title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: The administration shifted its energy policy to prefer renewable sources of energy later in Duterte's term. At his fourth State of the Nation address in July 2019, Duterte issued an order to cut coal dependence and hasten a transition to renewable energy. In October 2020, the energy department issued a moratorium on the construction of new coal power plants and favored renewable energy sources. On February 28, 2022, Duterte issued an executive order approving the inclusion of nuclear power in the country's energy mix.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: To hasten the expansion of the nation's power capacity, Duterte established the inter-agency Energy Investment Coordinating Council tasked with simplifying and streamlining the approval process of big-ticket projects. On January 21, 2022, he signed a law promoting the use of microgrid systems in unserved and underserved areas to accelerate total electrification of the country. The administration made initiatives to liberalize the energy sector, allowing 100% foreign ownership in large-scale geothermal projects starting October 2020.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in March 2017, after initially having misgivings about the deal which he says might limit the country's industrialization. The Agreement was ratified by the Senate on March 15, 2017. Duterte said that rich countries producing the most carbon emissions must pay smaller countries for damage caused by climate change.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte introduced reforms to eliminate red tape in the government, and ordered government agencies to remove all processes which are "redundant or burdensome" to the public. Three weeks after assuming office, he issued his second executive order establishing Freedom of Information, allowing citizens to obtain documents and records from public offices under the executive branch to promote transparency in the government.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: In May 2018, Duterte signed the Ease of Doing Business Act which aims to create a better business environment by reducing processing time, cutting bureaucratic red tape, and eliminating corrupt practices in all government agencies. In December 2020, he enacted a law authorizing the President to expedite the processing and issuance of national and local permits, licenses, and certifications, by suspending its requirements, in times of national emergency.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte institutionalized the 8888 Citizens' Complaint Hotline in October 2016, allowing the public to report complaints on poor government front-line services and corrupt practices in all government agencies.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte vowed to improve the health care system, certifying the Universal Healthcare Bill as an urgent measure as early as July 2018. In February 2019, he signed the Universal Health Care Act, which automatically enrolls all Filipinos under the government's health insurance program. He also enacted the National Integrated Cancer Control Act which establishes a "national integrated" program to control and prevent cancer by making treatment more accessible and affordable, and the Philippine Mental Health Law, which provides free mental health services down to the barangay level while requiring hospitals to provide psychiatric, psychosocial and neurologic services.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: In December 2019, Duterte signed a law institutionalizing Malasakit Centers in all hospitals run by the Department of Health, allowing indigent patients to efficiently access financial medical assistance from various government agencies.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte ordered the full implementation of the Reproductive Health Law, banned smoking in public places nationwide, and set a price cap on select medicines.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte signed the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act in August 2017, providing free college education in all state universities and colleges nationwide. He signed a law establishing transnational higher education in the country, allowing foreign universities to offer degree programs in the Philippines in an effort to bring international quality standards and expertise into the country. He also signed medical scholarships for deserving students in state universities and colleges or partner private higher education institutions through the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act on December 23, 2020.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte approved in January 2021 a law institutionalizing the alternative learning system (ALS), providing free education to those out of school. In March 2022, he enacted a law granting inclusive education for learners with disabilities.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: On June 9, 2020, Duterte signed a law establishing the country's first National Academy of Sports in New Clark City, Capas, Tarlac.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: The Duterte administration has vowed to pursue what it describes as an "independent foreign policy" that would reject any meddling by foreign governments, reiterating Article II, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution which states: "The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination." In September 2016, Duterte said: "We will observe and must insist on the time-honored principle of sovereignty, sovereign equality, non-interference and the commitment of peaceful settlements of dispute that will serve our people and protect the interests of our country."


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte made his first international trips as president to Vientiane, Laos and Jakarta, Indonesia on September 5–9, 2016.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte pursued improved relations with China and Russia, and lessened the country's dependence on its traditional ally – the United States. He has adopted a cautious, pragmatic, and conciliatory stance towards China compared to his predecessor, and has set aside the previous administration's confrontational policy of asserting the Philippines' claims over the South China Sea and its islands.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: President Duterte and his administration have been criticized for numerous reasons. These include his anti-drug campaign, foreign policies, human rights record, and extrajudicial killings. Duterte has also been criticized for his political views, controversial comments, and others.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Despite the criticisms on his administration, Duterte has relatively high trust and approval ratings. In the first half of his six-year term with a record net satisfaction rating of 68%. Duterte's approval rating was at 79% in April 2019 and 87% on a December 2019 survey conducted by Pulse Asia. Duterte and his administration also got high approval ratings in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte's anti-drug campaign has been criticized both locally and internationally. Senator Risa Hontiveros, a political opponent of Duterte, said that the drug war was a political strategy intended to persuade people that "suddenly the historically most important issue of poverty was no longer the most important."


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Various international publications and media companies had claimed that Duterte's "War on Drugs" was a war against the poor due to the abject poverty of those arrested or killed. On June 19, 2018, 38 United Nations member states released a collective statement through the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), calling on the Philippines and President Duterte to end the killings in its war on drugs and cooperate in probing in investigating human rights abuses.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte believes that the number of deaths are a measure of his success in his war against drugs, and despite constant criticism of his war on drugs, Duterte had staunchly defended his administration's efforts at getting rid of "filth" from the streets. A large number of Filipinos support Duterte's war on drugs, with a 2019 SWS survey showing 82% of 1,200 interviewed Filipinos were "overwhelmingly satisfied" due to "the perception of less drugs and crime in the country". On August 18, 2017, Duterte admitted his mistake in trying to end drugs in six months, and it would take him his entire term to end it.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the first year of Duterte in office a human rights calamity. HRW estimates that there has been 7,000 deaths from the day Duterte first took office to January 2017. The Duterte administration suspended the drugs war in February 2017 in an effort to cleanse the police ranks of supposed corruption, also halting the disclosure of figures on deaths related to drug arrests and raids. In March 2017, HRW released a special investigation and report on the state of police related shooting, titled "License To Kill". "The New York Times" had also released a video documentary "When A President Says I'll Kill You", which depicts Duterte's war on drugs through a local photographer's eyes. On August 17, 2017, HRW called Duterte a threat to the human rights community after he made threats against human rights activists.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: In January 2020, the International Criminal Court confirmed that an investigation into Duterte's involvement with the death squads was ongoing, despite the Philippines having withdrawn from the ICC two years prior, because it continued to have jurisdiction over crimes committed when the country was still a member. Duterte had withdrawn the country just one month after the opening of the investigation. In September 2021, the ICC authorized an official probe after reviewing evidence related to at least 204 victims.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Members of the opposition have criticized the government's efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the first case of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Philippines was confirmed on January 30, 2020. This triggered outrage on local social media platforms. Other criticisms include Duterte's remarks of ordering to "shoot" persons who violate quarantine protocols and the delay of the vaccines to arrive in the Philippines were also condemned.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: In May 2021, Duterte was criticized for publicly taking the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine before it was approved for use by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration, when the general population had access only to a limited supply of Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and lower efficacy CoronaVac vaccines from Sinovac.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Militant groups decry the ties between President Duterte and China over the Chinese occupation of contested waters and the reported harassment of the fishermen amidst the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Also, while the United States is one of the countries critical to Philippine drug war campaign, most of the militant groups – particularly left-wing groups – also criticize Philippine-US relations due to the United States' "imperialism" and neoliberal policies.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte's tax reform program has garnered both support and criticism. Critics have argued that the administration's tax policy would burden the poor. The implementation of the TRAIN Law triggered protests from various left-wing groups. On January 15, protesters gathered at various public market sites, calling for the revocation of TRAIN. However, proponents of the program cite its appeal to foreign investors and economic benefits as the main reasons behind tax reform.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte's records on human rights and his long history of comments that have widely been considered to be offensive, provocative, threatening, and undiplomatic have received sharp international criticism. He has been portrayed by his critics in the media as having a "dirty mouth". He had, however, promised to behave in a "prim and proper" manner on the national and international stage once he was to be inaugurated as president, to the point that, "almost, I would become holy."


