Synecdoche, New York
An ailing theater director sets out to build a massive, life‑size replica of New York inside a warehouse for his new play, only to have his obsessive quest blur the line between art and reality, endangering his work, his love affairs, and his own sanity.
“The end is built into the beginning.”
Synopsis
A theater director faces professional challenges and personal complications while trying to construct a full-scale replica of New York within a warehouse for his upcoming production.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 66+ 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 Robert FrazenShot by Frederick ElmesScored by Jon BrionDesigned by Mark Friedberg
Box Office
2008 · Box office
📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.2× 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
$4.4M
Opening week (7-day): $238K
Peak 9 theaters
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Cast & Crew
66 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Philip Seymour Hoffman
as Caden Cotard
Samantha Morton
as Hazel
Michelle Williams
as Claire Keen
Catherine Keener
as Adele Lack
Michelle Williams Nm0931329
as Claire Keen
Sadie Goldstein
as Olive (4 years old)
Emily Watson
as Tammy
Tom Noonan
as Sammy Barnathan
Dianne Wiest
as Ellen Bascomb / Millicent Weems
Peter Friedman
as Emergency Room Doctor
Jennifer Jason Leigh
as Maria
Charles Techman
as Like Clockwork Patient
Supporting cast
45Hope Davis
as Madeleine Gravis
Josh Pais
as Ophthalmologist
Daniel London
as Tom
Robin Weigert
as Adult Olive
Deirdre O Connell
as Ellen's Mother
Alice Drummond
as Actress Playing Frances
Amy Wright
as Burning House Realtor
Elizabeth Marvel
as Warehouse Realtor
Christopher Evan Welch
as Pastor
Tom Greer
as Medic
Lynn Cohen
as Caden's Mother
Jerry Adler
as Caden's Father
Daisy Tahan
as Ariel
Frank Girardeau
as Plumber
Kristen Bush
as Actress Playing Claire
Stanley Krajewski
as Actor as Caden
Robert Seay
as David
Stephen Adly Guirgis
as Davis
Joe Lisi
as Maurice
Michael Medeiros
as Eric
William Ryall
as Jimmy
Rosemary Murphy
as Frances
John Rothman
as Dentist
Paul Sparks
as Derek
Tim Guinee
as Needleman Actor
Michael Higgins
as Actor Playing Man with Nose Bleed
Barbara Haas
as Warehouse Actress
Greg Mcfadden
as Actor Playing Needleman Actor
Alvin Epstein
as Man with Nose Bleed
Gerald Emerick
as Man in Line
Chris Mcginn
as Lady at Caden's Mom's
Dan Ziskie
as Leg Tremor Doctor
Portia
as Therapy Patient Actress
Nicholas Wyman
as Soap Actor Doctor
Amy Spanger
as Soap Actress Nurse
Timothy Doyle
as Michael
Cliff Carpenter
as Old Man
Raymond Angelic Sr
as German Doctor
Erica Fae
as German Woman
Mark Lotito
as Minister
Laura Odeh
as Toystore Clerk
Deanna Storey
as Jazz Singer
Frank Wood
as Evaluative Services Doctor
Amanda R Phillips
as Emergency Room Nurse
Kat Peters
as Ellen (10 years old)
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
4Other crew
7Parents Guide
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