knightni

29. The Blind Side (3 of 15 lists - 45 points - highest ranked #11 knightni) he Blind Side is a 2009 American semi-biographical drama film. It is written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The storyline features Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who plays for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL. The film follows Oher from his impoverished upbringing, through his years at Wingate Christian School (a fictional representation of Briarcrest Christian School in the suburbs of Memphis, Tennessee), his adoption by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, and on to his position as one of the most highly coveted prospects in college football. For her performance, Sandra Bullock won the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. The film itself also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Besides Bullock, the film stars Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, and Kathy Bates as Miss Sue. The movie also features appearances by several current and former NCAA coaches, including SEC coaches Houston Nutt and Ed Orgeron (Oher's coaches in college, though Nutt represented Arkansas at the time and therefore does so in the film) and Nick Saban (who was at LSU at the time and represents it in the film), former coaches Lou Holtz, Tommy Tuberville, Phillip Fulmer, as well as recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. Plot For most of his childhood, 17-year-old Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) has been in foster care with different families throughout Memphis, Tennessee. Every time he is placed in a new home, he runs away. His friend's father, whose couch Mike had been sleeping on, asks Burt Cotton (Ray McKinnon), the coach of Wingate Christian school, to help enroll his son and Mike. Impressed by Mike's size and athleticism, Cotton gets him admitted despite his abysmal academic record. At his new school, Michael is befriended by a boy named Sean Jr. "SJ" (Jae Head). SJ's mother Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) is a strong-minded interior designer and the wife of wealthy businessman Sean Tuohy (Tim McGraw). Leigh Anne notices Michael walking on the road, shivering in the cold; when she learns he intends to spend the night huddled outside the school gym, she offers him a place to sleep at her house. The next morning, when she sees Michael leaving, she asks him to spend the holiday with her family. Slowly, Michael becomes a member of the Tuohy family, even as Leigh Anne's rich friends wonder what she is doing. One even suggests that her teenage daughter Collins (Lily Collins) is not safe around him, much to Leigh Anne's disgust. When Leigh Anne seeks to become Michael's legal guardian, she learns he was separated from his drug-addict mother when he was seven and that no one knows her whereabouts. She is also told that even though he scored low in almost every category in a career aptitude test, he is in the 98th percentile in "protective instincts". After his grades improve, Michael is allowed to join the school football team. He has a shaky start due to his polite and gentle nature, yet after some encouragement by Leigh Anne to tap into his "protective instincts" and regard his teammates as he would members of his family, Michael dominates on the field. SJ sends out videos of the games to college coaches around the country. Leigh Anne discovers that to get a NCAA Division I scholarship, Michael needs a 2.5 GPA, so they hire a tutor, Miss Sue (Kathy Bates). Some of the teachers help out as well, and Michael ends up with a GPA of 2.52. When coaches come to recruit Michael, Leigh Anne makes it clear that she prefers the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) as both she and her husband are alumni. Miss Sue, another Ole Miss alumna, tells Michael (who dislikes horror films) that the FBI buries body parts under the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium for research; Leigh Anne particularly loathes that school. Michael commits to Ole Miss. Subsequently, Michael and the Tuohys become the subject of an NCAA investigation. The investigator tells Michael that the Tuohys and Miss Sue are fervent Mississippi boosters, who are subject to special restrictions, and his high school coach got a job at Ole Miss after Michael chose the school. Michael confronts Leigh Anne, asking her if she only took him in so he would play football for her alma mater. Michael then goes to his birth mother's apartment in the projects. His old friends welcome him, but their leader makes crude remarks about Leigh Anne and Collins. In the ensuing fight, Michael dispatches three thugs and then flees the scene. Leigh Anne searches for Michael. He finally calls her, and they meet. Leigh Anne tells him she will support any decision he makes. Michael satisfies the investigator by explaining that he chose Ole Miss because his whole family has gone there. Later, Leigh Anne and her family take Michael to the Ole Miss campus to begin college. The film ends with an emotional goodbye between Leigh Anne and Michael. The closing credits show the 2009 NFL Draft with the real Michael Oher being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round. Photographs of Oher and the real Tuohys follow, with Oher's success in the NFL detailed. The credits include a dedication to director John Lee Hancock's father, a football player and coach who died in 2009. Cast Quinton Aaron as Michael "Big Mike" Oher Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy Kathy Bates as Miss Sue Lily Collins as Collins Tuohy Jae Head as Sean "S.J." Tuohy, Jr. Ray McKinnon as Coach Cotton Kim Dickens as Mrs. Boswell Adriane Lenox as Denise Oher Coaches playing themselves Tommy Tuberville, then coach of Auburn Nick Saban, then coach of LSU Lou Holtz, then coach of South Carolina Philip Fulmer, then coach of Tennessee Houston Nutt, then coach of Arkansas Ed Orgeron, then coach of Ole Miss Production The Blind Side was produced by Alcon Entertainment and released by Warner Bros. According to Reuters, the film's production budget was $29 million. Filming for the school scenes took place at Atlanta International School and The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia, and it features many of their students. The film premiered on November 17 in New York City and New Orleans and opened in theaters on November 20 in the rest of the United States and in Canada. Academy Award-winner Julia Roberts was originally offered Bullock's role, but Roberts turned it down. Bullock, who had initially turned down the starring role three times due to discomfort with portraying a devout Christian, or one whose life didn't represent their beliefs. This comes, in part, from Bullock's own experiences in the Deep South with individuals who "wore the Christian banner" but that was about it. But after a visit with the real Leigh Anne Tuohy, Bullock was not only won over, but also took a pay cut and agreed to receive a percentage of the profits. Reception Accolades The Blind Side has earned numerous awards and nominations for the lead performance of the film's star, Sandra Bullock. Awards and Nominations Award Category Nominee Result Academy Award Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Sandra Bullock Won Best Picture Film Nominated Critics’ Choice Award Best Actress Sandra Bullock Won (tied with Meryl Streep) ESPY Awards Best Sports Movie Film Won Golden Globe Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Sandra Bullock Won Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Sandra Bullock Won People's Choice Award Favorite Movie Actress Sandra Bullock Won Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award Best Actress Sandra Bullock Nominated Teen Choice Awards 2010 Favorite Drama Movie Film Won Movie Actress – Drama Sandra Bullock Won Breakout Male Actor Quinton Aaron Nominated Critical reception The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with Sandra Bullock's acting being critically acclaimed. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that, as of 8 October 2011, 66% of 188 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.1 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that "It might strike some viewers as a little too pat, but The Blind Side has the benefit of strong source material and a strong performance from Sandra Bullock." Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 53 based on 28 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Box office The Blind Side opened in 3,110 theaters on its opening weekend, the weekend of November 20, 2009. It grossed a strong $34,510,000 in its opening weekend, the second highest gross of that weekend, behind The Twilight Saga: New Moon. It was the highest-grossing opening weekend of Sandra Bullock's career. The per-theater average for The Blind Side's opening weekend was $11,096. In its opening weekend, the movie already proved to be a financial success, having a budget of just $29,000,000. It proved to have remarkable staying power, taking in an additional $9.5 million, bringing its gross to $60,125,000 by the weekend of November 27, 2009. The movie enjoyed a very rare greater success for the second weekend than it did in its opening weekend, taking in an estimated $40 million, an increase of 18 percent, from November 27 to November 29, 2009, coming in second to New Moon once again, bringing its gross to $100,250,000. In its third weekend, the movie continued its trend of rare feats by moving up to the number one position with $20.4 million in sales after spending the previous two weekends in second place for a total gross of $128.8 million, due to strong word-of-mouth. In its fourth weekend, it moved down to second place, dropping a slim 23% with an estimated $15.5 million for a total of $150.2 million in the United States and Canada as of December 13, 2009. The film hit $200 million domestically on January 1, 2010, marking the first time a movie marketed with a sole actress' name above the title (Bullock's) has crossed the $200 million mark. The Blind Side has also become the highest grossing football movie and sports drama of all time domestically unadjusted for ticket inflation. The Blind Side ended its domestic theatrical run on June 4, 2010 (nearly 7 months after it opened), earning a total of $255,959,475. In the UK, The Blind Side was released on March 26, 2010. It was the third biggest release of that weekend behind Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Soundtrack A soundtrack consisting of the songs played in this movie was not released, however the score soundtrack by Carter Burwell was. The movie consisted of 23 songs with artists including Young MC, Lucy Woodward, The Books, Canned Heat, Five for Fighting. Home media The Blind Side was released on DVD and Blu-ray March 23, 2010. The Blind Side was available exclusively for rental from Blockbuster for 28 days. Redbox and Netflix customers had to wait 28 days before they were able to rent the movie. This stems from the settlement of a lawsuit brought by Redbox against Warner Home Video, who, in an attempt to boost DVD sales, refused to sell wholesale titles to Redbox. On August 19, 2009 Redbox sued Warner Home Video to continue purchasing DVD titles at wholesale prices. On February 16, 2010, Redbox settled the lawsuit and agreed to a 28-day window past the street date. As of 30 October 2010, units sold for the DVD stand at more than 5.5 million copies and has grossed a further $88,532,725 adding to its total gross. http://youtu.be/D0esUnRkz10

I still have the PDFs of all of the next day newspaper covers.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 27, 2011 -> 01:26 AM) Thanks, I gotta have it somewhere. http://product.half.ebay.com/The-2005-Worl...704&tg=info Hey look, brand new for $1.99!

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 26, 2011 -> 07:06 PM) What was the DVD of the Sox World Series that was narrated by Michael Clarke Duncan? I have my Sox Pride DVD and the set of all of the World Series games, but I'm not sure where that one is. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw...sa=N&tab=wf The second one.

I'm enjoying the fact that no one is debating that BASEketball isn't a sport.

Plenty of fat guys in golf too.

QUOTE (NHDadUmp-RI @ Oct 26, 2011 -> 12:16 PM) What gets MLB hitters out, "stuff" or good pitching and good defense? Yes.

