Cecil B. Demented (2000) is a darkly comic cult film written and directed by John Waters. It stars Melanie Griffith, Stephen Dorff, Alicia Witt, Adrian Grenier, Michael Shannon, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The title (which is also Dorff's character's name) is a play on the name of famous director Cecil B. DeMille. The film is loosely based on the 1974 kidnapping of Patty Hearst and, like many of Waters' films, was shot in Baltimore, Maryland. The film was given a limited release in US cinemas on August 11, 2000. The film centers on a Hollywood starlet who is kidnapped by a gang of bizarre filmmakers who force her to star in their underground film. For her role in the film, Melanie Griffith was nominated for Worst Actress at the 2000 Golden Raspberry Awards.