Won't Back Down | |
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Theatrical poster
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Directed by | Daniel Barnz |
Produced by | Mark Johnson |
Written by | Brin Hill Daniel Barnz |
Starring |
Maggie Gyllenhaal Viola Davis Holly Hunter Oscar Isaac Rosie Perez Ving Rhames Marianne Jean-Baptiste |
Music by | Marcelo Zarvos |
Cinematography | Roman Osin |
Edited by | Kristina Boden |
Production
company |
Walden Media
Gran Via Productions |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date
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Running time
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121 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $19 million |
Box office | $5.4 million |
Won't Back Down (previously titled Still I Rise, Learning To Fly and Steel Town) is a drama film directed by Daniel Barnz starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis and Holly Hunter. It was released on September 28, 2012.
Two determined mothers, a car dealer/bartender (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and a teacher (Viola Davis), look to transform their children's failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy and corruption from the teachers' union president (Holly Hunter) and the school's principal (Bill Nunn), they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children.
The film is loosely based on the events surrounding the use of the parent trigger law in Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles, California in 2010, where several groups of parents attempted to take over several failing public schools. The Parent Trigger law, which was passed in California and other states in 2010, allowed parents to enforce administrative overhaul and overrule administrators in under-performing public schools if petitioned. If successful, petitions allow parents to direct changes such as dismissal of staff and potential conversion of a school to a charter school.
Walden Media, a film studio which released a 2010 documentary film Waiting for "Superman" with Paramount Pictures and Participant Media about the American educational system, produced the film, with 20th Century Fox releasing it on September 28, 2012. American actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis were among the first to be cast, with Academy award-winning actress Holly Hunter being cast later on. The film marked Hunter's first film appearance in seven years since The Incredibles and The Big White. The film's trailer was released on May 17, 2012. The film's budget was $25 million, not counting the undisclosed amount for marketing the film.