The Search for John Gissing

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The Search for John Gissing
Promotional poster
Directed by	Mike Binder
Written by	Mike Binder
Produced by	Jack Binder Marc Frydman James Harbaugh
Starring	Alan Rickman Mike Binder Janeane Garofalo
Cinematography	Sue Gibson
Edited by	Roger Nygard
Music by	Larry Groupé
Release date	2001
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Search for John Gissing is a comedy film written and directed by Mike Binder, produced by Jack Binder, and starring Alan Rickman, Janeane Garofalo, and Mike Binder. The movie is set in London.

Tagline: An American businessman (Mike Binder) and his wife (Janeane Garofalo) have their lives turned upside-down by the British co-worker (Alan Rickman) he has unknowingly come to replace. The film won Best Picture at the 2002 Sarasota Film Festival.

Plot[]

Matthew Barnes is a young executive on the move up who finds himself a pawn in corporate in-fighting when he's sent to London to oversee a merger. He's to replace John Gissing; Gissing's gotten wind of it, and he makes sure that Matthew and his wife Linda, who has dutifully but reluctantly come to England, have a miserable first few days there. By the time Matthew figures out what's happening and declares a counter offensive, it may be too late to save himself from a transfer to Detroit. With Gissing still holding many cards and Linda unhappier by the moment, Matthew must reevaluate. All out war? A partnership with Gissing? Some third way?

Cast[]

• Alan Rickman — John Gissing
• Mike Binder — Matthew Barnes
• Janeane Garofalo — Linda Barnes
• Sonya Walger — Sister Mary
• Juliet Stevenson — Gwyneth Moore
• Allan Corduner — Francois "Fuller" Feulliere
• Owen Teale— Giles Hanagan
• Nigel Terry — Alan Jardeen
• Frank Harper — Dexter
• James Lance — Donny
• Lee Oakes — Carl Gissing
• Angela Pleasence — Johanna Frielduct
• Tim Briggs — Hotel Clerk
• Caroline Holdaway — Gissing's assistant

Response[]

Not having found an appropriate distribution deal, Sunlight Productions set the film aside following its festival premieres. Shortly thereafter, an online petition was formed in a plea for the release of the film, garnering more than 3,000 signatures. Mike and Jack Binder's Sunlight Productions made the film available online.

Awards and nominations[]

Awards won[]

• Sarasota Film Festival Film Critics Award: Best Film

Official selection[]

• AFI Fest 2001
• Hamptons International Film Festival 2002
• Rome Film Festival 2002
• Palm Springs International Film Festival 2002
• U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Aspen 2002
• South by Southwest
• Newport Beach Film Festival 2002
• Victoria Film Festival 2002
• Raindance Film Festival

Releases[]

This film was released on UK DVD by Simply Media 2 July 2018.

External links[]

• The Search for John Gissing at IMDb
• Clips at Mike Binder's personal site
• Clips, Photos, and Info at the Sunlight Productions official site