`== Expansion ==  Today, I incorporated details of the film's release mostly from the trade paper Variety, whose archives I can access through LexisNexis Academic.  There is now a solid ``Theatrical run`` section that details the growth from limited release to wide release.  Also in Varietys archives are piecemeal references about the film being released in various territories outside the United States and Canada, some of which are not covered by Box Office Mojo on its foreign box office page, such as Israel.  Anyone willing to work on the article, let me know if you are interested in the references.  In addition, I added a couple of details to the ``Critical reception`` and ``Production`` section.  The ``'Beauty' design character driven`` reference has much more information about the filming locations in the thematic sense, so if anyone wants the information, let me know as well. —  •    :Nice work on the expansion; as soon as I'm able to spend more than two minutes at a time in front of the laptop, I'll be pitching in. I've already started work on a sandboxed ``Themes`` section, but that's more of a long-term thing. The nuts and bolts of the article (``Development``, ``Filming``, etc.) is what I'll likely look at when I'm up and able. Do you think American Beauty (soundtrack) and American Beauty: Original Motion Picture Score should be merged back in, sans track listings (at least in the case of the latter)?    •    ::Yes, I had the same thought about the music sub-articles. )  Not sure about whether or not to include either cover, though... don't think we ever hashed out a consensus on including them or not. —  •    ← For what it's worth, I read somewhere that Alan Ball's script was influenced by the headline-making affair of Joey Buttafuoco and Amy Fisher.  May be worth plugging these keywords in Google with the film title and see if there's any coverage.  I'll try to find the origin of this influence. —  •    :There are quite a few cites to this effect; none free, unfortunately, but if one of these can't be retrieved gratis via your University account, I don't mind paying for the access.    •    ::This is what I saw before: ``Annette Bening is absolutely astonished to learn that scribe Alan Ball modeled his American Beauty screenplay after the Joey Buttafuoco-Amy Fisher scandal. A quote from Ball in the New York Post read, 'I was as fascinated, repulsed and entertained by the Amy Fisher scandal as any one else. ... But underneath it all were human lives that had gone horribly astray.'``  From:   I can look for additional information through these other results... just milking Variety archives for all it's worth at the moment. —  •    == Resources to use ==  Books that cover American Beauty: *My First Movie: Take Two (chapter where Sam Mendes talks about filming American Beauty) *Considering Alan Ball: Essays on Sexuality, Death and America in the Television and Film Writings *Movies and the Moral Adventure of Life (chapter on redemption and American Beauty) *Catching Light: Looking for God in the Movies (American Beauty one of 15 films analyzed) *Movies and the Meaning of Life (chapter: ``American Beauty: Look Closer``) Wanted to mention the books here since the keywords ``american beauty`` are a bit common. —  •    :For what it's worth, all these books are available to me here at my university.  I