View source for Daniel and the Towers

{{Short description|1987 film}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| image =Daniel_and_the_Towers.png
| caption = VHS cover
| director = [[Paul Schneider (director)|Paul Schneider]]
| producer = Judith James
| writer = [[Stephen Tolkin]]
| starring = {{ubl|Miguel Alamo|[[Shawn Harrison (actor)|Shawn Harrison]]|[[Allan Arbus]]|[[Michael McKean]]}}
| cinematography = Tom Hurwitz
| editing = [[Norman Hollyn]]
| distributor = [[WonderWorks]]
| released = {{Film date|1987|||TV|1992|||VHS}}
| country = United States
| name = Daniel and the Towers
| runtime = 61 minutes
}}
'''''Daniel and The Towers''''' is a [[Made-for-TV movie|television film]] featuring the [[folk art]] masterpiece, the [[Watts Towers]], in the [[Watts, Los Angeles, California|Watts]] neighborhood of [[Los Angeles]]. The film was directed by [[Paul Schneider (director)|Paul Schneider]], and broadcast on PBS's [[WonderWorks]] children's anthology television series. It was released on VHS in 1992.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Daniel and the Towers |date=1992-04-28 |last=WonderWorks |type=VHS |publisher=Home Vision Entertainment |id=6302976677}}</ref>
==Plot==
The movie was made by Wonderworks, a PBS family series, and tells the story of Rodia and Daniel, a delinquent neighborhood boy who learns valuable lessons from Rodia. The film is part true and part fiction. The pair come to know each other after Rodia discovers that Daniel had been using Rodia's ceramic pots for target practice. Daniel agrees to stop destroying the pots, and instead, agrees to collect more junk for him to build the towers, while Rodia agrees to fix a neighbor's window that Daniel had broken.
==Cast==
*[[Miguel Alamo]] – Daniel Guerra
*[[Shawn Harrison (actor)|Shawn Harrison]] – Sean
*Jimmy Yung – Liko
*Allan Arbus]] – Simon 'Sam' Rodia
*[[Montrose Hagins]] – Hellen Littlefield
*[[Carmen Zapata]] – Consuelo Guerra
*[[Beulah Quo]] – Lynn Chow
*[[Michael McKean]] – Wexler Hatch
*[[Liam Sullivan]] – Commissioner
*Janice McElroy – Miss Williams
*Mary Lowitt – Customer At Store
*Steven Camarillo – Rude Vacho 1
*Telly Bilbrew – Rude Vacho 2
*Anthony James Guttierrez – Rude Vacho 3
*[[John Outterbridge]] – Postman
*Tom Noble – Commissioner's Assistant
==Background==
Sam Rodia spent 33 years single-handedly creating the Watts Towers. He built the towers without any scaffolds, cranes or any hired help. He was also known as Simon Rodia, and inexplecibaly disappeared in 1954. He was later discovered to be living in a rooming house, and he died in a hospital in 1965. He never returned to the towers after building them.<ref name="dubin"/>
The script was based on an UCLA doctoral thesis, research and imagination. During their research, the producers discovered that Rodia was a "cantanerous guy", who had a habit of yelling at people. The working title was "Ask Columbus", because of Rodia's fascination with Christopher Columbus, but they finally settled on ''Daniel and the Towers'' "to convey the program's theme more clearly and make a more direct reference to the story's unique setting".<ref name="dubin"/>
==Awards==
The movie was nominated by the [[Young Artist Awards]] in 1988  as "Best Television Family Special, Movie of the Week or Variety Show" and Miguel Alamo was nominated for "Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Drama Special, Movie of the Week or Variety Show".{{cn|date=February 2024}}
==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="dubin">{{cite news |last1=Dubin |first1=Zan |title=Rodia, Watts Towers Have Renewed Life |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-watts-towers/142407805/ |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=January 23, 1987 |page=24}}</ref>
}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0175552}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndymWNbfkAE ''Daniel and The Towers''] at the official [[Watts Towers#Watts Towers Arts Center|Watts Towers Art Center Campus]] [[YouTube]] Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel And The Towers}}
[[Category:1987 films]]
[[Category:1987 drama films]]
[[Category:American television films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Stephen Tolkin]]