Who's Who?

Emma Roberts Josh Flitter Rich Cooper Max Thieriot Rachael Leigh Cook Amy Bruckner Tate Donovan Barry Bostwick Kay Panabaker Cliff Bemis David Doty Laura Elena Harring Monica Parker Caroline Aaron Marshall Bell Daniella Monet Kelly Vitz Craig Gellis Phil Abrams

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Nancy Drew Corky Charlie Ned Nickerson Jane Brighton Bess Carson Drew Dashiel Biedermeyer George Chief McGinnis Father Murphy Dehlia Draycott Hannah Barbara Barbara Leshing Inga Trish Thug Principal

The Inside Story Where Nancy Drew goes, mystery follows. And, for more than seventy five years, this young heroine’s fans worldwide have been eagerly going along on the adventure, exploring every dark path and secret staircase to find the clues that will solve the crime and confirm Nancy’s reputation as everyone’s favorite teen detective. "Young people identify with Nancy. They want to do what she’s doing," says 2007 ShoWest Producer of the Year Jerry Weintraub. "She’s smart, courageous, self-assured, and she can hold her own in any situation just by being herself. For generations, her stories have offered drama and suspense, as well as fun. Nancy is always where the action is, and that’s why she never goes out of style." "I think it’s fun for kids to see someone their own age solving mysteries in an adult world and doing so many cool things," says Oscar winner Julia Roberts niece, Emma Roberts. In bringing Nancy Drew to the big screen, Weintraub and director Andrew Fleming sought to retain the timeless quality and appeal of the popular series while introducing Nancy to a new generation of movie fans by relocating her to Southern California and giving her another exciting case to solve. At the same time, Nancy must deal with the challenges that any sixteen year old would face as 'the new girl in town'. Her confidence is tested from the start by a tough reception from her peers in the fierce clique culture at Hollywood High School where she has enroled, during the four months, she and her father Carson Drew will spend in Los Angeles. "It creates an interesting juxtaposition and some natural humor to take her out of her comfort zone and throw her into this unfamiliar world, since Nancy Drew is the classic American girl, a combination of high spirits and hometown values. Everything is faster, louder and crazier in Los Angeles than what she’s accustomed to. It’s an invigorating challenge to her coping skills, and ultimately brings us back to the heart and soul of who she really is," says Fleming. "As fans will attest, the essence of Nancy Drew is that she is always true to herself, no matter the circumstances," notes Weintraub. And that includes following up clues to a mystery that may put the teen detective in danger. As part of the temporary move to L.A. her father has asked Nancy to not to get involved in any investigations. That's because he fears for her safety. "In River Heights, he can live with it because it’s a small town and they know the police chief personally, but in L.A. it’s a different game and he’s understandably nervous about her pursuing an investigation here. Besides, he wants her to focus on having a good time and just enjoying being a teenager for once. So they come to California with the understanding that she will take a break from the detective work," Weintraub explained. "Because he feels a little guilty about uprooting her from everything familiar, he lets her pick the house for them to live in," Roberts says adding, "That was his first mistake." You see, Nancy has chosen the house because it holds a mystery; the unexplained death of its former owner, glamorous bygone film star Dehlia Draycott, a fictional incident that, Fleming says, "is an amalgamation of various strange Hollywood tragedies and rumors that have circulated over the years, which gives it a ring of familiarity." "As any Nancy Drew fan knows, she just won’t be able to help herself. She has to get involved," says Fleming. The key to "Nancy Drew" was finding the right young actress to play the lead. For Weintraub that meant conducting an extensive search. It eventually led him to Emma Roberts. What was it that made her standout? "Rather than playing the idea of who Nancy Drew is, as a character, she played it as if she were simply a teenager trying to solve a mystery, a fiercely independent young person actually saying and doing these things. We didn’t discover Emma Roberts, but we discovered her for 'Nancy Drew'. She was exactly the right person. We couldn’t have imagined a better actress for this role. She really is Nancy Drew." "Nancy is pretty fearless," says Roberts who has just finished her third season starring as Addie Singer in Nickelodeon’s "Unfabulous". "Even if she’s scared, she pretends not to be, because she has to hold it together until she gets to the end and solves the mystery. She looks in places where nobody would think to look and really listens to what people say. She pays attention to mannerisms and body language." But what about the reception Nancy gets at Hollywood High School? "It hurts her a little, certainly, but Nancy knows that even if you look for the best, some people just aren’t very