Quills (film)
| Quills | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Philip Kaufman |
| Screenplay by | Doug Wright |
| Based on | Quills by Doug Wright |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Rogier Stoffers |
| Edited by | Peter Boyle |
| Music by | Stephen Warbeck |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates | |
Running time | 124 minutes |
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| Budget | $13.5 million |
| Box office | $18 million |
Quills is a 2000 historical drama film directed by Philip Kaufman and adapted from the Obie award-winning 1995 play by Doug Wright, who also wrote the original screenplay. Inspired by Marquis de Sade, the film re-imagines the last years of the Marquis's incarceration in the insane asylum at Charenton. It stars Geoffrey Rush as de Sade, Kate Winslet as laundress Madeleine "Maddie" LeClerc, Joaquin Phoenix as the Abbé de Coulmier, and Michael Caine as Dr. Royer-Collard.
Well received by critics, Quills garnered acclaim for its performances from Rush and Winslet and for its screenplay. The film received nominations for three Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. The National Board of Review named it the Best Film of 2000. The Writers Guild of America awarded Doug Wright with the Paul Selvin Award.
The film was a modest art house success, averaging $27,709 per screen its debut weekend, and eventually grossing $17,989,277 internationally. Noted for its artistic licenses, Quills filmmakers and writers said they were not making a biography of de Sade, but exploring issues such as censorship, pornography, sex, art, mental illness, and religion.