Grandma (film)
| Grandma | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Paul Weitz |
| Produced by | Terry Dougas Paris Kasidokostas-Latsis Andrew Miano Paul Weitz |
| Written by | Paul Weitz |
| Starring |
Lily Tomlin Julia Garner Marcia Gay Harden Judy Greer Laverne Cox Sam Elliott |
| Music by | Joel P. West |
| Cinematography | Tobias Datum |
| Edited by | Jonathan Corn |
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Production
companies |
1821 Media
Depth of Field |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
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Release date
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Running time
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79 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | less than $600,000 |
| Box office | $7.1 million |
Grandma is a 2015 American comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by Paul Weitz. It stars Lily Tomlin as Elle, a lesbian poet and widow whose teenage granddaughter (played by Julia Garner) visits her to ask for money for an abortion. Over the space of a day, they visit numerous people from Elle's past to call in favors in an effort to raise the money.
Paul Weitz wrote the script with Tomlin in mind after working with her on the 2013 film Admission. After she agreed to star, they edited the script together. Most of the other cast members were actors with whom Weitz had previously collaborated. The film was shot over 19 days in Los Angeles in 2014 with a budget of less than $600,000.
The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival as the closing night feature and was released on August 21, 2015, by Sony Pictures Classics. It grossed $7.1 million at the box office and was well received by critics. The film was named among the top ten independent films of 2015 by the National Board of Review and Tomlin was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance.
Divided over six chapters, the film tells the story of Elle, a lesbian poet coping with the recent death of her long-term life partner. She ends a four-month relationship with a younger admirer, Olivia, before receiving a visit from her 18-year-old granddaughter Sage, who is pregnant and requests $630 for an abortion which is scheduled for that afternoon. As Elle is broke and Sage has had her credit card confiscated by her overbearing mother, the two embark on a road trip across Los Angeles to try and come up with the money.
Elle forcefully extorts $50 from the father of the child, and then tries to call in a $400 debt from her friend Deathy, a tattoo artist. Because she is also broke at the time, Deathy cannot help Elle and Sage beyond some $60 she borrows from the register, but gives Elle a new tattoo that looks like the letter "O"; Sage presumes it to be Olivia's initial, though Elle insists it is only meant to be a circle. Elle tries to sell some of her rare books to an acquaintance, Carla, who owns a café, but gets into a fight with Olivia, who is working at the café. Elle storms out when Carla, who is much more tech-savvy than Elle, gauges the price of the books on eBay and offers her a paltry $60, and Olivia berates her as they leave.
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