"It's a musical, it's a comedy, it's a drama, and it's a whole lotta fun!" Mark Sells FILM THREAT "A blast of exuberant fun that stays rooted in humanity." Peter Travers ROLLING STONE "The kids have energy to burn, and you can't help but marvel at the polish they bring to a variety of numbers from a variety of musicals." Robert Denerstein DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS "Kitschy, sweet, and kind of nutty, this is a delightful exercise in, well, camp." Jeanne Aufmuth PALO ALTO WEEKLY "A sort of bargain-basement Fame that squeaks by on good cheer and some of the brassiest voices ever to issue from adolescent throats." Robert W Butler KANSAS CITY STAR

"Restraint and exuberance, joy and tenderness, and a cameo by the patron saint of musical theater, Stephen Sondheim." Lisa Kennedy DENVER POST "The film is all about the musical numbers, and they're terrific." Ken Fox TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE "One of the more enjoyable films at Sundance this year." Annlee Ellingson BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE "If you liked 'Fame,' you'll find 'Camp' hugely entertaining." Harvey S Karten COMPUSERVE "Forget about the lame plot and spend a few hours with these enormously talented kids, some of whom may well be the stars of tomorrow." Jean Lowerison SAN DIEGO METROPOLITAN

At A Glance

"It's wonderful little freaks like the kids at Camp Ovation on whom the American musical theater pins its future, and Graff offers a handful of them a nice moment in the spotlight." Lisa Schwarzbaum ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Camp Ovation, the name says it all for this bright and breazey look at life in a summer camp. And, having seen both American Idol, Australian Idol and the World Idol one must say the gang from "Camp" really do put them to shame for not only can they belt out a tune in the best of Broadway traditions they can damn well act too. This debut cast of young people really are a find. Now that doesn't mean I'm putting our own Idol Guy Sebastian down because he is a talented young man, but these young guys and gals from "Camp" are a real class act in the very sense of the word class. This is the sort of performance that spells success, so much so, that they could take the whole shebang on the road and audiences would soak up every scintillating minute. So how did this toe-tappin, snappy little number get off the ground. Well we can thank actor, writer, producer and now debut director Todd Graff for the script but it goes way back to Todd's parents who in 1974, saw an advert in a copy of The New York Times magazine for a camp called Stagedoor Manor. 14 year old Todd would become a camper for three years and then spend another two years as a camp counsellor. Now many film fans already know the name Todd Graff from such films as "Sweet Lorraine", "The Abyss", "An Innocent Man", "Framed" and "Death to Smoochy", but hands up those who knew he also wrote screenplays and produced films such as "Used People" [1992], The Vanishing [1993], "Angie" [1994] and "The Beautician and the Beast" [1997]. For those who do know these facts it will come as no surprise that in 1998 Todd decided to put a script together and sell the idea of a camp, aptly called "Camp Ovation" and sell the idea to the movie moguls. It was a difficult job.
But Todd Graff, in the best of broadway traditions never gave up the dream even though no-one took up his script over the next four years. Then a breakthrough came. Killer Films who "made cutting edge pictures like “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and “Far From Heaven,” became co-producers" and when they took the film to finance and distribution company IFC Films, who handled the hit movies "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Y Tu Mama Tambien", the "Camp" ball was rolling. "Once it came together, it happened crazy quick," laughs Graff. "After waiting five years they said start prep in two weeks. I didn’t sleep for a very long time." But Graff still had one big hurdle to face and that was getting the rights to all those wonderfull songs which feature in "Camp". That meant sitting down and writing a number of letters to Hollywood legend Stephen Sondheim. Graff hoped to convince Sondheim to donate the rights to three songs.
"It was a Hail Mary pass, the whole movie was a Hail Mary pass," says Graff. "I wrote Sondheim in as a character and I built the whole movie up to his appearance, and I didn’t know the man." Sondheim, "touched by what the script was trying to say about kids", agreed and the rest just fell into place and as Graff points out, "Even the notoriously license-shy Rolling Stones agreed to allow the use of Wild Horses." But the name dropping [and I mean that in the most respectful sense] doesn't stop there for the list of those who got behind camp is the absolute "A" list. "It’s not like we were paying people more than five cents, they just stepped up," says Graff. "Everyone, from Henry Krieger ["Dreamgirls"] to Burt Bacharach and Hal David ["Promises, Promises"] said yes." Oscar-winning composer Michael Gore ["Fame"] and Tony Award-winning lyricist Lynn Ahrens ["Ragtime"] had already agreed "to lend their talents to the movie" writing writing two original songs. Choreographer Jerry Mitchell ["Hairspray"] "had been a fan of the show since seeing it in rough form five years ago in workshop." Mitchell and partner Michele Lynch came on board while Musical supervisor Tim Weil ["Rent"] , who had also been there from day one continued on after filming finished putting the finishing touches on the soundtrack CD. "Part of it I think it is that you never get to work on a movie musical," Graff said. "But it’s also that it’s about and for kids. People just rose to the occasion." I am sure that after seeing this highly infectious, fun movie there will be many in the aussie audiences who will want to stand, clap and shout bravo as the film closes with that special credits performance. Wickedly decadent, delightfully invigourating. It really is that good. Casting About "Camp" is the directorial debut of actor, writer and producer Tod Graff ["Not Quite Paradise", "City of Hope", "Strange Days" and "Death to Smoochy"] and the producers include Danny DeVito ["Hoffa", "Get Shorty", "Man On The Moon" and "Along Came Polly"] Stacy Sher ["The Fisher King", "Reality Bites", "Drowning Mona" and "Erin Brockovich"] and Jonathan Weisgal ["Curfew", "Roseanna's Grave", "Drowning Mona" and "How High"], the sets were designed by Tora Peterson ["The Business of Strangers" and "Pipe Dream"] the cinematography was by Kip Bogdahn ["Bought & Sold"], the film was edited by Myron I. Kerstein ["Black and White", "Raising Victor Vargas", "Garden State" and Chrystal"] and the non-original music was written by Todd Rundgren ["Undercover", "Dumb & Dumber", "Almost Famous" and "Duets"]. See the film - Get the soundtrack

