"What Hilary Duff will do when she grows up is anybody's guess, but for now she's the Duffinator, and things could be a lot worse." Tom Long DETROIT NEWS "Not since the students spilled out onto the streets in Fame has musical performance been so infectious a part of coming of age." Jami Bernard, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ""Raise Your Voice" is nothing to shout about. But it's nothing to shout down, either." Linda Cook QUAD CITY TIMES "Proves Hilary Duff is here to stay. Is it corny at times? Definitely, but sometimes corn is good for you." Betty Jo Tucker REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS "An earnest and eager Fame for the young and the tin-eared." Roger Moore ORLANDO SENTINEL

"A teen movie so inspirational and heartwarming that it comes with its very own lip gloss." Moira MacDonald SEATTLE TIMES "Depending on your age, Duff is either the perfect big sister or the perfect baby sitter. She is not the perfect actress, though." Jeffrey Westhoff NORTHWEST HERALD CRYSTAL LAKE "So pure at heart that, even with its over-the-top moments and cliches, one is willing to forgive the flaws and admire all that it achieves." Dustin Putman THEMOVIEBOY.COM "Such treacle you'd have to be a serious fan to get through the thing without losing your lunch." Kim Morgan REEL.COM "I like Hilary Duff, she's very charming, but she's stuck on this after school special level with these movies." Richard Roeper EBERT & ROEPER

At A Glance The idea for "Raise Your Voice" initially came about when executive music director for New Line Cinema, Mitch Rotter put the idea for a film "about a talented small-town girl attending a music camp in the big city" to production president Toby Emmerich. "After reading a lot of scripts, I still couldn't find something that matched what we were looking for", he recalled. "Basically a story about a young girl with a lot of talent who needs to overcome her environment and the fear within herself to embrace this gift she has. We wanted it to have a strong inspirational element beyond the traditional fish out of water story line. More out of frustration than anything else, I wrote a short treatment to summarize the type of movie we were looking for. Doing this added a lot of shape and clarity to the idea and enabled me to come up with something richer than a dry synopsis. When I sent it to Toby, he pretty much said, That sounds great, stop looking and let's make this." Rotter's idea was put to Sara Risher whose company ChickFlicks currently has a development deal at the studio. "The studio approached me with an idea about doing a film based around a music school," producer Risher said. "It was kind of an updated, contemporary version of Fame. I liked the idea and hired screenwriter Sam Schreiber, who had written a wonderful script I’m currently developing called "Sticks and Stones". It is set in the world of professional pool and revolves around the relationship of a father and daughter, so I knew he was really good with female characters and father/daughter relationships." But the concept of small town girl moving to the big city to pursue her dream would produce challenges as writer Sam Schreiber explained. "The biggest challenge in developing Mitch’s idea into a script was adding something unique to the musical summer camp idea from a direction that revealed things about Terri and what she’s going through. "I decided to have her brother die in a car accident, which brought something a bit weightier to the story." But, even though Risher tried twice to get the project off the ground, it floundered both times. Thankfully, she never lost faith. Risher came to realized that for the project to succed she needed "a young actress that audiences would connect with." That's when the idea of approaching Hilary Duff's management came to her. "I remembered that I had been approached by Hilary Duff’s people a year before but at the time she was a little too young for the role," said Risher. "I'd always thought of her as "Lizzie McGuire", but I realized she was almost 16 years old, which is the age of the lead character in the film. She had just finished making The Lizzie McGuire Movie and was getting ready to record her first album, and you just got the sense that her career was set to really take off. So I re-approached Hilary and secured her participation in the project." "When I read Raise Your Voice, I thought it was fantastic,” says director Sean McNamara. "It’s a story about a young girl trying to find the inner strength to follow her dream. Normally, when you read coming of age films aimed at younger audiences they’re kind of corny, but this story is more along the lines of the film Fame." And here's a twist to the story as told by Sara Risher. "When I met with Sean McNamara, not only did I love his ideas about the script and his visual sensibility, but I learned that he had also discovered Hilary Duff when he cast her in Disney’s Casper Meets Wendy. They really liked and respected each other and wanted to work together again." Producer David Brookwell had worked with both McNamara and Duff on Disney’s "Casper Meets Wendy". "There is just something about Hilary that the camera really loves," says Brookwell. "She has such a dynamic screen presence and it was just very serendipitous that it all came together and we were able to cast her in this film." Duff seized on the opportunity to take on a more adult film role. "I really wanted to play a character that was different from anything I’ve done before," says Duff. "The story has some really happy parts, but there are also dramatic moments where Terri is struggling with everything in her life. It’s a continuous growing experience for my character in the film." Screenwriter Sam Schreiber sees the film as one of filled with many challenges for it's lead character Terri Fletcher. "Terri is torn between her desire to be a good daughter and the overpowering calling of her music. After her brother dies, her character is revealed through the decisions she makes during the hardest time of her life. If she’s going to make it in her new environment, she has to learn to open up and express her feelings." "Terri is a sweet and normal girl, but she has an extreme talent for songwriting," adds Duff. "She lives with her family in a small town in Arizona and works at her family’s restaurant. Her father has never been very open-minded about letting her pursue her dream of being a singer, so she’s kind of torn throughout the whole movie." The insipiration for Terri's move to the big city and attending Bristol-Hillman Conservatory in Los Angeles comes from her brother Paul, played by Jason Ritter. "I thought the role of Paul was a great part that sets the entire film into motion," says Ritter. "I absolutely connected with the character, who basically is a guy that believes in following your passion in life. He's not cynical like his father and feels that if you put yourself out there and fail, at least you know that you've tried your best." Producer David Brookwell believes they hit it big time when Ritter came on board. "This film definitely has a lot of heart and we really scored by casting Jason Ritter," says producer David Brookwell. "He has one of those infectious personalities and from the moment they met, he had great chemistry with Hilary." Crew Bytes "RAISE YOUR VOICE" was .......
directed by Sean McNamara ["Race to Space", "The Trial of Old Drum", "Casper Meets Wendy" and "The Adventures of Galgameth"]; screenplay by Sam Schreiber ["Raise Your Voice"]; costume design by Aggie Guerard Rodgers ["American Graffiti", "Return of the Jedi", "The Color Purple" and "The Witches of Eastwick"]; production design by Joseph T Garrity ["A Mighty Wind", "Best in Show", "Waiting for Guffman" and "Almost Heroes"]; edited by Jeff W Canavan ["Rock Star", "Evolution", "Life or Something Like It", "Holes" and "Clockstoppers"]; director of photograhpy John R Leonetti ASC ["Mortal Kombat", "Poltergeist", "The Scorpion King" and "Honey"]; original music by Machine Head ["Jacob’s Ladder" and "Black Rain"] produced by David Brookwell ["Race to Space", "Permanent Midnight", "Hollywood Chaos" and "The Trial of Old Drum"] and A J Dix & Anthony Rhulen ["The Real Cancun" and "The Butterfly Effect"]. Casting About "RAISE YOUR VOICE" stars .......
2004 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award winner Hilary Duff ["The Lizzie McGuire Movie", "Cheaper by the Dozen", "Cadet Kelly" and "A Cinderella Story"]; Jason Ritter ["Happy Endings", "Mumford", "Swimfan" and "Freddy vs Jason"]; Rita Wilson ["Sleepless in Seattle", "Runaway Bride", "Auto Focus" and "Mixed Nuts"]; David Keith ["The Rose", "The Great Santini", "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Independence Day"]; Oliver James ["Beauty Shop", "Chasing Sunsets", "The Brady Bunch Movie" and "Fletch"]; John Corbett ["My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Raising Helen"]; Johnny Lewis [TV's "Boston Public", "The Guardian", "Judging Amy" and "Malcolm in the Middle"]; Lauren C Mayhew [TV's "The Reppies", "Law & Order", "American Dreams" and "Guiding Light"]; Kat Dennings ["Down In The Valley", "The Scream Team", "Sugar In My Veins" and "Kirsten"]; Dana Davis [TV's "Boston Public", "Malcolm in the Middle", "One on One" and "Joan of Arcadia"] and Rebecca De Mornay ["And God Created Woman", "The Winner", "The Three Musketeers", "Runaway Train", "Identity" and "Lords of Dogtown"] as Aunt Nina. The Story