nice, so her response is to simply focus on her own interests and not let it get to her." "What she’s not worried about is what the kids think of her. She isn’t obsessed with the latest trend or what everyone else is wearing. I think people are drawn to her because of her genuine enthusiasm for what she’s doing," Fleming says. Not so enthusiastic is Ned Nickerson, the young boy left behind in River Heights, who has a big crush on the teen detective. "She likes him but doesn’t know that she likes him. He likes her, but he’s not sure how she feels, and neither of them know what to say or do about it because they’re both kind of shy," says Weintraub. "He really gets nervous and imagines the worst case scenario, not just the boys she’ll meet at school but possibly celebrities that he assumes are walking around everywhere," says Max Thieriot, the young actor playing Ned. Ned starts to suspect Nancy may have 'a thing' for her new friend Corky, a fast talking twelve year old with an out of control crush on her. Corky is played by Josh Flitter, who first came to Weintraub's attention after he saw the twelve year old on Jay Leno's "The Tonight Show". "I saw him on Leno and he was out of this world funny and just a great kid. I fell in love with him," says Weintraub. "Corky is a typical L.A. kid, twelve going on twenty five," says Flitter. "In order to get Nancy’s attention, he pretends to be interested in the things she’s interested in, primarily solving this mystery. He has no idea what he’s doing and he almost gets himself killed, but he wants to be there. The rest of the time, he’s trying to push the hometown boyfriend out of the picture." And his character Corky, is it true he has the funniest lines in the film? "I’m not trying to brag," he said, "but I do have most of the funniest lines." Another person concerned for Nancy is her father Carson. "He's proud of Nancy and her accomplishments but really just wants her to be a normal teenager," says Tate Donovan. "Carson is wary about the big city combined with his daughter’s curious nature." "Traditionally in Nancy Drew stories, Nancy is guided not only by the lure of a good mystery itself but, more importantly, by a genuine desire to help someone in trouble or put together the pieces of someone’s life, and this time is no different," says Fleming. "Jane Brighton is that person in our story, and Rachael gives the role the heart it needs. It changes the tone of the case from Hollywood history to a more personal, immediate drama." The centre-piece of the story in "Nancy Drew" is the fictional Draycott Mansion, the home of 'A' list film star Dehlia Draycott, who died in mysterious circumstances. "The house is a big element in the movie. It had to be a place that could only exist in Hollywood, one of those former movie star homes that have a lot of history. Jerry and I agreed that we were going to have to build the interior from scratch. There was no other way to get it right," says director and co-writer Fleming. Weintraub enlisted award-winning art director Tony Fanning as the films production designer. Fanning’s research turned up the work of famed Hollywood interior designer William Haines, whose rooms, Fanning says, "felt like movie sets. They were very glamorous, in that period style, which is exactly what Andrew wanted." Logistically, the house needed to accommodate the numerous hidden tunnels and false walls that Nancy’s investigations reveal. "That was the fun part of the design," Fanning recalls. "Nancy keeps hearing people in the house but can’t find them, and then she discovers a secret passageway and a hidden staircase and follows them to their source." So does the house seen in the film really exist. It does. The production found a residence in La Canada that offered sufficient foliage and then created, says Fanning, “that overgrown look Andrew wanted by adding to it and decaying the house and grounds. We filled up the front with a lot of wild-looking plants that weren’t quite green." Additional Los Angeles area locations included the historic El Pueblo de Los Angeles on Olvera Street, where Nancy inadvertently interrupts a movie set, as well as Los Angeles City Hall, Griffith Park, Chinatown, St Luke’s Hospital in Pasadena, the track and exteriors of Hollywood High School and poolside at the landmark Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. South Pasadena represented Nancy’s Midwestern hometown of River Heights, and classrooms at Long Beach Poly High substituted for Hollywood High interiors. And what about Nancy's sky blue Nash Metropolitan convertible? "It’s the coolest car," Roberts says. "It’s basically a bathtub on wheels, and pretty much the size of a bathtub inside. Max, Josh and I all had to fit in there with a camera, and it was a little crowded. Max had to fold up his legs like a crane." The vintage auto was pulled by a truck during filming. "I’m sure it looked pretty weird: a little car being hauled around the streets of L.A. by a humongous truck with cameras. We got a lot of attention," says Roberts. Let's hope 'tweeners and older fans send enough dollars through the box-office so that Nancy Drew returns for another adventure. What The Critics Say

