California Dreaming (1979 film): Difference between revisions

California Dreaming
California Dreaming
	Poster
Directed by	John D. Hancock
Written by	Ned Wynn
Produced by	Christian Whittaker
Starring	Glynnis O'Connor; Dennis Christopher; Seymour Cassel; Tanya Roberts
Cinematography	Bobby Byrne
Edited by	Herb Dow; Roy Peterson
Music by	Fred Karlin
Distributed by	American International Pictures
Release date	March 16, 1979;
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$2 million (US rentals)

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California Dreaming is a 1979 American comedy-drama film starring Glynnis O'Connor, Dennis Christopher, Seymour Cassel and Tanya Roberts and directed by John D. Hancock.^[3]^[4]

Plot

A young man named Tony moves from Chicago to California for the summer. He quickly becomes adapted to the new pace of beach life, learning several lessons along the way.

Cast

Glynnis O'Connor as Corky
Seymour Cassel as Duke
Dennis Christopher as T.T.
Dorothy Tristan as Faye
Tanya Roberts as Stephanie
John Calvin as Rick
Todd Susman as Jordy
Alice Playten as Corrine
Vivian Bonnell as Alma
Bonnie Bartlett as Melinda Booke

Production

California Dreaming is a production of American International Pictures (AIP), which pioneered the beach-party film in the 1960s. However, the film's producer Lou Arkoff, the son of AIP founder Samuel Z. Arkoff, stated a desire to "move [AIP] toward more serious, insightful and creative projects" rather than the exploitation films favored by his father, saying specifically of California Dreaming: "My concern is that this doesn't become Beach Blanket Bingo."^[5]

Filming began on October 17, 1977 at Santa Monica State Beach, the film's purported setting. However, most footage was shot at Pismo Beach, with Avila Beach also serving as a locale.

The script written by Ned Wynn was entitled State Beach, which was the film's working title (with Golden State mentioned as a possible alternative). Director John D. Hancock wanted to change the title to California Dreaming,^[6] and the new title was confirmed in December 1977. Permission for the title was obtained from the copyright holders of the song "California Dreamin'", although the film's storyline has no direct parallels with the song's lyrics. The film's poster features the slogan "A state somewhere between fantasy and reality" under the title.^[5]

Filming was completed in December 1978. The film's budget was $2 million.^[7]

John D. Hancock said that during filming, male cast members' attraction to Tanya Roberts caused tension on the set.^[8]

Release

The planned July 1978 release of California Dreaming was postponed because of a perceived glut of similarly themed films set for release that summer (most prominently Big Wednesday). A rescheduled October 1978 was also canceled.^[9] The film finally premiered with a December 27-January 1 engagement at a Yuma, Arizona theater, as it was to AIP's advantage for taxation purposes to release the film before the end of 1978.^[10]

California Dreaming was provided a limited release on March 16, 1979, which was expanded in the following two months. The release schedule was planned to coincide with that of the film's soundtrack album, distributed by Casablanca Records. The version of "California Dreamin'" recorded by America that plays during California Dreaming's closing credits was issued as a single, spending eight weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at #56.^[11]

References

^ THE BIG THUDS OF 1979--FILMS THAT FLOPPED, BADLY Epstein, Andrew. Los Angeles Times 27 Apr 1980: o6.
^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 301. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
^ Clarke Fountain (2008). "California Dreaming". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2008-01-28.
^ "California Dreaming". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
^ ^a ^b Los Angeles Times "Riding the Waves of California Dreaming" 11 December 1977 p. 66
^ Pittsburgh Post Gazetter 6 April 1978 "Hancock's 'California Dreaming' After Playhouse & Jaws 2" by George Anderson p.12
^ "AFI|Catalog".
^ Hancock On Hancock, p. 336, p. 336, at Google Books
^ San Bernardino County Sun 20 February 1979 p. 20
^ Tax Court Memorandum Decisions, Vol 53 p. 951
^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-03-31-OCR-Page-0154.pdf#search=%22california%20dreaming%20soundtrack%22 ^{[dead link‍]}

External links

California Dreaming at IMDb

[1] THE BIG THUDS OF 1979--FILMS THAT FLOPPED, BADLY Epstein, Andrew. Los Angeles Times 27 Apr 1980: o6.