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Throughout his presidency, Duterte has made controversial comments about rape, human rights, his views on media killings, and has used slurs; he has also made controversial statements to international leaders and institutions. He has also repeatedly criticized the Catholic Church which has expressed alarm over deaths linked to the war on drugs.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: In an earlier June 8 interview with Pastor Apollo Quiboloy on SMNI News Channel, Duterte stated that he "sees nobody deserving" to replace him as next Philippine President, but that he would either remain neutral or endorse a candidate. In June 2021, Duterte stated he may run in the 2022 Philippine presidential election as Vice President.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Critics raised the possibility of Duterte extending his term after he announced his candidacy for vice president. The PDP–Laban Cusi faction fielded former Philippine National Police chief and Senator Ronald dela Rosa as president, who was widely suspected to be a placeholder for Duterte's daughter, Davao City mayor Sara Duterte. On October 2, 2021, Duterte withdrew his candidacy and announced his retirement from politics, with long-time aide and Senator Bong Go replacing him as the vice presidential candidate.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: On November 13, 2021, hours after Sara unexpectedly decided instead to run as vice president under the Lakas–CMD party, dela Rosa withdrew and was replaced by Go. Duterte later backtracked on his planned retirement and announced his plan to run for vice president as an expression of dismay for Sara's decision to settle for the vice presidential race when polls showed she was the preferred candidate for presidency. He later withdrew after deciding not to face his daughter in the vice presidential race, and instead announced his intent on running as senator, while endorsing a Go–Sara tandem.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Sara, however, decided to run in tandem with Bongbong Marcos, who announced his presidential candidacy. Go expressed his disinterest in the presidential position and said his heart and mind contradicted his actions. On December 14, 2021, hours after Go withdrew his candidacy for president, Duterte officially withdrew his senate bid.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte remained influential before the national elections as several presidential candidates were open to his endorsement due to his high popularity. Allies of Duterte endorsed different candidates after the Cusi faction was left without a standard bearer following Go's withdrawal. The PDP–Laban Cusi faction endorsed presidential candidate Marcos, with some officials calling for Duterte to do the same. Duterte, however, insisted on endorsing only Sara as vice president and 17 senatorial candidates, and stressed that he will remain neutral, deciding not to endorse any presidential bet and prohibiting his Cabinet members from campaigning for any candidate to avoid suspicion that he will use public funds for his preferred successor's campaign and to prevent cabinet members from compromising their integrity. Duterte said the next president should be decisive, compassionate, a good judge of a person, and preferably, a lawyer, which a PDP–Laban official interpreted as a "virtual endorsement" for his rival, Vice President Leni Robredo, who also decided to run for president. In March 2022, Go said Duterte briefly met with Marcos and gave him advice on the presidency, but could not say whether Duterte gave Marcos an endorsement.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: On May 5, 2022, Duterte created a transition committee led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to oversee the transition of power to the next administration. According to analysts, Duterte's popularity was "inherited" by Marcos and Sara, who both won landslides in the election.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Ardent supporters of Duterte have been labeled as "Diehard Duterte Supporters", alternatively known as "Digong Duterte Supporters", which shares the acronym with the Davao Death Squad (DDS). This label has been applied to the 16 million people who voted for him in the 2016 presidential election.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte developed a reputation as a "protector" and "savior" in his hometown of Davao City as mayor of the city for more than two decades. This is despite reports of death squads in the city.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte has been described as a populist, with his foul-mouthed remarks against the country's elite which positioned him as a "man of the people" as critical to his victory in the 2016 presidential election. He has also been compared to U.S. President Donald Trump for his rhetorical style.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Throughout his career, Duterte's remained hugely popular, attributed to his man-of-the-people style and a perception of strong leadership and success in fighting crime and corruption, while opponents reproach him for his authoritarian style and low tolerance of dissent. Analysts attribute his continued popularity to his emotional connection to the public, citing his charisma and humor, tough-talking manner, his image as a father figure as "Tatay Digong" (Father Digong), and Filipinos' general interest in strong leaders.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: A Social Weather Stations study concluded that there are multiple reasons for Duterte's high satisfaction ratings in surveys; these include his strong base support, satisfaction with the administration's overall governance ("pamamalakad") and with some policy issues which include helping the poor and the drug war, and his character. Poll respondents who relate to or are attracted to some aspects of his character, such as his perceived decisiveness and diligence tend to be satisfied. On the other hand, those who feel he is vulgar ("bastos") tend to be less satisfied.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Several other Facebook groups with the acronym "DDS" supported Duterte as early as 2011. Among these groups is the Duterte Defense Squad, which was created on July 5, 2011. Other examples include Digong Duterte Supporters-Registered Nurses Group, Duterte's Destiny is to Serve the Country, Digong Duterte Swerte (lit. Digong Duterte is (Good) Luck), and Davsur Duterte Supporters. In 2015, members of the various groups urged Duterte to run for president.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte's approval rating has been relatively high throughout his presidency despite criticism and international opposition to his anti-narcotics drive. Two weeks into Duterte's presidency, on July 13, 2016, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) conducted the first survey on his presidency since his inauguration on June 30, where Duterte received an "excellent" trust rating of 79% among 1,200 adults nationwide. A week later, on July 20, Pulse Asia released a poll conducted on July 2–8 showing 91% of Filipinos trust Duterte, making him the most trusted official in the Philippines since 1999. Duterte's net satisfaction rating plunged to its lowest at 45% in July 2018, which recovered to 54% in September 2018, and 60% in December 2018.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte finished the first half of his six-year term with a record net satisfaction rating of 68%. An SWS survey conducted in April 2019 puts Duterte's approval ratings at 79%, higher than any of his predecessors at this stage in their presidencies. Duterte earned an approval rating of 87% on a December 2019 survey conducted by Pulse Asia; this is credited to poverty reduction and the general success in hosting the 2019 SEA Games.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a Pulse Asia September 2020 "" ("Report to the Nation Survey"), showed that 84% of Filipinos approve of the government's work to control the spread of the coronavirus disease and the government efforts in assisting those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic; the same survey showed that 92% of survey respondents said that Duterte has "done well" in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Duterte's approval rating rose to 60% in December 2021 higher than the 52% rating in September 2021, and slightly lower than the 62% rating in June 2021; the survey also noted higher net satisfaction among those vaccinated and those willing to get vaccinated.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte retained his high approval and trust ratings toward the end of his term, according to a PUBLiCUS Asia survey conducted between March 30 to April 6, 2022; the survey showed 67.2% of the 1,500 respondents approved of Duterte's performance over the past 12 months, while only 15.2% disapproved. Another survey conducted in 2021 by WR Numero Research revealed that 54.59% of voters want soft continuity of the Duterte's policies, 29.57% want full continuity, while only 15.84% preferred change.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte left office with his highest net satisfaction rating of 81%, according to an SWS survey held between June 26 to 29, 2022. A nationwide survey of 1,500 respondents conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia between June 16 to 22, during Duterte's last month in office, revealed that Duterte is the most popular post-EDSA president, receiving 75% approval of his performance during his six-year tenure, while only 10% expressed disapproval.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte described himself as left-leaning during his campaign and presidency, but has stressed that he is for democracy and is not a communist.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: He was once a member of the leftist Kabataang Makabayan during the 1970s. He himself is a student of prominent Philippine leftist figure and founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Jose Maria Sison. However, his relationship with the communists deteriorated during his presidency due to continued rebel attacks on soldiers despite the peace talks.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte is known for being an avid fan of big bikes, but detests luxury cars. He once owned a second-hand Harley-Davidson and a Yamaha Virago. He was once a habitual smoker, but he eventually quit after a doctor's suggestion due to health concerns. Duterte is an avid reader of Robert Ludlum and Sidney Sheldon novels. Duterte is also known for his straightforward and vocal attitude in public, especially in interviews, showing no hesitation in profusely using profanity live on-screen on numerous occasions despite formal requests by media groups and schools beforehand to abstain.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte has his own local show in Davao City called "Gikan Sa Masa, Para Sa Masa" ("From the Masses, For the Masses"), which is aired as a blocktimer on ABS-CBN Davao. He is also a member of Lex Talionis Fraternitas, a fraternity based in the San Beda College of Law and the Ateneo de Davao University.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: While criticizing political opponent Antonio Trillanes in a 2019 speech, Duterte said that he was once gay but had "cured himself" before meeting his partner Zimmerman.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte was once married to Elizabeth Abellana Zimmerman, a flight attendant of Jewish and German American descent from Davao City. She traces her roots in Tuburan, Cebu. They together have three children (from eldest to youngest): Paolo ("Pulong"), Sara ("Inday Sara") and Sebastian ("Baste"). Paolo and Sara entered politics while Baste, with no interest in politics, concentrated on business and surfing but eventually ran and won as Davao City Vice Mayor in 2019. Duterte's father, Vicente, died in 1968 while his mother, Soledad, died on February 4, 2012, at the age of 95. Zimmerman was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2015.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte has been publicly very open about his infidelity and philandering while married to Zimmerman and cited it as the reason for his failed first marriage when asked in interviews. In 1998, Zimmerman filed a petition in the Regional Trial Court in Pasig to nullify her marriage. Duterte never appeared in court and did not contest Zimmerman's petition. Two years later, the court decided in her favor, ending the 27-year marriage of Duterte and Zimmerman. Duterte and Zimmerman have been on good terms in recent years with Zimmerman stating, "Yes, [Rodrigo] is really a very good leader. That is all he is. But when it comes to family, he is not capable of taking care of it." In 2001, Zimmerman eventually ran for a seat on the city council but lost. Duterte and Zimmerman are said to have patched things up and appear to be civil to each other, 15 years after their marriage was declared null and void. Zimmerman eventually joined the campaign trail for Duterte's presidential candidacy in early 2016 called "Byaheng Du30" in which she would travel by bus to major cities together with her daughter Sara and a number of delegates.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte is currently living with his common-law wife Cielito "Honeylet" Avanceña, a nurse, with whom he has one daughter named Veronica ("Kitty"). Duterte has eleven grandchildren, half of whom are Muslims and the other half Christian, and one great grandchild.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: On his paternal side, he shares familial ties with some of the prominent families of the Visayas, particularly the Almendrases and Duranos of Danao, Cebu.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Despite being raised as a communicant of the Catholic Church, on January 19, 2016, while meeting with businessmen in Binondo, Manila, Duterte clarified that he has not attended Mass for quite some time already since he deemed it incompatible with his mayoral responsibilities: "If I listened to the Ten Commandments or to the priests," said Duterte, "I would not be able to do anything as a mayor." He then clarified that he still believed in God, but not in religion. On June 26, 2016, Duterte said he is Christian, but also said that he believes "in one God Allah". Later, he challenged the Catholic Church to show evidence of the existence of God, while claiming he is neither an atheist nor an agnostic but happens "to be a human being believing in that there's a universal mind somewhere which controls the universe". He has also called God "stupid".


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: In July 2018, he called himself "spiritual" and expressed his belief in "one Supreme God", but stated he "can't accept" Catholicism or organized religion. In 2019, he was quoted as saying: "a part of me which is Islam".


