Tadpole

Five years ago today, Tadpole was released in New York and Los Angeles. The independent feature was written by Niels Mueller (The Assassination of Richard Nixon) and Heather McGowan, with Gary Winick (Puccini for Beginners) in the director’s chair. The entire film was pulled together in two weeks for $150,000 and then sold to Miramax for $5 million. Shot entirely on digital video, Tadpole depicts the confrontation between 15-year-old Oscar Grubman and his adolescent hormones. Itâ€(tm)s on his Thanksgiving weekend break from boarding school that Oscar discovers the feminine wiles of older women (especially those of his new stepmother, played by Sigourney Weaver). Bilingual and educated in the classics, the cross-generational attraction is mutual for an older female member of his fatherâ€(tm)s social circle—making the holiday season just a little bit awkward.

Awards: Tadpole, also starring Bebe Neuwirth and the late John Ritter, won the Directing Award and a Grand Jury Prize nomination at Sundance 2002.