possible exception of stock footage for outdoor shots. During July 1999, filming took place at Hastings Racecourse, a horse-racing track located at Vancouver's Hastings Park. For the film, the Hastings race track was transformed to portray the Churchill Downs horse track in Louisville. The scene included approximately 800 extras who cheered from the track's grandstand. In August 1999, Stone's husband, Phil Bronstein, had a heart attack and she returned to San Francisco to be with him. Stone's departure caused production to stop for two days, and for the following three days, director Stephen Metcalfe shot scenes that did not involve her character. Stone returned to the film set a week after Bronstein's heart attack and angioplasty. Production was expected to wrap on August 19, 1999, as scheduled, or possibly a day later. Gil Bellows said about the film, "It was one of those experiences that doesn't end the way one intends. I'd rather not talk about it." The film was produced by Fred Fuchs and Steven Haft, and financed by London-based Capitol Films. During production, Capitol Films entered an agreement with Carl Icahn's Stratosphere Entertainment, which was to distribute the film in the United States. Release Beautiful Joe was never released in theaters. In the United States, the film premiered on the Cinemax cable network on November 19, 2000, and was released on VHS and DVD on May 22, 2001. Reception The A.V. Clubs Nathan Rabin, who was critical of Stone's previous films, wrote that "nothing she's done has been quite as shameless or appalling as Beautiful Joe, a toxic piece of whimsy that ranks among the worst films of 2000." On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an aggregated score of 60% based on 3 positive and 2 negative reviews. References External links 2000 films American romantic comedy-drama films British romantic comedy-drama films 2000 romantic comedy-drama films American independent films British independent films 2000 independent films Films shot in British Columbia 2000 comedy films 2000 drama films Films produced by Steven Haft 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s British films