"The result is a refreshingly kind and calm PG film that no one will be ashamed to see. One of the worst fears of Nancy Drew fans was that they'd tart up the sleuthing heroine and make her a thong-wearing, overly tanned Mean Girl. She'd be solving mysteries about misguided breast implants, hanging with Lindsay Lohan in club bathrooms and begging Daddy for an Escalade to replace her trademark roadster. The filmmakers didn't, thankfully, and decided to handle Nancy's unapologetic sincerity by acknowledging that she's always lived in a different world." Michael Booth DENVER POST "The movie is good fun for kids of all ages, with a sprightly pace and a clever original script by Tiffany Paulsen and director Andrew Fleming (plus a few amusing star cameos)." Jim Lane SCARAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW "A clever, snappy, self-aware picture in which Nancy thrives. She's bubbly and old-fashioned, but she serves as the unflappable center to a screwball universe. She remains unaffected and unfazed by modern contrivances, able to see through them as if using an X-ray magnifying glass." Jeffrey M Anderson COMBUSTIBLE CELLULOID "The film is clever and winking without ever being overly so, and Fleming's light touch makes the movie refreshingly friendly." David Cornelius eFILMCRITIC "Director Andrew Fleming (the sly Watergate comedy "Dick"), who co-wrote the script with Tiffany Paulsen, cleverly presents Nancy as a fish out of water. Nancy's prim, retro-style clothes draw snickers - and her devotion to crafts get her dubbed "Martha Stewart" by her new school's Mean Girls: when she's forced to leave the mythical Midwestern River Heights for Hollywood. This is a rare film, aimed at tween and younger girls, that doesn't pander to the demographic. Instead, at times it seems to go too far in the other direction, appealing more to their parents. Emma Roberts, daughter of Eric and niece of Julia, makes a splendid teen sleuth in "Nancy Drew," a well-written and in many ways pleasing update of a character who has endured in print for 78 years." Lou Lumenick NEW YORK POST

"Emma Roberts does a suitable job as Nancy Drew. She’s able to deliver her grammatically-correct dialogue with enough gusto to be taken seriously, and wisely avoids crossing into the realm of snobby. While imminently likeable, there’s no question that opportunities were blown that would have made this a memorable treat for families. Regardless, this is more wholesome entertainment than anything your little girl is watching on the tube." Bill Clark FROM THE BALCONY "Unavoidably arch but essentially playful in its wit, Nancy Drew neither wears out its welcome nor compromises its heroine. Nancy is unstoppable. By the movie's end, her trademark penny loafers and Sandra Dee outfits have been officially pronounced fashionable, 'the new sincerity'. That's pretty much the idea of this 12-year-old superheroine, quotation marks and all. Unavoidably arch but essentially playful in its wit, Nancy Drew neither wears out its welcome nor compromises its heroine." J Hoberman VILLAGE VOICE "This is one that's a must-see for tween girls, and which their parents can enjoy if they must." Daniel M. Kimmel WORCESTER TELEGRAM & GAZETTE "Nancy is a throwback, but a charming one, and Roberts plays her with an irresistible sweetness." Moira MacDonald SEATTLE TIMES "The attention to detail, which finds expression in everything from Nancy's lemon bar, equipped sleuthing kit to all the Dehlia Draycott ephemera that she uncovers - is awesome. The dialogue sparkles. The fresh-faced Roberts is charming and Nancy Drew remains the great role model for girls that she always has been. But perhaps Nancy Drew's greatest strength rests on its broad appeal. Certainly, the young, mostly female audience that is reading the mysteries now will enjoy this." Pam Grady REEL.COM

