I Shot Andy Warhol#Soundtrack

{{short description|1996 biographical drama film by Mary Harron}}

{{for|the 2002 installation artwork by Cory Arcangel|I Shot Andy Warhol (Arcangel)}}

{{Infobox film

| name = I Shot Andy Warhol

| image = Shotandywarhol.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Mary Harron

| producer = {{plainlist|

}}

| screenplay = {{plainlist|

Mary Harron
Daniel Minahan

}}

| based_on = {{Based on|The Letters and Diaries of Candy Darling, 1992|Jeremiah Newton}}

| starring = {{plainlist|

| music = John Cale

| cinematography = Ellen Kuras

| editing = Keith Reamer

| studio = {{plainlist|

Goldwyn Films International{{cite web|title=I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)|website=British Film Institute|access-date=17 January 2022|url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150445134}}
BBC Arena
Playhouse International Pictures
Killer Films

}}

| distributor = {{Plainlist|

Electric Pictures (United Kingdom){{cite web|title=I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)|website=BBFC|access-date=17 January 2022|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/i-shot-andy-warhol-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zndk3ntg}}
Orion Pictures (United States){{cite web|title=I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)|website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films|access-date=17 January 2022|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60446-I-SHOTANDYWARHOL?sid=57fc0a2a-35dc-4804-a950-e71777431de4&sr=17.12659&cp=1&pos=0}}

}}

| released = {{Film date|1996|1|20|Cannes|1996|5|1|United States|1996|11|29|United Kingdom}}

| runtime = 103 minutes

| country = {{plainlist|

United Kingdom
United States

}}

| language = English

| budget =

| gross = $1.9 million{{mojo title|ishotandywarhol}}

}}

I Shot Andy Warhol is a 1996 biographical drama film about Valerie Solanas' life and her relationship with Andy Warhol.Kaufman, Anthony (December 3, 2009). [http://www.indiewire.com/article/decade_mary_harron_on_american_psycho "Decade: Mary Harron on 'American Psycho'"]. indieWire. Retrieved November 29, 2011. The film marked the feature film directorial debut of the Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars Lili Taylor as Valerie, Jared Harris as Andy Warhol, and Martha Plimpton as Valerie's friend Stevie. Stephen Dorff plays Warhol superstar Candy Darling. John Cale of the Velvet Underground wrote the film's score[https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/1995-12-08/530270/ John Cale - Music - The Austin Chronicle] despite protests from former band member Lou Reed.{{cite web |author1=Steve Hochman |title=POP MUSIC : 2 Velvets Clash Over Warhol Films |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-17-ca-14916-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=31 July 2021 |date=17 December 1995}} Yo La Tengo plays an anonymous band that is somewhat reminiscent of the group.{{cite web |author1=Steve Hochman |title=POP MUSIC : 2 Velvets Clash Over Warhol Films |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-17-ca-14916-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=31 July 2021 |date=17 December 1995}}

The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4714/year/1996.html |title=Festival de Cannes: I Shot Andy Warhol |access-date=2009-09-20|work=festival-cannes.com}} To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Teddy Awards, the film was selected to be shown at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2016.{{cite web |url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/presse/pressemitteilungen/panorama/pan-presse-detail_29908.html |title=Berlinale 2016: Panorama Celebrates Teddy Award's 30th Anniversary and Announces First Titles in Programme |access-date=December 20, 2015 |work=Berlinale |archive-date=December 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221041454/https://www.berlinale.de/en/presse/pressemitteilungen/panorama/pan-presse-detail_29908.html |url-status=dead }}

Plot

The film opens immediately after her attempted assassination of Andy Warhol at The Factory in 1968, followed by Valerie Solanas being shown in custody for the attack. The film then uses flashbacks to when Valerie was living in New York as a sex worker, then to her difficult childhood, then to her success in studying psychology at college. Here, Valerie discovers that she is a lesbian, that she can write, and that she has a distinctive view of the world. This leads her to New York City and its downtown underworld. Through her friend Stevie, she meets Candy Darling, who in turn introduces her to Warhol.