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte has Buerger's disease, an inflammation of blood vessels, mostly in the limbs, and Barrett's esophagus, wherein esophageal cells are gradually replaced by gastrointestinal cells. He has denied rumors of throat cancer.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte admitted in December 2016 that he had been a user of the addictive opioid drug Fentanyl. He said that a doctor prescribed the drug to alleviate back pain and headaches, but that he would take more than he was prescribed. Fentanyl is described by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse as "a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent". Duterte later denied that he was a drug addict, and a spokesman stated that he was not affected by side-effects of the drug, which include confusion, anxiety and hallucinations.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte has boasted about his use of Viagra: "When I was young, I could do overnight, which is more expensive. When I got old, I could do short time only because I have such a short time left. After one erection, that's it. No more. Without Viagra, it's even more difficult."


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: A psychological assessment of Duterte was commissioned by Dr. Natividad Dayan during Duterte's marriage annulment to Elizabeth Zimmerman in July 1998. The result was that Duterte (then Davao City mayor) was found to have "antisocial narcissistic personality disorder", exemplified by "gross indifference, insensitivity and self-centeredness", and a "grandiose sense of self-entitlement and manipulative behaviours". According to the assessment, he had a "pervasive tendency to demean, humiliate others and violate their rights and feelings", and was "unable to reflect on the consequences of his actions."


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: In a speech to the Filipino community in Russia, Duterte revealed that he has myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease, which makes his eye droop.


title: Rodrigo Duterte

text: Duterte was conferred an honorary doctorate degree for international relations or foreign diplomacy from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on October 5, 2019.


title: Cars (film)

text: Cars is a 2006 American computer-animated sports comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by John Lasseter from a screenplay by Dan Fogelman, Lasseter, Joe Ranft, Kiel Murray, Phil Lorin, and Jorgen Klubien and a story by Lasseter, Ranft, and Klubien, and was the final film independently produced by Pixar after its purchase by Disney in January 2006. The film features an ensemble voice cast of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman (in his final voice acting theatrical film role), Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis, Guido Quaroni, Michael Keaton, Katherine Helmond, John Ratzenberger and Richard Petty, while race car


title: Cars (film)

text: drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. (as "Junior"), Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher and car enthusiast Jay Leno (as "Jay Limo") voice themselves. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic talking cars and other vehicles, it follows a hotshot rookie race car named Lightning McQueen (Wilson) who, on the way to the biggest race of his life, gets stranded in Radiator Springs, a run down town, and learns a thing or two about friendship, family, and the things in life that are truly worth waiting for.


title: Cars (film)

text: Development for "Cars" started in 1998, after finishing the production of "A Bug's Life", with a new script titled "The Yellow Car", which was about an electric car living in a gas-guzzling world with Jorgen Klubien began writing. It was announced that the producers agreed that it could be the next Pixar film after "A Bug's Life", which scheduled for early 1999, particularly around June 4; the idea was later scrapped in favor of "Toy Story 2". Shortly after, the production was resumed with major script changes. The film was inspired by Lasseter's experiences cross-country road trip. Randy Newman compose the film's score with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley contributing tracks for the film.


title: Cars (film)

text: "Cars" premiered on May 26, 2006, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and was theatrically released in the United States on June 9, to generally positive reviews and also received commercial success, grossing $462 million worldwide against a budget of $120 million. It was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Animated Feature, but lost to "Happy Feet" (but won both the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film). The film was released on DVD on November 7, 2006, and on Blu-ray in 2007. The film was accompanied by the short "One Man Band" for its theatrical and home media releases. The film was dedicated to Joe Ranft, the film's co-director and co-writer, who died in a car crash during the film's production.


title: Cars (film)

text: The success of "Cars" launched a multimedia franchise and a series of two sequels produced by Pixar and two spin-offs produced by Disneytoon Studios, starting with "Cars 2" (2011).


title: Cars (film)

text: In a world populated by anthropomorphic vehicles, the Dinoco 400, the final race of the Piston Cup racing season begins a rivalry between seven-time champion Strip "The King" Weathers who is looking to win his eighth Piston Cup before retirement, consistent runner-up Chick Hicks who has resorted to forced crashes to get ahead, and talented but arrogant rookie Lightning McQueen. At the back of the field, Lightning avoids a multi-car crash deliberately caused by Chick. While the other cars pit for new tires, he stays out to take the lead, which backfires when his rear tires blow out on the last lap. Chick and The King catch up, resulting in a three-way tie for first place; the tiebreaker race is scheduled for the following week at the Los Angeles International Speedway to determine the champion. Lightning is desperate to win the race, not only to be the first rookie to win the Piston Cup, but also because it would allow him to leave the unglamorous sponsorship of Rust-eze, a bumper ointment company, and take The King's place on the prestigious Dinoco team. However, he struggles to work with others due to his selfishness, which has caused him to fire three crew chiefs and have his pit crew quit after the race.


title: Cars (film)

text: Eager to get to California as soon as possible, Lightning pushes his transporter, Mack, to drive through the night. While Lightning is sleeping, Mack nods off and is startled awake by a gang of delinquent tuner cars, causing Lightning to fall out the back of the trailer and onto the road. Lightning wakes up in the middle of traffic and speeds off the highway in search of Mack. Instead, he ends up in the rundown desert town of Radiator Springs, where he is chased by the town Sheriff and inadvertently damages the pavement of the main road. The next day, Lightning is ordered by the town judge and medical doctor, Doc Hudson, to leave town immediately upon seeing that he is a race car, but the local lawyer, Sally, requests that Lightning should instead be assigned community service to repave the road by a machine, to which Doc reluctantly agrees to. Desperate to get to California, Lightning repaves the road shoddily in a rush to leave. However, Doc is unsatisfied, and he challenges Lightning to a race on the condition that if he wins, he can leave; Lightning spins out on a turn and crashes into a cactus patch, losing and being forced to restart on the road.


title: Cars (film)

text: During this time, Lightning begins to warm up to the town and befriends several of its residents, notably going "tractor tipping" with rusty tow truck Mater and becoming his best friend. He also bonds romantically with Sally, who gave up luxury in Los Angeles to live in Radiator Springs and now dreams of putting the town back on the map. Lightning then learns how Radiator Springs was once a popular stop along U.S. Route 66 until it was bypassed with the construction of Interstate 40 and mostly forgotten, and that Doc was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a three-time Piston Cup champion whose career ended after a devastating crash in 1954. He eventually repairs the road and decides to spend an extra day in Radiator Springs helping the local businesses. However, Doc alerts the media of Lightning's whereabouts, leading them and Mack to descend on the town and forcing Lightning to leave in time for the race. Doc quickly regrets his actions after seeing the residents despondent by his departure.


title: Cars (film)

text: At the race, as he couldn't say goodbye to his new friends, Lightning races distractedly and ends up one lap behind. He is then surprised to discover that Doc, after a change of heart, has taken over as his crew chief, and most friends from Radiator Springs are helping in the pit. Inspired and recalling tricks he learned from Doc and his friends, Lightning manages to recover and vaults into the lead. On the final lap, Chick performs a PIT maneuver and sends The King into a dangerous crash. Not wanting The King's career to end the same way as Doc's, Lightning stops just short of the finish line and drives back to push The King over the line so he can finish his last race, allowing Chick to win the race and the Piston Cup. As a result, the crowd and media angrily condemn Chick's victory but praise Lightning's sportsmanship. Lightning is offered the Dinoco sponsorship, but he declines and stays with Rust-eze out of loyalty for their past support. Back at Radiator Springs, Lightning reunites with Sally and announces that he will be setting up his racing headquarters there, finally putting the town back on the map.


title: Cars (film)

text: In a post-credits scene, Minny and Van, a couple trying to find the Interstate, are shown lost in the middle of the desert.


title: Cars (film)

text: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Dave Foley and John Ratzenberger reprise their vocal roles from previous Pixar films during an end-credits sequence featuring automobile spoofs of "Toy Story", "Monsters, Inc.", and "A Bug's Life". "Cars" was the final Pixar film worked on by Joe Ranft who died in a crash a year before the film's release, aged 45. The film was the second to be dedicated to his memory, after "Corpse Bride". The memorial showed the roles he had done in the other films directed by John Lasseter during the credits. This is also the last (non-documentary) movie for Paul Newman before his retirement in 2007 and his death in 2008. It turned out to be the highest-grossing film of his career.


title: Cars (film)

text: The development of "Cars" began in 1998, when Pixar finished production of "A Bug's Life". At that time, Jorgen Klubien began writing a new script called "The Yellow Car", which was about an electric car living in a gas-guzzling world inspired by "The Ugly Duckling", an idea triggered by the poor reception his fellow countrymen gave the Mini-El car. Some of the original drawings and characters were developed in 1998 and the producers agreed that "Cars" could be the next Pixar film after "A Bug's Life" and be released in early 1999, particularly around June 4. However, the idea was scrapped in favor of "Toy Story 2". Later, production resumed with major script changes, like giving Mater, Doc and a few other characters bigger parts.


title: Cars (film)

text: John Lasseter said that inspiration for the film's story came after he took a cross-country road trip with his wife and five sons in 2000. When he returned to the studio after vacation, he contacted Michael Wallis, a Route 66 historian. Wallis then led eleven Pixar animators in rented white Cadillacs on two different road trips across the route to research the film. In 2001, the film's working title was "Route 66" (after U.S. Route 66), but the title was changed to "Cars" in order to avoid confusion with the 1960s television series of the same name. In addition, Lightning McQueen's racing number was originally going to be 57 (a reference to 1957, Lasseter's birth year), but was changed to 95 (a reference to 1995, the year Pixar's first film "Toy Story" was released).


