Shoot the Moon

For other uses, see Shoot the Moon (disambiguation).

Shoot the Moon
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlan Parker
Written byBo Goldman
Produced byAlan Marshall
Starring
CinematographyMichael Seresin
Edited byGerry Hambling
Production
company
Distributed byMGM/United Artists Distribution and Marketing
Release date
  • January 22, 1982 (1982-01-22)
Running time
123 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million[2][3] or $14 million[4]
Box office$9.2 million[5] or $2.5 million[4]

Shoot the Moon is a 1982 American drama film directed by Alan Parker, and written by Bo Goldman. It stars Albert Finney, Diane Keaton, Karen Allen, Peter Weller, and Dana Hill. Set in Marin County, California, the film follows George (Finney) and Faith Dunlap (Keaton), whose deteriorating marriage, separation and love affairs devastate their four children. The title of the film alludes to an accounting rule known in English as "shooting the moon" in the scored card game hearts.

Goldman began writing the script in 1971, deriving inspiration from his encounters with dysfunctional couples. He spent several years trying to secure a major film studio to produce it before taking it to 20th Century Fox. Parker learned of the script as he was developing Fame (1980), and he later worked with Goldman to rewrite it. After an unsuccessful pre-production development at Fox, Parker moved the project to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which provided a budget of $12 million. Principal photography lasted 62 days, in the period from January to April 1981, on location in Marin County.

Shoot the Moon premiered on February 19, 1982 to mostly positive reviews, but was deemed a box-office failure, having grossed only $9.2 million in North America. It later competed for the Palme d'Or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, and received two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor – Drama (Finney) and Best Actress – Drama (Keaton).

  1. ^ "Shoot the Moon". British Board of Film Classification. December 13, 1996. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  2. ^ Parker, Alan. "Shoot the Moon – Alan Parker – Director, Writer, Producer – Official Website". AlanParker.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  3. ^ Granger & Toumarkine 1988, p. 92.
  4. ^ a b Boyer, Peter J; Pollock, Dale (28 Mar 1982). "MGM-UA and the Big Debt". Los Angeles Times. p. 11.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference BOMojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).