The Tracks ....... 1 How Shall I See You Through My Tears 2 Century Plant 3 Here’s Where I Stand 4 I Sing For You 5 The Want Of A Nail 6 Wild Horses 7 The Ladies Who Lunch

8 Turkey Lurkey Time 9 Skyway 10 The Size Of A Cow 11 On/Off 12 Right On Be Free 13 I Believe In Us 14 Round Are Way

The Story

"What makes Camp such a delight are the kids, any one of whom could kick your favorite American Idol star's butt." Sean Means SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Camp Ovation is no ordinary camp. Here, those who are misfits and outcasts at school are sent to rediscover themselves in an environment where performing means getting up on the stage and belting out a tune in front of an audience made up of visiting parents. But it doesn't happen overnight, it takes two months of hard work, dedication and commitment to that finale`, the end of camp concert. This years campers includes the very camp Michael [he turned up at his Junior Prom in drag], the dateless Ellen [who was so desperate she had to beg her brother to take her to the prom], the handsome Vlad [the girls want his body and so does Michael], the blonde bombshell Jill [beautiful but as deadly as a black widow when its mating time], the wannabee Fritzi [she's Jills little slave but watch your back] and then there's the washed up guest instructor Bert Hanley [bitter, twisted and pissed day and night]. Somehow, through personal miracles they make it to the finale` at which the great Stephen Sondheim will be the 'special' guest. The Verdict "It's fabulous darlings. Makes you want to kick off your socks, tear off your jocks, put on a frock, throw on some locks and belt out all those Broadway tunes with the gang from "Camp". It's camp, it's straight and it's wonderful. A mixture of invigourating performances and you beaut songs from top Broadway productions that will absolutely delight you. Highly Recommended." The Cast

Daniel Letterle Joanna Chilcoat Robin de Jesus Steven Cutts Vince Rimoldi Kahiry Bess Tiffany Taylor Sasha Allen Alana Allen Anna Kendrick Don Dixon Robert Orosco Stephen DiMenna Omar Edwards Camilla Millican Samuelson Julie Kleiner Dequina Moore Brittany Pollack Tracee Beazer Tony Melson Patrick Cubbedge Mario Concepcion

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Vlad Ellen Michael Shaun Spitzer Petie Jenna Dee Jill Fritzi Bert Emil Glen Alston Hillary Lisa Dequina Brittany Tracee Tony Patrick Mario

The Crew Directed & Written by Todd Graff Produced by Danny DeVito/Pamela Koffler/Katie Roumel/Michael Shamberg Produced by Stacey Sher/Christine Vachon & Jonathan Weisgal Cinematography by Kip Bogdahn Film Editing by Myron I. Kerstein Production Design by Dina Goldman Art Direction by Richard Burgess Set Decoration by Tora Peterson Costume Design by Dawn Weisberg Run Time 114 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - IFC Films - All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2004 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved