| Doonby | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Peter Mackenzie |
| Screenplay by | Peter Mackenzie |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Peter Field |
| Edited by | Drake Silliman |
| Music by | Claude Foisy |
Production companies |
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Release date |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2 million [1] |
Doonby is a 2013 independent film written and directed by Peter Mackenzie. It stars John Schneider, Jenn Gotzon, Ernie Hudson, Jennifer O'Neill, Will Wallace, Robert Davi and Joe Estevez.
Sam Doonby (John Schneider) is a mysterious drifter who gets off a bus one afternoon in a small Texas town to change and improve the lives of all he comes in contact with. It is a story of greed and envy, played out against the backdrop of the classic country and blues music that is performed in Leroy’s Bar. [2] The film has been described by the producers as Crazy Heart -meets- It's A Wonderful Life , while Schneider described it as "It's A Wonderful Life without the Wonderful." [3]
The film was shot on location in Smithville, Texas. [4]
Doonby was previewed during the 64th annual 2011 Cannes Film Festival. [1] It received a limited release in February 2012 to be followed by wider release in the United States during the spring. [5] The film was given wide release on February 17, 2012 by Freestyle Releasing [6] In 2014 distribution company CMD Distribution obtained DVD distribution rights. [7]
Doonby resonated with many anti-abortion organizations due to its anti-abortion theme. Activist Norma McCorvey (1947-2017), known as the plaintiff Jane Roe of the Supreme Court landmark decision Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, appeared in a cameo in the film. [1] It has also been endorsed by the Vatican and has premiered at the Landmark E Street Cinema during the 2013 March for Life, an annual anti-abortion march protesting abortion in the United States. [8]
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protected a right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many abortion laws, and caused an ongoing abortion debate in the United States about whether, or to what extent, abortion should be legal, who should decide the legality of abortion, and what the role of moral and religious views in the political sphere should be. The decision also shaped debate concerning which methods the Supreme Court should use in constitutional adjudication.
Norma Leah Nelson McCorvey, also known by the pseudonym "Jane Roe", was the plaintiff in the landmark American legal case Roe v. Wade in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that individual state laws banning abortion were unconstitutional.
Smithville is a city in Bastrop County, Texas, United States, near the Colorado River. The population was 3,922 at the 2020 census.
Jennifer O'Neill is a Brazilian-born American actress, model, author, and activist. She first came to prominence as a teenage model, as well as for her spokesperson work for CoverGirl cosmetics, which began in 1963 and spanned three decades. She made her feature film debut in the comedy film For Love of Ivy (1970), followed by a lead role in Howard Hawks's Western film Rio Lobo (1970).
John Richard Schneider is an American actor and country music singer. He is best known for his portrayal of Beauregard "Bo" Duke in the American television action/comedy series The Dukes of Hazzard, Jonathan Kent in the 2001–11 TV series Smallville, and James "Jim" Cryer on the television series The Haves and the Have Nots, created by Tyler Perry.
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide.
Joseph Estévez is an American actor and director. He is the younger brother of actor Martin Sheen and the uncle of Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Renée Estevez, and Ramon Estevez.
Army of God (AOG) is an American Christian terrorist organization, members of which have perpetrated anti-abortion violence. According to the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security's joint Terrorism Knowledge Base, the Army of God is an active underground terrorist organization in the United States. In addition to numerous property crimes, the group has committed acts of kidnapping, attempted murder, and murder. The AOG was formed in 1982 and, while sharing a common ideology and tactics, the group's members claim that they rarely communicate with each other; this is known more formally as leaderless resistance. The group forbids those who wish to "take action against babykilling abortionists" from discussing their plans with anyone in advance.
Deluxe Distribution is an Ermico Enterprises, Inc-owned subsidiary founded in 1986 with limited partner Brian Ware in San Francisco. Deluxe was formed to distribute the Beware Record label, and other small record labels popular with skateboarders, along with Thunder Trucks and Supercush Bushings. Deluxe distributes six skateboard brands and owns DLXSF, a retail outlet.
The United States anti-abortion movement contains elements opposing induced abortion on both moral and religious grounds and supports its legal prohibition or restriction. Advocates generally argue that human life begins at conception and that the human zygote, embryo or fetus is a person and therefore has a right to life. The anti-abortion movement includes a variety of organizations, with no single centralized decision-making body. There are diverse arguments and rationales for the anti-abortion stance. Some anti-abortion activists allow for some permissible abortions, including therapeutic abortions, in exceptional circumstances such as incest, rape, severe fetal defects, or when the woman's health is at risk.
Troy Edward Newman-Mariotti, known as Troy Newman, is an American anti-abortion activist. He is the president of Operation Rescue, which is based in Wichita, Kansas, and sits on the board of the Center for Medical Progress.
The March for Life is an annual rally and march against the practice and legality of abortion, held in Washington, D.C., either on or around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a decision legalizing abortion nationwide which was issued in 1973 by the United States Supreme Court. The participants in the march have advocated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which happened at the end of the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. It is a major gathering of the anti-abortion movement in the United States and it is organized by the March for Life Education and Defense Fund.
The Republican Majority for Choice (RMC) was a Republican organization in the United States dedicated to preserving legal access to abortion. The group also supported federal funding for all kinds of stem cell research, including embryonic stem cell research.
Jenn Gotzon Chandler is an American film actress. She portrayed U.S. President Richard Nixon's daughter Tricia Nixon in the 2009 film Frost/Nixon. Gotzon portrayed the female protagonist in The Farmer and The Belle: Saving Santaland opposite her actor-husband Jim E. Chandler, and appeared in the mystery-drama Doonby.
CMD Distribution is a faith and family film distribution company, headquartered in Wake Forest, North Carolina. The company distributes, acquires and markets Christian and family-friendly films.
Roe v. Wade is a 2020 American political legal drama film produced, written and directed by Nick Loeb and Cathy Allyn. It serves as a dramatization of the 1973 landmark decision of the same name, rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of the constitutionality of laws that criminalized or restricted access to abortions.
Sunrise in Heaven is a 2019 American romance direct-to-video film directed by Waymon Boone and written by Dan Benamor. The film stars Caylee Cowan, Corbin Bernsen, Dee Wallace, Travis Burns, Erin Bethea, and Jenn Gotzon Chandler. It is based on the book, His Sunrise My Sunset, a 2016 romance novel by American author Jan Hurst. Hurst was inspired to write the faith-based book after the car crash that killed her husband, Steve.
Abortion in Massachusetts is legal up to at least the 24th week of pregnancy, with exceptions allowing later termination of pregnancies in some circumstances. Modern Massachusetts is considered one of the most pro-choice states in the country: a PEW research poll finding that 74% of residents supported the right to an abortion in all or most cases, a higher percentage than any other state. Marches supporting abortion rights took place as part of the #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.
Since 1989, the Florida Supreme Court has held that Article 1, Section 23 of the Florida Constitution protects access to abortion. This means that, despite the United States Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, abortion remains legal in Florida. However, on April 13, 2023, the Florida Legislature passed and Governor DeSantis signed into law the Heartbeat Protection Act, which outlaws abortion after 6 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest, human trafficking, a diagnosis of a fatal fetal abnormality, and when required to save the pregnant woman’s life or protect her health. The Act takes effect if the state Supreme Court upholds the 15-week ban, currently being challenged.
Pro-choice and pro-life are terms of self-identification used by the two sides of the abortion debate: those who support access to abortion, and those who seek to restrict it, respectively. They are generally considered loaded language, since they frame the corresponding position in terms of inherently positive qualities. For this reason, more neutral or descriptive alternatives are sometimes preferred, for example by describing groups or individuals as supporters or opponents of abortion or abortion rights.