title: Cars (film)

text: In 2006, Lasseter spoke about the inspiration for the film, saying: "I have always loved cars. In one vein, I have Disney blood, and in the other, there's motor oil. The notion of combining these two great passions in my life—cars and animation—was irresistible. When Joe (Ranft) and I first started talking about this film in 1998, we knew we wanted to do something with cars as characters. Around that same time, we watched a documentary called 'Divided Highways,' which dealt with the interstate highway and how it affected the small towns along the way. We were so moved by it and began thinking about what it must have been like in these small towns that got bypassed. That's when we started really researching Route 66, but we still hadn't quite figured out what the story for the film was going to be. I used to travel that highway with my family as a child when we visited our family in St. Louis."


title: Cars (film)

text: Years later in 2013, Klubien said the film was both his best and most bitter experience because he was fired before it premiered and because he feels Lasseter wrote him out of the story of how the film got made.


title: Cars (film)

text: For the cars themselves, Lasseter also visited the design studios of the Big Three Detroit automakers, particularly J Mays of Ford Motor Company. Lasseter learned how real cars were designed.


title: Cars (film)

text: In 2006, Lasseter spoke about how they worked hard to make the animation believable, saying: "It took many months of trial and error, and practicing test animation, to figure out how each car moves and how their world works. Our supervising animators, Doug Sweetland and Scott Clark, and the directing animators, Bobby Podesta and James Ford Murphy, did an amazing job working with the animation team to determine the unique movements for each character based on its age and the type of car it was. Some cars are like sports cars and they're much tighter in their suspension. Others are older '50s cars that are a lot looser and have more bounce to them. We wanted to get that authenticity in there but also to make sure each car had a unique personality. We also wanted each animator to be able to put some of themself in the character and give it their own spin. Every day in dailies, it was so much fun because we would see things that we had never seen in our lives. The world of cars came alive in a believable and unexpected way."


title: Cars (film)

text: Unlike most anthropomorphic cars, the eyes of the cars in this film were placed on the windshield (which resembles the Tonka Talking Trucks, the characters from Tex Avery's "One Cab's Family" short and Disney's own "Susie the Little Blue Coupe"), rather than within the headlights. According to production designer Bob Pauley, "From the very beginning of this project, John Lasseter had it in his mind to have the eyes be in the windshield. For one thing, it separates our characters from the more common approach where you have little cartoon eyes in the headlights. For another, he thought that having the eyes down near the mouth at the front end of the car feels more like a snake. With the eyes set in the windshield, the point of view is more human-like, and made it feel like the whole car could be involved in the animation of the character. This decision was heavily criticized by automotive blog Jalopnik.


title: Cars (film)

text: In 2006, the supervising animator of the film, Scott Clark, spoke about the challenges of animating car characters, saying: "Getting a full range of performance and emotion from these characters and making them still seem like cars was a tough assignment, but that's what animation does best. You use your imagination, and you make the movements and gestures fit with the design. Our car characters may not have arms and legs, but we can lean the tires in or out to suggest hands opening up or closing in. We can use steering to point a certain direction. We also designed a special eyelid and an eyebrow for the windshield that lets us communicate an expressiveness that cars don't have." Doug Sweetland, who also served as supervising animator, also spoke about the challenges, saying: "It took a different kind of animator to really be able to interpret the "Cars" models, than it did to interpret something like "The Incredibles" models. With "The Incredibles", the animator could get reference for the characters by shooting himself and watching the footage. But with "Cars", it departs completely from any reference. Yes they're cars, but no car can do what our characters do. It's pure fantasy. It took a lot of trial and error to get them to look right."


title: Cars (film)

text: Lasseter also explained that the film started with pencil and paper designs, saying: "Truth to materials. Starting with pencil-and-paper designs from production designer Bob Pauley, and continuing through the modeling, articulation, and shading of the characters, and finally into animation, the production team worked hard to have the car characters remain true to their origins." Character department manager Jay Ward also explained how they wanted the cars to look as realistic as possible, saying: "John didn't want the cars to seem clay-like or mushy. He insisted on truth to materials. This was a huge thing for him. He told us that steel needs to feel like steel. Glass should feel like glass. These cars need to feel heavy. They weigh three or four thousand pounds. When they move around, they need to have that feel. They shouldn't appear light or overly bouncy to the point where the audience might see them as rubber toys." According to directing animator James Ford Murphy, "Originally, the car models were built so they could basically do anything. John kept reminding us that these characters are made of metal and they weigh several thousand pounds. They can't stretch. He showed us examples of very loose animation to illustrate what not to do."


title: Cars (film)

text: Character shading supervisor on the film Thomas Jordan explained that chrome and car paint were the main challenges on the film, saying: "Chrome and car paint were our two main challenges on this film. We started out by learning as much as we could. At the local body shop, we watched them paint a car, and we saw the way they mixed the paint and applied the various coats. We tried to dissect what goes into the real paint and recreated it in the computer. We figured out that we needed a base paint, which is where the color comes from, and the clearcoat, which provides the reflection. We were then able to add in things like metallic flake to give it a glittery sparkle, a pearlescent quality that might change color depending on the angle, and even a layer of pin-striping for characters like Ramone." Supervising technical director on the film Eben Ostby explained that the biggest challenge for the technical team was creating the metallic and painted surfaces of the car characters, and the reflections that those surfaces generate, saying: "Given that the stars of our film are made of metal, John had a real desire to see realistic reflections, and more beautiful lighting than we've seen in any of our previous films. In the past, we've mostly used environment maps and other matte-based technology to cheat reflections, but for "Cars" we added a ray-tracing capability to our existing Renderman program to raise the bar for Pixar."


title: Cars (film)

text: Rendering lead Jessica McMackin spoke about the use of ray tracing on the film, saying: "In addition to creating accurate reflections, we used ray tracing to achieve other effects. We were able to use this approach to create accurate shadows, like when there are multiple light sources and you want to get a feathering of shadows at the edges. Or occlusion, which is the absence of ambient light between two surfaces, like a crease in a shirt. A fourth use is irradiance. An example of this would be if you had a piece of red paper and held it up to a white wall, the light would be colored by the paper and cast a red glow on the wall." Character supervisor Tim Milliron explained that the film uses a ground–locking system that kept the cars firmly planted on the road, saying: "The ground-locking system is one of the things I'm most proud of on this film. In the past, characters have never known about their environment in any way. A simulation pass was required if you wanted to make something like that happen. On "Cars", this system is built into the models themselves, and as you move the car around, the vehicle sticks to the ground. It was one of those things that we do at Pixar where we knew going in that it had to be done, but we had no idea how to do it."


title: Cars (film)

text: Technical director Lisa Forsell explained that to enhance the richness and beauty of the desert landscapes surrounding Radiator Springs, the filmmakers created a department responsible for matte paintings and sky flats, saying: "Digital matte paintings are a way to get a lot of visual complexity without necessarily having to build complex geometry, and write complex shaders. We spent a lot time working on the clouds and their different formations. They tend to be on several layers and they move relative to each other. The clouds do in fact have some character and personality. The notion was that just as people see themselves in the clouds, cars see various car-shaped clouds. It's subtle, but there are definitely some that are shaped like a sedan. And if you look closely, you'll see some that look like tire treads. The fact that so much attention is put on the skies speaks to the visual level of the film. Is there a story point? Not really. There is no pixel on the screen that does not have an extraordinary level of scrutiny and care applied to it. There is nothing that is just throw-away."


title: Cars (film)

text: Computers used in the development of the film were four times faster than those used in "The Incredibles" and 1,000 times faster than those used in "Toy Story". To build the cars, the animators used computer platforms similar to those used in the design of real-world automobiles.


title: Cars (film)

text: The "Cars" soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on June 6, 2006. Nine tracks on the soundtrack are by popular artists, while the remaining eleven are score cues by Randy Newman. It has two versions of the classic Bobby Troup jazz standard "Route 66" (popularized by Nat King Cole), one by Chuck Berry and a new version recorded specifically for the film's credits performed by John Mayer. Brad Paisley contributed two of the nine tracks to the album, one being "Find Yourself" used for the end credits.


title: Cars (film)

text: "Cars" was originally going to be released on November 4, 2005, but on December 7, 2004, its release date was moved to June 9, 2006. Analysts looked at the release date change as a sign from Pixar that they were preparing for the pending end of the Disney distribution contract by either preparing non-Disney materials to present to other studios or they were buying time to see what happened with Michael Eisner's situation at Disney. When Pixar's chief executive Steve Jobs made the release date announcement, he stated that the reasoning was due to wanting to put all Pixar films on a summer release schedule with DVD sales occurring during the holiday shopping season.


title: Cars (film)

text: "Cars" was released on DVD, in wide- and full-screen editions, on November 7, 2006, in the United States and Canada. This DVD was also released on October 25, 2006, in Australia and New Zealand and on November 27, 2006, in the United Kingdom. The release includes the DVD-exclusive short film "Mater and the Ghostlight" and the film's theatrical short "One Man Band" as well as a 16-minute-long documentary about the film entitled "Inspiration for Cars", which features director John Lasseter. This THX certified release also features an Easter egg in the main menu, which is a 45-second clip showing a "Cars" version of "Boundin'". A VHS was released on February 19, 2007, to members of Disney's home video clubs.


title: Cars (film)

text: According to the Walt Disney Company, fivemillion copies of the DVD were sold the first two days it was available. The first week, it sold 6,250,856 units and 15,370,791 in total ($246,198,859). Unlike previous Pixar DVD releases, there is no two-disc special edition, and no plans to release one in the future. According to Sara Maher, DVD Production Manager at Pixar, John Lasseter and Pixar were preoccupied with productions like "Ratatouille".