[2] Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 301. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada

[3] Clarke Fountain (2008). "California Dreaming". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2008-01-28.

[4] "California Dreaming". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-12-21.

[LA_Times-5] Los Angeles Times "Riding the Waves of California Dreaming" 11 December 1977 p. 66

[6] Pittsburgh Post Gazetter 6 April 1978 "Hancock's 'California Dreaming' After Playhouse & Jaws 2" by George Anderson p.12

[7] "AFI|Catalog".

[8] Hancock On Hancock, p. 336, p. 336, at Google Books

[9] San Bernardino County Sun 20 February 1979 p. 20

[10] Tax Court Memorandum Decisions, Vol 53 p. 951

[11] ttp://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-03-31-OCR-Page-0154.pdf#search=%22california%20dreaming%20soundtrack%22 ^{[dead link‍]}

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|1979 film by John D. Hancock}}
 {{Infobox film
 |name=California Dreaming
+|image=California Dreaming poster.jpg
+|caption=Poster
 |director=[[John D. Hancock]]
 |writer=Ned Wynn
 |producer=Christian Whittaker
-|starring=[[Glynnis O'Connor]]<br>[[Dennis Christopher]]<br>[[Seymour Cassel]]<br>[[Tanya Roberts]]
+|starring=[[Glynnis O'Connor]]<br />[[Dennis Christopher]]<br />[[Seymour Cassel]]<br />[[Tanya Roberts]]
 |music=[[Fred Karlin]]
 |cinematography=[[Bobby Byrne (cinematographer)|Bobby Byrne]]
-|editing=Herb Dow<br>Roy Peterson
+|editing=Herb Dow<br />Roy Peterson
 |runtime=92 minutes
 |released={{Film date|1979|03|16}}
 |country=United States
 |gross=$2 million (US rentals)<ref>THE BIG THUDS OF 1979--FILMS THAT FLOPPED, BADLY
+Epstein, Andrew. Los Angeles Times 27 Apr 1980: o6.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilmdist0000dona/page/301/mode/1up|title= American film distribution : the changing marketplace|last=Donahue|first= Suzanne Mary|year=1987 |publisher=UMI Research Press |page=301}} Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada</ref>
-Epstein, Andrew. Los Angeles Times 27 Apr 1980: o6.</ref>
 |language=[[English language|English]]
 |distributor=[[American International Pictures]]
 }}
-'''''California Dreaming''''' is a 1979 American [[comedy-drama|comedy-drama film]] starring [[Glynnis O'Connor]], [[Dennis Christopher]], [[Seymour Cassel]] and [[Tanya Roberts]] and directed by [[John D. Hancock]].<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=California Dreaming|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/7866/California-Dreaming/overview}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=[[TV Guide]]|title=California Dreaming|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/california-dreaming/126108}}</ref>
+'''''California Dreaming''''' is a 1979 American [[comedy-drama|comedy-drama film]] starring [[Glynnis O'Connor]], [[Dennis Christopher]], [[Seymour Cassel]] and [[Tanya Roberts]] and directed by [[John D. Hancock]].<ref>{{cite web|title=California Dreaming|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/7866/California-Dreaming/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080128194800/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/7866/California-Dreaming/overview|url-status=dead|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Clarke Fountain|date=2008|archive-date=2008-01-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=[[TV Guide]]|title=California Dreaming|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/california-dreaming/126108|access-date=2012-12-21|archive-date=2012-07-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711152039/http://movies.tvguide.com/california-dreaming/126108|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 ==Plot==
-A young man named T.T. moves from Chicago to California for the summer. He quickly becomes adapted to the new pace of beach life, learning several lessons along the way.
