What Goes Up

What Goes Up is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Glatzer and starring Hilary Duff, Steve Coogan, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby, and Molly Shannon. It was co-written by Glatzer and Robert Lawson and distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Coogan also serves as an executive producer. It premiered on May 8, 2009 at the 3rd Annual Buffalo Niagara Film Festival. What Goes Up was released in the US through Sony Pictures and Three Kings Productions in select theaters on May 29, 2009 and expanded to more theaters the following week. The film grossed $5,290 in its opening weekend. Plot Upon arriving in Concord, New Hampshire in January 1986 to cover the hometown hooplah for the looming Space Shuttle Challenger launch, with local teacher Christa McAuliffe on the mission's crew, reporter Campbell Babbitt decides to call an old college friend, only to discover an apparent suicide. Babbitt, who has his own ethical baggage, gravitates toward his friend's high-school students in hopes of finding an unsung hero story about a teacher who made a permanent impact on the social misfits of the school. Instead, he discovers a group of dysfunctional students, outcasts led by narcissistic seductress Lucy, repressed voyeur Jim, and scheming pregnant teen Tess. In a gradual reversal of roles, Babbitt soon finds himself learning from this unusual group of kids. Cast Production The film was originally titled Safety Glass and was first purchased in 1999 by Sunshine Amalgamedia, along with another script by Glatzer. In 2003, Jared Harris and Michelle Williams were cast in undisclosed roles, although neither would end up in the finished product.