title: Cars (film)

text: In the US and Canada, there were bonus discs available with the purchase of the film at Wal-Mart and at Target. The former featured a "Geared-Up Bonus DVD Disc" that focused on the music of the film, including the music video to "Life Is A Highway", "The Making of "Life Is A Highway"", "Cars: The Making of the Music", and "Under The Hood", a special that originally aired on the ABC Family cable channel. The latter's bonus was a "Rev'd Up DVD Disc" that featured material mostly already released as part of the official "Cars" podcast and focused on the inspiration and production of the movie.


title: Cars (film)

text: "Cars" was also released on Blu-ray Disc on November 6, 2007, one year after the DVD release. It was the first Pixar film to be released on Blu-ray (alongside "Ratatouille" and "Pixar Short Films Collection, Volume 1"), and was re-released as a Blu-ray Disc and DVD combo pack and DVD only edition in April 2011. The film was released for the first time in 3D on October 29, 2013, as part of "Cars: Ultimate Collector's Edition", which included the releases on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD.


title: Cars (film)

text: In its opening weekend, "Cars" earned $60 million in 3,985 theaters in the United States, ranking number one at the box office. For three years, it would hold the record for having the highest opening weekend for any car-oriented film until it was surpassed by "Fast & Furious" in 2009. In the United States, the film held onto the number one spot for two weeks before being surpassed by "Click" and then by "Superman Returns" the following weekend. The film then earned $33.7 million during its second weekend while competing against "" and "Nacho Libre". Later on, "Cars" would team up with another Disney film, "", which was released a month later. Around this time, it had approached the $200 million mark, becoming the third film of the year to do so, following "" and "The Da Vinci Code". It went on to gross $462 million worldwide and $244 million in the United States. "Cars" was the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2006, behind "".


title: Cars (film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, ""Cars" offers visual treats that more than compensate for its somewhat thinly written story, adding up to a satisfying diversion for younger viewers." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 39 critics reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Cars (film)

text: William Arnold of the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" praised it as "one of Pixar's most imaginative and thoroughly appealing movies ever" and Lisa Schwarzbaum of "Entertainment Weekly" called it "a work of American art as classic as it is modern." Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film three out of four stars, saying that it "tells a bright and cheery story, and then has a little something profound lurking around the edges. In this case, it's a sense of loss." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "Fueled with plenty of humor, action, heartfelt drama, and amazing new technical feats, "Cars" is a high octane delight for moviegoers of all ages." Richard Corliss of "Time" gave the film a positive review, saying "Existing both in turbo-charged today and the gentler '50s, straddling the realms of Pixar styling and old Disney heart, this new-model "Cars" is an instant classic." Brian Lowry of "Variety" gave the film a negative review, saying "Despite representing another impressive technical achievement, it's the least visually interesting of the computer-animation boutique's movies, and -- in an ironic twist for a story about auto racing -- drifts slowly through its semi-arid midsection." Robert Wilonsky of "The Village Voice" gave the film a positive review, saying "What ultimately redeems "Cars" from turning out a total lemon is its soul. Lasseter loves these animated inanimate objects as though they were kin, and it shows in every beautifully rendered frame." Ella Taylor of "L.A. Weekly" gave the film a positive review, saying ""Cars" cheerfully hitches cutting-edge animation to a folksy narrative plugging friendship, community and a Luddite mistrust of high tech."


title: Cars (film)

text: Gene Seymour of "Newsday" gave the film three out of four stars, saying "And as pop flies go, "Cars" is pretty to watch, even as it loops, drifts and, at times, looks as if it's just hanging in midair." Colin Covert of the "Star Tribune" gave the film a positive review, saying "It takes everything that's made Pixar shorthand for animation excellence -- strong characters, tight pacing, spot-on voice casting, a warm sense of humor and visuals that are pure, pixilated bliss -- and carries them to the next stage." Kenneth Turan of the "Los Angeles Times" gave the film four out of five stars, saying "What's surprising about this supremely engaging film is the source of its curb appeal: It has heart." Stephen Hunter of "The Washington Post" gave the film a positive review, saying "It's the latest concoction from the geniuses at Pixar, probably the most inventive of the Computer Generated Imagery shop -- and the film's great fun, if well under the level of the first "Toy Story"." Jessica Reaves of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "While it's a technically perfect movie, its tone is too manic, its characters too jaded and, in the end, its story too empty to stand up to expectations." James Berardinelli of "ReelViews" gave the film three out of four stars, saying "While "Cars" may cross the finish line ahead of any of 2006's other animated films, it's several laps behind its Pixar siblings." Lisa Kennedy of "The Denver Post" gave the film three out of four stars, saying ""Cars" idles at times. And it's not until its final laps that the movie gains the emotional traction we've come to expect from the "Toy Story" and Nemo crews." Amy Biancolli of the "Houston Chronicle" gave the film three out of four stars, saying "It thunders ahead with breezy abandon, scoring big grins on its way."


title: Cars (film)

text: Claudia Puig of "USA Today" gave the film a positive review, saying "The animation is stunningly rendered. But the story is always the critical element in Pixar movies, and "Cars"' story is heartfelt with a clear and unabashed moral." David Edelstein of "New York Magazine" gave the film a positive review, saying "Like the "Toy Story" films, "Cars" is a state-of-the-computer-art plea on behalf of outmoded, wholesome fifties technology, with a dash of Zen by way of George Lucas." Moira MacDonald of "The Seattle Times" gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "Though the central idea of nostalgia for a quieter, small-town life may well be lost on this movie's young audience -- "Cars" finds a pleasant and often sparkling groove." Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle" gave the film two out of five stars, saying ""Cars" might get us into car world as a gimmick, but it doesn't get us into car world as a state of mind. Thus, the animation, rather than seeming like an expression of the movie's deeper truth, becomes an impediment to it." Derek Adams of "Time Out" gave the film a positive review, saying "There are many other brilliant scenes, some just as funny but there are just as many occasions where you feel the film's struggling to fire on all cylinders. Still, it's a Pixar film, right? And they're always worth a gander no matter what anyone says."


title: Cars (film)

text: "Cars" had a highly successful run during the 2006 awards season. Many film critic associations such as the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review named it the best Animated Feature Film of 2006. "Cars" also received the title of Best Reviewed Animated Feature of 2006 from Rotten Tomatoes. Randy Newman and James Taylor received a Grammy Award for the song "Our Town," which later went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song (an award it lost to "I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth"). The film also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature alongside "Monster House", but both films lost to "Happy Feet". "Cars" was also selected as the Favorite Family Movie at the 33rd People's Choice Awards. The most prestigious award that "Cars" received was the inaugural Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. "Cars" also won the highest award for animation in 2006, the Best Animated Feature Annie Award. In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated this film for its Top 10 Animation Films list.


title: Cars (film)

text: A video game of the same name was released on June 6, 2006, for Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Xbox. It was also released on October 23, 2006, for Xbox 360 and November 16, 2006, for Wii. Much like the film, the video game got mainly positive reviews. GameSpot gave 7.0 out of 10 for Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 2 versions, 7.6 out of 10 for the GameCube and Xbox versions, and 7.4 out of 10 for the PSP version. Metacritic gave 65 out of 100 for the Wii version, 54 out of 100 for the DS version, 73 out of 100 for the PC version, 71 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version, and 70 out of 100 for the PSP version.


title: Cars (film)

text: Marco Aurélio Canônico of "Folha de S.Paulo" described "The Little Cars" series ("Os Carrinhos" in Portuguese), a Brazilian computer graphics film series by Vídeo Brinquedo, as a derivative of "Cars". Canônico discussed whether lawsuits from Pixar would appear. The Brazilian Ministry of Culture posted Marcus Aurelius Canônico's article on its website.


title: Cars (film)

text: It has also been noted that the plot of "Cars" mirrors that of "Doc Hollywood", a 1991 romantic comedy which stars Michael J. Fox as a hotshot young doctor who eventually acquires an appreciation for small town values and falls in love with a local law student as result of being sentenced to work at the town hospital after causing a traffic collision in a small town. Some have gone so far as to say that the makers of "Cars" plagiarized the script of "Doc Hollywood".


title: Cars (film)

text: The first sequel, titled "Cars 2", was released on June 24, 2011. It was directed again by John Lasseter, who was inspired for the film while traveling around the world promoting the first film. In the sequel, Lightning McQueen and Mater head to Japan and Europe to compete in the World Grand Prix, but Mater becomes sidetracked with international espionage.


title: Cars (film)

text: The second sequel, titled "Cars 3", was released on June 16, 2017. Directed by Brian Fee, the film focuses on Lightning McQueen, now a veteran racer, who after being overshadowed by a new wave of rookies, gets help from a young race car, Cruz Ramirez, to instruct him for the increasingly high-tech world and defeat new rival Jackson Storm.


title: Cars (film)

text: An animated feature film spin-off called "Planes", produced by DisneyToon Studios, was released on August 9, 2013. A sequel to "Planes", titled "", was released on July 18, 2014.


title: Cars (film)

text: "Cars" has also spawned a television series of short films titled "Cars Toons", which ran from October 27, 2008, to June 5, 2012 (as "Mater's Tall Tales") and March 22, 2013, to May 20, 2014 (as "Tales from Radiator Springs"). A Disney+ streaming series, titled "Cars on the Road", premiered on September 8, 2022.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Dear Evan Hansen is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a tragedy that he did not earn".


