Burt Farlander and Verona De Tessant are a couple steeped in eccentricity and irregularity but are very much in love. So when they find out that Verona is pregnant they seem to be taking it in their stride. Verona is enjoying pregnancy, Burt is already practicing skill that he believes a good father should have, and they living in the same state as Burt’s parents, Jerry and Gloria, so that their prospective daughter can have grandparents.
However, things are shaken up when Burt and Verona go to dinner at Jerry and Gloria’s house, as Burt’s parents reveal a surprising piece of news. They have decided to move to Antwerp in Belguim a month before the baby is due, scuppering Burt and Verona’s plans of having their children’s grandparents around. Because Verona lost her parents when she was relatively young, she finds this news very hard to take, but the resilient couple quickly find a way to turn it in to a positive. It becomes obvious that this is what the pair needed, as they decide to embark on a search for the right place for them to raise their daughter. They go to every place they can think of, meeting family and friends along the way, with laughter and sadness, this is a road trip the couple will never forget.
“Away We Go” is a contemporary comedy directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes from an original screenplay by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. The movie follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski of The Office and Maya Rudolph of Saturday Night Live), as they travel the U.S. in search of a place to put down roots and raise a family.
Rounding out the cast are Jeff Daniels, Carmen Ejogo, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Josh Hamilton, Allison Janney, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Messina, Catherine O’Hara, and Paul Schneider. “Away We Go” is produced and co-financed with Focus by Big Beach. As they await the birth of their baby, a couple (John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph) travel across America in search of the perfect place to raise their family. During their journey, they share assorted misadventures and reconnect with old friends and relatives. The experiences and people they encounter help them define the word home on their own terms, possibly for the first time in their lives.
Green Light for Project
Away We Go marks the first movie that director Sam Mendes has helmed from an original screenplay since the Academy Award-winning American Beauty. He remarks, “I was feeling the need to do something writer-led. Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida’s script was delightful, and had a lightness of spirit even when dealing with serious issues.”
In another first, Mendes prepared to make – and ultimately filmed – Away We Go while still in post-production on another movie, Revolutionary Road. “I committed to making Away We Go faster than I’ve ever made another movie. It was a way of letting off steam after the intensity of filming and editing” the latter, he muses. “It is kind of a companion piece in that there’s also a couple who want to escape and find themselves -only this time, they do.
“In their screenplay, Dave and Vendela wrote about what happens to a couple on the brink of starting the next phase of their life, with a newborn, and the hope, fear, and excitement of that time. As a parent myself, I recognized it all.”
Academy Award-winning producer Edward Saxon says, “When writers of Dave and Vendela’s talent send you their original screenplay, it’s an incredible gift. I was pulled in by its humor, its relevance, and its incredibly vivid characters.”
Academy Award-nominated producers Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub’s independent production and finance company Big Beach joined forces with Saxon. Saraf notes, “I had previously worked with Ed on several projects and know that he has excellent taste, and an uncommon understanding of material.
“When he brought us Dave and Vendela’s script, we knew immediately that it would be a great opportunity to reunite. This script is truly unique, and has that rare combination of being immensely entertaining and having emotionally satisfying storytelling. It doesn’t get any better, and it doesn’t happen often.”
Continue Reading and View the Theatrical Trailer
Away We Go (2009)
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Starring: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Schneider, Melanie Lynskey, Allison Janney, Samantha Pryor, Bailey Harkins, Chris Messina
Screenplay by: Vendela Vida
Production Design by: Jess Gonchor
Cinematography by: Ellen Kuras
Film Editing by: Sarah Flack
Costume Design by: John Dunn
Set Decoration by: Lydia Marks
Art Direction by: Henry Dunn
Music by: Alexi Murdoch
MPAA Rating: R for language and some sexual content.
Distributed by: Focus Features
Release Date: June 5, 2009
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