School of Rock
2003 film by Richard Linklater
The School of Rock, commonly known as School of Rock, is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, produced by Scott Rudin and written by Mike White. The film stars Jack Black, Joan Cusack, White and Sarah Silverman. Black plays struggling rock guitarist Dewey Finn, who is fired from his band and subsequently poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school to pay his rent. After witnessing the musical talent of the students, Dewey forms a band of fifth-graders in an attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands as revenge against his former bandmates.
School of Rock was released on October 3, 2003, by Paramount Pictures, grossing $131.3 million worldwide on a $35 million budget. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Black's performance and humor. It was the highest-grossing music-themed comedy of all time until the release of Pitch Perfect 2 in 2015. A stage musical adaptation opened on Broadway in December 2015, and a television adaptation aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from March 2016 to April 2018.
Plot
Rock band No Vacancy performs at a nightclub three weeks before auditioning for the Battle of the Bands. Guitarist Dewey Finn irritates his bandmates with on-stage antics, culminating in a failed stage dive that abruptly ends the performance.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “School of Rock” is 2003 film by Richard Linklater. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through School, Rock and film, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “2003 film by Richard Linklater” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q820753. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2003, 2015, 2016 and 2018.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “School of Rock”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow School of Rock primary sources, School of Rock archive and School research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “School of Rock”?
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- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “School of Rock” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.