30. Jerry Maguire (2 of 15 lists - 43 points - highest ranked #5 BigSqwert) Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe. The film released in North American theaters on December 13, 1996, distributed by Gracie Films and TriStar Pictures. The film received mostly positive reviews and, on a $50 million budget, was a financial success, bringing in more than $270 million worldwide. Plot Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a glossy 35-year-old sports agent working for Sports Management International (SMI). After suffering a nervous breakdown as a result of stress and a guilty conscience, he writes a mission statement about perceived dishonesty in the sports management business and how he believes that it should be operated. He distributes copies of it, entitled "The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business". His co-workers are touched by his honesty and greet him with applause, but the management sends Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr), Maguire's protégé, to fire him. Jerry and Sugar call all of Jerry's clients to try to convince them not to hire the services of the other. Jerry speaks to Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), one of his clients who is disgruntled with his contract. Rod tests Jerry's resolve through a very long telephone conversation, which culminates in the famed "Show Me the Money!" scene. Meanwhile, Sugar secures most of Jerry's previous clients. Frank "Cush" Cushman (Jerry O'Connell), a superstar football prospect from SMU expected to be #1 in the NFL Draft, also stays with Jerry after he makes a visit to the Cushman home. Leaving the office, Jerry announces he will start his own agency and asks if anyone is willing to join him, to which only 26-year-old single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger) agrees. The two had previously bumped into each other in the airport and told him personally how inspiring she found his "memo". Jerry travels to the NFL Draft with Cush and convinces Rod to come too, to meet representatives of other NFL teams. Though Rod at first feels neglected compared to the superstar Cush, Sugar contacts Matt Cushman (Beau Bridges), Cush's dad, while Jerry is in the lobby with Rod and re-signs Cush to SMI. Jerry is devastated and turns to his fiancée Avery (Kelly Preston) for support, but she rebukes him and he breaks up with her. He then turns to Dorothy, becoming closer to her young son, Ray, and eventually starts a relationship with her. However, Dorothy contemplates moving to San Diego as she has a secure job offer there. Jerry concentrates all his efforts on Rod, now his only client, who turns out to be very difficult to satisfy. Over the next several months, the two direct harsh criticism towards each other with Rod claiming that Jerry is not trying hard enough to get him a contract while Jerry claims that Rod is not proving himself worthy of the money for which he asks. Jerry marries Dorothy to help them both stay afloat financially and to keep her from moving away. He is emotionally and physically distant during the marriage, but is clearly invested in becoming a father to Ray. Although Dorothy is in love, she breaks up with him because she believes he does not love her. Before the start of a Monday Night Football game between the Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys, Sugar attempts to steal Rod, but is rebuked by Rod and Jerry. The two reconcile soon after. Rod plays well but appears to receive a serious injury when catching a touchdown. He recovers, however, and dances for the crowd, which cheers wildly. Afterwards, Jerry and Rod embrace in front of other athletes and sports agents and show how their relationship has progressed from a strictly business one to a close personal one, which was one of the points Jerry made in his mission statement. Jerry then flies back home to meet Dorothy to tell her that he loves her and wants her in his life. He says to Dorothy "You complete me" to which she replies "You had me at hello". Rod later appears on Roy Firestone's sports show. Unbeknownst to him, Jerry has secured him an $11.2 million contract with the Cardinals that will allow him to finish his pro football career in Arizona. The visibly emotional Rod proceeds to thank everyone and extends warm gratitude to Jerry. Jerry speaks with several other pro athletes, some of whom have read his earlier mission statement and respect his work with Tidwell. The film ends with Jerry, Dorothy and Ray walking in the park and stumbling across a Little League baseball game. When the ball lands near them, Ray throws it back; a surprised Jerry then comments on his natural throwing ability (and possible future in sports), much to Dorothy's dismay. Cast Tom Cruise as Jerry Maguire Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Rod Tidwell Renée Zellweger as Dorothy Boyd Kelly Preston as Avery Bishop Jerry O'Connell as Frank "Cush" Cushman Jay Mohr as Bob Sugar Regina King as Marcee Tidwell Bonnie Hunt as Laurel Boyd Jonathan Lipnicki as Ray Boyd Todd Louiso as Chad the Nanny Jeremy Suarez as Tyson Tidwell Aries Spears as Teepee Tidwell Mark Pellington as Bill Dooler Jared Jussim as Dicky Fox Ingrid Beer as Anne-Louise Glenn Frey as Dennis Wilburn Drake Bell as Jesse Remo Christina Cavanaugh as Mrs. Remo Toby Huss as Steve Remo Eric Stoltz as Ethan Valhere Lucy Liu and Ivana Milicevic as Former girlfriends Beau Bridges (uncredited) as Matt Cushman Cameos Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., former NFL quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe, Troy Aikman, and Warren Moon, German ice skater Katarina Witt, then current Dallas Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer, and former Detroit Lions coach Wayne Fontes play themselves in the film. Other NFL players that make cameos as themselves are Tim McDonald, Johnnie Morton, Rick Mirer, Rob Moore, Ki-Jana Carter, Herman Moore, Art Monk, Kerry Collins, and Dean Biasucci. Sportscasters Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Roy Firestone, Mike Tirico, and Dan Dierdorf also make cameos. Former NBA basketball player Brent Barry is featured in the film as an athlete who wouldn't sign an autograph for a young boy. Actresses portraying ex-girlfriends of Maguire include Alison Armitage, Emily Procter, and Stacey Williams. Reagan Gomez-Preston also had a minor role in the film as part of the Tidwell family. Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell makes a brief appearance in the film as a copier store clerk. Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay makes a cameo as Jerry Maguire's boss. Reception Critical response The film received critical acclaim, with a 84% positive reviews on the film-critics aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. Its critical consensus states: "Anchored by dazzling performances from Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Renée Zellweger, as well as Cameron Crowe's tender direction, Jerry Maguire meshes romance and sports with panache." Cuba Gooding, Jr. won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rod Tidwell, the Arizona Cardinals football player who sticks with Maguire. Cruise was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the movie marked Renée Zellwegger's breakout role. The film itself was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and crew members on the film were nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Film Editing awards. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3/4 stars, writing that there "are so many subplots that Jerry Maguire seems too full" and also commented that the film "starts out looking cynical and quickly becomes a heartwarmer." He concluded that the film "is often a delight" and "is about transformation: About two men who learn how to value something more important than money, and about two women who always knew." Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote "An exceptionally tasty contempo comedic romance, 'Jerry Maguire' runs an unusual pattern on its way to scoring an unexpected number of emotional, social and entertaining points. Smartly written and boasting a sensational cast, Cameron Crowe's shrewdly observed third feature also gives Tom Cruise one of his very best roles..." Box Office The film debuted at number one. It earned $17,084,296 its opening weekend, and eventually grossed $153,952,592 in North American box office and approximately $119,600,000 overseas for a $273,552,592 worldwide total, on a budget of $50 million. Legacy Jerry Maguire spawned several popular quotations, including "Show me the money!" (shouted repeatedly in a phone exchange between Rod Tidwell and Jerry Maguire), "You complete me", "Help me help you", and "You had me at 'hello'" (said by Renée Zellweger's Dorothy Boyd after a lengthy romantic plea by Jerry Maguire), and "Kwan", a word used by Cuba Gooding, Jr. Tidwell meaning love, respect, community, and money, also spelled "quan" and "quawn", to illustrate the difference between himself and other football players: "Other football players may have the coin, but they won't have the 'Quan'". These lines are largely attributed to Cameron Crowe, director and screenwriter of the film. Zellweger said of filming the famous "hello" line, "Cameron had me say it a few different ways. It's so funny, because when I read it, I didn't get it — I thought it was a typo somehow. I kept looking at it. It was the one thing in the script that I was looking at going, 'Is that right? Can that be right? How is that right?' I thought, 'Is there a better way to say that? Am I not getting it? I just don't know how to do it.'" Accolades In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Jerry Maguire was acknowledged as the tenth best film in the sports genre. It was also voted by AFI as #100 on its list of 100 Passions. The quotes "Show me the money!" and "You had me at 'hello'" were also ranked by AFI on its list of 100 Movie Quotes, ranked #25 and #52 respectively. Academy Awards Best Actor (Cruise, nominated) Best Editing (Hutshing, nominated) Best Picture (nominated) Best Screenplay – Original (Crowe, nominated) Best Supporting Actor (Gooding Jr., won) Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor (Gooding Jr., won) Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directing – Motion Pictures (Crowe, nominated) Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Cruise, won) Best Film – Musical or Comedy (nominated) Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (Gooding Jr., nominated) Image Awards Outstanding Actor – Motion Picture (Gooding Jr., nominated) Satellite Awards Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Cruise, won) Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Gooding Jr., won) Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Zellweger, nominated) Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Actor – Motion Picture (Cruise, nominated) Outstanding Supporting Actor (Gooding Jr., won) Outstanding Supporting Actress (Zellweger, nominated) Writers Guild of America Best Screenplay – Original (Crowe, nominated) American Film Institute Lists AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – Nominated AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #100 AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: Secret Garden – Nominated AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: "Show me the money!" – #25 "You had me at "hello."" – #52 "You complete me." – Nominated AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated AFI's 10 Top 10 – #10 Sports Film (also nominated Romantic Comedy) Soundtrack The movie soundtrack includes The Durutti Column – "Requiem Again" Rickie Lee Jones – "The Horses" The Replacements – "I'll Be You" Paul McCartney – "Momma Miss America" Paul McCartney – "Singalong Junk" Elvis Presley – "Pocket Full of Rainbows" Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – "The Lonely Bull" Merrilee Rush – "Angel of the Morning" The Who – "Magic Bus" and "Getting In Tune" Nirvana – "Something in the Way" AC/DC – "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" Tom Petty – "Free Fallin'" Neil Young – "World on a String" Bob Dylan – "Shelter from the Storm" Bruce Springsteen – "Secret Garden" The Rolling Stones - "b****" Aimee Mann – "Wise Up" a clip of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Charles Mingus performing (Mingus' piece is "Haitian Fight Song") "Secret Garden", originally a Springsteen track from 1995, was re-released in 1997 after its exposure in the film and on the soundtrack, and peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. The film was scored by director Crowe's wife, Nancy Wilson, who was a member of the rock band Heart. DVD Releases Jerry Maguire (1997), Jerry Maguire (1997) Deluxe Widescreen Presentation, Jerry Maguire (2002) Special Edition, Jerry Maguire (2008) (+ BD Live [blu-ray} Based on Sports agent Leigh Steinberg was the inspiration for the movie.

31. Pride of the Yankees (2 of 15 lists - 41 points - highest ranked #3 Milkman delivers) The Pride of the Yankees is a 1942 biographical film directed by Sam Wood about the New York Yankees baseball player, first baseman Lou Gehrig, who had his career cut short at 37 years of age when he was stricken with the fatal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (later known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). The film was released the year after Gehrig's death. It stars Gary Cooper as Gehrig and co-stars Teresa Wright as his wife Eleanor and Walter Brennan as a sportswriter friend. Yankee teammates Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel, Mark Koenig, and Bill Dickey play themselves, as does sportscaster Bill Stern. The film was adapted by Herman J. Mankiewicz, Jo Swerling, and an uncredited Casey Robinson from a story by Paul Gallico. The film includes a re-enactment of Gehrig's farewell speech in Yankee Stadium. The famous line "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" was voted #38 in the American Film Institute (AFI) list of the 100 greatest film quotes of all time. Plot Lou Gehrig (played by Gary Cooper) is a young Columbia University student whose old-fashioned mother wants him to study hard and become an engineer. But the young man has a gift for playing baseball. A sportswriter named Sam Blake (Walter Brennan) befriends Gehrig and persuades a scout to come see him play. Before long, Gehrig gets a contract offer from the best team in baseball, the New York Yankees. With his father's help, he conspires to keep this a secret from his mother. Gehrig eventually becomes a Yankee and joins the likes of Babe Ruth, who at first treats the rookie coldly. Gehrig's strong hitting and play at first base, though, wins over his teammates, and before long he is joining them in playing pranks on Ruth on the team train. After a game in which he trips, Gehrig falls for a spectator, Eleanor Twitchell (Teresa Wright), who heckled him from the grandstand, dubbing him "Tanglefoot." Their relationship grows, and soon Lou and Ellie plan to marry. This news, on top of learning that her son won't become an engineer, does not sit well with Gehrig's mother. However, Lou finally stands up to her and marries Eleanor. The Yankees start winning multiple championships, and all is going well for Gehrig. Even his mother now comes to a game and cheers for him. He hits two home runs in a single game as a promise to a sick boy in a hospital. He and his wife couldn't be happier. But then without warning, Gehrig, baseball's "Iron Horse" who never misses a game because of illness or injury, begins to feel that something's wrong. Gehrig keeps on playing, keeping his illness a secret and extending his consecutive-game streak to an all-time high. But he is clearly not the player he once was, and one day he voluntarily removes himself from a game. After an examination, a doctor gives it to him straight: Gehrig is gravely ill and only has a short time to live. At a day at Yankee Stadium in his honor, Gehrig addresses the fans, memorably telling them that while some say he got "a bad break," he considers himself "the luckiest man on the face of the Earth." Miscellaneous The film emphasizes the personal relationships of Gehrig's short life: first, with his parents, especially his domineering mother; then his friendship with the sportswriter, Sam; and finally, the "storybook romance" and marriage to Eleanor. The details of Gehrig's baseball career are represented by montages of ballparks, pennants, and Cooper swinging bats and running bases. His record of 2,130 consecutive games played is prominently mentioned. In addition to a depiction of his farewell speech, the film includes a scene of Gehrig visiting a boy named Billy (Gene Collins) in a hospital and promising that he would hit two home runs in a single World Series game; Gehrig fulfills his promise, and an older Billy (David Holt) attends Lou Gehrig Day and shows Gehrig that he can walk, having made a full recovery inspired by his hero's determination. Gehrig died on June 2, 1941. Release In New York City, the film premiered at the Astor Theatre and was shown for one night only at "forty neighborhood theatres"; preceding the film was the premiere of a Disney animated short called "How to Play Baseball" (produced by Disney at Samuel Goldwyn's request). Reception The 1942 review of the film in Variety magazine called it a "stirring epitaph" and a "sentimental, romantic saga ... well worth seeing." Time magazine's August 1942 review said the film was a "grade-A love story" done with "taste and distinction" though it was "somewhat overlong, repetitive, undramatic"; Time noted: Baseball fans who hope to see much baseball played in Pride of the Yankees will be disappointed. Babe Ruth is there, playing himself with fidelity and considerable humor; so are Yankees Bill Dickey, Bob Meusel, Mark Koenig. But baseball is only incidental. The hero does not hit a home run and win the girl. He is just a hardworking, unassuming, highly talented professional. The picture tells the model story of his model life in the special world of professional ballplayers. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it a "tender, meticulous and explicitly narrative film" that "inclines to monotony" because of its length and devotion to "genial details." Awards and other recognition The Pride of the Yankees won an Oscar for Film Editing. In addition, it had ten more nominations for: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gary Cooper) Best Actress in a Leading Role (Teresa Wright) Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White Best Cinematography, Black-and-White Best Effects, Special Effects Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Best Picture Best Sound, Recording (Thomas T. Moulton) Best Writing, Original Story Best Writing, Screenplay The American Film Institute ranked The Pride of the Yankees #22 on their list of the top 100 most inspiring films in American cinema. In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. The Pride of the Yankees was ranked as the third best film in the sports genre. Inaccuracies In the film, Gehrig is depicted belting a home run through the window of his alma mater's athletics department. Actually, his farthest hits smashed not into the athletic department, which was located on the north end of campus, but through the windows of the nearby Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Gary Cooper tried as a righty to swing left handed as Gehrig actually did; however, Cooper eventually gave up and was filmed always swinging right. The film accomplished the appearance of batting left by using the negative of Cooper batting right. During filming Cooper would run to third base instead of first to complete the effect. Gehrig's farewell speech In Gehrig's actual speech on July 4, 1939, the line "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" was actually at the beginning of the speech; it was moved to the end of the speech in the film. Here is the text of the actual speech given that day by Gehrig: Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body — it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know. So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. Here is the speech from the film: I have been walking onto ball fields for sixteen years, and I've never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. I have had the great honor to have played with these great veteran ballplayers on my left - Murderers' Row, our championship team of 1927. I have had the further honor of living with and playing with these men on my right - the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees of today. I have been given fame and undeserved praise by the boys up there behind the wire in the press box, my friends, the sportswriters. I have worked under the two greatest managers of all time, Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy. I have a mother and father who fought to give me health and a solid background in my youth. I have a wife, a companion for life, who has shown me more courage than I ever knew. People all say that I've had a bad break. But today...today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Adaptations to other media The Pride of the Yankees was adapted as an hour-long radio play on the October 4, 1943 broadcast of Lux Radio Theater with Gary Cooper and Virginia Bruce and a September 30, 1949 broadcast of Screen Director's Playhouse starring Gary Cooper and Lurene Tuttle.

32. White Men Can't Jump (2 of 15 lists - 40 points - highest ranked #6 LittleHurt05) White Men Can't Jump is a 1992 American sports comedy drama film starring Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes as streetball hustlers, co-starring Rosie Perez. The film was written and directed by Ron Shelton and released in theaters on March 27, 1992 by 20th Century Fox. Plot Billy Hoyle (Harrelson) is a former college basketball player who makes a living hustling streetballers who assume he cannot play well because he is white. Hoyle never downplays his skill to increase the stakes; it is the black basketball players' own assumptions that are at the root of the hustle. Such a talented but arrogant player is Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), a star on the Venice Beach, California outdoor courts. He is humiliated twice by Billy in front of his friends, losing a wager. But he also recognizes a good thing when he sees one and immediately begins to think of a number of ways Billy can be useful to him. Billy and his girlfriend Gloria Clemente (Rosie Perez) are on the run from out-of-state mobsters because of a gambling debt. A voracious reader, making note of obscure facts, Gloria's goal in life is to be a contestant on the television show Jeopardy! and make a fortune. Sidney's mission in life is to buy a house for his family outside the rough Baldwin Village, Crenshaw District neighborhood of Los Angeles. He talks Billy into a partnership and they hustle other players for money. But when they unexpectedly lose a game, it turns out that Sidney has double-crossed Billy by deliberately playing badly alongside him, making Billy lose $1,700 to a group of Sidney's friends. Gloria is incensed at Billy's blowing his money again and is also suspicious of how it happened. On the way to Sidney's apartment, she tells Billy: "Sometimes when you win, you really lose. And sometimes when you lose, you really win. And sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose. Winning or losing is all one organic globule, from which one extracts what one needs." Once they get to Sidney's and appeal to his wife (Tyra Ferrell) for fairness, Gloria agrees to share some of the money provided Sidney and Billy are willing to team up again for a major 2-on-2 outdoor tournament. While they bicker incessantly, Sidney and Billy do win the grand prize of $5,000, largely due to Billy's ability to disrupt his opponents' concentration. Billy's most notable claim is that he is "in the zone," a state of mind in which nothing can get in his way. Sidney is pleased with the outcome, yet he cannot help mocking Billy about his inability to slam dunk. "White men can't jump," he notes. Billy, however, claims that dunking the basketball is unnecessary grandstanding, while expressing a belief that black guys like Sidney would "rather look good and lose than look bad and win." Billy insists that he can indeed dunk but Sidney clearly disagrees. Infuriated, Billy claims he is willing to bet his share of the $5,000 on his ability to dunk. Sidney accepts and gives him three chances. Billy fails, losing his share. When he tells Gloria, she leaves him. One of Sidney's friends works as a security guard at the TV studio that produces Jeopardy!. He agrees to get her on the show, if Billy can sink a half court hook shot, which he does. To begin, Gloria stumbles over sports questions (notably naming Babe Ruth as the NBA's leading rebounder), but makes a comeback with a pet topic, "Foods That Start With The Letter 'Q' ". She wins $14,100 on her first episode. Gloria and Billy get back together. Billy sings Gloria a song he has composed to win her back. Everything in his world is all right again, but now it is Sidney who suffers misfortune and needs a favor. He and his family are burglarized and become more desperate for money. Billy is supposed to get a steady job and settle down, but Sidney needs him to play basketball for money again and use his share of Gloria's take. Gloria warns that if Billy gambles with her money "we are through." Billy feels he must honor the obligation he owes Sidney for getting Gloria on Jeopardy! in the first place. They play a final game against two hoops legends of the L.A. scene, "The King" and "Duck." In a very tight game, Sidney and Billy prevail, the winning points coming when Sidney lobs an "alley-oop" pass to Billy, who dunks it. Returning home happy, Billy discovers Gloria has kept her word and left him for good. He is crushed. Then the mobsters who are after Billy track him down and he pays off his debts. Billy once again asks Sidney to set him up with a real job. Billy says that Gloria has left him many times, but that "this is it", and Sidney remarks "Maybe you two were better off without each other." As the closing credits are about to roll, Billy launches into yet another basketball argument with Sidney and they are right back where they began—but, this time, as friends. Cast Wesley Snipes as Sidney Deane Woody Harrelson as Billy Hoyle Rosie Perez as Gloria Clemente Tyra Ferrell as Rhonda Deane Cylk Cozart as Robert Kadeem Hardison as Junior Ernest Harden Jr. as George Freeman Williams as Duck Johnson Louis Price as Eddie "The King" Faroo Alex Trebek as Himself Reception White Men Can't Jump grossed $14,711,124 in 1,923 theaters in its opening weekend, with a total gross of $76,253,806 in the U.S. and $90,753,806 worldwide and was the 16th highest grossing movie of 1992. The film received generally positive reviews. It currently has a 78 percent "fresh rating" on Rotten Tomatoes, with 28 positive reviews. Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun Times gave the film three and a half stars, saying it was "not simply a basketball movie", praising Ron Shelton for "knowing his characters". Janet Maslin from New York Times praised Wesley Snipes for his "funny, knowing performance with a lot of physical verve". The film was reportedly one of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's favorites. Production Bob Lanier, Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks legend and Hall of Famer, was hired as basketball coach for the movie. He was impressed with Harrelson and Snipes, suggesting that both reached division III college basketball skill level.[citation needed] The musical R&B quintet Riff recorded a song and accompanying music video called "White Men Can't Jump" for the movie. The music video featured Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes and Rosie Perez. It can be seen on the DVD release with bonus features. Marques Johnson has a supporting role as Raymond, who loses a game to Snipes and Harrelson. Johnson was a star player for UCLA's 1974-75 national championship team coached by John Wooden and later played for the NBA's Bucks, Clippers and Warriors. Freeman Williams, who played "Duck" Johnson, also had a distinguished NBA career, playing for the Clippers, Jazz, and Bullets from 1978-86. Future NBA player Gary Payton made an uncredited appearance as an unidentified street baller. The category "Foods that start with the letter 'Q'" was an actual category on an October 1997 episode of Jeopardy! There is a video game based on the movie, for the Atari Jaguar console. To introduce a new basketball shoe, Nike teamed up with the makers of White Men Can't Jump to assemble the package of shoes inspired by characters Billy Hoyle and Sidney Deane. Soundtracks Main article: White Men Can't Jump (soundtrack) Main article: White Men Can't Rap Two soundtracks were released by Capitol Records, the first, White Men Can't Jump was released on March 24, 1992 and consisted mostly of R&B, the second, White Men Can't Rap was released on April 7, 1992 and consisted entirely of hip hop.

33. The Big Lebowski (2 of 15 lists - 38 points - highest ranked #4 PlaySumFnJurny) The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler, who is referred to (and also refers to himself) as "The Dude". After a case of mistaken identity, The Dude is introduced to a millionaire also named Jeffrey Lebowski. When the millionaire Lebowski's trophy wife is later kidnapped, he commissions The Dude to deliver the ransom to secure her release. The plan goes awry when The Dude's friend Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) schemes to keep the full ransom. Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Huddleston, Julianne Moore, Tara Reid, and John Turturro star in the film, which is narrated by a cowboy known only as "Stranger," played by Sam Elliott. The film is loosely based on Raymond Chandler's novel, The Big Sleep. The original score was composed by Carter Burwell, a longtime collaborator of the Coen Brothers. The Big Lebowski was a disappointment at the U.S. box office and received mixed reviews at the time of its release. Reviews have trended towards the positive over time, and the film has become a cult favorite, noted for its idiosyncratic characters, dream sequences, unconventional dialogue, and eclectic soundtrack. Plot Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski returns home only to be roughed up by two thugs claiming to be collecting money that Lebowski's wife owes a man named Jackie Treehorn. After beating him and urinating on his rug, they realize they are looking for a different person with the same name, and they leave. At the instigation of his friend and bowling teammate Walter Sobchak (Goodman), The Dude decides to seek compensation for the rug from the other Jeffrey Lebowski. The next day, the titular "Big" Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, refuses The Dude's request. The Dude meets Bunny Lebowski (Reid), the Big Lebowski's nymphomaniac trophy wife, while leaving the premises with a rug taken from the mansion. Days later, the Big Lebowski contacts The Dude, revealing that Bunny has been kidnapped. He asks The Dude to act as a courier for the million-dollar ransom because The Dude will be able to confirm whether or not the kidnappers were the same thugs. Later, a different set of thugs enter The Dude's apartment, knock him unconscious, and steal his new rug. When Bunny's kidnappers call to arrange the ransom exchange, Walter tries to convince The Dude to keep the money and give the kidnappers a "ringer" suitcase filled with his dirty underwear. The kidnappers escape with the ringer, and The Dude and Walter are left with the million-dollar ransom. Later that night, The Dude's car is stolen, along with the briefcase filled with money. The Dude receives a message from the Big Lebowski's daughter, Maude, who admits to hiring the criminals who knocked him unconscious. The Dude visits her at her art studio, and she reveals that Bunny is a porn starlet working for Jackie Treehorn. She agrees with The Dude's suspicion that Bunny kidnapped herself and asks The Dude to recover the ransom, as it was illegally withdrawn by her father. The Big Lebowski angrily confronts The Dude over his failure to hand over the money, and hands The Dude an envelope sent to him by the kidnappers which contains a severed toe, presumably Bunny's. The Dude later receives a message that his car has been found. Mid-message, three German nihilists invade the Dude's apartment, identifying themselves as the kidnappers. They interrogate and threaten him for the ransom money. The Dude returns to Maude's studio, where she identifies the German nihilists as Bunny's friends. The Dude picks up his car from the police, and he and Walter track down the supposed thief, a teenager named Larry Sellers. Their confrontation with Larry is unsuccessful, and the Dude and Walter leave without getting any money or information. Jackie Treehorn's thugs return to The Dude's apartment to bring him to Treehorn's beach house in Malibu. Treehorn inquires about the whereabouts of Bunny, and the money, offering him a cut of any funds recovered. Treehorn then drugs The Dude's drink and The Dude passes out. After a surreal dream sequence blending the themes of bowling, the Persian Gulf War, Maude’s “vaginal” art, and the nihilists, The Dude wakes up in a police car and is then placed in front of the police chief of Malibu. The police chief physically assaults The Dude and warns him not to return to Malibu. After a cab ride home, The Dude is greeted by Maude Lebowski, who seduces him. During post-coital conversation with Maude, The Dude learns that she hopes to conceive a child with him but wants him to have no hand in the child's upbringing. He also finds out that, despite appearances, her father has no money of his own. Maude's late mother was the rich one, and she left her money exclusively to the family charity. In a flash, The Dude unravels the whole scheme: when the Big Lebowski heard that Bunny was kidnapped, he used it as a pretense for an embezzlement scheme, in which he withdrew the ransom money from the family charity. He kept it for himself, gave an empty briefcase to The Dude (who would be the fall guy on whom he pinned the theft), and was content to let the kidnappers kill Bunny. Meanwhile, it is now clear that the kidnapping was itself a ruse: while Bunny took an unannounced trip, the nihilists (her friends) alleged a kidnapping in order to get money from her husband. The Dude and Walter arrive at the Big Lebowski residence, finding Bunny back at home from her trip. They confront the Big Lebowski with their version of the events. The affair apparently over, The Dude and his bowling teammates are once again confronted by the nihilists, who have set the Dude's car on fire. They once again demand the million dollars. After telling the nihilists what they knew, the nihilists demand all the money in their pockets. Walter responds by biting one nihilist's ear off, throwing a bowling ball at another's ribs, and knocking the final nihilist unconscious with their portable radio. However, in the aftermath, Donny has a heart attack and dies. Walter and The Dude go to a cliff overlooking a beach to scatter Donny's ashes. After an informal eulogy which Walter turns into a tribute to the Vietnam War and accidentally covers The Dude with Donny's ashes, Walter suggests, "f*** it, Dude. Let's go bowling." The movie ends with closing comments from "The Stranger" at the bar of the bowling alley, who hints that Maude may be pregnant with a "little Lebowski." Cast Jeff Bridges as Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, a single, unemployed slacker living in Venice, California, who enjoys marijuana, White Russians, and bowling. Bridges had heard or was told by the Coen brothers that they had written a screenplay for him. The Dude is mostly inspired by Jeff Dowd, a member of the anti-war radical group the Seattle Liberation Front (The Dude tells Maude Lebowski during the film that he was one of the Seattle Seven, who were members of the SLF), and a friend of the Coen brothers, Pete Exline, a Vietnam War veteran, who actually found a twelve-year old's homework in his stolen car. John Goodman as Walter Sobchak, a Vietnam veteran, The Dude's best friend, and bowling teammate. Walter places the rules of bowling second in reverence only to the rules of his religion, Judaism, as evidenced by his strict stance against "rolling" on Shabbos. He has a violent temper, and is given to pulling out a handgun (or crowbar) in order to settle disputes. He says the Gulf War was all about oil and claims to have dabbled in pacifism. He constantly mentions Vietnam in conversations, much to the annoyance of The Dude. Walter was based, in part, on director John Milius. Steve Buscemi as Theodore Donald "Donny" Kerabatsos, a member of Walter and The Dude's bowling team. Naïve and good-natured, Donny is an avid bowler and frequently interrupts Walter's diatribes to inquire about the parts of the story he missed or did not understand, provoking Walter's frequently repeated response, "Shut the f*** up, Donny!" This line is a reference to Fargo, the Coen brothers' previous film, in which Buscemi's character was constantly talking. David Huddleston as Jeffrey Lebowski, the "Big" Lebowski of the movie's title, is a wheelchair-bound (he lost the use of his legs in the Korean War) multi-millionaire who is married to Bunny and is Maude's father by his late wife. He refers to The Dude dismissively as "a bum" and a "deadbeat." Although he characterizes himself as highly successful and accomplished, it is revealed by Maude that he is simply “allowed” to run some of the philanthropic efforts of her mother’s estate. Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski, a feminist and an avant-garde artist whose work "has been commended as being strongly vaginal". She introduced Bunny to Uli Kunkel. She beds The Dude solely to conceive a child, and wants nothing else to do with him. Tara Reid as Bunny Lebowski, the Big Lebowski's young "trophy wife". Born Fawn Knutsen, she ran away from the family farm outside Moorhead, Minnesota and soon found herself making pornographic videos under the name "Bunny La Joya". According to Reid, Charlize Theron tried out for the role. Philip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt, the Big Lebowski's sycophant, who plays mediator between the two Lebowskis. Sam Elliott as The Stranger, the narrator, who sees the story unfold from a third-party perspective. His narration is marked by a thick, laid-back Texas accent. He is seen in the bar of the bowling alley, and converses directly with The Dude on two occasions. He expresses disapproval of The Dude's use of profanity and laziness, and adds the qualifier "parts of it anyway" when concluding that he enjoyed the film. Ben Gazzara as Jackie Treehorn, a wealthy pornographer and loan shark, who lives in Malibu, and employs the two thugs who assault The Dude at the beginning of the film. Bunny owes him a large sum of money. Peter Stormare, Torsten Voges, and Flea play a group of nihilists, (Uli Kunkel, Franz, and Dieter, respectively). They are German musicians (Kunkel, as "Karl Hungus", appeared in a porn film with Bunny), who, along with Kunkel's girlfriend (Aimee Mann), pretend to be the ones who kidnapped Bunny. The character of Uli originated on the set of Fargo between Ethan Coen and Stormare, who often spoke in a mock German accent. John Turturro as Jesus Quintana, an opponent of The Dude's team in the bowling league semifinals. A Latino North Hollywood resident who speaks with a thick Cuban American accent, and often refers to himself in the third person, insisting on the English pronunciation of his name rather than the Spanish. "The Jesus", as he refers to himself, is a "pederast" (according to Walter) who did six months in Chino for exposing himself to an 8-year old. Turturro originally thought that he was going to have a bigger role in the film but when he read the script, he realized that it was much smaller. However, the Coen brothers let him come up with a lot of his own ideas for the character, like shining the bowling ball and the scene where he dances backwards, which he says was inspired by Muhammad Ali. Minor characters Jon Polito as Da Fino, a private investigator hired by Bunny's parents, the Knutsens, to entice their daughter back home. He mistakes The Dude for a "brother shamus." David Thewlis as Knox Harrington, the video artist Mark Pellegrino as Treehorn's blond thug Jimmie Dale Gilmore as Smokey Jack Kehler as Marty, The Dude's landlord Leon Russom as Kohl, Malibu police chief Asia Carrera (uncredited) as the actress who co-starred with Bunny in the pornographic movie "Logjammin" Production Development The Dude is mostly inspired by Jeff Dowd, a man the Coen brothers met while they were trying to find distribution for the feature film, Blood Simple. Dowd had been a member of the Seattle Seven, liked to drink White Russians, and was known as "The Dude." The Dude was also partly based on a friend of the Coen brothers, Peter Exline (now a member of the faculty at USC's School of Cinematic Arts), a Vietnam War veteran who reportedly lived in a dump of an apartment and was proud of a little rug that "tied the room together." Exline knew Barry Sonnenfeld from New York University and Sonnenfeld introduced Exline to the Coen brothers while they were trying to raise money for Blood Simple. Exline became friends with the Coens and, in 1989, told them all kinds of stories from his own life, including ones about his actor-writer friend Lewis Abernathy (one of the inspirations for Walter), a fellow Vietnam vet who later became a private investigator and helped him track down and confront a high school kid who stole his car. As in the film, Exline's car was impounded by the Los Angeles Police Department and Abernathy found an 8th grader's homework under the passenger seat. Exline also belonged to an amateur softball league but the Coens changed it to bowling in the movie because "it's a very social sport where you can sit around and drink and smoke while engaging in inane conversation," Ethan said in an interview. The Coens met filmmaker John Milius when they were in Los Angeles making Barton Fink and incorporated his love of guns and the military into the character of Walter. According to Julianne Moore, the character of Maude was based on artist Carolee Schneemann, "who worked naked from a swing," and Yoko Ono. The character of Jesus Quintana was inspired, in part, by a performance the Coens had seen John Turturro give in 1988 at the Public Theater in a play called Mi Puta Vida in which he played a pederast-type character, "so we thought, let's make Turturro a pederast. It'll be something he can really run with", Joel said in an interview. The film's overall structure was influenced by the detective fiction of Raymond Chandler. Ethan said, "We wanted something that would generate a certain narrative feeling – like a modern Raymond Chandler story, and that's why it had to be set in Los Angeles ... We wanted to have a narrative flow, a story that moves like a Chandler book through different parts of town and different social classes". The use of the Stranger's voiceover also came from Chandler as Joel remarked, "He is a little bit of an audience substitute. In the movie adaptation of Chandler it's the main character that speaks off-screen, but we didn't want to reproduce that though it obviously has echoes. It's as if someone was commenting on the plot from an all-seeing point of view. And at the same time rediscovering the old earthiness of a Mark Twain." The significance of the bowling culture was, according to Joel, "important in reflecting that period at the end of the Fifties and the beginning of the Sixties. That suited the retro side of the movie, slightly anachronistic, which sent us back to a not-so-far-away era, but one that was well and truly gone nevertheless." Screenplay The Big Lebowski was written around the same time as Barton Fink. When the Coen brothers wanted to make it, John Goodman was taping episodes for the Roseanne television program and Jeff Bridges was making the Walter Hill film, Wild Bill. The Coens decided to make Fargo in the meantime. According to Ethan, "the movie was conceived as pivoting around that relationship between the Dude and Walter", which sprang from the scenes between Barton Fink and Charlie Meadows in Barton Fink. They also came up with the idea of setting the film in contemporary L.A. because the people who inspired the story lived in the area. When Pete Exline told them about the homework in a baggie incident, the Coens thought that that was very Raymond Chandler-esque and decided to integrate elements of the author's fiction into their script. Joel Coen cites Robert Altman's contemporary take on Chandler with The Long Goodbye as a primary influence on their film in the sense that The Big Lebowski "is just kind of informed by Chandler around the edges". When they started writing the script, the Coens wrote only 40 pages and then let it sit for a while before finishing it. This is the normal writing process for them, because they often "encounter a problem at a certain stage, we pass to another project, then we come back to the first script. That way we've already accumulated pieces for several future movies". In order to liven up a scene that they thought was too heavy on exposition, they added an "effete art-world hanger-on", known as Knox Harrington, late in the screenwriting process. In the original script, the Dude's car was a Chrysler LeBaron, as Dowd once owned, but that car was not big enough to fit John Goodman so the Coens changed it to a Ford Torino. Pre-production PolyGram and Working Title Films, who had funded Fargo, backed The Big Lebowski with a budget of $15 million. In casting the film, Joel remarked, "we tend to write both for people we know and have worked with, and some parts without knowing who's going to play the role. In The Big Lebowski we did write for John [Goodman] and Steve [buscemi], but we didn't know who was getting the Jeff Bridges role". In preparation for his role, Bridges met Dowd but actually "drew on myself a lot from back in the Sixties and Seventies. I lived in a little place like that and did drugs, although I think I was a little more creative than the Dude". The actor went into his own closet with the film's wardrobe person and picked out clothes that he had thought the Dude might wear. He wore his character's clothes home because most of them were his own. The actor also adopted the same physicality as Dowd, including the slouching and his ample belly. Originally, Goodman wanted a different kind of beard for Walter but the Coen brothers insisted on the "Gladiator" or what they called the "Chin Strap" and he thought it would go well with his flat-top haircut. For the film's look, the Coens wanted to avoid the usual retro 1960s clichés like lava lamps, Day-Glo posters, and Grateful Dead music and for it to be "consistent with the whole bowling thing, we wanted to keep the movie pretty bright and poppy", Joel said in an interview. For example, the star motif featured predominantly throughout the movie started with the film's production designer Richard Heinrichs' design for the bowling alley. According to Joel, he "came up with the idea of just laying free-form neon stars on top of it and doing a similar free-form star thing on the interior". This carried over to the film's dream sequences. "Both dream sequences involve star patterns and are about lines radiating to a point. In the first dream sequence, the Dude gets knocked out and you see stars and they all coalesce into the overhead nightscape of L.A. The second dream sequence is an astral environment with a backdrop of stars", remembers Heinrichs. For Jackie Treehorn's Malibu beach house, he was inspired by late 1950s and early 1960s bachelor pad-style furniture. The Coen brothers told Heinrichs that they wanted Treehorn's beach party to be Inca-themed with a "very Hollywood-looking party in which young, oiled-down, fairly aggressive men walk around with appetizers and drinks. So there's a very sacrificial quality to it". Cinematographer Roger Deakins discussed the look of the film with the Coens during pre-production. They told him that they wanted some parts of the film to have a real and contemporary feeling and other parts, like the dream sequences, to have a very stylized look. Bill and Jacqui Landrum did all of the choreography for the film. For his dance sequence, Jack Kehler went through three three-hour rehearsals. The Coen brothers offered him three to four choices of classical music for him to pick from and he chose Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. At each rehearsal, he went through each phase of the piece. Principal photography Actual filming took place over an eleven-week period with location shooting in and around Los Angeles, including all of the bowling sequences at the Hollywood Star Lanes (for three weeks)[36] and the Dude's Busby Berkeley-esque dream sequences in a converted airplane hangar. According to Joel, the only time they ever directed Bridges "was when he would come over at the beginning of each scene and ask, 'Do you think the Dude burned one on the way over?' I'd reply 'Yes' usually, so Jeff would go over in the corner and start rubbing his eyes to get them bloodshot". Julianne Moore was sent the script while working on The Lost World: Jurassic Park. She worked only two weeks on the film, early and late during the production that went from January to April 1997 while Sam Elliott was only on set for two days and did many takes of his final speech. Architecture The scenes in Jackie Treehorn's house were shot in the Sheats Goldstein Residence, designed by John Lautner and built in 1963 in the Hollywood Hills. Deakins described the look of the fantasy scenes as being very crisp, monochromatic, and highly lit in order to afford greater depth of focus. However, with the Dude's apartment, Deakins said, "it's kind of seedy and the light's pretty nasty" with a grittier look. The visual bridge between these two different looks was how he photographed the night scenes. Instead of adopting the usual blue moonlight or blue street lamp look, he used an orange sodium-light effect.[40] The Coen brothers shot a lot of the film with wide-angle lens because, according to Joel, it made it easier to hold focus for a greater depth and it made camera movements more dynamic. To achieve the point-of-view of a rolling bowling ball the Coen brothers mounted a camera, "on something like a barbecue spit", according to Ethan, and then dollied it along the lane. The challenge for them was figuring out the relative speeds of the forward motion and the rotating motion. CGI was used to create the vantage point of the thumb hole in the bowling ball. Soundtrack The original score was composed by Carter Burwell, a veteran of all the Coen Brothers' films. While the Coens were writing the screenplay they had Kenny Rogers' "Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Condition Was in)", the Gipsy Kings' cover of "Hotel California", and several Creedence Clearwater Revival songs in mind. They asked T-Bone Burnett to pick songs for the soundtrack of the film. They knew that they wanted different genres of music from different times but, as Joel remembers, "T-Bone even came up with some far-out Henry Mancini and Yma Sumac". Burnett was able to secure the rights to the songs by Kenny Rogers and the Gipsy Kings and also added tracks by Captain Beefheart, Moondog and the rights to a relatively obscure Bob Dylan song called "The Man in Me". However, he had a tough time securing the rights to Townes Van Zandt's cover of the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers", which plays over the film's closing credits. Former Stones manager Allen Klein owned the rights to the song and wanted $150,000 for it. Burnett convinced Klein to watch an early cut of the film and remembers, "It got to the part where the Dude says, 'I hate the f***in' Eagles, man!' Klein stands up and says, 'That's it, you can have the song!' That was beautiful". Burnett was going to be credited on the film as "Music Supervisor" but asked his credit to be "Music Archivist" because he "hated the notion of being a supervisor; I wouldn't want anyone to think of me as management". For Joel, "the original music, as with other elements of the movie, had to echo the retro sounds of the Sixties and early Seventies". Music defines each character. For example, "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" by Bob Nolan was chosen for the Stranger at the time the Coens wrote the screenplay, as was "Lujon" by Henry Mancini for Jackie Treehorn. "The German nihilists are accompanied by techno-pop and Jeff Bridges by Creedence. So there's a musical signature for each of them", remarked Ethan in an interview. "The Man in Me" – written and performed by Bob Dylan "Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles" – written and performed by Captain Beefheart "My Mood Swings" – written by Elvis Costello and Cait O'Riordan; performed by Costello "Ataypura" – written by Moises Vivanco; performed by Yma Sumac "Traffic Boom" – written and performed by Piero Piccioni "I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good" – written by Duke Ellington and Paul Francis Webster; performed by Nina Simone "Stamping Ground" – written by Louis T. Hardin; performed by Moondog with orchestra "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" – written by Mickey Newbury; performed by Kenny Rogers & The First Edition "Walking Song" – written and performed by Meredith Monk "Glück das mir verblieb" from Die tote Stadt – written and conducted by Erich Wolfgang Korngold; performed by Ilona Steingruber, Anton Dermota and the Austrian State Radio Orchestra "Lujon" – written and performed by Henry Mancini "Hotel California" – written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Don Felder; performed by The Gipsy Kings "Technopop (Wie Glauben)" – written and performed by Carter Burwell. The character Uli Kunkel was in the German electronic band Autobahn, a homage to the 1970s band Kraftwerk. The album cover of their record Nagelbett (nail bed) is a parody of the Kraftwerk album cover for The Man-Machine and the group name Autobahn shares the name of a Kraftwerk song and album. In the lyrics the phrase "We believe in nothing" is repeated with electronic distortion. This is a reference to Autobahn's nihilism in the film. "Dead Flowers" – written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards; performed by Townes van Zandt Other music used "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" – written by Bob Nolan; performed by Sons of the Pioneers "Requiem in D Minor: Introitus and Lacrimosa" – written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; performed by The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir "Run Through the Jungle" – written by John Fogerty; performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival "Lookin' Out My Back Door" – written by John Fogerty; performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival "Behave Yourself" – written by Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr. and Lewie Steinberg; performed by Booker T. & the MG's "I Hate You" – written by Gary Burger, David Havlicek, Roger Johnston, Thomas E. Shaw and Larry Spangler; performed by The Monks "Gnomus" – composed by Modest Mussorgsky; from Pictures at an Exhibition. Arranged for orchestra by Maurice Ravel. "Mucha Muchacha" – written and performed by Juan García Esquivel "Piacere Sequence" – written and performed by Teo Usuelli "Standing on the Corner" – written by Frank Loesser; performed by Dean Martin "Tammy" – written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans; performed by Debbie Reynolds "Sounds of the Whale" - unknown recording of a whale song "Oye Como Va" – written by Tito Puente; performed by Santana "Peaceful Easy Feeling" – written by Jack Tempchin; performed by Eagles "Branded Theme Song" – written by Alan Alch and Dominic Frontiere "Viva Las Vegas" – written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman; performed by Big Johnson (with Bunny Lebowski) and by Shawn Colvin (closing credits). "Dick on a Case" – written and performed by Carter Burwell Release and critical reception The Big Lebowski received its world premiere at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 1998 at the 1,300 capacity Eccles Theater. It was also screened at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival[46] before opening in North America on March 6, 1998 in 1,207 theaters. It grossed USD $5.5 million on its opening weekend, grossing US$17 million in the United States, just above its US$15 million budget. The film's worldwide gross outside of the US was $10,300,000, bringing its worldwide gross to $27,739,163. Many critics and audiences have likened the film to a modern Western, while many others dispute this, or liken it to a crime novel that revolves around mistaken identity plot devices. During its premiere at Sundance, there were reportedly[by whom?] a few walkouts. Peter Howell, in his review for the Toronto Star, wrote, "It's hard to believe that this is the work of a team that won an Oscar last year for the original screenplay of Fargo. There's a large amount of profanity in the movie, which seems a weak attempt to paper over dialogue gaps." Howell revised his opinion in a later review, and more recently stated that "it may just be my favourite Coen Bros. film". Todd McCarthy in Variety magazine wrote, "One of the film's indisputable triumphs is its soundtrack, which mixes Carter Burwell's original score with classic pop tunes and some fabulous covers."USA Today gave the film three out of four stars and felt that the Dude was "too passive a hero to sustain interest", but that there was "enough startling brilliance here to suggest that, just like the Dude, those smarty-pants Coens will abide." In his review for the Washington Post, Desson Howe praised the Coens and "their inspired, absurdist taste for weird, peculiar Americana – but a sort of neo-Americana that is entirely invented – the Coens have defined and mastered their own bizarre subgenre. No one does it like them and, it almost goes without saying, no one does it better." Janet Maslin praised Bridges' performance in her review for The New York Times: "Mr. Bridges finds a role so right for him that he seems never to have been anywhere else. Watch this performance to see shambling executed with nonchalant grace and a seemingly out-to-lunch character played with fine comic flair." Andrew Sarris, in his review for the New York Observer, wrote, "The result is a lot of laughs and a feeling of awe toward the craftsmanship involved. I doubt that there'll be anything else like it the rest of this year." In a five star review for Empire Magazine, Ian Nathan wrote, "For those who delight in the Coens' divinely abstract take on reality, this is pure nirvana" and "In a perfect world all movies would be made by the Coen brothers." Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, describing it as "weirdly engaging" However, Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote in the Chicago Reader, "To be sure, The Big Lebowski is packed with show-offy filmmaking and as a result is pretty entertaining. But insofar as it represents a moral position–and the Coens' relative styling of their figures invariably does–it's an elitist one, elevating salt-of-the-earth types like Bridges and Goodman ... over everyone else in the movie." Dave Kehr, in his review for the Daily News, criticized the film's premise as a "tired idea, and it produces an episodic, unstrung film." The Guardian criticized the film as "a bunch of ideas shoveled into a bag and allowed to spill out at random. The film is infuriating, and will win no prizes. But it does have some terrific jokes." The Big Lebowski currently has a rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes (62% amongst "Top Critics"). Legacy Since its original release, The Big Lebowski has become a cult classic. Steve Palopoli wrote about the film's emerging cult status in July 2002. He first realized that the film had a cult following when he attended a midnight screening in 2000 at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles and witnessed people quoting dialogue from the film to each other. Soon after the article appeared, the programmer for a local midnight film series in Santa Cruz decided to screen The Big Lebowski, and on the first weekend they had to turn away several hundred people. The theater held the film over for six weeks, which had never happened before. An annual festival, the Lebowski Fest, began in Louisville, Kentucky, United States in 2002 with 150 fans showing up, and has since expanded to several other cities. The Festival's main event each year is a night of unlimited bowling with various contests including costume, trivia, hardest- and farthest-traveled contests. Held over a weekend, events typically include a pre-fest party with bands the night before the bowling event as well as a day-long outdoor party with bands, vendor booths and games. Various celebrities from the film have even attended some of the events, including Jeff Bridges who attended the Los Angeles event. The British equivalent, inspired by Lebowski Fest, is known as The Dude Abides and is held in London. Dudeism, an online religion devoted largely to spreading the philosophy and lifestyle of the movie's main character was founded in 2005. Also known as The Church of the Latter-Day Dude, the organization has ordained over 130,000 "Dudeist Priests" all over the world via its website. Entertainment Weekly ranked it 8th on their Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years list. The film was also ranked #34 on their list of "The Top 50 Cult Films" and ranked #15 on the magazine's "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" list. In addition, the magazine also ranked The Dude #14 in their "The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years" poll. The Big Lebowski was voted as the 10th best film set in Los Angeles in the last 25 years by a group of Los Angeles Times writers and editors with two criteria: "The movie had to communicate some inherent truth about the L.A. experience, and only one film per director was allowed on the list". Empire magazine ranked Walter Sobchak #49 and the Dude #7 in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll. Roger Ebert added The Big Lebowski to his list of "Great Movies" in March 2010. In September 2008, Slate published a revisionist article which viewed The Big Lebowski as a political critique. The centerpiece of this viewpoint was that Walter Sobchak is "a neocon," citing the movie's references to then President George H. W. Bush and the first Gulf War. John Turturro has suggested a number of times that he would be interested in doing a spin-off movie using his character Jesus Quintana. If the project got off the ground, the Coens would not direct it, but may have a part in writing it. Home media Universal Studios Home Entertainment released a "Collector's Edition" DVD on October 18, 2005 with extra features that included an "introduction by Mortimer Young", "Jeff Bridges' Photography", "Making of The Big Lebowski", and "Production Notes". In addition, a limited-edition "Achiever's Edition Gift Set" also included The Big Lebowski Bowling Shammy Towel, four Collectible Coasters that included photographs and quotable lines from the movie, and eight Exclusive Photo Cards from Jeff Bridges’ personal collection. A "10th Anniversary Edition" was released on September 9, 2008 and features all of the extras from the "Collector's Edition" and "The Dude's Life: Strikes and Gutters ... Ups and Downs ... The Dude Abides", theatrical trailer (from the first DVD release), "The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever's Story", "Flying Carpets and Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences of the Dude", "Interactive Map", "Jeff Bridges Photo Book",and a "Photo Gallery". There are both a standard release and a Limited Edition which features "Bowling Ball Packaging" and is individually numbered. A High definition version of The Big Lebowski was released by Universal on HD DVD format on June 26, 2007. The film was released in Blu-ray format in Italy by Cecchi Gori. On August 16, 2011 Universal Pictures released The Big Lebowski on Blu-ray. The limited-edition package includes a Jeff Bridges photo book, a ten-years-on retrospective, and an in-depth look at the annual Lebowski Fest.