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The musical opened on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in December 2016, after the show's world premiere at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in July 2015, and an Off-Broadway production at Second Stage Theatre from March to May 2016. The show closed on September 18, 2022.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Upon opening, the show received critical acclaim. At the 71st Tony Awards, it was nominated for nine awards, winning six, including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Actor for Ben Platt, and Best Featured Actress for Rachel Bay Jones.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: A film adaptation was directed by Stephen Chbosky and co-produced by Marc Platt, the father of Ben Platt, who reprised his performance in the title role. Released on September 24, 2021, it was a box-office disappointment and received negative reviews from critics. This, along with soft ticket sales caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, became the leading factors that would cause both the Broadway and West End productions to close.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: There were several readings prior to the first stage production: in May 2014 at Pearl Studios (New York), July 2014 at Chelsea Studios (New York) and September 2014 at Manhattan Movement and Arts Studio (New York). A full workshop took place in March 2015 at Gibney Dance Center. The project was initially called The PPL Project. Ben Platt was involved in all of the readings and the workshop.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Evan Hansen, a bullied 17-year-old with social anxiety and depression with a recently broken arm, is assigned by his therapist Dr. Sherman to write letters to himself detailing what will be good about each day. His overworked mother Heidi suggests that he ask people to sign the cast on his arm to make friends. Meanwhile, Cynthia and Larry Murphy struggle to connect with their son Connor, a sullen drug user ("Anybody Have a Map?").


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: At school, Evan meets precocious classmate Alana and his reluctant "family friend" Jared, both of whom decline to sign his cast. Evan runs into Connor Murphy, who misinterprets his awkwardness for hostility and pushes him to the ground. Connor's sister Zoe, with whom Evan is infatuated, feels obliged to apologize for her brother's behavior. Evan wonders if this is his destiny in life ("Waving Through a Window"). Evan writes a letter to himself in the school library (begun with "Dear Evan Hansen,"...), wondering how he could talk to Zoe and if anyone at school would notice if he disappeared ("Waving Through a Window" [Reprise #1]). Connor bumps into Evan again, this time ironically offering to sign his cast. He finds Evan's letter on the printer and, at the mention of Zoe, becomes furious and storms out, taking the letter with him. Meanwhile, Alana ponders her own inner anxieties ("Waving Through a Window" [Reprise #2]).


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Days later, Evan is called to the principal's office, where Connor's parents tell him that their son had died by suicide. They found Evan's letter in Connor's pocket, and mistakenly believe it was written by their son, indicating a close friendship between them; Connor's signature on his cast strengthens that belief, despite Evan's fumbling attempts to explain. The Murphys invite Evan to their house for dinner, where he is awkward and uncomfortable, so he tells them what he thinks they want to hear, pretending that he and Connor had secretly been best friends, and recounting a fictional version of the day he broke his arm at an abandoned apple orchard the family had visited years ago ("For Forever"). He enlists Jared's help in creating fake, backdated email conversations between him and Connor ("Sincerely, Me").


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: After Evan shows the Murphys "Connor's" emails, Cynthia is ecstatic that her son had a friend, but Larry is hurt that Connor took his family and his privileged life for granted, and Zoe still refuses to mourn him ("Requiem"). However, after reading the "suicide note," Zoe notices that she is mentioned fondly and asks Evan why Connor would say that about her, so he tells her all the reasons he loves her under the guise of Connor saying them ("If I Could Tell Her"). Evan impulsively kisses Zoe, but she pulls away and tells him to leave.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Evan, egged on by a subconscious Connor-figure, enlists Alana and Jared's help in founding "The Connor Project" to keep Connor's memory alive, which the Murphys eagerly encourage. Cynthia asks Evan to wear Connor's necktie at its official launch ("Disappear"). Evan suffers a panic attack but composes himself during the speech, which goes viral online. Zoe, overcome by the impact her brother and Evan have had, kisses him. Meanwhile, Heidi discovers Evan's viral video ("You Will Be Found").


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Evan and Alana pitch a fundraising campaign on The Connor Project's website, to raise $50,000 to restore the abandoned apple orchard. Meanwhile, Jared continues to help Evan write fabricated emails ("Sincerely Me" [Reprise]). Afte Heidi learns about Evan's speech about Connor online, she asks him why she never knew about this or about the "friendship", and they get into a fight. Evan runs off to the Murphys' house, where he bonds with Larry, who offers Evan Connor's old, unused baseball glove ("To Break in a Glove"). Zoe tells Evan that she doesn't want their relationship to be about Connor, but about the two of them ("Only Us"). Evan becomes preoccupied with Zoe and begins to neglect Heidi, Jared, and The Connor Project.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: On one of his many visits to the Murphys, Evan finds they invited Heidi for dinner. She is offended to learn they want to give Connor's college fund to Evan. At home, Heidi and Evan have a fight, with Evan telling her he has found family in her absence. Heidi, Alana, and Jared converge in Evan's conscience, compounding his guilt and doubt over his decisions ("Good for You"). He debates with his subconscious Connor-figure whether he should tell the truth ("For Forever" [Reprise]).


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Alana has become suspicious about Evan's "friendship" with Connor, so Evan shows her Connor's "suicide note", which paints a more bitter picture than the letters about the boys' friendship. Realizing that the letter is the key to fulfilling the fundraising goal for The Connor Project, Alana posts it online where, to Evan's chagrin, it also goes viral. The public begin to blame Connor's wealthy, previously dysfunctional family for his suicide ("You Will Be Found" [Reprise]), making them the targets of harassment. Evan walks in on the Murphys fighting among themselves about the blame, and finally admits to them his fabrication. As the Murphys leave in disgust, Evan absorbs his perceived brokenness as inescapable ("Words Fail"). Heidi recognizes the "suicide note" online as one of Evan's therapy assignments and apologizes to him for not seeing how badly he had been hurting. She recalls the day his father moved out, and promises that she will always be there for him when he needs her ("So Big/So Small").


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: A year later, Evan is still living with his mother, working at a store to earn enough money to go to college the next semester. Zoe invites him to meet her at the orchard, which has been reopened in Connor's memory, and they connect for the first time since Evan told the truth. He apologizes for the pain he caused and Zoe forgives him, saying the ordeal brought her family closer together. They share a moment before parting ways, in which Evan asks why she wanted to meet him at the orchard. She says it was a way to finally get him to come and see the orchard.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Evan mentally writes himself one last letter reflecting on the impact he has had on his community and questions what's to come next ("Finale").


