Holes is a 2003 American neo-Western comedy-drama film directed by Andrew Davis and written by Louis Sachar, based on his novel of the same name, originally published in August 1998. The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson and Shia LaBeouf. The film was produced by Chicago Pacific Entertainment in association with Phoenix Pictures, presented by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures, and distributed in many markets by the distribution company Buena Vista. Holes was released in the United States on April 18, 2003, earning $71.4 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its cast, faithfulness to its source material, and sense of nostalgia. The film is dedicated to Scott Plank, who died in a car accident six months before the film's release in October 2002. Plot In Texas, the Yelnats family has been cursed to be unlucky, which they blame on their ancestor Elya's failure to keep a promise to fortune teller Madame Zeroni over a century earlier in Latvia. One day, Stanley Yelnats IV is wrongfully convicted of stealing a pair of sneakers that were donated to charity by baseball player Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston, and is sentenced to 18 months at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp, in lieu of jail time. The camp is in a dried lake bed where rain never falls and venomous yellow-spotted lizards proliferate. Stanley meets the warden, Louise Walker, her assistant, Mr. Sir, and camp counselor Dr. Pendanski. Prisoners, known by their nicknames—including Zero, Zig-Zag, Armpit, Squid, X-Ray, and Magnet—spend each day digging holes in the desert; they may earn a day off if they find anything interesting inside the holes. After Stanley finds a golden lipstick tube initialed K.B. and a fossil, he is accepted into the group and given the nickname Caveman. When Magnet steals Mr. Sir's bag of sunflower seeds, Stanley takes the blame and is taken by Mr. Sir to Walker's cabin. Inside, Stanley notices old wanted posters and newspapers that lead him to realize that "KB" stands for Katherine "Kissin' Kate" Barlow, an outlaw his grandfather encountered. Walker assaults Mr. Sir for his irrelevant report and allows Stanley to return to work. Camp Green Lake's history is revealed in a series of flashbacks as a flourishing lakeside community in the 19th century. Barlow romantically bonds with Sam, an African-American onion merchant who helps repair her schoolhouse. When