Ashby (film)

Ashby is a 2015 American crime comedy-drama film written and directed by Tony McNamara. The film stars Mickey Rourke, Nat Wolff, Emma Roberts and Sarah Silverman. The film had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, 2015.[2] The film was released in the United States in a limited release and on video on demand on September 25, 2015, by Paramount Home Media Distribution and The Film Arcade.[3]

Ashby
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTony McNamara
Written byTony McNamara
Produced by
  • Josh Kesselman
  • Rory Koslow
  • Kevin McCormick
Starring
CinematographyChristopher Baffa
Edited byMatt Friedman
Music byAlec Puro
Production
company
Langley Park Productions
Distributed by
Release dates
  • April 19, 2015 (2015-04-19) (Tribeca Film Festival)
  • September 25, 2015 (2015-09-25) (United States)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$122,919[1]

Plot

High-school nerd Ed Wallis (Nat Wolff) enters into a friendship with his neighbor, Ashby (Mickey Rourke), a retired CIA assassin who only has a few months to live. The film is a coming of age/approaching death comedy drama.

Ashby initially tells Ed that he is a retired napkin salesman. Ed realizes he's more than that when he finds multiple passports with Ashby's photo, and cupboards full of weapons.

Cast

Production

In June 2014, a casting call was held for extras.[4] On June 27, 2014, as the production began on the film, more actors joined the film which include Michael Lerner, Kevin Dunn and Zachary Knighton.[5]

Filming

Set in Virginia, the principal photography on the film began on June 22, 2014, in Charlotte, North Carolina and lasted for five weeks.[6] On June 23, filming took place in Matthews, North Carolina.[7][8] Almost 500 extras filled the football stadium at South Mecklenburg High School to film game scenes.[9]

Music

In October 2014, Alec Puro was hired to compose the music for the film.[10]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, 2015.[2] In May 2015, it was announced Paramount Home Media Distribution had acquired distribution rights for North America, United Kingdom, Germany, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Benelux, and Switzerland as well as pan Asia pay TV and worldwide airlines.[11] That same day, it was announced the film would receive an on-demand and theatrical release in fall of 2015.[11] Paramount teamed up with The Film Arcade for US theatrical distribution.[3] The film was released in a limited release and through video on demand on September 25, 2015.[3]

Critical response

Ashby received mixed reviews from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 52%, based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 5.51/10.[12] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 46 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]

Dennis Harvey of Variety gave the film a mixed review, writing: "Starring Mickey Rourke as a retired CIA assassin turned improbable mentor to Nat Wolff's next-door-neighbor misfit, Ashby is a genre jumble that makes half-baked use of high-school sports, crime comedy, teen romance and other formulae to mildly diverting ends that are never quite convincing or funny enough. Paramount launched a limited theatrical rollout on Sept. 25, simultaneous with on-demand availability, but Aussie tube scribe Tony McNamara's U.S. feature will definitely fare best as a viable if innocuous cable/rental time-filler."[14]

Kate Erbland of The Playlist for IndieWire also gave the film a mixed review, writing: "It's inevitable that Ashby will squish together its two most important plots — Ashby's mysterious quest and Ed's attempts to be a football star — but McNamara attempts to keep the movie ticking right along, and for all its half-cocked plotlines, Ashby is able to maintain a consistently humorous and light tone. Ed and Ashby's worldview is more than a bit skewed, but so is the film's, and it works well enough to keep the film entertaining and bouncy."[15]

Box office

The film was released on video on demand, as well as opening in 15 theaters, the film debuted with a poor weekend total of $4,631, with a per-theater average of $309.[1]

References
  1. "Ashby". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  2. "Ashby | Tribeca Film Festival". TribecaFilm.com. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
  3. Sharf, Zack (August 20, 2015). "Mickey Rourke, Nat Wolff and Emma Roberts Unite in Exclusive 'Ashby' Poster". Indiewire.com. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  4. "Emma Roberts, Mickey Rourke Comedy-Drama "Ashby" Extras Casting Call in North Carolina". ProjectCasting.com. June 18, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  5. Mitchell, Wendy (June 27, 2014). "New cast added to Mickey Rourke's Ashby". ScreenDaily.com. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  6. "Emma Roberts & Nat Wolff Begin Filming 'Ashby' in North Carolina!". teendaily.net. June 22, 2014. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  7. Christine (June 23, 2014). "'Ashby', starring Nat Wolff and Emma Roberts, filming today in North Carolina". onlocationvacations.com. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  8. Lehtonen, Amy (June 23, 2014). "New movie filming in Charlotte looking for extras". wcnc.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  9. Dunn, Andrew (July 20, 2014). "Hundreds flock to South Mecklenburg High for 'Ashby' filming". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  10. "Alec Puro to Score 'Ashby'". filmmusicreporter.com. October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  11. Wiseman, Andreas (May 2015). "Paramount nabs Tribeca hit 'Ashby'". ScreenDaily.com. Retrieved January 10, 2016.(registration required)
  12. "Ashby". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  13. "Ashby Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  14. Harvey, Dennis (September 26, 2015). "Film Review: 'Ashby'". Variety.com. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  15. Erbland, Kate (April 20, 2015). "Tribeca Review: 'Ashby' Starring Mickey Rourke, Nat Wolff, Emma Roberts And Sarah Silverman". Indiewire.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
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