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The show is orchestrated for a band of eight, including the music director. The parts are: MD/Keyboard; Violin; Viola; Violoncello; Guitar 1; Guitar 2; Bass Guitar/Upright Bass; and Drums. The show was orchestrated by Alex Lacamoire, who won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for his work.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: An original Broadway cast album was released at midnight on January 27, 2017, by Atlantic Records. The second song on the album, "Waving Through A Window", was released as a special early download for those who had pre-ordered the album. The fifth song, "Requiem", was made available to stream for 24 hours on January 19, 2017, a week before the release of the cast recording. The song was released as a second pre-order bonus the next day. The recording of the Act 1 finale "You Will Be Found" was available for a first listen online on January 23, 2017. The cast album debuted at number 8 on the February 25 Billboard 200. The cast album became available in compact disc format on February 17, 2017. The cast album, produced by Alex Lacamoire, featuring the band from both the original off-Broadway and Broadway productions, including Ben Cohn (piano), Jamie Eblen (drums), Justin Goldner and Dillon Kondor (guitars), Rob Jost (bass), Justin Smith, Todd Low and Adele Stein (strings) and won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Producers announced a deluxe album on September 26, 2018. The deluxe album contains all of the songs in the Original Broadway Cast Recording, in addition to cut songs and covers. The cut song "Part of Me" was available exclusively on Billboard.com before it was officially released. The album was to be released on October 19; however, it was delayed to November 2. American singer Katy Perry re-recorded "Waving Through a Window" to promote the show's national tour. Other songs on the deluxe album include "Obvious" sung by Taylor Trensch, the precursor to "If I Could Tell Her", "Hiding in Your Hands" sung by Mallory Bechtel which was replaced by "Requiem", and an acoustic version of "Disappear" sung by Taylor Trensch and Alex Boniello.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: "Dear Evan Hansen" premiered at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., running from July 10 to August 23, 2015. Directed by Michael Greif, the production featured orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, music direction by Ben Cohn, set design by David Korins and projection design by Peter Nigrini. Ben Platt featured in the title role.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The musical opened off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theater on March 26, 2016, in previews, with the official opening on May 1. The cast featured Ben Platt, Laura Dreyfuss, Mike Faist, Rachel Bay Jones, Will Roland, John Dossett, and Jennifer Laura Thompson repeating their roles from the Arena Stage production. New cast members were Michael Park and Kristolyn Lloyd. Michael Greif again directed, with choreography by Danny Mefford. The off-Broadway engagement closed on May 29, 2016.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The show premiered on Broadway on November 14, 2016, in previews, and officially opened on December 4. After announcing that performances would take place at the Belasco Theatre, in mid-September 2016, producers announced that the show would instead perform at the Music Box Theatre. Michael Park, who originated the role of Larry in the Arena Stage production, returned for the Broadway production (replacing John Dossett who went on to the musical "War Paint"). All other cast members from the Second Stage production returned for the Broadway engagement. Ben Platt played his last performance on November 19, 2017. Noah Galvin replaced Platt on November 21, 2017, and played until February 2018. Taylor Trensch played two performances in the show before officially replacing Galvin on February 6, 2018. The 2018 Jimmy Award winner, Andrew Barth Feldman, made his Broadway debut, replacing Trensch, on January 30, 2019. Zachary Noah Piser serves at the alternate for the role of Evan and has performances Wednesday and Saturday matinees. After Andrew's run was over, Jordan Fisher assumed the role of Evan Hansen on January 28, 2020.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: In November 2018, producers donated several items from the Broadway run of the musical, including a shirt, arm cast, button for The Connor Project, copy of the "Dear Evan Hansen" letter, and a piece of sheet music, to the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: On March 12, 2020, the show suspended production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Performances resumed on December 11, 2021, with Fisher returning as Evan Hansen. The returning company included all who were there at the time of the shutdown. The show played its final performance on Broadway on September 18, 2022 after 21 preview performances and 1,678 regular performances.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: A US tour launched in October 2018 in Denver Center for the Performing Arts' Buell Theatre in October 2018. Starring Ben Levi Ross in the title role and by December 2018 was scheduled for over 50 cities. It also starred Jessica Phillips in the role of Heidi Hansen, Jared Goldsmith in the role of Jared Kleinman, and Phoebe Koyabe in the role of Alana Beck. Also starring in the tour were Christiane Noll in the role of Cynthia Murphy, Aaron Lazar as Larry Murphy, Marrick Smith in the role of Connor Murphy, Maggie McKenna in the role of Zoe Murphy, and Stephen Christopher Anthony as the alternate Evan Hansen. The second year of the tour began on September 25, 2019, in Milwaukee, with Stephen Christopher Anthony stepping in to the role of Evan Hansen full-time, former Evan/Jared/Connor understudy Noah Kieserman as Connor Murphy, former Zoe/Alana understudy Ciara Alyse Harris as Alana Beck, John Hemphill as Larry Murphy, Sam Primack as the Evan alternate, and Toronto cast alums Stephanie La Rochelle as Zoe Murphy, Jessica Sherman as Heidi Hansen, Claire Rankin as Cynthia Murphy, and Alessandro Costantini as Jared Kleinman. The current touring cast includes Anthony Norman (actor) as Evan Hansen, Alaina Anderson as Zoe Murphy, Coleen Sexton as Heidi Hansen, Lili Thomas as Cynthia Murphy, Nikhil Saboo]] as Connor Murphy, John Hemphill as Larry Murphy, Pablo David Laucerica as Jared Klienman, Micaela Lamas as Alana Beck, Jeffery Cornelius as the Evan Alternate/Jared Understudy, Ian Coursey as the Connor/Jared Understudy, Reese Sebastian Diaz as the Evan/Connor/Jared Understudy, Pierce Wheeler as the Evan/Jared understudy, Valeria Ceballos as the Zoe/Alana understudy, Gillian Jackson Han as the Zoe/Alana understudy, Isabel Santiago as the Heidi/Cynthia understudy, Kelsey Venter as the Heidi/Cynthia understudy, and Daniel Robert Sullivan as the Larry understudy.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The show played its first international performance at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. The production began previews on March 5, 2019, and opened on March 28, 2019. The role of Evan Hansen was played by Robert Markus, and Zachary Noah Piser on Wednesday and Saturday matinees. The cast also included Jessica Sherman as Heidi Hansen, Evan Buliung as Larry Murphy, Claire Rankin as Cynthia Murphy, Alessandro Costantini as Jared Kleinman, Shakura Dickson as Alana Beck, Sean Patrick Dolan as Connor Murphy and Stephanie La Rochelle as Zoe Murphy. Understudies Erin Breen, Malinda Carroll, Jay Davis, David Jeffery, Laura Mae Nason, Kaitlyn Santa Juana and Josh Strobl rounded out the cast. Despite extending its booking period through September, the production closed early on July 21, 2019.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: A West End production opened at the Noël Coward Theatre from November 2019. The show began previews on October 29, before officially opening on November 19. The role of Evan Hansen was played by Sam Tutty, who won Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his performance. At only 22 years old of age, he became one of the youngest winners in the category. The rest of the cast included Rebecca McKinnis as Heidi Hansen, Lauren Ward as Cynthia Murphy, Rupert Young as Larry Murphy, Jack Loxton as Jared Kleinman, Iona Fraser as Alana Beck, Lucy Anderson as Zoe and Doug Colling as Connor Murphy. Understudies and covers included Marcus Harman as the alternate Evan Hansen, Tricia Adele-Turner, David Breeds, Haydn Cox, Natalie Kassanga, Hannah Lindsey, Mark Peachey, Courtney Stapleton, Alex Thomas-Smith, and James Winter.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The show closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and reopened on October 26, 2021 with all of the cast returning with the exception of Nicole Raquel Dennis, whose role as Alana was taken over by Iona Fraser. The production played its final performance in the West End on October 22, 2022.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The musical has received critical acclaim, particularly for Ben Platt's leading performance, the lyrics, and the book. The story has also provided and encouraged open dialogue about its themes of mental illness and youth suicide. "Dear Evan Hansen" is a recipient of the 2015 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Derek Mong, in his review of the musical at the Arena Stage, wrote that the "inventive set design by David Korins...that transforms a small stage into a platform for the most intimate living room where a mother and son share a heart-to-heart to the physical abyss of internet cyberspace... book by Steven Levenson... lyrics and music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul... heartfelt lyrics with universal appeal joined by the perfect, oftentimes acoustic, accompaniment that can change the mood from somber to celebratory to sinister in a single bar of music." Barbara Mackay in reviewing the Arena Stage production for "TheatreMania" wrote: "Levenson, Pasek, and Paul set themselves two high, untraditional bars in "Evan Hansen": exploring a community's grief and examining a lonely protagonist who desperately wants to connect with that community... Ben Platt is outstanding as Evan... Since the success of the musical depends entirely on whether Evan's solitary nature appears funny or weird, Evan's ability to laugh at himself and make the audience laugh is crucial. Platt is charming as he eternally twists his shirt tails and hangs his head... Although the themes of grief and loneliness are serious, the musical is anything but somber. It addresses challenging facts of life. But from start to finish, when Evan leaves his room and finds an authentic life outside it, "Dear Evan Hansen" contains far more joy than sadness."


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Charles Isherwood, in his review of the Second Stage production for "The New York Times", noted: "The songs, by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul ("Dogfight", "A Christmas Story"), strike the same complex notes, with shapely, heartfelt lyrics that expose the tensions and conflicts that Connor’s death and Evan’s involvement cause in both families. The music, played by a small but excellent band on a platform upstage, is appealingly unstrident pop-rock, with generous doses of acoustic guitar, keyboards and strings. It's the finest, most emotionally resonant score yet from this promising young songwriting team." Susan Davidson, in her review of the Arena Stage production for "CurtainUp", noted: "it helps to suspend the disbelief that sullen, anti-social teenagers can change quickly. Surely that's a process requiring time-released hormonal adjustments. It is hard to accept that a long-admired-from-afar girl can change Evan's outlook on life so rapidly or that Connor's teenage disequilibrium leads him to do what he does. Coming through loud and clear, however, is the fact that what starts as deceit can be blown totally out of proportion by the Internet where lies are disseminated with lightning speed leaving plenty of victims in their wake [...] The music is pleasant, not terribly original but good enough to get toes tapping. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's ballads stand out, particularly Heidi's 'So Big/So Small,' Evan's 'Words Fail' and Zoe and Evan's young sweethearts duet 'Only Us.'"


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The overall public reception of the show was not without criticism. Some critics argue that it romanticizes or sanitizes mental illness by not naming Evan's diagnosis. It also suggested that the show glorifies suicide, with questions about Connor's death and whether or not Evan's suicide attempt was intentional. Stacey Mindich, lead producer of the Broadway, Tour and West End productions, claimed in her opening speech at the "You Will Be Found: A Mental Health Month Symposium" event on May 10, 2018, that she and the team did not want the show to be called a "suicide musical" in order to gain an audience.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The protagonist's motives and choices have also been criticized. Jason Zinoman in a piece for "Slate" argues that the musical "employs many different tactics to prevent us from seeing Evan Hansen as a jerk, but its most audacious is to not allow anyone onstage to see him that way...The choice to give Evan Hansen no comeuppance doesn't make dramatic sense. But you don't need to be too cynical to see its commercial and emotional logic. Not giving voice to anger at Evan Hansen avoids the more unpleasant ramifications of his exploitation of a tragedy for his own personal gain, which might complicate the audience's reaction to him. "Evan Hansen" isn't as interested in these themes as it is in keeping the focus on the insecurity of the outsider, the nerd, the teenager yearning for acceptance. (To be fair, it is also interested in Evan's mother, who has one of the most moving songs in the show.)"


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: Hilton Als of "The New Yorker" was also critical, writing "It would have been amazing if Levenson had continued to dig into Evan's awfulness. Instead, he takes side trips into tired knee-jerk liberalism and therapeutic healing. (One of the more uncomfortable moments in the show is when Alana, a black character, played by Kristolyn Lloyd as a P.C. bully, screams about "her" invisibility. Levenson and the others are trying to keep up with the times and diversify, but why does it have to feel so forced and tired?) Evan confesses his deceit and makes it clear that all he wanted, really, was to be loved, because of, well, that absent daddy, that inattentive mommy, and the nastiness of the world. With that false move, the show’s creators risk destroying what’s so spikily fascinating about Evan. Still, until the second act, and despite it, Platt gives a performance that binds us to him in the way that Holden Caulfield, that other teen with a voice, did—especially when he said, 'It's funny. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.'"


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The West End production received many four- and five-star reviews. Writing in "The Stage", Tim Bano said "Lucy Anderson makes a striking professional debut as Evan's crush Zoe, and Rebecca McKinnis does strong work as Heidi Hansen", while in "Theatre Weekly"s five-star review Greg Stewart commented "Sam Tutty gives the performance of the decade."