+A young man named Tony moves from Chicago to California for the summer. He quickly becomes adapted to the new pace of beach life, learning several lessons along the way.
-==Production==
-''California Dreaming'', a production of [[American International Pictures]] (AIP), could be considered a latterday exemplar of the [[beach party film]] genre which AIP pioneered in the 1960s: however the movie's producer [[Lou Arkoff]] &ndash; son of AIP founder [[Samuel Z. Arkoff]] - stated a desire to "move [AIP] toward more serious, insightful and creative projects" (as opposed to the [[exploitation films]] favored by Arkoff ''père''), saying specifically of ''California Dreaming'': "My concern is that this doesn't become '[[Beach Blanket Bingo]]'."<ref name="LA Times">Los Angeles Times "Riding the Waves of California Dreaming" 11 December 1977 p. 66</ref>
-Filming on ''California Dreaming'' began 17 October 1977 in [[Santa Monica State Beach]] the movie's purported setting: however most of the movie's footage would be shot at [[Pismo Beach, California|Pismo Beach]] with [[Avila Beach]] also serving as a locale.
-The script as written by Ned Wynn was entitled ''State Beach'' which was the film's  working title (with ''Golden State'' mentioned as a possible alternative): director [[John D. Hancock]] wanted to change the title to ''California Dreaming'' <ref>''Pittsburgh Post Gazetter'' 6 April 1978 "Hancock's 'California Dreaming' After Playhouse & Jaws 2" by George Anderson p.12</ref> which was indeed confirmed as the title in December 1977, permission having been obtained from the copyright holders of the song "[[California Dreamin']]" (the movie's storyline has no immediate parallels with the song's lyrics: the eventual movie poster for ''California Dreaming'' would feature the slogan "A state somewhere between fantasy and reality" under the movie title).<ref name="LA Times"/>
-The filming of ''California Dreaming'' was completed by in December 1978. The movie's budget was given as $2 million.<ref>http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/56231</ref>
-==Release==
-The original projected July 1978 release of ''California Dreaming'' was postponed due to a perceived glut of similarly-themed movies being then set for release in the summer of 1978 (most prominently ''[[Big Wednesday]]''): a projected October 1978 release for ''California Dreaming'' was also canceled<ref>San Bernardino County Sun 20 February 1979 p. 20</ref> with the movie's initial "release" occurring with a one-off 27 December 1978 - 1 January 1979 engagement at a [[Yuma, Arizona|Yuma AZ]] theatre, it being to AIP's taxational advantage for ''California Dreaming'' to technically be released within the year 1978.<ref>Tax Court Memorandum Decisions, Vol 53 p. 951</ref>
-Otherwise ''California Dreaming'' was finally given [[limited release]] 16 March 1979, expanding in the following two months: factoring into the movie's release was the agreement made by AIP in February 1979 for the ''California Dreaming'' soundtrack &ndash; completed in the last months of 1978 &ndash; to be distributed by [[Casablanca Records]] which company had recently managed to bolster the modest success of the film ''[[Thank God It's Friday (film)|Thank God It's Friday]]'' through a hit soundtrack album and the recording of "California Dreamin'" by [[America (band)|America]] which played under the closing credits of ''California Dreaming'' was issued as a single at the time of the movie's March release: the single attracted some interest hitting #56 on the Billboard Charts but failed to significantly boost the movie's paltry box office take.<ref>http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-03-31-OCR-Page-0154.pdf#search=%22california%20dreaming%20soundtrack%22</ref>
 ==Cast==
+{{castlist|
 * [[Glynnis O'Connor]] as Corky
 * [[Seymour Cassel]] as Duke
 * [[Dennis Christopher]] as T.T.
-* Dorothy Tristan as Faye
+* [[Dorothy Tristan]] as Faye
 * [[Tanya Roberts]] as Stephanie
-* John Calvin as Rick
+* [[John Calvin (actor)|John Calvin]] as Rick