"It's easy to play the middle-aged critic and...dismiss the proceedings as trite, but for the... young teens seeing it, [it] will seem... relevant to their own lives." Daniel M Kimmel WORCESTER TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Terri Fletcher dreams of making it as a singer. The only thing holding Terri back is her overprotective father who won't budge on her attending the Bristol-Hillman Conservatory in Los Angeles. Her Aunty Nina believes in her, as does her brother Paul who has been video taping Terri singing and has sent a copy to the music school. Then tragedy strikes. While returning home from a concert, Paul is killed when a driver runs the red light at an intersection. When news comes that she has been accepted at Bristol-Hillman Conservatory, her father Simon forbids any further discussion on the matter. Terri will stay home. Until her mother and Aunty come up with a plan. Terri will be invited to vacation at Nina's but will secretly slip away to Los Angeles to follow her dream. While she hates to deceive her father, she is desperate to prove she can make it as a singer. All goes well until she has to sing in front of a crowd. Once in front of the bright lights memories of her brothers death rob her of her voice. If she wants a $10,000 academic scholarship at Bristol-Hillman, Terri must overcome all her doubts, fears and raise her voice. The Verdict "For those who love their films sweet, mushy, non-threatening and awfully treacly, "Raise Your Voice" will prove good fare. There's nothing here that parents can't explain to the younger Duff fans if it comes to a pinch. It may not be everyones cup of tea, but in the eyes of those who love the 'Duffinator', Hilary can sing and can do no wrong. Recommended for those who are big Hilary Duff fans, cinemagoers who just want a feel good, fun film or anyone looking for a bit of a diversion." The Cast

Hilary Duff Oliver James David Keith Dana Davis Johnny K Lewis Rita Wilson Lauren C Mayhew Kat Dennings Jason Ritter Rebecca De Mornay John Corbett Carly Reeves James Avery Robert Trebor Steven T Palmer Davida Williams Marshall Manesh Gibby Brand Sean Patrick McNamara Fred Meyers Mitch Rotter Seis Cuerdas John Gipson TJ Thyne

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Terri Fletcher Jay Corgan Simon Fletcher Denise Gilmore Engelbert 'Kiwi' Wilson Frances Fletcher Robin Childers Sloane Paul Fletcher Aunt Nina Mr Torvald Kelly Mr Gantry Mr Wesson Street Drummer Lauren Cabbie Mr Holcomb Dr Mark Farley Matthew Folk Singer Flamenco Guitarists Saxophone Player Emcee

The Crew Directed by Sean McNamara Story by Mitch Rotter Screenplay by Sam Schreiber Produced by David Brookwell/AJ Dix/Sean McNamara Produced by Anthony Rhulen/Sara Risher/William Shively Original Music by Machine Head Cinematography by John R Leonetti Film Editing by Jeff Canavan Casting by Joey Paul Production Design by Joseph T Garrity Art Direction by Gary Myers Set Decoration by Melissa M Levander Costume Design by Aggie Guerard Rodgers Unit Production Manager Avram 'Butch' Kaplan Run Time 106 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - New Line Productions - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved