Football Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's football season, which means it's also the season for at least one heartwarming and inspiring movie about the sport. This year the film comes from Universal -- The Express, a biopic of Ernie "The Elmira Express" Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman trophy, back in 1963. However, the movie divides its time between Davis and his coach at Syracuse University, Ben Schwartzwalder, and shows the ways in which the two characters changed one another (for the better, natch).

The movie opens during the notorious Cotton Bowl game of 1960, when Davis (Rob Brown) was a running back on the Syracuse University team that played The University of Texas, which had not yet allowed black varsity team members. It's a rough game, but Davis is handling himself until all hell breaks loose ... and then we flash back to Davis's childhood in the 1940s and see how he learned to handle nasty racist situations even at an early age. He's stubborn and he's speedy, and eventually decides to use those assets to strive for his goal of playing professional football. His idol, Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown, advises Davis to play for his alma mater Syracuse because Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid) is such an excellent head coach. But Davis encounters difficulties in the ways Schwartzwalder handles the black team members. The coach's primary goal is to avoid "trouble," so they're warned away from the white female students, and worse yet, at certain Southern games they're not allowed to score touchdowns. The real action culminates when the film returns to the Cotton Bowl game in Dallas.

As Leatherheads arrives in theaters, you're going to be hearing the phrase "screwball comedy" a lot, either in the barrage of pre-opening publicity or in review after review. "Screwball comedy" implies a certain snap and rotation -- a velocity to the gags and a vector to the plot -- but the people who made Leatherheads don't quite have the strength of arm or skew of angle to make Leatherheads truly screwball; it kind of fizzles out on the way to the plate. And that's not to say Leatherheads is charmless or unenjoyable or ill-made; it just isn't quite as good as the pedigrees and passions of the people involved would have you think it will (or, frankly, should) be.

It's a good day for me when I get to see George Clooney on-screen in anything (or even better, in less than anything, but he doesn't tend to go there, sadly). Now you have a chance to see Clooney in his latest film, Leatherheads, for free! The title of the film makes me think of horror films, but Leatherheads, directed by and starring Clooney, is really a romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, when players wore helmets made out of leather rather than the high-tech, head-protecting gear they don today. The film co-stars Renée Zellweger as Clooney's beloved, and John Krasinski as war hero and football star Clooney recruits to help his floundering team.

You can sign up for your chance to win tickets right over here. And if you do get tickets to a screening, be sure to let us know what you think of the film. I'm particularly curious to see what kind of chemistry Clooney and Zellweger have -- she wouldn't be my first choice to star alongside him, so I'm wondering how they are on-screen.

When you think of Sundance wheeling and dealing, you probably think of the bigger players on the indie circuit: the studio specialty divisions, the veteran boutique distributors, or the fledging mid-level newcomers driven by recent investments. But a cable sports channel? ESPN jumped into the game on Saturday by acquiring soccer doc Kicking It, according to indieWIRE.

ESPN is not getting into the theatrical distribution business, though. Instead, they will help the filmmakers to secure theatrical, DVD and other distribution while retaining, naturally enough, worldwide television rights.

Directed by Susan Koch, Kicking It focuses less on the sport and more on a group that uses soccer to help homeless people. First established in 2001, the competition for the Homeless World Cup now involves upwards of 20,000 homeless people playing street soccer. That number is winnowed down through competition to 500 players representing 48 countries. The doc profiles seven players from all over the world: Ireland, Kenya, Spain, USA, Afghanistan and Russia. I imagine we'll hear words like "inspirational' in descriptions of the film; how could it not be?

Koch is a veteran filmmaker and has directed documentaries throughout the world. (Full disclosure: One of the film's producers is Ted Leonsis, AOL executive. He also served as executive producer for Nanking, a doc that premiered at Sundance last year.) ESPN feels that Kicking It fits within their goals of reaching out to an international audience, according to the indieWIRE article. We'll keep an eye out for any forthcoming distribution deals for the film.

