Rocket Science
2007 American comedy-drama film · Released January 17, 2007
Rocket Science is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, and starring Reece Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Nicholas D'Agosto, Vincent Piazza, and Aaron Yoo. It tells the story of Hal Hefner, a fifteen-year-old stutterer who decides to join his school's debate team when he develops a crush on its star member, and addresses the themes of coming of age, sexuality, and finding one's voice. Blitz conceived a rough storyline for the film while making Spellbound, a documentary about 1999's Scripps National Spelling Bee, but an HBO Films executive persuaded him to write the film based on his own adolescence when he told her about his experiences as a stutterer. The film's producers visited several cities in the United States and Canada; Thompson was cast based on a tape which his agent had sent and a follow-up audition after the first actor cast in the lead was forced to pull out.
Cast ages when filming began (July 18, 2005)
- Reece Thompson, as Hal Hefner: 16
- Anna Kendrick, as Ginny Ryerson: 19
- Nicholas D'Agosto, as Ben Wekselbaum: 25
- Vincent Piazza, as Earl Hefner: 29
- Aaron Yoo, as Heston: 26
- Denis O'Hare, as Doyle Hefner: 43
- Jonah Hill, as The Junior Philosopher: 21
- Margo Martindale, as Debate Coach Lumbly at the high school: 54