Finding Forrester
A gifted Bronx teen battles self‑doubt and elite school pressures while a reclusive literary legend secretly mentors him, forcing both to confront the limits of talent and trust.
“In an ordinary place, he found the one person to make his life extraordinary.”
Synopsis
Gus Van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help from his new mentor, Jamal receives a scholarship to a private school.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 58+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Valdis OskarsdottirShot by Harris SavidesDesigned by Jane Musky
Box Office
2000 · Box office
⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 1.9× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$80.1M
US & Canada: $51.8M — 65% of worldwide · International: $28.3M (35%)
Opening weekend: $2.2M — 4% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $2.2M — 4% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 200 theaters
Also known as
- Forrester – Gefunden!de
- Finding Reden
- Descubriendo a Forresteres
- À la rencontre de Forresterfr
- Scoprendo Forresterit
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Cast & Crew
58 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Supporting cast
37Stephanie Berry
as Janice
Fly Williams Iii
as Fly
Damion Lee
as Clay
Tom Kearns
as Coach Garrick
Matthew Noah Word
as Hartwell
Charles Bernstein
as Dr. Simon
Matt Malloy
as Bradley
Matt Damon
as Steven Sanderson
Jimmy Bobbit
as Rapper
Capital Jay
as Opposing Player
Jim Titus
as Student
Cassandra Kubinski
as Claire's Friend
Sophia Wu
as Librarian
Gerry Rosenthal
as Student Speaker
Tim Hall
as Student Manager
Tom Mullica
as Old Money Man
David Madison
as Kid in the Hall
Joey Buttafuoco
as Night Man
Jaime Mccaig
as Referee
William Modeste
as Referee
Daniel Rodriguez
as Hallway Boy
Samuel Tyson
as Creston Player
Vince Giordano
as Big Band Leader
Dean Pratt
as Trumpet Player
Kerry Mackillop
as Trumpet Player
Harvey Tibbs
as Trombone Player
Jack Stuckey
as Sax Player
Mark Lopeman
as Sax Player
Marc Phaneuf
as Sax Player
Larry Wade
as Sax Player
Conal Fowkes
as Piano Player
Matt Munisteri
as Guitarist
John Meyers
as Drummer
Ron Morgan
as Mailor Priest
Alison Folland
as Jeopardy Contestant
Alex Trebek
as Alex Trebek
Gus Van Sant
as Library Assistant (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
3Other crew
6Parents Guide
AI Personalities
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Ratings & reviews
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Where to watch
Live · bot-verified- Paramount+Stream
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