The Hairy Bird

Infobox Film
name = The Hairy Bird


image_size =
caption = DVD cover
director = Sarah Kernochan
producer = Ira Deutchman
Michael Mahoney
Peter Newman
writer = Sarah Kernochan
narrator =
starring = Kirsten Dunst
Gaby Hoffmann
Lynn Redgrave
Rachael Leigh Cook Heather Matarazzo
music =
cinematography = Anthony Janelli
editing = Graeme Revell
distributor = Miramax Films (USA)

released = 1998
runtime = 97 min.
country = Italy / Canada / U.S.
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:168214
imdb_id = 0120692

"The Hairy Bird" [Australia and Canada English film title] (also released as "Strike!" and "All I Wanna Do" [United States new film title] ) is a 1998 film written and directed by Sarah Kernochan and starring Kirsten Dunst, Gaby Hoffmann, Lynn Redgrave, and Rachael Leigh Cook. The movie was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Wallingford, Connecticut, United States.

The film is set during the early 1960s, at the fictional "Miss Godard's Preparatory School for Girls"; the setting is based loosely on Kernochan's experiences at Rosemary Hall during those years. Redgrave plays the headmistress of the school, students of the school are played by Dunst, Hoffman, and Cook, among others.

The first part of the film provides a glimpse into life at an elite New England boarding school during the period between the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the first appearance of The Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show"; as the story progresses, the comedy becomes broader when the school's precarious financial situation forces it to consider a less-than-equals merger into a coeducational institute.

The song "The Hairy Bird" plays during the film's end credits; the song was written by Kernochan and sung by a group which includes Kernochan and five of her Rosemary Hall classmates, including Glenn Close.

Cast

*Lynn Redgrave as Miss McVane
*Gaby Hoffmann as Odette "Odie" Sinclair
*Kirsten Dunst as Verena von Stefan
*Monica Keena as Tinka Parker
*Merritt Wever as Maureen 'Momo' Haines
*Heather Matarazzo as Theresa 'Tweety' Goldberg
*Rachael Leigh Cook as Abigail 'Abby' Sawyer
*Vincent Kartheiser as Snake - Flat Critter
*Tom Guiry as Bradley "Frosty" Frost
*Matthew Lawrence as Dennis
*Robert Bockstael as Mr. Frank Dewey
*Robin Dunne as Todd Winslow
*Aaron Poole as Beagle - Flat Critter
*Caterina Scorsone as Susie
*Danny Smith as Groundhog - Flat Critter
*Brenda Devine as Miss Phipps
*Rosemary Dunsmore as Page Sawyer
*Nigel Bennett as Harvey Sawyer
*Noah Shebib as Conrad Bateman
*Michael Reynolds as Mr. Armstrong
*Richard McMillan as Bert Chubb (St. Ambrose Boy Housemaster)
*Les Porter as Graham John (St. Ambrose Boy Choirmaster)
*Dorothy Gordon as Mrs. O'Boyle

Hayden Christensen had a bit part as the date of the character played by Monica Keena.
Shawn Ashmore had a bit part as a the photographer of the boys school.

References

External links and references

* [http://www.redeemable.com/aiwd_synopsis.htm Redeemable Film's webpage] for "All I Wanna Do"
* [http://www.sarahkernochan.com/film/scripts/hairy-bird.pdf Script for the film] , in PDF format, from the director's website
* [http://www.sarahkernochan.com/lyrics/hairy-bird.html Lyrics and MP3 for the title song] , also from the director's website
*imdb title|id=0120692|title=Strike!
*amg title|id=1:168214|title=All I Wanna Do
* [http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/int/2000/05/17/kernochan/ Girls school rules] , a May 2000 interview about the film from Salon.com