The official site for Leatherheads has now added the first trailer for the period comedy. The film stars George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, and John Krasinski and is a comic telling of the transformation of pro-football in the 1920's. Krasinski plays the college golden boy to Clooney's world weary fast-talker. Zellweger plays a reporter that serves as the object of affection for both our boys. The film marks Clooney's third time behind the camera but this is his first time attempting to direct a 'straight' comedy. But, they don't call him the modern day Cary Grant for nothing, so at least we know that the man knows how to pull off "screwball". So as much as I like the idea of a return to the snappy dialog and feisty leading ladies, after watching the trailer all I could think was "where is Barbara Stanwyck when you need her". Nothing against Zellweger, lord knows she can do a Doris Day recreation better than anybody, but I just don't think her trademark pout is going to work for her this time.

Just last week Erik had gotten an exclusive on the first theater standees for the film and now that the official site is up and running, there are some extra downloads and photo galleries. Judging from what you see in this trailer, it looks like the movie will be a fun way to spend an afternoon. Plus, any similarities to another comedy sports hit, (*cough* Bull Durham) are probably purely intentional. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because if you are going to copy another sports movie, you might as well take one of the best. Leatherheads opens in theaters on April 4, 2008.

Many of our postings at Cinematical come from a big queue of the day's film-related stories. Usually I open one and read about some new film starring...let's say Matthew Lillard and a sassy moose. Then I sigh, take another swig of whiskey, and try to come up with something positive to say about the project. But not today! This morning I was absolutely delighted to read a Variety casting report on Trevor Moore, a friend, hilarious writer/performer, and all around good guy. He has just been cast as the lead in a new film based on the New York Times article "Hey Coach, Do You Need a Timeout?" You might know Trevor from his very funny sketch comedy group and Fuse show The Whitest Kids U Know. If not, be sure to check out some of their stuff, you'll be glad you did. And watch for the second season, which will air on the Independent Film Channel.

The Times article the film will be based on was written by Warren St. John, and you can read it here. John also wrote the source story for The Fugees, a film in development at Universal. It's not a biography of the hip-hop superstars, but the tale of a "Jordan-born soccer coach who guided a team of refugees from war-torn countries." Matt and Billy Eddy will write the screenplay for the "Hey Coach" adaptation, which will focus on "college fraternity brothers who decide to get together and coach a pee-wee football team, but find themselves overwhelmed by the competitive nature of the league." Sounds like it could be very funny, and hopefully it will include the can't miss comedy staple -- adults screaming at children and hitting them with sports equipment. Here's hoping it will be more Bad News Bears than Kicking and Screaming...

Hitchcock. Scorsese. Belushi? Yes, critics of the world -- start sharpening your pencils. Variety is reporting that James Belushi has signed to make his feature directorial debut for Lionsgate. The film will be called The Catch, and is the true story of a 42 year-old man who returns to school and plays college football. Belushi will play the lead role in addition to co-producing and directing the film. Belushi has directed before -- he's been behind the camera for over 30 episodes of his much-mocked ABC sitcom According to Jim. Hey, you gotta start somewhere, right? David Murray is writing the script for The Catch. Apparently Murray is the go-to football guy these days -- he also wrote an upcoming biopic of Vince Lombardi (called Lombardi) that was produced by NFL Films.

The Catch tells the life story of Marty Reichman. Reichman was "on the verge of losing his job and his marriage when he decided to keep a promise to his father and return to college. He finds he's eligible to play ball and makes the team as tight end." I can't tell from the synopsis what tone the film will have. It could be a serious, touching sports film along the lines of the The Rookie with Dennis Quaid, or a broad old-guy-in-college comedy a la Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield. Belushi has been something of a punchline for years now, and I'm not sure when or why that started. Maybe it was K-9. Perhaps it was K-911. It certainly could have been K-9: P.I. Regardless, despite a career chock full of questionable choices, I've always found the man to be a likable actor, especially as sidekicks in two overlooked romantic comedies -- Only the Lonely and Return to Me. Maybe this could be a comeback story on and off screen?

When I was a very gullible first-grader, somebody told me the name Pelé was short for "Peg Leg". I was then convinced for a very short, very stupid afternoon that the soccer legend actually played the sport with a wooden leg. After I was set straight on the truth, I felt like an idiot, but the worst of it is that I was never able to fully appreciate Pelé's real talents. I couldn't get over the fact that he'd be more impressive to me if he had that handicap. I haven't thought much about him since elementary school, after which I gave up on soccer, but now I'm looking forward to finally learning about Pelé as I wish I had in the beginning -- with a biopic.

The three-time World Cup winner has just signed with the William Morris Agency, which will be packaging a movie in his honor. Even with both legs, Pelé's story should be perfect for a film with plenty of crowd-pleasing dramatic arcs. He grew up in poverty in Brazil and was taught to play by his father, a former pro footballer. At 15, he went pro, at 16, he joined the Brazil national team, and at 17, he was the youngest person to play in a World Cup final, and subsequently the youngest to win. About a decade later he scored his 1000th goal and then won his third Cup. After retiring from playing the sport in Brazil, he functioned as a star player (past his prime) for the New York Cosmos and also co-starred with Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone in John Huston's Victory. I'm not sure who will be best to star as Pelé, but since the actor will have to be repped by WMA, the list is certainly narrowed down. Unfortunately I have no access to the agency's list of talent. And I don't suppose City of God's Alexandre Rodrigues is on it.

So, I'm watching some of the NFL Playoffs this weekend (which, mind you, included some of the most fantastic games the post-season has given us in quite some time), when myself and a friend of mine began debating the best football-related flicks of all time. Football has always been popular on the big screen, with at least one or two films arriving each year that use the sport as their backdrop.

Usually, our football flicks come in one of three different forms: First up we have the laffer (ie: The Longest Yard), which usually consists of a group of horrible players who bumble, fumble and, with help from their brand new coach, somehow find themselves on the opposite side of losing. Throw in a montage or two (and a guy named Harold "Sticky Fingers" Lewis), and you have comedic gold. Next up is the straight-up drama (ie: Any Given Sunday), packed full of serious football playing with serious players and a serious director out to show us the real side of the game. Finally, we have the tear-jerker (ie: We Are Marshall) ... because there's nothing like watching football that makes you cry. These films usually revolve around players (or a player) who are either trying to overcome a disability or the remnants of a horrific accident.

Personally, I've always had a weak spot for The Longest Yard (the original), Friday Night Lights and, most of all, Rudy. My friend really loves Any Given Sunday, though that film never quite found a spot in my most memorable bin.

So, I ask you: What is your favorite football flick of all time?

Personally, I'm a little tired of these inspirational sports stories, however at the speedy rate Hollywood is cranking them out it appears there will always be an audience for them. Heck, last week before I attended a screening for Unaccompanied Minors, there were a handful of women leaving a screening for We Are Marshall -- all of whom had tissues in their hands from crying. The way I see it, if you can get a bunch of women to cry over a football flick, then you've successfully done your job. (Heh, the only way my wife is crying over a sports-themed film is if someone accidentally kicks a Coach bag and ruins it.)

The opening sentence of this Variety article makes it seem as if Dennis Quaid is going to play the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy. And yes, for a very brief second, I thought the world had officially come to an end. Thankfully, I continued reading where I discovered that Quaid was not playing a black football player, but instead was taking on the role of said player's mentor. As we previously reported, The Express is the film in question and it tells the true story of college football player Ernie Davis -- a guy who dominated on the field, but died of leukemia at age 23 before he could go pro. Gary Fleder will direct, while Charles Leavitt (Blood Diamond) has been brought on to rewrite Scott Williams' draft, and they're currently searching for an actor to play Davis himself. Any ideas??