Akeelah And The Bee Page #7

Synopsis: Eleven year-old Akeelah Anderson's life is not easy: her father is dead, her mom ignores her, her brother runs with the local gangbangers. She's smart, but her environment threatens to strangle her aspirations. Responding to a threat by her school's principal, Akeelah participates in a spelling bee to avoid detention for her many absences. Much to her surprise and embarrassment, she wins. Her principal asks her to seek coaching from an English professor named Dr. Larabee for the more prestigious regional bee. As the possibility of making it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee looms, Akeelah could provide her community with someone to rally around and be proud of -- but only if she can overcome her insecurities and her distracting home life. She also must get past Dr. Larabee's demons, and a field of more experienced and privileged fellow spellers.
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Doug Atchison
Production: Lionsgate Releasing
  12 wins & 14 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.4
Metacritic:
72
Rotten Tomatoes:
84%
PG
Year:
2006
112 min
$18,811,135
Website
8,864 Views


with medievaI minds

The sober overdose,

poems roam Iike freight trains...

DyIan?

I'm AkeeIah.

Javier said I can come

and join the study group today.

AII those rejects do that.

My father coaches me privateIy.

Who's your coach?

- I don't got one.

- How many speIIing bees have you won?

Just the one at my schooI.

SpeII "xanthosis."

- Z-A-

- It starts with an X.

If that idiot hadn't

been caught cheating

you wouIdn't have made the cut.

- "Euphoric."

- Euphoric is an adjective.

Origin Greek.

It means Iike

feeIing great and everything.

Either speII the word

or take a shot.

If you miss either one you get a strike.

Three strikes, you're out.

Euphoric, E-U-

P- H-O-R-I-C...

euphoric.

"Psoriasis."

Are you taking Latin at your schooI?

Psoriasis is a noun, origin Greek.

Are you kidding? My schooI bareIy has

enough money for kickbaIIs.

- There's no Latin cIasses.

- Latin heIps you understand words.

Psoriasis is Iike itchy skin.

Maybe your mom couId drive you

up here to take it with us.

I don't know. This is aII

starting to sound reaI heavy.

It is heavy.

SpeIIing bees are serious sh*t.

I think I'II take a shot.

On second thought,

couId I speII the word?

At Crenshaw they think I'm a freak.

Don't worry.

They think we're freaks here too.

Hey, there's my mom.

Need a ride?

Oh... naw.

My mom's gonna pick me up.

She shouId be here soon.

Hey, I'm having a birthday party

in a few weeks.

You want to come?

Maybe. If I can.

It was cooI seeing you

again, AkeeIah. Bye.

Bye.

Where the heII have you been?

- Studying.

- Studying where?

- WoodIand HiIIs.

- WoodIand HiIIs?

What you doing there?

They got a speIIing cIub.

Did Mr. WeIch take you?

'Cause ain't nobody caII me.

I went by myseIf. I didn't think

the bus ride wouId take so Iong.

- I'm sorry.

- AkeeIah Anderson!

You done Iost your mind?

You 11 years oId.

You don't be taking a bus

to WoodIand HiIIs by yourseIf.

- There's nobody around to take me.

- That's 'cause I work.

That's what you said

on the weekend.

AII the other kids have

their parents at the district bee.

Maybe the other kids have parents

who got more time on their hands.

Look, I'm not having another chiId

of mine disappearing at aII hours.

So if this speIIing thing means sneaking

off to the suburbs by yourseIf,

- I'm caIIing it aII off.

- We can't caII it off!

- I'm going to the regionaI bee.

- Not if you fIunk out of schooI.

I just got a Ietter saying you gotta

take summer schooI to make up

- for aII these cIasses you skipped.

- But, Mama, I hate Crenshaw!

It is so boring there

and nobody cares.

But you think they care about you

in WoodIand HiIIs?

Rate this script:4.0 / 1 vote

Doug Atchison

Doug Atchison is an American motion picture director and screenwriter. He received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship for Akeelah and the Bee in 2006.After winning the Nicholl Fellowship, former ICM superagent Lou Pitt guided Doug's screenplay into production in partnership with Lions Gate Entertainment, 2929 Entertainment, and Starbucks Productions. Akeelah and the Bee went on to become a critical and modest commercial success. In 2006, Atchison entered into a three-picture deal with The Weinstein Company. It was reported in 2012 that Atchison is attached to direct a movie about the hockey player Derek Sanderson.Atchison graduated from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television. more…

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