34. Coach Carter (2 of 15 lists - 38 points - highest rank #7 dasox24) Coach Carter is a 2005 American film directed by Thomas Carter. It is based on a true story, in which Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his MVP and undefeated team due to poor academic results. The screenplay was co-written by Mark Schwahn, who created the TV series One Tree Hill. The movie also recycles a handful of plot-lines from another TV series, The White Shadow, which director Thomas Carter co-starred in. Plot Ken Carter takes the job as coach of the Richmond Oilers basketball team at his old school Richmond High School, having been on the team himself and earned unbeaten records. Taking over from Coach White, Carter learns the team members are rude and disrespectful. He gives the team individual contracts, instructing them to attend all of their classes and maintain a grade average of 2.3 (although the local average grade students are meant to maintain is 2.0). Carter also asks the school staff for progress reports on the players' attendance. However, three players including Timo Cruz refuse to follow the contract and quits the team. Nonetheless, Carter coaches the team well and allow them to win their first victory whilst playing properly. Carter's son Damien joins the team, after quitting the private school St. Francis to play for his father. Teammate Kenyon Stone struggles to come to terms with his girlfriend Kyra being pregnant and eventually splits up with her, unsure if he could juggle basketball, college and being a parent. Their relationship is explored over the course of the film. Cruz attempts to rejoin the basketball team after watching them at their last game, but Carter refuses to let him back in. Cruz has to do 1000 suicides and 2500 pushups to earn Carter's approval, aided by his teammates, eventually succeeding and is allowed back on the team. Carter continues to educate the teammates, teaching them respect for other players. The team eventually won a holiday season basketball tournament, and are invited to a suburb mansion by a fan to party. Carter finds out, crashing the party with the mansion's owners. The enraged Carter returns to his office and finds the progress reports reveal the teammates have been skipping classes. Carter initiates a lockdown on the gym, forbidding the team from playing until they improve their grades, angering the locals and is verbally and physically abused by numerous people. Cruz quits the team again, hanging out with his drug-dealing cousin Remmy, only to witness his cousin get gunned down and dies. Cruz goes to Carter in tears and is allowed back on the team. The school board eventually confronts Carter, who justifies his actions, explaining he wants to give his team the opportunity and option for further education so they do not resort to crime. The board, save Principal Garrison and the chairwoman, vote to end the lockout, much to Carter's regret. Carter quits his job, but finds the team studying in the gym, unwilling to play basketball. Cruz reveals to Carter his deepest fear, which Carter asked for repeatedly in the film, is being unable to fulfill his true potential, by quoting Marianne Williamson. Eventually the team improve their grade and are allowed to play basketball again. Kenyon reunites with Kyra, learning she had an abortion. The team play in the high school playoffs, learning their first opponent is St. Francis. The team ultimately loses, but are proud with what they have achieved. The ending reveals six of the players including Damien, Cruz and Kenyon all went to college. Cast Samuel L. Jackson — Coach Ken Ray Carter Robert Ri'chard — Damien Carter Rob Brown — Kenyon Stone Rick Gonzalez — Timo Cruz Nana Gbewonyo — Junior Battle Antwon Tanner — Jaron 'Worm Willis Channing Tatum — Jason Lyle Sean Mc Groarty — Polish Snake Tamer Tadhg Deevy — Assistant Polish Snake Tamer Ashanti — Kyra Texas Battle — Maddux Denise Dowse — Principal Garrison Debbi Morgan — Tonya Carter Mel Winkler — Coach White Vincent Laresca — Renny Sidney Faison — Ty Crane Octavia Spencer — Willa Battle Adrienne Bailon — Dominique Dana Davis — Peyton Bob Costas - Himself Lorcan Ryan - Tyreek Jeremy Wray - Tyron Shorty Mack - Pinole Guy Ray Baker - St. Francis Coach Critical reception The reviews for the film were generally positive, and as of May 1, 2011 it has a 65% fresh rating at rottentomatoes.com. Critics gave Jackson considerable praise for what they believed to be his strongest performance to date. Box office The movie debuted at #1 on the U.S. Box Office and has grossed over $67 million to date. However, the movie was not as big of a hit worldwide, managing to bring in only $9 million overseas, for a total of $76 million. Soundtrack Main article: Coach Carter (soundtrack) The film features the song "Hope" by Twista and Faith Evans as the main song off the film's soundtrack. An extensive list of songs is featured on the soundtrack which differs from the soundtrack recording. The recording has five songs which were not featured in the film : About da game by Trey Songz; Balla by Mack 10 featuring Da Hood; Beauty queen by CzarNok; What Love Can Do by Letoya; and Wouldn't You Like to Ride, Kanye West; Malik Usef, Common. Awards/nominations Black Movie Awards Outstanding Achievement in Directing: Thomas Carter (Winner) Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture: Samuel L. Jackson (Nominated) Outstanding Motion Picture: David Gale, Brian Robbins & Michael Tollin (Nominated) Black Reel Awards Best Director: Thomas Carter (Winner) Best Actor: Samuel L. Jackson (Nominated) Best Breakthrough Performance: Ashanti (Nominated) Image Awards Outstanding Motion Picture: (Nominated) Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Samuel L. Jackson (Winner) Outstanding Director for a Motion Picture: Thomas Carter (Nominated) Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Ashanti (Nominated) MTV Movie Awards Best Female Breakthrough Performance: Ashanti (Nominated)

35. Rounders (2 of 15 lists - 38 points - highest ranking #8 Zoomslowik, LittleHurt05) Rounders is a 1998 film about the underground world of high-stakes poker. Directed by John Dahl and starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, the movie follows two friends who need to quickly earn enough cash playing poker to pay off a large debt. The term "rounder" refers to a person travelling around from city to city seeking high stakes cash games. The movie opened to mixed reviews and made only a modest amount of money. However, with the growing popularity of Texas hold 'em and other poker games, Rounders has become a cult hit. Plot Gifted poker player Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) loses his entire bankroll in a hand of Texas hold'em against Teddy "KGB" (John Malkovich), a Russian mobster who runs an illegal underground poker room. Shaken, Mike decides to concentrate on law school, while promising his girlfriend and fellow law student Jo (Gretchen Mol) to not play the game anymore. Mentor and fellow rounder Knish (John Turturro) offers him a part-time job driving a delivery truck to make ends meet. Time passes, and Mike is true to his promise. He does not play cards, and focuses on school and work until his childhood friend Lester 'Worm' Murphy (Edward Norton) is released from prison. Worm is also a card player, who owes an outstanding debt accumulated before his incarceration. At Worm's influence, Mike is soon rounding again, which interferes with his studies and hurts his relationship with Jo, who eventually leaves him. When Worm is given a five day deadline to pay off his debt, Mike joins him in a furious race to earn the money by playing in several card games in and around New York City. The two come close to making the $15,000 needed, yet end up losing their entire bankroll when they are caught cheating at a poker game, despite Mike's insistence on playing the game straight. After this incident, Worm decides to leave the city, and advises Mike to do the same. This is when he reveals to Mike that his debt is due to KGB, the very same Russian mobster who had cleaned Mike out of his $30,000 bankroll months before. Infuriated, Mike cuts ties with Worm once and for all. Mike refuses to flee, and instead, with the help of a loan from his law school professor Petrovsky (Martin Landau), sits down to play KGB heads-up in a No-Limit Texas Hold'em game. In a race against time to pay off Worm's debt, Mike gets his shot at redemption as he puts his life on the line against the man who had forced him out of the game. Mike eventually beats KGB in two heated heads-up matches in which he ultimately wins enough to pay off Worm's debt, repay his loan to the professor, and regain his original bankroll of about $30,000. The movie ends with Mike officially dropping out of law school, saying goodbye to Jo and going to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker Main Event. Production Rounders began filming in December 1997 and was set mostly in New York, with the notable exceptions being that the law school scenes were filmed at Rutgers Law School in Newark, New Jersey and the State Trooper poker game and parking lot scenes which were taped at B.P.O Elks Lodge on Spruce Avenue in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Cast Matt Damon as Mike McDermott Edward Norton as Lester 'Worm' Murphy John Turturro as Joey Knish John Malkovich as Teddy KGB Famke Janssen as Petra Michael Rispoli as Grama Martin Landau as Abe Petrovsky Gretchen Mol as Jo Paul Cicero as Russian Thug Melina Kanakaredes as Barbara Josh Mostel as Zagosh Reception Rounders was released on September 11, 1998 in 2,176 theaters and grossed $8.5 million during its opening weekend. It went on to make $22.9 million domestically. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and wrote: "Rounders sometimes has a noir look but it never has a noir feel, because it's not about losers (or at least it doesn't admit it is). It's essentially a sports picture, in which the talented hero wins, loses, faces disaster, and then is paired off one last time against the champ". In her review for the New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote: "Though John Dahl's Rounders finally adds up to less than meets the eye, what does meet the eye (and ear) is mischievously entertaining". USA Today gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "The card playing is well-staged, and even those who don't know a Texas hold-'em ("the Cadillac of poker") from a Texas hoedown will get a vicarious charge out of the action". Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "Norton, cast in what might have once been the Sean Penn role (hideous shirts, screw-you attitude), gives Worm a shifty, amphetamine soul and a pleasing alacrity ... Norton's performance never really goes anywhere, but that's okay, since the story is just an excuse to lead the characters from one poker table to the next". Peter Travers, in his review for Rolling Stone said of John Malkovich's performance: "Of course, no one could guess the extent to which Malkovich is now capable of chewing scenery. He surpasses even his eyeballrolling as Cyrus the Virus in Con Air. Munching Oreo cookies, splashing the pot with chips (a poker no-no) and speaking with a Russian accent that defies deciphering ("Ho-kay, Meester sum of a beech"), Malkovich soars so far over the top, he's passing Pluto". In his review for the San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle said of Damon's performance: "Mike should supply the drive the film otherwise lacks, and Damon doesn't. We might believe he can play cards, but we don't believe he needs to do it, in the way, say, that the 12-year-old Mozart needed to write symphonies. He's not consumed with genius. He's a nice guy with a skill". In his review for the Globe and Mail, Liam Lacey wrote, "The main problem with Rounders is that the movie never quite knows what it is about: What is the moral ante?" Despite an unremarkable theatrical release, Rounders has a following, particularly among poker enthusiasts. In an interesting chicken or the egg situation, some speculate the film is directly responsible for the recent increase in the popularity of Texas hold 'em, while others believe that the substantial increase in the popularity of poker has nothing to do with the movie, but that same increase does have everything to do with the come-lately increase in the popularity of the film, so many years after its theatrical release. There are pro poker players today who credit the movie for getting them into the game. The film drew in recent successful players such as Hevad Khan, Gavin Griffin and Dutch Boyd. Pro player Vanessa Rousso has said of the movie's influence, "There have been lots of movies that have included poker, but only Rounders really captures the energy and tension in the game. And that's why it stands as the best poker movie ever made."

Actually, I had the Maggs SLU. I bought the Buehrle and Quentin autos. The Konerko auto and Buehrle jersey came from you.

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 03:11 PM) It's protected in the Bill of Rights, Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. Big cats as pets. I was equally surprised it was legal. Even more upsetting, south of the border a major status symbol for the cartel leaders are these wild animal preserves. As mentioned earlier, it seems that it is also a way to getting rid of trouble. Yes, but did he have the right to the rest of the bear?

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Oct 24, 2011 -> 04:42 PM) My band is dressing as Twin Peaks characters for our show on Saturday. We learned the opening theme song. I am going to be Dr. Jacoby. Looks like a cross between Geoff Lynne and Gene Frenkle.

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 24, 2011 -> 08:33 PM) Pool? Yes.

There's five for today!

36. BASEketball (3 of 15 lists - 37 points - highest rank #8 Milkman delivers) BASEketball is a 1998 American David Zucker comedy starring South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with Dian Bachar, Robert Vaughn, Ernest Borgnine, Yasmine Bleeth, and Jenny McCarthy. The movie follows the history of the sport (created by Zucker years earlier) of the same name, from its invention by the lead characters as a game they could win against more athletic types, to its development as a nationwide league sport and a target of corporate sponsorship. This is the only work involving Parker and Stone that was neither written, directed, or produced by them. Plot At Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, Joe "Coop" Cooper catches Reggie Jackson's third home run in the stands and proclaims to his best friend, Doug Remer, that "One day, I'm gonna be a big sports star." 16 years later, Coop (Trey Parker) and Remer (Matt Stone) are 23 and unemployed and about to have their gas shut off. They arrive uninvited at a party hosted by a former high school classmate of theirs. After finding out that their classmates have grown up and moved on with their lives, Coop and Remer find themselves outside drinking beer and shooting hoops on the driveway basketball court. There, two other former classmates challenge them to a game. The two see that their opponents are very good at basketball, so they say they will only play a new game they picked up "in the hood". Clearly making this new game up as they go, Coop originally proposes the game Horse, but changes it to basketball with baseball rules: shots made from different locations count as singles, doubles, triples, and home runs, and missed shots count as outs. During the challenger's first shot, Coop "psyches" him out to make him miss; this is another rule made up on the spot. A "psyche out" can be anything said or done that makes the offense lose their concentration and miss their shot. Coop and Remer continue playing their new game, "BASEketball," and add a third member to their team, Kenny "Squeak" Scolari (Dian Bachar). Six months later, people come from miles around to watch them play the game they created against other neighborhood teams. Ted Denslow (Ernest Borgnine) shows up to propose creation of the National BASEketball League (NBL), with numerous rules in place to prevent the sport from deteriorating as other sports had done: teams cannot switch cities, players cannot be traded, and individuals cannot make money via corporate sponsorship deals. Five years after creation of the league, the NBL is in full swing with stadiums, teams, fans, and a major championship (the Denslow Cup). During the 1997 championship, Denslow, who is the owner of the Milwaukee Beers for whom Coop and Remer both play, chokes on a hot dog and dies. Denslow's will grants Coop ownership of the Beers for one year; if they do not win the next Denslow Cup, ownership reverts to Denslow's widow Yvette (Jenny McCarthy). The owner of the Dallas Felons, Baxter Cain (Robert Vaughn), wants to change the league rules to allow teams to move cities and players to switch teams, but could not accomplish this while Denslow was alive. Yvette would have been willing to comply had she been given ownership of the team, but Coop refuses to accept any of the proposed changes. Cain and Yvette work together to make sure the Beers will lose the next Denslow Cup and Yvette will win ownership of the team. In a private conversation at Cain's office, Cain tells Remer that Coop has said no to Cain's plans without talking to the other members of the Beers. Remer then goes to the Beers behind Coop's back and tells the team what he learned from Cain. After Remer and the other members of the Beers confront him, Coop agrees to split all decisionmaking with Remer and the team. The team continues to agree that the rules should not be changed. Coop also seemingly enters into a relationship with Jenna, despite Remer's attempts to get between them. Cain cuts the funds to Jenna's foundation, forcing Coop and Remer to ask Cain for help. Cain suggests creating a clothing line and sending the proceeds to her foundation. Coop is entirely against it, but Remer, as part team owner, immediately agrees, and becomes so obsessed with his newfound fame that he alienates Coop. After they win the league semifinals, Cain informs Coop and Remer through photos that their clothing line has been produced through child labor in Calcutta. If the public learns about it, the team and Jenna's foundation will be ruined. Cain threatens to show the photos to the public unless Coop and Remer lose or skip the Denslow Cup game. Jenna learns about the child labor scandal and breaks it off with Coop. Coop blames Remer for the mess and they have a falling out, and Coop decides to go to Calcutta to resolve the situation. Coop replaces all the child workers in the factory with adult workers and makes it back just as the fifth annual Denslow Cup begins. The Beers start with an abysmal performance, failing to make one hit in six innings. At the seventh-inning stretch, the Beers are down 16–0. After a moving speech from Squeak, Coop and Remer reconcile their differences and Yvette breaks off her alliance with Cain. Coop, Remer, and Squeak finally get back into the game and start scoring. In the bottom of the ninth, Remer is on second, Squeak is on third, and Coop is up when his custom-made BASEketball (La-Z-Boy) pops. Joey brings Coop a new custom-made BASEketball made from a Barcalounger. Coop misses, but successfully completes the conversion, which is considered a home run for the win and the Denslow Cup. He meets Reggie Jackson after the game, who wishes him luck in the next season. Coop and Jenna reunite while Remer hooks up with Yvette, as the team happily carries Squeak on the Denslow Cup. Cast Trey Parker as Joe "Coop/Airman" Cooper Matt Stone as Doug "Sir Swish" Remer Dian Bachar as Kenny "Squeak/Little b****" Scolari Yasmine Bleeth as Jenna Reed Jenny McCarthy as Yvette Denslow Ernest Borgnine as Ted Denslow Robert Vaughn as Baxter Cain Trevor Einhorn as Joey Thomas Cameo appearances as themselves: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bob Costas Dale Earnhardt Reggie Jackson Kenny Mayne Tim McCarver Al Michaels Pat O'Brien Dan Patrick Reel Big Fish Victoria Silvstedt Robert Stack BASEketball teams All of the teams represent stereotypes and include references to their respective areas: Milwaukee Beers Reference to the numerous local beer breweries and the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team; the fans wear beer mug "foam heads" and perform "the chug" (similar to the "tomahawk chop" used by the Florida State Seminoles and Atlanta Braves). Their mascot is a walking keg of beer (who can use his "tap" to urinate). Dallas Felons Huge muscle types who are probably ex-convicts (a reference to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, a team on which numerous players had legal problems in the mid-1990s). Their owner, Baxter Cain (Vaughn) is based on Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The team has cheerleaders dressed in black leather dominatrix outfits. Miami Dealers The players appear to be Cuban drug dealers. Note the chainsaw wielding man on the back of their jersey reminiscent of Scarface. One of the players ran away because Coop was wearing a DEA jacket with the logo facing him. New Jersey Informants The players are Italian-American stereotypes (one of their failed psych-outs was "Your mother's a terrible cook"); their cheerleaders all have perms and also perform some Italian hand gestures. Features Greg Grunberg, of subsequent Heroes fame. San Francisco Ferries The players wear white and pastel pink uniforms, and have the only all-male cheerleader squad in the league. The word "Ferries" is meant to be a play on "fairies", a slang term sometimes used to refer to male homosexuals. Roswell Aliens Reference to the location where a UFO supposedly crashed and the surrounding conspiracies; the team has an alien mascot, an arena shaped to look like a flying saucer, and an "Anal Probe Night" promotion. L.A. Riots Reference to the 1992 Los Angeles/Rodney King riots (and possibly Watts riots); the players appear to be angry Latinos and African-Americans. Their cheerleaders perform on stripper poles. San Antonio Defenders Rednecks, their home field includes a giant recreation of the Alamo Mission. The cheerleaders all wear Davy Crockett hats and revealing attire. Detroit Lemons Reference to the home of American auto makers. When the league began to spin out of control, it was supposedly inundated with expansion teams. During the scene describing the extremely complex playoff system (complete with "a blind-choice round robin" and "the two-man sack race held on consecutive Sundays"), references were made to teams in Boston, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Oakland, Toronto, Tampa, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Denver. No nicknames or mascots were given for these. Some teams on the bracket behind Kenny Mayne and Dan Patrick can also be made out if a viewer looks closely, adding even more cities, not all of which make sense. These include New York, Cleveland, Sacramento, Pasadena, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Green Bay, St. Paul, Anaheim, Salem, Burbank, Morgantown, Tucson, Phoenix, Jackson, Tulsa, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Chicago, San Diego, Santa Monica, Las Vegas, Lincoln, Knoxville, Memphis, Baltimore and Cairo. It appears there is also a Hawaiian Division, which included Oahu, Maui and a team named "Volcano". Reception BASEketball was released to mixed reviews, earning 41 percent approval from 49 critics on review-aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes and garnering a score of 38 out of 100 from 18 critics on Metacritic. Yasmine Bleeth and Jenny McCarthy were given nominations at the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Actress and Worst Supporting Actress respectively for their performances in BASEketball, but did not win. Soundtrack Main article: BASEketball (soundtrack) The soundtrack featured a bouncy ska cover of Norwegian band a-ha's signature single "Take on Me" by Reel Big Fish. The band also appears as the live entertainment at the home stadium of the Milwaukee Beers, playing "Take on Me" and several of their other songs. Notes - Trey Parker in the film does voices of Cartman and Mr. Garrison from South Park (Which he and Matt Stone Created) throughout the film.

37. D2 - The Mighty Ducks (2 of 15 lists - 37 points - highest ranked #8 farmteam) D2: The Mighty Ducks also known as The Mighty Ducks 2 is the second film in The Mighty Ducks trilogy and the first theatrical sequel to The Mighty Ducks. It was produced by Avnet–Kerner Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, and it was originally released on March 25, 1994. In the UK and Australia, the film was titled The Mighty Ducks. Plot Former peewee hockey coach Gordon Bombay is a star in the minor leagues and is expected to make it to the NHL soon. However, after a career-ending knee injury, he returns to Minneapolis. Bombay is then offered a chance to coach a team representing the United States in the Junior Goodwill Games. Team USA consists of many of the old Ducks, in addition to five new players with special talents. The lure of celebrity becomes a distraction to Bombay, who begins to neglect the team in exchange for a luxurious lifestyle. Fortunately, easy victories come over Trinidad and Tobago and Italy in the double-elimination tournament. During this time, Fulton Reed and Dean Portman gain recognition for their enforcer skills, becoming known as the "Bash Brothers". Backup goaltender Julie asks Bombay for a chance to play, but he tells her to wait, as current goalie Greg Goldberg is on a hot streak. Reality sets in when the team suffers an embarrassing 12-1 defeat at the hands of Team Iceland, coached by ex-NHL player Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson, who is known for his tough reputation. Team USA plays badly, with Julie and Portman ejected from the game. Star center Adam Banks manages to score a goal but gets slashed in the wrist moments later. Frustrated, Bombay drives his players even harder, but they begin to suffer, completely exhausted. Eventually, the team's tutor, Michelle McKay, cancels their practice and confronts Bombay, while the players come across a street hockey team who teaches them how to play like "the real Team USA". However, Bombay continues to suffer until one of his mentors, Jan (Hans' brother), personally visits him, and reminds him of how he used to love the game. During a match against Team Germany, Bombay fails to arrive on time, forcing Charlie to tell the referee that Michelle is actually "Coach McKay". They play poorly, entering the third period tied, until Bombay shows up and apologizes for his behavior. Inspired by their coach's "return", the players come back to win the game and advance to the next round. The renewed Bombay finally realizes Adam's wrist injury, benching him despite his complaints. To fill the open roster spot, Charlie recruits street hockey player, Russ Tyler, whose unique "knucklepuck" (which rotates end over end toward its target as opposed to spinning about its centerline) secures USA's victory over Russia (who defeated Iceland earlier), advancing USA to the championship game for a rematch against Iceland. Before the game, Adam's injury is healed and returns to Team USA's locker room, only to find they already have a full roster. Charlie gives up his spot on the roster so Adam can play, cementing his position as the true team captain. At first, Iceland appears to be out to dominate Team USA again, but they manage to score one goal. Unfortunately, the Ducks take penalties: Ken picks a fight with an Iceland player ("stick, gloves, shirt") after scoring the team's first goal, the Bash brothers celebrate this by fighting with the entire Iceland bench and Dwayne lassoes an opposing player, about to check Connie. Bombay is annoyed because "this isn't a hockey game, it's a circus." After a motivational locker room speech from Bombay and new Duck jerseys from Jan, the team emerges rejuvenated. The Ducks manage to tie the game when Russ outsmarts Team Iceland by disguising himself as Goldberg, so as to prevent himself from being covered and pulling off a successful "knucklepuck". The game is forced to go to a five-shot shootout. With a 4-3 score in favor of the Ducks, Gunner Stahl (the tournament's leading scorer) is Team Iceland's final shooter. Bombay knows Gunner favors shooting the glove side after a triple deke, and replaces Goldberg with Julie, who has a faster glove. Gunner advances on Julie and fires a hard slapshot. Although Julie falls to the ice, she slowly turns to look at her glove while the entire stadium (and presumably the home audience of millions) waits in breathless anticipation. She then opens her glove and drops the puck, signifying the game-winning save. With this, the Ducks triumph over Iceland to win the tournament. The film concludes with the team returning to Minnesota on a plane and sitting around a campfire singing Queen's "We Are the Champions" as the credits roll. Cast In credits order: Emilio Estevez as Gordon Bombay Kathryn Erbe as Michelle McKay Michael Tucker as Mr. Tibbles Jan Rubes as Jan Carsten Norgaard as Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson Maria Ellingsen as Maria Joshua Jackson as Charlie Conway, #96 Elden Henson as Fulton Reed, #44 Shaun Weiss as Greg Goldberg, #33 Matt Doherty as Les Averman, #4 Brandon Adams as Jesse Hall, #9 Garette Ratliff Henson as Guy Germaine, #00 Marguerite Moreau as Connie Moreau, #18 Vincent Larusso as Adam Banks, #99 Colombe Jacobsen as Julie Gaffney, #6 Aaron Lohr as Dean Portman, #21 Ty O'Neal as Dwayne Robertson, #7 Kenan Thompson as Russ Tyler, #56 Mike Vitar as Luis Mendoza, #22 Justin Wong as Ken Wu, #16 Scott Whyte as Gunnar Stahl, #9 Cameo appearances There are several cameo appearances in D2: The Mighty Ducks from famous athletes. Kristi Yamaguchi - Champion Olympic figure skater Greg Louganis - Champion Olympic diver Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Basketball player Wayne Gretzky, Chris Chelios, Luc Robitaille, Cam Neely - Professional (NHL) Ice Hockey players Departures Mighty Duck players that were in the first film but not this one: Tammy Duncan (Jane Plank, her figure skating skills were replaced with those of Ken Wu) Tommy Duncan (Danny Tamberelli) Terry Hall (Jussie Smollett, despite the continuation of the character's brother, Jesse) Dave Karp (Aaron Schwartz) Peter Mark (J.D. Daniels) Reaction Critical reception The film was poorly received by most critics. It has received a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Desson Howe of The Washington Post wrote: "D2: The Mighty Ducks reaches an extraordinary low – even for a Disney sequel. This unctuous barrage of flag-waving, message-mongering, counterfeit morality, which contains the stalest kiddie-team heroics in recent memory, makes the original, innocuous 'Ducks' look like one of the Great Works." Box office In its opening weekend, the film grossed $10,356,748 domestically. It was a financial success, with a final domestic box office total of $45,610,410. Soundtrack Queen - "We Will Rock You" Poorboys - "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" (Bachman-Turner Overdrive Cover) Gary Glitter - "Rock and Roll" Martha Wash - "Mr. Big Stuff" David Newman - "Mighty Ducks Suite" Tag Team - "Whoomp! (There It Is)" The Troggs - "Wild Thing" Gear Daddies - "Zamboni" Queen - "We Are the Champions" John Bisaha - "Rock the Pond"