The Verdict "Having never explored the world of Nancy Drew, I went into this film with a very open mind as to what to expect. Look, to be honest, it isn't a film that will have 'big appeal' to adult viewers but most adults will find it's not bad fun just the same. It's target audience is definately young female 'tweeners whose ages range from 8 to 14 and here it should find enough of a following to warrant a sequel. Emma Roberts certainly comes across as both appealing and competent in the lead role of Nancy Drew. In fact, in the main, all the junior actresses and actors in the film are fine, but some of the adult players are, to say the least, a big let-down in "Nancy Drew". Tate Donavan is like a duck out of water. Dare I say it? I will. He's bloody awful. Golden Globe Award winner Barry Bostwick, who starred with Michael J Fox and later Charlie Sheen in the award winning TV series "Spin City", is totally ineffective in the role of bad guy Dashiel Biedermeyer. Those who are dedicated fans of Nancy Drew may struggle with this modern rendering of what started way back in April 1930 with the publication of her first adventure "The Secret of the Old Clock" authored under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Nancy Drew has changed over the decades and it was inevitible a new Nancy would eventually emerge. For the young little misses, "Nancy Drew" is well worth having a look at. 3 STARS." Synopsis

The ever resourceful teen detective Nancy Drew is leaving her friendly hometown of River Heights for the West Coast and Hollywood. Enrolling at her new school, Hollywood High School, she soon discovers her unique personal style sets her apart from her self-absorbed, fast-living peers, especially reigning fashionistas Inga and Trish, who can’t quite figure her out but know that everything about her is different from her super-smarts and retro manners to her perfect picnic lunches and penny loafers. Their less than warm reception might bother the average new girl in town, but not Nancy. She has more important things to think about, namely, a brand new mystery. Even though she promised her worried Dad that she’d quit the 'sleuthing' business, it isn’t long before Nancy gets a lead on one of the greatest unsolved cases of all time: the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of famous actress Dehlia Draycott. By a strange coincidence it just happens that the Drews are staying in the former Draycott Mansion, long reputed to be haunted and now a site where some very strange things have been happening. Can Nancy resist?

Cast & Crew Bytes "NANCY DREW" stars .......
Emma Roberts ["Blow", "Spymate" and "Aquamarine"]; Josh Flitter ["Duane Hopwood", "The Greatest Game Ever Played" and "Big Momma's House 2"]; Cliff Bemis ["Pink Cadillac", "The Odd Couple II" and "World Trade Center"]; Max Thieriot ["Catch That Kid", "The Pacifier" and "The Astronaut Farmer"]; Rachael Leigh Cook ["The Baby-Sitters Club", "The Naked Man", "Texas Rangers" and "My First Wedding"]; Amy Bruckner ["Rebound"]; Tate Donovan ["Memphis Belle", "The Pacifier", "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Shooter"], Barry Bostwick ["Swing", "Spymate" and "Evening"] and Laura Harring ["Hoover Park", "Mulholland Drive", "John Q" and "The Punisher"] as Dehlia Draycott.
"NANCY DREW" was .......
directed by Andrew Fleming ["Bad Dreams", "Threesome", "Dick" and "The In-Laws"]; story by Tiffany Paulsen [appeared in "Friday the 13th Part VIII", "Runaway Bride" and "The Next Best Thing"]; production design by EMMY Award winner Tony Fanning ["The Indian in the Cupboard", "What Lies Beneath" and "What Women Want"]; costume design by BAFTA Award winner Jeffrey Kurland ["The Fan", "My Best Friend's Wedding", "Erin Brockovich", "Ocean's Eleven" and "Collateral"]; cinematography by Alexander Gruszynski ["Belladonna", "Threesome", "I Like It Like That" and "Deliver Us from Eva"]; original music by Ralph Sall ["The New Guy" and "Grind"]; edited by Jeff Freeman ["Bulletproof", "Cruel Intentions", and "Just Friends"]; produced by Jerry Weintraub ["The Karate Kid I, II & III" and "Ocean's 11, 12 & 13"] and cast by Casting Society of America Award winner Pam Dixon ["Mighty Joe Young", "A prairie Home Companion" and "Georgia Rule"] Run Time 99 minutes Rated PG [AUST] ©2007 - Warner Bros - All Rights Reserved Rated [AUST] ©2007 All Rights Reserved - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark laws applied.