Valerie also meets Maurice Girodias, the publisher of Olympia Press. While Valerie wants Warhol to produce her play, Up Your Ass, Girodias wants her to write a pornographic novel for him. The group steals her manuscript and lies about it, saying it was lost. Once she signs a contract with Girodias, she comes to suspect his offer is not a generous one and may not be in her best interest. She comes to regret signing this contract. At this point, her increasing derangement leads her to believe that Warhol and Girodias are controlling her. The film concludes, where it began, with Solanas' attempted murder of Warhol. Warhol lives in fear that Valerie will strike again and never fully recovers from the shooting. Valerie dies in a welfare hotel. The SCUM Manifesto becomes a radical feminist's classic eventually.

Cast

{{Cast listing|

Lili Taylor as Valerie Solanas
Jared Harris as Andy Warhol
Stephen Dorff as Candy Darling
Martha Plimpton as Stevie
Lothaire Bluteau as Maurice Girodias
Anna Levine as Iris
Peter Friedman as Alan Burke
Tahnee Welch as Viva
Jamie Harrold as Jackie Curtis
Donovan Leitch as Gerard Malanga
Jim Lyons as Billy Name
Michael Imperioli as Ondine
Reg Rogers as Paul Morrissey
Bill Sage as Tom Baker
Justin Theroux as Mark
Jill Hennessy as Laura
Coco McPherson as Brigid Berlin
Lorraine Farris as Susan
Isabel Gillies as Alison
Craig Chester as Fred Hughes
Victor Browne as Danny
Billy Erb as Rotten Rita
Anh Duong as Comtesse de Courcy
Myriam Cyr as Ultra Violet

}}

Background

Initially intended as a BBC documentary, the film was directed by Mary Harron who also co-wrote the screenplay with Daniel Minahan.{{sfn|Heller|2008|p=151}}

Dr. Dana Heller, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Eastern Michigan University, argues that the film stages the conflict between Solanas and Warhol as less the result of gender politics – particularly because Solanas intended no connection between her writing and the shooting – than of the decline of print culture as represented by Solanas and the rise of new non-writing media as embodied by Warhol and the pop art movement.{{sfn|Heller|2008|pp=152–157}} In the screenplay, Harron and Minahan describe Solanas as "banging at an ancient typewriter" and the film frequently shows her typing, for which she is mocked by Warhol and other Factory regulars. Solanas' writing is set against the new technologies of reproduction championed by Warhol.{{sfn|Heller|2008|pp=155–156}}

Many people who knew Solanas and Warhol tried to rationalize the shooting. Stephen Koch, who in 1973 wrote a study of Warhol's film, stated: "Valerie lives in terror of dependence: That is what the SCUM Manifesto is about, an absolute terror before the experience of need. Like Warhol, Solanas is obsessed with an image of autonomy, except that... she has played the obsession desperately, rather than with Warhol's famous cool."Harron, I Shot Andy Warhol, Grove Press NY, 1995

Reception

Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 77% of 31 critics gave the film positive reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_shot_andy_warhol/ "I Shot Andy Warhol"] at Rotten Tomatoes On Metacritic, it has a weighted score of 75/100, based on 20 critics, denoting "generally favorable" reviews.[http://www.metacritic.com/movie/i-shot-andy-warhol "I Shot Andy Warhol"] at Metacritic

=Awards and nominations=

==Wins==

Gijón International Film Festival Best Art Direction – Thérèse DePrez
Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actress – Lili Taylor
Stockholm Film Festival Award for Best Actress – Lili Taylor
Sundance Film Festival Special Recognition for Outstanding Performance – Lili Taylor[https://ew.com/article/1996/02/09/1996-sundance-film-festival/ The 1996 Sundance Film Festival|EW.com]

==Nominations==

Independent Spirit Awards Best First Feature – Mary Harron, Tom Kalin, and Christine Vachon[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwC2g6a2lKk 12th annual Spirit Awards ceremony - FULL SHOW | 1997 | Film Independent on YouTube]
Stockholm Film Festival Bronze Horse
Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic