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This article is about the 2013 film. For the voice actor known for the phrase "In a world...", see Don LaFontaine.

In a World...
Half the face of a woman, her hand held to the headphones at her ear.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLake Bell
Written byLake Bell
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySeamus Tierney
Edited byTom McArdle
Music byRyan Miller
Production
companies
  • 3311 Productions
  • More Films
  • Team G
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 20, 2013 (2013-01-20) (Sundance)
  • August 9, 2013 (2013-08-09) (United States)
Running time
93 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
BudgetLess than $1 million
Box office$3.1 million

In a World... is a 2013 American comedy film written, directed, starring, and co-produced by Lake Bell. The film stars Bell as a vocal coach who does voice-overs for film trailers. The film co-stars Demetri Martin, Fred Melamed, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Nick Offerman, and Tig Notaro.

The film debuted at 2013 Sundance Film Festival in January and had its international debut at Sundance London in April before an August 2013 theatrical release. The film grossed $3.1 million against a production budget of less than $1 million. Most of the gross was domestic. Bell presents the subject matter as a lifelong interest and a natural pursuit based on her life experiences; she spent several years writing the film's script.

The film received positive reviews from critics and accolades from institutions such as the Sundance Film Festival and the National Board of Review.

Plot

[edit]

The film opens with an homage of footage of the late voice-over trailblazer Don LaFontaine. Sam Sotto is a Hollywood actor who is known as "king of voice-overs" for his extensive narration and voice-over work. With a recently published autobiography, he is about to receive a lifetime achievement award upon turning 60. His 31-year-old daughter, Carol Solomon, is a struggling vocal coach who has always been overshadowed by her father. She agrees to help Eva Longoria to loop her accent as a British mob boss wife. Sam forces Carol to move out of his house so that he can live with his girlfriend Jamie, who is a year younger than her. Carol leaves to stay with her older sister Dani and her husband Moe.

An upcoming film series, The Amazon Games, plans to bring back the "In a world..." line made famous by LaFontaine. The trailer voice-over is highly sought after. Sam bows out so that his friend and heir-apparent, Gustav Warner, can assume the role, but Gustav develops laryngitis and fails to show up to a temp track recording. Carol happens to be at the studio doing other work with engineer Louis, and she substitutes for Gustav. Katherine Huling, the series' executive producer, decides she wants Carol for the job instead. She also gets other voice-over work, but she neglects to tell her self-absorbed father about her newfound success. Gustav and Sam feel entitled and are dismissive of the unknown woman who "stole" the job from them.

Carol visits Dani at the hotel where she works as concierge. Intrigued by the voice of a flirtatious Irish guest, she asks Dani to interview and record him for her voice archive. During the interview, Dani pretends to be single. Carol joins Sam and Jamie at a party at Gustav's mansion. Gustav flirts with her, and she ends up staying the night. While waiting for Dani to come home from work, Moe listens to the recording of her interview with the hotel guest and is shocked at her lie. He leaves the apartment after Dani arrives.

Rumors spread quickly about Carol and Gustav. Gustav boasts to Sam of his night with some party-crasher, and when he learns she is the woman in competition for the job, he decides to keep pursuing her, still not fully realizing who she is. Sam and Jamie host a meal for his daughters. It comes out that Carol is the mystery woman in the running for the coveted job. He is indignant, furious at Gustav, and dismissive of Carol, causing her to leave angry. Sam vows to compete for the job himself. Dani is distraught about her husband, and Carol secretly records her anguish, sending the message to Moe to help win him back.

Competition for the job heats up. All three must send recordings for the studio to decide among. Carol is ready to drop out, but Louis champions her cause, also explaining that he likes her. She admits she likes him, too. They work together to produce the audition recording, then party together afterwards. At the end of the night, Louis finally kisses Carol.

Though Carol is still angry at her father, Moe insists that she and Dani go to the Golden Trailer Awards, where Sam is due to receive a lifetime achievement award. There the trailer for The Amazon Games is revealed; Carol got the job and is elated. Sam storms off and Jamie berates him, threatening to leave him if he does not grow up and show support for his daughters. During his acceptance speech, Sam is magnanimous in victory, dedicating the award to his daughters. In the ladies room, Carol encounters Huling, who bluntly tells her that she was not the best person for the job, but was chosen for the greater meaning of having a woman in that role. Carol goes back to her work as a voice coach, helping low self-esteem, high-pitched, squeaky-voiced women to speak less like a "baby doll" or "sexy baby" and be taken more seriously as mature women, using her voice-over on The Amazon Games trailer as their inspiration.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

The film stars Bell as Carol Solomon, a vocal coach intent on doing voice-over work for film trailers.[3] The film's title was inspired by the phrase used by Don LaFontaine to start many film trailers.[4] According to Bell, almost no notable film trailers have employed female voice-over talent except for Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), which used Melissa Disney.[5] Bell's claim was supported by a rough survey of trailer producers published in The Kansas City Star by Andy Isaacson of The New York Times.[6] Bell had been intrigued that the prototypical "omniscient" voice behind film trailers was male. This inspired her to write a story in which a female protagonist sought to overcome this prejudice,[7] resulting in her feature-length writing, directing, and producing debut.[8] The film's script built on Bell's lifelong interest in the nuances of voices, accents, dialects and speech patterns.[9][10] Her production role and directorial performance built upon her time spent watching crews set up scenes rather than relaxing in her trailer.[10]

In 2011, Lake Bell experimented with directing by directing a short.

Bell spent years tinkering with the script before letting anyone see it.[11] Then, she repeatedly rewrote the screenplay for submission to her acting agent to be shopped for a director. Eventually after an unfruitful pursuit, the agent explained that Bell should just direct it herself. This overwhelmed her, so they decided she should write and direct a short, resulting in Worst Enemy (2011) whose Sundance admission gave her the confidence to direct.[12] Bell wrote the screenplay with particular people in mind, hoping they would be interested in the project, explaining, "I was inspired to cast not only people who are great comedians but [...] who have a complex life [...] I knew that there was a profundity there that I wanted to tap into."[13] However, Notaro's part was originally written for a male.[12] The parts were drawn from acquaintances, friends, family and herself.[10] Bell also recruited her then boyfriend Scott Cambell as an art assistant for the film.[14]

Although production took a total of seven months,[12] filming was limited to 20 days in Los Angeles.[15][10] Although filmed in Los Angeles, Bell purposefully avoided including iconic local elements as much as possible.[12] Nonetheless, locations include the following: The Scientology Celebrity Center,[13][16] The California Club,[16] The Millennium Biltmore Hotel lobby,[16] and KCET Studios.[16] Bell did extensive preparation work before the film, bringing lengthy notes.[5] She counts The King of Comedy, Hannah and her Sisters, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Citizen Ruth as cinematic inspirations.[12] She considered Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Alexander Payne, Thomas McCarthy, Miranda July, Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass as directorial inspirations.[10] She filmed using shots in the style of a drama, although the film is a comedy.[17] The "nose kiss" scene was suggested by Ken Marino, and it made Bell laugh so much she told him he would need to do it twice.[15] The film's score was written by Ryan Miller of Guster and was released on September 24, 2013.[18]

Release

[edit]
Bell in 2013 when In a World... marked her feature film writing, directing and producing debut.

The film was well received at the January 26, 2013 Sundance Film Festival ceremony, winning the U.S. Dramatic Screenwriting Award.[19][20] In February, it was picked up by Roadside Attractions for North American domestic distribution, and by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions for international distribution.[21] The film had its international premier at the April 25–28, 2013 Sundance London.[12][22] Its DVD release date was January 21, 2014.[23]

Reception

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Box office

[edit]

The film opened in three theaters on August 9, 2013, with a total gross of $70,980, making it the weekend's number one in terms of overall per-theater-average gross ($23,660).[24][25] Roadside Attractions planned to gradually expand, and roll-out the film to more theatres.[24] The final worldwide gross was $3.1 million ($4.05 million in 2023).[26] Sources agree that the domestic total was $2.96 million ($3.87 million in 2023) but differ on whether the international total was $175,940 ($230130 in 2023)[26] or $151,051 ($197575 in 2023).[27] The film also had gross domestic video sales of $627,211 ($820392 in 2023).[26] The production budget was approximately $1 million ($1.31 million in 2023).[15]

Critical response

[edit]

Review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 92% based on 130 reviews. The site's consensus is, "A funny, well-written screwball satire for film buffs, In a World... proves an auspicious beginning for writer, director, and star Lake Bell."[28] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 79/100 based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[29] This was the second highest Metacritic score for a comedy film in 2013.[30] According to polls conducted by CinemaScore, audiences gave the film a B+ rating, on a scale from A to F.[31]