 * [[Todd Susman]] as Jordy
 * [[Alice Playten]] as Corrine
+* [[Vivian Bonnell]] as Alma
+* [[Bonnie Bartlett]] as Melinda Booke
+}}
+==Production==
+''California Dreaming'' is a production of [[American International Pictures]] (AIP), which pioneered the [[beach party film|beach-party film]] in the 1960s. However, the film's producer [[Lou Arkoff]], the son of AIP founder [[Samuel Z. Arkoff]], stated a desire to "move [AIP] toward more serious, insightful and creative projects" rather than the [[exploitation films]] favored by his father, saying specifically of ''California Dreaming'': "My concern is that this doesn't become ''[[Beach Blanket Bingo]]''."<ref name="LA Times">Los Angeles Times "Riding the Waves of California Dreaming" 11 December 1977 p. 66</ref>
+Filming began on October 17, 1977 at [[Santa Monica State Beach]], the film's purported setting. However, most footage was shot at [[Pismo Beach, California|Pismo Beach]], with [[Avila Beach]] also serving as a locale.
+The script written by Ned Wynn was entitled ''State Beach'', which was the film's working title (with ''Golden State'' mentioned as a possible alternative). Director [[John D. Hancock]] wanted to change the title to ''California Dreaming'',<ref>''Pittsburgh Post Gazetter'' 6 April 1978 "Hancock's 'California Dreaming' After Playhouse & Jaws 2" by George Anderson p.12</ref> and the new title was confirmed in December 1977. Permission for the title was obtained from the copyright holders of the song "[[California Dreamin']]", although the film's storyline has no direct parallels with the song's lyrics. The film's poster features the slogan "A state somewhere between fantasy and reality" under the title.<ref name="LA Times"/>
+Filming was completed in December 1978. The film's budget was $2 million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/56231|title = AFI&#124;Catalog}}</ref>
+[[John D. Hancock]] said that during filming, male cast members' attraction to [[Tanya Roberts]] caused tension on the set.<ref>{{Google books|gW9iDwAAQBAJ|Hancock On Hancock, p. 336|page=336}}</ref>
+==Release==
+The planned July 1978 release of ''California Dreaming'' was postponed because of a perceived glut of similarly themed films set for release that summer (most prominently ''[[Big Wednesday]]''). A rescheduled October 1978 was also canceled.<ref>San Bernardino County Sun 20 February 1979 p. 20</ref> The film finally premiered with a December 27-January 1 engagement at a [[Yuma, Arizona]] theater, as it was to AIP's advantage for taxation purposes to release the film before the end of 1978.<ref>Tax Court Memorandum Decisions, Vol 53 p. 951</ref>
+''California Dreaming'' was provided a [[limited release]] on March 16, 1979, which was expanded in the following two months. The release schedule was planned to coincide with that of the film's soundtrack album, distributed by [[Casablanca Records]]. The version of "California Dreamin'" recorded by [[America (band)|America]] that plays during ''California Dreaming''<nowiki/>'s closing credits was issued as a single, spending eight weeks in the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and peaking at #56.<ref>http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-03-31-OCR-Page-0154.pdf#search=%22california%20dreaming%20soundtrack%22 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>
 ==References==
@@ Line 55: / Line 64: @@
 [[Category:1979 films]]
-[[Category:1970s comedy-drama films]]
+[[Category:1979 comedy-drama films]]
 [[Category:American comedy-drama films]]
-[[Category:American films]]
 [[Category:American International Pictures films]]
-[[Category:English-language films]]
+[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
 [[Category:Films directed by John D. Hancock]]
 [[Category:Films scored by Fred Karlin]]
 [[Category:Films set in California]]
-[[Category:1979 comedy films]]
+[[Category:Films shot in California]]
+[[Category:1970s American films]]
+[[Category:English-language comedy-drama films]]