American Splendor (film)

American Splendor
American Splendor theatrical poster
Directed by	Shari Springer Berman Robert Pulcini
Written by	Comic Book: Harvey Pekar Joyce Brabner Screenplay: Shari Springer Berman Robert Pulcini
Starring	Paul Giamatti Hope Davis Harvey Pekar
Cinematography	Terry Stacey
Edited by	Robert Pulcini
Release dates	January 20, 2003 (Sundance Film Festival) July 18, 2003 (limited) August 15, 2003 (limited)
Running time	100 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2 million

American Splendor is a 2003 biopic about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. It is in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life. It was written and directed by documentarians Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. It stars Paul Giamatti as Pekar and Hope Davis as his wife, Joyce Brabner. However, it also features appearances from Pekar and Brabner themselves, who discuss their lives, the comic books, and how it feels to be depicted onscreen by actors. It was filmed entirely on location in Cleveland and Lakewood in Ohio.

Cast

Actor	Role
Paul Giamatti	Harvey Pekar
Harvey Pekar	Himself
Hope Davis	Joyce Brabner
Joyce Brabner	Herself
James Urbaniak	Robert Crumb
Judah Friedlander	Toby Radloff
Toby Radloff	Himself

Responses

American Splendor won the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film at the Sundance Film Festival, in addition to the award for Best Adapted Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America. At the Cannes Film Festival in 2003, the movie received the FIPRESCI (critics) award. It was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2003 Academy Awards. The film has a 94% fresh rating of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

External links

• Official website
• American Splendor at IMDb
• American Splendor at Rotten Tomatoes
• Paul Giamatti interview for American Splendor
• Visual Essay Documenting Comic Book Adaptations