''Bang Bang You're Dead'' is a 2002 American

thriller drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

directed by

Guy Ferland Guy Ferland (born February 18, 1966) is an American film and television director. Career After Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 film '' Notorious'' inspired him to become a filmmaker, Ferland went on to study cinema production at the University of South ...

and written by

William Mastrosimone William Mastrosimone (born August 19, 1947) is an American playwright and screenwriter from Trenton, New Jersey. He attended high school at The Pennington School and received a graduate degree in playwriting from Mason Gross School of the Arts, ...

. It stars

Tom Cavanagh Thomas Cavanagh (born October 26, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for a variety of roles on American television, including starring roles in ''Ed (TV series), Ed'' (2000–2004), ''Love Monkey'' (2006) and ''Trust Me (American TV series) ...

, Ben Foster,

Randy Harrison Randolph Clarke Harrison (born November 2, 1977) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Justin Taylor on the Showtime drama '' Queer as Folk''. Early life and college Harrison was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he starting ...

, and

Janel Moloney Janel Moloney (born October 3, 1969) is an American actress, best known for her role as Donna Moss on the television series ''The West Wing'', a role for which she received nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress ...

. Based on Mastrosimone's 1999 play, the film is not a direct adaptation; it follows a troubled high school student played by Foster who participates in his school's production of the play while attempting to avoid going down the same path as the play's lead character. The film premiered at the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

on June 7, 2002, and aired on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

on October 13, 2002.

Plot

16-year-old Trevor Adams attends an American high school where he is one of the outcasts harassed and humiliated by the school's jocks. He made a false threat to bomb the school a few months ago, narrowly escaping expulsion. Since then, Trevor has been trying to fit back in to normal high school life. He joined a theater group and has been chosen to star in a school play about school shootings called ''Bang Bang You're Dead'' as the main character, Josh. After parents and the community hear of the play and its lead actor, they call for it to be canceled. But Trevor's theater activity, alone, is not sufficient to let off the steam of his boiling resentment. Using his video camera, he has been documenting bullying at school, creating a "diary of violence". Trevor and his friends Sean, Mark and Kurt, make plans to storm the school with guns and kill as many of the hated athletes as possible. Trevor meets Jenny, also 16, who stays by him and stands up for him. Through her, Trevor begins to doubt whether the act he plans is right. In the end, he is the only one to realize that bloodshed only fuels more violence and hatred, and evacuates the school with his art teacher, Mr. Duncan. At the last minute, Trevor prevents bloodshed by overwhelming Kurt, Sean and Mark. The film ends with the play premiering successfully, despite the initial protests of the students' parents.

Cast

Promotion

The song "

Runaway Train A runaway train is a type of railroad incident in which unattended rolling stock is accidentally allowed to roll onto the main line, a moving train loses enough braking power to be unable to stop in safety, or a train operates at unsafe speeds d ...

" by

post-grunge Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...

band

Oleander ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), commonly known as oleander or rosebay, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the genus ...

was featured in the film. A

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song was then shot and incorporated footage from the film. On November 19, 2002 the band released their ''Runaway Train EP''. The film was released on DVD on January 27, 2004 without any special features.Oleander 'Joyride' album MusicRemedy.com (2003)
Retrieved on 5-12-09.

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bang Bang You're Dead (Film) 2002 television films 2002 films 2002 drama films 2002 thriller films 2002 in American television 2000s American films 2000s English-language films 2000s high school films 2000s teen drama films American drama television films American films based on plays American high school films American teen drama films American thriller television films English-language teen drama films English-language thriller films Films about bullying Films about school violence Films directed by Guy Ferland Films scored by Reinhold Heil Films scored by Johnny Klimek Films shot in Vancouver Peabody Award–winning broadcasts Showtime (TV network) films Teen thriller films Television films based on plays