Sex and Death 101 (Black Comedy / Completed)

Roderick Blank (Simon Baker) is a successful modern man, content with his personal and professional life. However, a week before his wedding to a suitably stuffy fiancee, Roderick's perfectly planned existence is upended by a mysterious piece of technology that e-mails him a list of every woman he has ever had sex with -- but the list keeps going. Roderick realizes that the List also contains the names of every woman he ever will have sex with!

Like a psychosexual GROUNDHOG DAY, Roderick is put through an odyssey that initially inspires awe (Playmates, Private School Girls, a Lesbian Astronaut) but soon turns into comic terror.

Roderick falls in love with a lovely angel... but she's tragically not on the List. He also crosses paths with Death Nell (Winona Ryder), a media sensation femme fatale who seduces men before putting them into fairy-tale-style comas... tragically, this dangerous woman is on the List. The literal bedtime story takes some dark twists, but Roderick eventually learns to stop fighting the List and give up his need for control. Sometimes you have to go all the way through Immorality to truly get to Morality and peace of mind...

SEX AND DEATH 101 stars Golden Globe nominee Simon Baker (TV's THE GUARDIAN, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, THE RING TWO) as Roderick Blank, a successful executive and 'ladies man' whose life is turned around by an email that includes the names of everyone he's had sex with and ever will have sex with. Oscar® nominee and Golden Globe winner Winona Ryder (THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, LITTLE WOMEN) stars as 'Death Nell,' the mysterious femme fatale who becomes a revered urban folk hero when she targets men guilty of sex crimes against women.

Leslie Bibb (TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY), Julie Bowen (TV's BOSTON LEGAL) and Australian pop sensation Sophie Monk (CLICK, DATE MOVIE) star as women on the long list of Baker's libidinous conquests, and Mindy Cohn (TV's THE FACTS OF LIFE) is Baker's accommodating assistant Trixie, Rounding out the cast as Baker's friends and co-workers are Dash Mihok (KISS KISS, BANG BANG) and Neil Flynn (TV's SCRUBS).

An Avenue Pictures and Sandbar Pictures production, SEX AND DEATH 101 is written and directed by Daniel Waters (HEATHERS, BATMAN RETURNS). Avenue's Cary Brokaw (CLOSER, ANGELS IN AMERICA) produces the film with Sandbar's Lizzie Friedman (A VIEW FROM THE TOP, RUNNING WITH THE BULLS) and Greg Little (MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP, DREAM LAND). Avenue executive vice president Aaron Craig Geller is the executive producer. Co-producer is Jerry Jacobs. The director of photography is Daryn Okada (MEAN GIRLS, JUST LIKE HEAVEN), the production designer is John Larena (ALEX & EMMA), the costume designer is Julia Caston (EUROTRIP, BOILER ROOM), and the editor is Trudy Shipp (101 DALMATIANS, MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS).

Cast: Simon Baker, Winona Ryder, Leslie Bibb, Tanc Sade, Patton Oswalt, Mindy Cohn, Dash Mihok, Neil Flynn, Corinne Reilly, Sophie Monk, Marshall Bell, Robert Patrick Benedict, Julie Bowen, Frances Fisher (Credits may not be contractual)

Writer / Director: Daniel Waters

Producers: Cary Brokaw, Lizzie Friedman, Greg Little

Production Companies: Avenue Pictures / Sandbar Pictures

Seattle International Film Festival (2007):

- Golden Space Needle Award: Best Director (Daniel Waters)

Scott Weinberg, Cinematical:

"Waters dives into all the possibilities your sex-crazed mind could create, but the high concept plot isn't enough for the filmmaker; we're also treated to a darkly amusing subplot about a female serial killer called Death Nell (Winona Ryder) who exacts a lot of revenge on some of the sleazier men of the city. Of course the two plotlines converge, quite satisfyingly I might add, during a third act plot twist.

It's all quite a bit of adult-oriented fun. So while Sex and Death 101 is a very fine ensemble piece, the star of the show is Waters' brisk and multi-faceted screenplay. The movie juggles romantic comedy, dark humor, sex farce and slight slapstick with seldom a misstep, resulting in a surprisingly unpredictable flick that works on a small variety of levels. And yes, the cast helps out a whole lot."

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