A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised Bell's performance for its "blend of diffidence, goofiness and charm" as well as the deceptively "complex and ambitious" result of her writing and directing insights.[32] While noting that Bell is a former contributor to the publication, The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy comments that the film is "a lively, sometimes very funny comedy" that offers an "amusing peek into a seldom-visited corner of showbiz," that is the world of Hollywood voice-over talent.[33] McCarthy describes Sam as "genial and intimidating" and Carol as a "charming, neurotic live wire" who is also "shapely and quick-witted".[33] Carol "has great delivery herself and is wonderful with accents and dialects," according to McCarthy.[33] McCarthy notes that "all the actors pop with well-defined personalities," but that Melamed "formidably dominates" the film.[33] British critic Mark Kermode praised the film for its "sharp and very snarky" humor, said it "has just enough bite, and stays on the right side of bitter," and reserved special praise for Melamed, whose performance he called "absolutely brilliant". He also praised Bell for avoiding the smug, self-serving insider view that other Hollywood films fall foul to, and the well observed characters, and although he does not think it will be a huge hit, says he thinks it deserves to do well.[34] According to National Public Radio, the comedy, has an underlying "moving story about female empowerment," with Bell's character Carol serving as voice-over industry counterpart to Rocky Balboa.[3] John Anderson of Variety notes the picture achieves its most important goal of making the voiceover industry something of interest to a broad audience.[35] He describes it as "a rollicking laffer about the cutthroat voiceover biz in Los Angeles" and "a film with too many laugh lines to be absorbed in one sitting."[35] Anderson describes Bell as a "magnetic, intelligent, blithely screwball leading lady in the Carole Lombard tradition."[35] Claudia Puig of USA Today noted that the film employed both a "fresh premise and convincing characters" and praised its deceptive simplicity in blending multiple genres (adult daughter–aging father relationship, a late-blooming coming-of-age tale, a lively satire, a sweet romantic comedy and a subtly inspiring feminist saga).[36] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times found the film endearing despite its flaws that included an "out of sorts" lead.[37] In a review for the intelligensia in The Independent Geoffrey Macnab intellectually describes the film as a surprising delight and triumph supported by Bell's "refreshingly subtle and understated" directing and "well-written" indie script.[38]

In Slate, Jessica Grose criticized Bell for reinforcing the negative association of women and high rising terminal—which, citing linguist Mark Liberman, she argued is not found to be more exhibited by women than by men—and vocal fry register—even though Bell also advocates that women speak lower than their natural voice, which contributes to vocal fry—writing, "what she's advocating is that women should have low voices to sound smart, or even sexy. Since she obviously cares about advancing women, maybe she should stop instructing them that they need to sound like dudes."[39] At Collider, Matt Goldberg describes the film as a "rambling mess" that somehow won him over despite its poor pacing, scrambled plot and lack of depth.[40]

Accolades

[edit]

In a World... won U.S. Dramatic Screenwriting Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival,[19] where it debuted on January 20.[41] Bell said she felt she had already won simply by being accepted for competition at Sundance.[15] Bell was nominated for Best First Screenplay at the 2014 Spirit Awards.[42] Bell was honored with the Breakthrough of the Year Award (shared with Joshua Oppenheimer—The Act of Killing) and was listed in the Best Actress top 10 honorees by the Dublin Film Critics' Circle.[43]

The film was recognized by the National Board of Review as one of its top 10 independent films of 2013.[44]

Year Award Category Recipients Result
2013 Sundance Film Festival[19] Best Screenplay Lake Bell Won
Dublin Film Critics' Circle Awards[43] Breakthrough of the Year Lake Bell
(co- with Joshua Oppenheimer) 		Won
2014 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards[45] Best Woman Director Lake Bell Nominated
Best Woman Screenwriter Nominated
Independent Spirit Film Awards[42] Best First Screenplay Nominated

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "IN A WORLD... (15)". Sony Pictures Releasing. British Board of Film Classification. August 8, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  2. ^ Deming, Mark (February 21, 2013). "'In A World ...' where Lake Bell's directorial debut lands a distribution deal". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved October 31, 2013. A few of Bell's friends from Children's Hospital play supporting roles in In a World ... , including ... Jeff Garlin from Curb Your Enthusiasm...
  3. ^ a b NPR Staff (July 25, 2013). "'In A World ...' Is A Comedy About, You Guessed It, Voice-Over Artists". NPR. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  4. ^ "In 'A World,' All Voice-Overs Are Not Created Equal". NPR. August 8, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Jacobs, Matthew (August 7, 2013). "Lake Bell Talks 'In A World,' Mastering Accents, Voice-Over Sexism And William Shatner's Uniqueness". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  6. ^ Isaacson, Andy (February 2, 2012). "Men Tell You What To Do". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  7. ^ "Lake Bell, 'In A World' Director, Writer And Star, Thinks There's A Vocal 'Pandemic' Among Young Women". Huffington Post. July 29, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  8. ^ "Lake Bell on Her Directorial Debut 'In a World'". The Hollywood Reporter. January 21, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  9. ^ Odam, Matthew (August 24, 2013). "Let Lake Bell introduce you to her 'World'". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e Miranda, Eugenia (August 9, 2013). "Seven Questions for In a World . . . Director Lake Bell". Vogue. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  11. ^ Eisner, Ken (August 14, 2013). "Lake Bell spins In a World… her way". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Lyttelton, Oliver (May 2, 2013). "Interview: Lake Bell On Her Love Of Movie Trailers & Her Directorial Debut 'In A World…'". IndieWire. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Lacher, Irene (August 10, 2013). "Lake Bell speaks out on voice-over work". Los Angeles Times. p. 2. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  14. ^ Dobbins, Amanda (August 11, 2013). "Lake Bell On In a World and Tattoos". Vulture. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d Ayers, Mike (August 9, 2013). "Lake Bell Finds Her Directorial Voice in 'In a World...'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 24, 2024. quirky plot straight out of a Christopher Guest mockumentary
  16. ^ a b c d Kevin Roderick (August 11, 2013). "Lake Bell makes a movie about the voice-over game". L.A. Observed. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  17. ^ Lake Bell. "In a World..." Landmark Theatres. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  18. ^ Davis, Edward (December 18, 2012). "Soundtracks At Sundance: Alicia Keys Scores 'Mister And Pete,' Ryan Miller Of Guster Composes Lake Bell's 'In A World' & More". IndieWire. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  19. ^ a b c Eric Hynes; Jeremy Kinser; Nate von Zumwalt (January 26, 2013). "2013 Sundance Film Festival Awards Updates". sundance.org. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  20. ^ "2013 Sundance Film Festival Announces Feature Film Awards". sundance.org. January 26, 2013. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  21. ^ Rome, Emily (February 21, 2013). "Lake Bell's Sundance film 'In a World...' sells to Roadside Attractions and Sony". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 26, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  22. ^ Child, Ben (March 11, 2013). "Sundance London 2013: Eagles and Peaches flying high as lineup announced". The Guardian. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  23. ^ "In a World". Amazon. January 21, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  24. ^ a b Knegt, Peter (August 11, 2013). "Specialty Box Office: 'Chennai Express' Breaks Bollywood Record; 'Blue Jasmine' Continues Toward Breaking Woody Allen's". IndieWire. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  25. ^ The Deadline Team (August 11, 2013). "Specialty Box Office: 'In A World' Bows With Gusto; 'Blue Jasmine' Still Golden – Deadline". Deadline Hollywood.
  26. ^ a b c "In a World..." The Numbers.
  27. ^ "In a World... (2013)". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  28. ^ "In a World ... (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  29. ^ "In a World..." Metacritic. CBS Interactive.
  30. ^ Dietz, Jason (January 6, 2014). "The Best and Worst Movies of 2013". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  31. ^ Tom Brueggemann (August 11, 2013). "Women Flock to Woody Allen's 'Blue Jasmine' and Lake Bell's 'In a World,' '20 Feet from Stardom' Tops Year's Docs". IndieWire.
  32. ^ A.O. Scott (August 8, 2013). "All Those Voices: Can You Hear Her Now? Lake Bell Stars in Her Directing Debut, 'In a World'". The New York Times.
  33. ^ a b c d McCarthy, Todd (January 23, 2013). "In a World...: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  34. ^ "In A World… reviewed by Mark Kermode". Kermode and Mayo's Film Review. BBC 5 Live. September 13, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  35. ^ a b c Anderson, John (January 21, 2013). "Review: "In a World ..."". Variety. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  36. ^ Puig, Claudia (August 29, 2013). "'In a World...' gives voice to girl power". USA Today. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  37. ^ Sharkey, Betsy (August 8, 2013). "Review: 'In a World...' is a winning behind-the-mike drama". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  38. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (September 12, 2013). "Film review: In a World... (15)". The Independent. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  39. ^ Grose, Jessica (August 9, 2013). "Why Is Lake Bell Dissing Women's Voices?". Slate. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  40. ^ Goldberg, Matt (August 9, 2013). "IN A WORLD... Review". Collider. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  41. ^ "In a World..." Sundance Film Festival. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  42. ^ a b "2014 Spirit Awards: '12 Years A Slave', 'All Is Lost', 'Frances Ha', 'Inside Llewyn Davis' & 'Nebraska' Nab Best Feature Noms". Deadline Hollywood. November 26, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  43. ^ a b Lloyd, Brian (December 18, 2013). "The Dublin Film Critics' Circle announce their Best of 2013 Awards". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  44. ^ Rosen, Christopher (December 4, 2013). "National Board Of Review Names 'Her' Best Picture Of 2013". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  45. ^ Lodge, Guy (December 12, 2013). "2013 Alliance of Women Film Journalists nominations: Sarah Polley and Lake Bell among the female filmmakers recognized". HitFix. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
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