Thumbsucker (2005)

Interesting facts

• Awards: 1 · Nominations: 0. Including: Sundance Special Jury Prize for Acting

Thumbsucker is a 2005 American independent comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Mills in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Lou Taylor Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kelli Garner, Benjamin Bratt, Vince Vaughn, and Keanu Reeves. The plot focuses on Justin Cobb, a teenager in suburban Oregon, as he copes with his thumb-sucking problem, romance, and his diagnosis of ADHD, as well as his subsequent experience using Ritalin. The screenplay was adapted from the 1999 Walter Kirn novel of the same name. Tilda Swinton also served as an executive producer.

Production

Lou Taylor Pucci was cast in the lead role of Justin after director Mills auditioned around 150 teenage actors. Swinton was cast as his mother, Audrey, after meeting director Mills eighteen months before the production: "I met Mike 18 months ago.

The film is set in the fictional town of Beaverwood, Oregon, while the source novel had originally been set in Minnesota. Initially, the producers had planned to shoot the film in Vancouver, British Columbia, but the production was incentivized to shoot in Oregon after Governor Ted Kulongoski promised a rebate matching the filming costs of Canada.

Filming took place in the summer of 2003 in the Portland metropolitan area, beginning in June and completing in late August. Locations included Portland, Tualatin, Beaverton, Sherwood, Vernonia, and Tigard. The school sequences were shot at Tualatin High School in Tualatin. During filming, Swinton had her twin sons on set with her, and spent time in between filming at Trillium Lake, and Pucci celebrated his 18th birthday during filming.

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