American Beauty (1999 film) "American Beauty" to the fledgling DreamWorks studio, which bought the script for $250,000, outbidding several other production bodies. DreamWorks financed the $15 million production and served as its North American distributor. "American Beauty" marked theater director Mendes' film debut; courted after his successful productions of the musicals "Oliver!" and "Cabaret", Mendes was only given the job after 20 others were considered and several A-list directors turned down the opportunity. Spacey was Mendes' first choice for the role of Lester, though DreamWorks urged him to consider better-known actors; similarly, the studio suggested several actors for the role of Carolyn until Mendes
Alice in Wonderland (1999 film) Alice in Wonderland (1999 film) Alice in Wonderland is a 1999 made-for-television film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's books "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass". It was first broadcast on NBC and then shown on British television on Channel 4. Tina Majorino played the lead role of Alice, and a number of well-known performers portrayed the eccentric characters whom Alice meets during the course of the story, including Ben Kingsley, Ken Dodd, Martin Short, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Ustinov, Christopher Lloyd, Gene Wilder, Robbie Coltrane and Miranda Richardson. The film won four Emmy Awards in the categories of costume design,