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: The musical was adapted into a young adult novel by actor and singer-songwriter Val Emmich, in collaboration with Pasek, Paul, and Levenson. The novel, which features additional material based on scenes and songs cut from the show's development that flesh out and expand upon the story, was released by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on October 9, 2018. An audiobook was released on the same date with narrations by Ben Levi Ross, Mike Faist, and Mallory Bechtel. It debuted on the "New York Times" bestseller list at #2 for the week of October 28, 2018.


title: Dear Evan Hansen

text: On November 29, 2018, it was announced that Universal Pictures optioned the musical to make a film version. It is directed by Stephen Chbosky from a screenplay by Levenson, who will also executive produce with Michael Bederman, Mindich, Pasek and Paul. Marc Platt and Adam Siegel serve as producers. Ben Platt reprised his performance in the title role, as did Colton Ryan as Connor Murphy, a role in which he understudied in the Broadway production. Joining them were Kaitlyn Dever as Zoe Murphy, Julianne Moore as Heidi Hansen, Amy Adams as Cynthia Murphy, Danny Pino as Larry Murphy, Nik Dodani as Jared Kleinman and Amandla Stenberg as Alana Beck. Stenberg will also collaborate with Pasek and Paul on the writing of "The Anonymous Ones," a new song for her character, whose role has been expanded for the film. The character of Larry Murphy was re-conceived as Larry Mora, the step-father of Zoe and Connor rather than their biological father as in the stage version. The character of Jared Kleinman was also re-conceived as "Jared Kalwani" to accommodate Dodani's casting. It will also mark the feature film acting debuts of DeMarius Copes, Gerald Caesar and Isaac Cole Powell, all of whom will play new characters created for the film. Copes will play Oliver, one of Zoe's friends, while Caesar and Powell will play high school students Josh and Rhys. Newcomer Liz Kate is also set to appear in the film as Gemma. Filming began on August 25, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia and Los Angeles, California. On December 15, 2020, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairwoman Donna Langley confirmed that the film will wrap production that month. On May 18, 2021, Ben Platt confirmed that another new song, entitled "A Little Closer," was written for the film, later revealed to have been written for Connor Murphy. The songs "Disappear," "To Break in a Glove," "Anybody Have a Map?" and "Good for You," were omitted, but the latter two, however, are heard instrumentally played by the high school's marching band in a scene early in the film. The ending was also altered for the film, so that, according to Platt, it can hold "the deceitful Evan to account more than the musical did." The film had its world premiere as the Opening Night Gala Presentation of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021, to be followed by a theatrical release on September 24, 2021, including IMAX screenings. The film was not as well-received as the stage version and was, months prior to the premiere, criticized by the public, who accused it of nepotism for the filmmakers' decision to have Platt, at age 27, reprise his role as a teenager. The film had an opening weekend box office of $7.5 million worldwide and finished its run in theaters with $19.1 million. It received four nominations at the 42nd Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Director, Worst Actor (for Ben Platt) and Worst Supporting Actress (for Amy Adams).


title: Arthur Miller

text: Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are "All My Sons" (1947), "Death of a Salesman" (1949), "The Crucible" (1953), and "A View from the Bridge" (1955). He wrote several screenplays and was most noted for his work on "The Misfits" (1961). The drama "Death of a Salesman" is considered one of the best American plays of the 20th century.


title: Arthur Miller

text: Miller was often in the public eye, particularly during the late 1940s, '50s and early '60s. During this time, he received a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and married Marilyn Monroe. In 1980, he received the St. Louis Literary Award from the Saint Louis University Library Associates. He received the Praemium Imperiale prize in 2001, the Prince of Asturias Award in 2002, and the Jerusalem Prize in 2003, and the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in 1999.


title: Arthur Miller

text: Miller was born in Harlem, in the New York City borough of Manhattan, the second of three children of Augusta (Barnett) and Isidore Miller. He was Jewish and of Polish-Jewish descent. His father was born in Radomyśl Wielki, Galicia (then part of Austria-Hungary, now Poland), and his mother was a native of New York whose parents also arrived from that town. Isidore owned a women's clothing manufacturing business employing 400 people. He became a wealthy and respected man in the community. The family, including Miller's younger sister Joan Copeland, lived on West 110th Street in Manhattan, owned a summer house in Far Rockaway, Queens, and employed a chauffeur. In the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the family lost almost everything and moved to Gravesend, Brooklyn. (One source says they moved to Midwood.) As a teenager, Miller delivered bread every morning before school to help the family. Miller later published an account of his early years under the title "A Boy Grew in Brooklyn". After graduating in 1932 from Abraham Lincoln High School, he worked at several menial jobs to pay for his college tuition at the University of Michigan. After graduation (), he worked as a psychiatric aide and copywriter before accepting faculty posts at New York University and University of New Hampshire.


title: Arthur Miller

text: On May 1, 1935, he joined the League of American Writers (1935–1943), whose members included Alexander Trachtenberg of International Publishers, Franklin Folsom, Louis Untermeyer, I. F. Stone, Myra Page, Millen Brand, Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett. (Members were largely either Communist Party members or fellow travelers.)


title: Arthur Miller

text: At the University of Michigan, Miller first majored in journalism and wrote for the student newspaper, "The Michigan Daily", and the satirical "Gargoyle Humor Magazine". It was during this time that he wrote his first play, "No Villain". He switched his major to English, and subsequently won the Avery Hopwood Award for "No Villain." The award led him to consider that he could have a career as a playwright. He enrolled in a playwriting seminar with the influential Professor Kenneth Rowe, who emphasized how a play was built to achieve its intended effect, or what Miller called "the dynamics of play construction". Rowe gave Miller realistic feedback and much-needed encouragement, and became a lifelong friend. Miller retained strong ties to his alma mater through the rest of his life, establishing the university's Arthur Miller Award in 1985 and the Arthur Miller Award for Dramatic Writing in 1999, and lending his name to the Arthur Miller Theatre in 2000. In 1937, Miller wrote "Honors at Dawn," which also received the Avery Hopwood Award.


title: Arthur Miller

text: After his graduation in 1938, he joined the Federal Theatre Project, a New Deal agency established to provide jobs in the theater. He chose the theater project despite the more lucrative offer to work as a scriptwriter for 20th Century Fox. However, Congress, worried about possible Communist infiltration, closed the project in 1939. Miller began working in the Brooklyn Navy Yard while continuing to write radio plays, some of which were broadcast on CBS.


title: Arthur Miller

text: In 1940, Miller married Mary Grace Slattery. The couple had two children, Jane (born September 7, 1944) and Robert (May 31, 1947 - March 6, 2022). Miller was exempted from military service during World War II because of a high school football injury to his left kneecap.


title: Arthur Miller

text: In 1944 Miller's first play was produced; "The Man Who Had All the Luck" and won the Theatre Guild's National Award. The play closed after four performances with disastrous reviews.


title: Arthur Miller

text: In 1947, Miller's play "All My Sons", the writing of which had commenced in 1941, was a success on Broadway (earning him his first Tony Award, for Best Author) and his reputation as a playwright was established. Years later, in a 1994 interview with Ron Rifkin, Miller said that most contemporary critics regarded "All My Sons" as "a very depressing play in a time of great optimism" and that positive reviews from Brooks Atkinson of "The New York Times" had saved it from failure.


title: Arthur Miller

text: In 1948, Miller built a small studio in Roxbury, Connecticut. There, in less than a day, he wrote Act I of "Death of a Salesman". Within six weeks, he completed the rest of the play, one of the classics of world theater. "Death of a Salesman" premiered on Broadway on February 10, 1949, at the Morosco Theatre, directed by Elia Kazan, and starring Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman, Mildred Dunnock as Linda, Arthur Kennedy as Biff, and Cameron Mitchell as Happy. The play was commercially successful and critically acclaimed, winning a Tony Award for Best Author, the New York Drama Circle Critics' Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was the first play to win all three of these major awards. The play was performed 742 times.


title: Arthur Miller

text: In 1949, Miller exchanged letters with Eugene O'Neill regarding Miller's production of "All My Sons". O'Neill had sent Miller a congratulatory telegram; in response, he wrote a letter that consisted of a few paragraphs detailing his gratitude for the telegram, apologizing for not responding earlier, and inviting Eugene to the opening of "Death of a Salesman". O'Neill replied, accepting the apology, but declining the invitation, explaining that his Parkinson's disease made it difficult to travel. He ended the letter with an invitation to Boston, a trip that never occurred.


title: Arthur Miller

text: In 1955, a one-act version of Miller's verse drama "A View from the Bridge" opened on Broadway in a joint bill with one of Miller's lesser-known plays, "A Memory of Two Mondays". The following year, Miller revised "A View from the Bridge" as a two-act prose drama, which Peter Brook directed in London. A French-Italian co-production "Vu du pont", based on the play, was released in 1962.


title: Arthur Miller

text: In June 1956, Miller left his first wife, Mary Slattery, whom he married in 1940, and wed film star Marilyn Monroe. They met in 1951, had a brief affair, and remained in contact. Monroe had just turned 30 when they married; she never had a real family of her own and was eager to join the family of her new husband.


title: Arthur Miller

text: Monroe began to reconsider her career and the fact that trying to manage it made her feel helpless. She admitted to Miller, "I hate Hollywood. I don't want it any more. I want to live quietly in the country and just be there when you need me. I can't fight for myself any more."


title: Arthur Miller

text: Monroe converted to Judaism to "express her loyalty and get close to both Miller and his parents", writes biographer Jeffrey Meyers. She told her close friend, Susan Strasberg: "I can identify with the Jews. Everybody's always out to get them, no matter what they do, like me." Soon after Monroe converted, Egypt banned all of her movies.


title: Arthur Miller

text: Away from Hollywood and the culture of celebrity, Monroe's life became more normal; she began cooking, keeping house and giving Miller more attention and affection than he had been used to.


title: Arthur Miller

text: Later that year, Miller was subpoenaed by the HUAC, and Monroe accompanied him. In her personal notes, she wrote about her worries during this period: