to deal with quirky, indigenous Indian tribes and vicious animals, a Conquistador named Hidalgo, as well as running out of food and romantic snafus, as Hunt's ineptness often causes more problems than it solves. Along the way, Edwards and Hunt's shared journey helps Edwards shed his aristocratic, snooty ways and he learns camaraderie and honor, as well as a more humble view of a world he thought he understood. Hunt finds true friendship in Edwards and a sense of self-confidence he had not known before.
After many hardships and setbacks, they eventually make it to the Pacific coast just minutes before Lewis and Clark's expedition; however, once the celebration is over, they find that they do not necessarily want to go back to their old lives and collectively decide to continue their adventure, leading Edwards and Hunt's expedition to further explore the great uncharted world.
The script was written under the title Edwards & Hunt. The screenwriters' agent, Rob Carlson, also represented Steve Oedekerk, who was able to help the script circulate; it was ultimately purchased by Turner Pictures.
Chris Farley was the first actor to be cast. The writers originally wanted to offer the role of Leslie Edwards to Hugh Laurie; at that point, he was a star only in the United Kingdom, so Turner executives wished for a more recognizable actor. The role was turned down by Hugh Grant and Bill Murray before Matthew Perry accepted the part.
The film had a budget of US$30 million. Feeling that the humor of the story was in putting the goofball protagonists against a historical backdrop, the filmmakers opted for realism in the art design. Principal photography began in the summer of 1996. Four weeks were spent shooting in the Big Bear region of Northern California. A town representing St. Louis c. 1804 was constructed at Reading Island park on the Sacramento River, east of Cottonwood, California, and a Native American village set was built upriver. Heat posed a major challenge for the summer shoot, with actors wearing furs in temperatures of over one hundred degrees. For the sequences of the boat on the River, the 2nd unit crew traveled to West Central Montana to film scenic areas on the Missouri River, right along the Helena National Forest and Lewis and Clark National Forest. Additional scenes were shot on locations in Humboldt County, California.
Filming was completed in the fall of 1996, with a 1997 release target. However, the film was delayed a full year due to the pending merger between Turner and Time Warner. Farley died on December 18, 1997, of a drug overdose. By the time the film was released in May 1998, Chris Farley had been dead nearly six months.
Almost Heroes
Almost Heroes is a 1998 American adventure comedy Western film directed by Christopher Guest, narrated by Guest's friend and frequent collaborator Harry Shearer, and starring Chris Farley and Matthew Perry. The film marked Farley's last leading film role and was released posthumously, five months after his death in 1997. Almost Heroes was produced by Turner Pictures and DiNovi Pictures and released by Warner Bros. on May 29, 1998. The film received negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing $6.1 million against a $30 million budget.
In 1804, Leslie Edwards, a foppish aristocrat, and the loud, low-brow Bartholomew Hunt are competing against the renowned Lewis & Clark to be the first to chart and make it across the United States to the Pacific Ocean. In the beginning of the film, Edwards has high hopes to head the first expedition to make it across the United States, but while he has ambition and funding, he has grown up sheltered and knows little of the wilderness he seeks to cross. To aid in his journey, he hires the services of a supposedly knowledgeable wilderness-man and tracker, Hunt, who, once they get underway, turns out to be less than advertised.
They are aided by a crew of varied, rugged and grizzled frontiersmen, including the group's version of Sacagawea, a young Indian woman by the name Shaquinna, who is integral in helping them find their way across the dangerous and unknown terrain ahead, as well as eventually becoming Edwards' love interest. Along the way, the group goes through various mishaps and ordeals such as having to deal with quirky, indigenous Indian tribes and vicious animals, a Conquistador named Hidalgo, as well as running out of food and romantic snafus, as Hunt's ineptness often causes more problems than it solves. Along the way, Edwards and Hunt's shared journey helps Edwards shed his aristocratic, snooty ways and he learns camaraderie and honor, as well as a more humble view of a world he thought he understood. Hunt finds true friendship in Edwards and a sense of self-confidence he had not known before.
After many hardships and setbacks, they eventually make it to the Pacific coast just minutes before Lewis and Clark's expedition; however, once the celebration is over, they find that they do not necessarily want to go back to their old lives and collectively decide to continue their adventure, leading Edwards and Hunt's expedition to further explore the great uncharted world.
The script was written under the title Edwards & Hunt. The screenwriters' agent, Rob Carlson, also represented Steve Oedekerk, who was able to help the script circulate; it was ultimately purchased by Turner Pictures.
Chris Farley was the first actor to be cast. The writers originally wanted to offer the role of Leslie Edwards to Hugh Laurie; at that point, he was a star only in the United Kingdom, so Turner executives wished for a more recognizable actor. The role was turned down by Hugh Grant and Bill Murray before Matthew Perry accepted the part.
The film had a budget of US$30 million. Feeling that the humor of the story was in putting the goofball protagonists against a historical backdrop, the filmmakers opted for realism in the art design. Principal photography began in the summer of 1996. Four weeks were spent shooting in the Big Bear region of Northern California. A town representing St. Louis c. 1804 was constructed at Reading Island park on the Sacramento River, east of Cottonwood, California, and a Native American village set was built upriver. Heat posed a major challenge for the summer shoot, with actors wearing furs in temperatures of over one hundred degrees. For the sequences of the boat on the River, the 2nd unit crew traveled to West Central Montana to film scenic areas on the Missouri River, right along the Helena National Forest and Lewis and Clark National Forest. Additional scenes were shot on locations in Humboldt County, California.
Filming was completed in the fall of 1996, with a 1997 release target. However, the film was delayed a full year due to the pending merger between Turner and Time Warner. Farley died on December 18, 1997, of a drug overdose. By the time the film was released in May 1998, Chris Farley had been dead nearly six months.