Guide Note

Pretty Bird is a dark satirical comedy about an unlikely trio set out to invent a rocket belt. Directed by Paul Schneider, the film stars Billy Crudup, Paul Giamatti and Kristen Wiig. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Fast Facts

1. Writer/Director: Paul Schneider
2. Adapted from the 2006 book The Rocketball Caper: A True Tale of Invention, Obsession and Murder by Paul Brown
3. Budget $3.7 million
4. Distributed by The Weinstein Company
5. Inspired by the construction of the Rocketbelt-2000
6. A rocket belt is a propulsion device worn around the waist to help a person jump over small distances

About the Director

Raised in North Carolina, Paul Schneider is an American actor who made his directorial debut with Pretty Bird. Prior to the film, Schneider has starred in George Washington, Elizabethtown, The Family Stone and Lars and the Real Girl.

Reviews

"Indeed, the film makes a slightly disconcerting tonal shift in its last fifteen minutes that might throw some viewers for a loop, but at least you'll never say that the ending of Pretty Bird (or whatever its distributor ends up calling it) is pat, obvious, or predictable. Worth seeing for Crudup, Giamatti, and Hornsby alone, the film also does a fine job of deflating a capitalist system that allows any old moron to make a quick buck." -Cinematical