#38 Breaking Away (2 of 15 lists - 36 points - highest ranked #7 farmteam) Breaking Away is a 1979 American film. A coming of age story, it follows a group of four male teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana, who have recently graduated from high school. It stars Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern (in his first film role), Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie and Paul Dooley. The film was written by Steve Tesich (an alumnus of Indiana University) and directed by Peter Yates. Tesich would go on to script another cycling-themed film, American Flyers, starring Kevin Costner. The film won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Tesich, and also received nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Barbara Barrie), Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Picture. The film also won the 1979 Golden Globe Award for Best Film (Comedy or Musical). The film is ranked eighth on the List of America's 100 Most Inspiring Movies compiled by the American Film Institute (AFI) in 2006. In June 2008, AFI announced its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Breaking Away was acknowledged as the eighth best film in the sports genre. A short-lived television series based on the film, also titled Breaking Away, aired in 1980. Dave (Dennis Christopher), Mike (Dennis Quaid), Cyril (Daniel Stern) and Moocher (Jackie Earle Haley) are four working-class friends, living in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana. Now turning 19 years of age, they all graduated from high school the year before and are not sure what to do next with their lives. They spend much of their time together swimming in an old abandoned water-filled quarry, but also often clash with the more affluent Indiana University students in their hometown, who refer to them habitually as "cutters", a derogatory term stemming from the local Indiana Limestone industry and the stonecutters who worked the quarries. Dave is obsessed with competitive bicycle racing. His down-to-earth father, Ray (Paul Dooley), a former stonecutter who now operates (sometimes unethically) his own used car business, is puzzled and exasperated by his son's love of Italian music and culture, which Dave associates with cycling. However, his mother Evelyn (Barbara Barrie) is more understanding. Dave develops a crush on a university student named Katherine (Robyn Douglass) and masquerades as an Italian exchange student in order to romance her. One evening he serenades "Katerina" outside her sorority house, with Cyril providing guitar accompaniment. When her boyfriend Rob (Hart Bochner) finds out, he and some of his fraternity brothers beat up Cyril, mistaking him for Dave. Though Cyril wants no trouble, Mike insists on tracking down Rob and starting a brawl. The University president (then-University president Dr. John W. Ryan) reprimands the students for their arrogance toward the "cutters" and over their objections invites the latter to participate in the the annual Indiana University Little 500 race. When a professional Italian cycling team comes to town for a racing event, Dave is thrilled to be competing with them. However, the Italians become irked when Dave is able to keep up with and even speak to them in Italian during the race. One of them jams a bike pump in Dave's wheel, causing him to crash, which leaves him disillusioned and depressed. Dave's friends persuade him to join them in forming the locals' cycling team for the Little 500. Dave's parents provide t-shirts with the name "Cutters" on them. Dave's father remarks how, when he was a young stonecutter, he was proud to help provide the material to construct the university, yet never felt comfortable being on campus. Dave is so much better than the other competitors, he rides without a break and builds up a large lead, while the other teams have to switch cyclists every few laps. However, he is injured and has to stop. After some hesitation, Moocher, Cyril and Mike take turns pedaling, but soon their lead evaporates. Finally, Dave has his feet taped to the bike pedals and starts making up lost ground; he overtakes Rob on the last lap and wins. Dave's father is immensely proud of his son's accomplishment, so much so that he takes to riding a bicycle himself. Having finally decided on a direction in life, Dave later enrolls at the university himself, where he meets a pretty, newly arrived French student. Soon, he is extolling the superiority of French cyclists and culture. Cast Dennis Christopher as Dave Stohler Dennis Quaid as Mike Daniel Stern as Cyril Jackie Earle Haley as Moocher Paul Dooley as Ray Stohler Barbara Barrie as Evelyn Stohler Robyn Douglass as Katherine Hart Bochner as Rod P.J. Soles as Suzy Amy Wright as Nancy, Moocher's girlfriend John Ashton as Mike's policeman brother Roy Dooley and Christopher also played father and son in the 1978 film A Wedding and in the 2003 Law & Order: Criminal Intent television episode "Cherry Red". Barrie, Haley and Ashton continued their roles in the prequel TV series. Real-life inspiration The Little 500 bicycle race that forms the centerpiece of the plot is a real race held annually at Indiana University. A reenactment of the race was staged for the film in the "old" Memorial Stadium on the IU campus, which was demolished shortly after the filming of the movie. The team is based on the 1962 Phi Kappa Psi Little 500 champions, which featured legendary rider and Italian enthusiast Dave Blase, who provided screenwriter and fellow Phi Kappa Psi team member Steve Tesich the inspiration for the main character in the movie. Blase, together with team manager Bob Stohler, provided the name of this character: Dave Stohler. In the 1962 race, Blase rode 139 out of 200 laps and was the victory rider crossing the finish line, much like the main character in the film. Blase himself appears in the movie as the race announcer. Scenes shot in Bloomington Opie Taylors Many of the scenes in the movie were filmed on the Indiana University campus; glimpses of the Indiana Memorial Union are in the background of Dave's ride through campus. The pizza restaurant in the film ("PAGLIAI'S") is now Opie Taylors on the east side of North Walnut Street, across from the Monroe County Courthouse. Dave Stohler's house in the film is located at the corner of S. Lincoln St. and E. Dodds St. Other scenes were filmed outside the Delta Delta Delta sorority house (818 E. 3rd St) and along Jordan Street. Dave's "ecstasy ride" on the wooded road after first meeting Kathy (where his bike tire blew) was filmed on the "West Gate Road" in Indiana's Brown County State Park, 14 miles east of Bloomington on State Road 46. Two other scenes were filmed on W. 7th St.: one at Fairview Elementary, the other three blocks east near the intersection of W. 7th St. and N. Madison (the old railroad tracks have since been removed). A scene in which Dave runs a red light in front of his father was filmed at the southwest corner of the Monroe County Courthouse, at the intersection of College St. and W. 5th St (a few seconds before he runs it, the light is visible as he rides by the courthouse and sees Moocher and Nancy). The starting-line scene of the "Cinzano 100" bicycle race was at the intersection of Indiana State Roads 46 and 446 on the city's eastern edge. The old limestone quarry where Dave and his friends swim is on a private property south of Bloomington, at the end of East Empire Mill Road (off of old State Road 37), and is closed to visitors. It is now often called the "Roof Top" quarry, but was originally known as "The Long Hole" or "Sanders" quarry. The used car lot ("Campus Cars") was on S. Walnut St., and was a real used car lot for many years, but now has two small commercial buildings on the property; it is located at 1010 S. Walnut St. Next door is the local Honda motorcycle franchise seen in the background of the famous "Refund? REFUND!!" scene; it remains there today. Judging from the evidence in the scenes, location filming was apparently done in the months of July through September, 1978. Film remake The 1992 Bollywood film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, starring Aamir Khan, is based on Breaking Away.

39. The Waterboy (4 of 15 lists - 34 points - highest ranked #10 Milkman delivers) The Waterboy is a 1998 American comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It stars Adam Sandler alongside Henry Winkler, Kathy Bates, Jerry Reed, and Fairuza Balk. Lynn Swann, Lawrence Taylor, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Cowher, Paul Wight, and Rob Schneider have cameos. Sandler produced the movie and co-wrote the script with Tim Herlihy. The movie was extremely profitable, earning over one hundred and eleven million dollars in the United States alone and made Sandler a successful actor with The Waterboy becoming his second $100 million film in a year, along with The Wedding Singer. Sandler's character, Bobby Boucher (pronounced "Boo-SHAY"), bears a strong resemblance to his "The Excited Southerner" comedic skits from his album "What the Hell Happened to Me?" The portrayal is one of a stereotypical Cajun from the bayous of South Louisiana, not the typical stereotype of a Southerner. He also shares similarities in speech and mannerism to Canteen Boy, a recurring character, also portrayed by Adam Sandler, on Saturday Night Live. Like Bobby, Canteen Boy preferred "purified water, right out of the old canteen", which he always carried with him. Plot Bobby Boucher is a socially inept, stuttering water boy with hidden anger issues due to constant teasing and excessive sheltering by his mother (Kathy Bates). He became the water boy for the University of Louisiana Cougars after being told his father died of dehydration in the Sahara Desert while serving in the Peace Corps. However, the players always torment him and the team's head coach, Red Beaulieu (Jerry Reed), eventually fires him for "disrupting" his practices. Bobby then approaches Coach Klein (Henry Winkler) of the South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs and asks to work as the team's waterboy. Coach Klein has been coach of SCLSU for years without success, after his brilliant playbook was stolen by Red Beaulieu. Bobby Boucher's mother, Kathy Bates tells Bobby of the evils of football and forbids him to play. Coach Klein shows Bobby his tattoo of Roy Orbison encouraging him to go against his mothers' wishes. After being picked on again by his new team, Coach Klein encourages Bobby to strike back, which leads to him knocking out the teams quarterback. Coach Klein convinces Bobby to go back to school and play for the team, to which he agrees on the grounds that nobody tells his mother. Bobby quickly becomes one of the most feared linebackers in college football, hitting opposing players with injury-causing force. The Mud Dogs manage a winning streak and earn a trip to the annual Bourbon Bowl to face the Cougars and Coach Beaulieu. Bobby's newfound fame also allows him to rekindle a relationship with his childhood friend and crush Vicki Vallencourt (Fairuza Balk), who has been in prison multiple times. Coach Beaulieu reveals that Bobby never finished high school, making him ineligible for college and football. However, Bobby manages to pass his GED exam, despite his mothers objections about him going back to college. She then fakes falling ill to keep Bobby from playing, but eventually admits it after witnessing the residents support for Bobby. Arriving late for the finals, Bobby manages to encourage the losing Mud Dogs to make a comeback. With Bobby's help, Coach Klein overcomes his fear of Red Beaulieu and creates new plays that allow the Mud Dogs to catch up. During the final play, Bobby throws a touchdown pass and the Mud Dogs win the finals. Sometime later, Bobby and Vicki are getting married. On their way out Bobby's father makes an unexpected appearance, having actually left Bobby's pregnant mother for another woman years ago. He tries to convince Bobby to leave school and go to the NFL, hoping to personally profit as his father; but Bobby's mother charges in and tackles him down. Cast Adam Sandler as Robert 'Bobby' Boucher Kathy Bates as Helen 'Mama' Boucher Fairuza Balk as Vicki Vaillancourt Henry Winkler as Coach Klein Jerry Reed as Coach Red Beaulieu Larry Gilliard Jr. as Derek Wallace Blake Clark as Farmer Fran Peter Dante as Gee Grenouille Jonathan Loughran as Lyle Robideaux Al Whiting as Casey Bugge Clint Howard as Paco Allen Covert as Walter Rob Schneider as Townie Matt Baylis as Student Todd Holland as Greg Meaney Kirk Lindell as Dumb Redneck 3 Kevin P. Farley as Jim Simonds Frank Coraci as Roberto Boucher Paul Wight as Captain Insano Soon Hee Newbold as Mud Dog Cheerleader Dan Fouts as Himself (ABC Sports commentator) Brent Musburger as Himself (ABC Sports commentator) Lynn Swann as Himself (ABC Sports commentator) Chris Fowler as Himself (ESPN commentator) Lee Corso as Himself (ESPN commentator) Dan Patrick as Himself (ESPN commentator) Lawrence Taylor as Himself (LT's Louisiana Lightning Training Football Camp) Bill Cowher as Himself (Pittsburgh Steelers coach) Jimmy Johnson as Himself (Miami Dolphins coach) Sam Hazlewood as Himself (Bourbon Bowl Crowd) Wade Phillips as Referee (uncredited) Jennifer Bini Taylor as Rita Filming and production The Waterboy was mostly filmed in the Central Florida and Orlando area as well as around Daytona Beach, Deland, Florida and Lakeland, Florida and surrounding areas. The Mud Dogs home games were filmed at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand, Florida, home of the local high school team (the DHS Bulldogs). The classrooms and gym where Bobby takes the GED are part of Stetson University, also located in DeLand. Stetson's Carlton Student Union building is featured in the scene where Bobby is told his mother has been hospitalized. The scenes involving Momma's Cabin were shot on Lake Louisa, in Clermont, Florida. Coach Klein's (Henry Winkler's) office was a stage built inside of the Florida Army National Guard Armory in Deland, Florida. It is home of Btry B 1st Bn 265th ADA. If you look closely, in the background of the practice field scenes, you can see the Armory and some military vehicles. The initial exterior shot of the University of Louisiana stadium was Everbank Field in Jacksonville; the interior of the stadium is actually the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Citrus Bowl was also the filming location for the climatic Bourbon Bowl game. The "medulla oblongata" scene was filmed at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL. The extras in the scene were students at Florida Southern College. The scene was shot in Edge Hall. Critical reception The Waterboy received mixed to negative reviews from critics. The film has a rating of a rating of 32%, or 4.6/10, on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the site's consensus being "The Waterboy is an insult to its genre with low humor and cheap gags." On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 41 out of 100, indicating "Mixed or average reviews." The film also appears on critic Roger Ebert's "Most Hated" list. Nevertheless, the film was a box office smash, grossing $185,991,646 worldwide. Sandler's performance in the film earned him a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actor.

40. The Program (3 of 15 lists - 33 points - highest ranked #4 LittleHurt05) The Program is a 1993 film starring James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Epps, Craig Sheffer, Kristy Swanson, Daniel Lee, and Joey Lauren Adams. The film was directed by David S. Ward who has directed and written other Hollywood films such as the Major League series. The film touches on the season of the fictional college football team, the ESU Timberwolves as they deal with the pressure to make a bowl game, drug and alcohol abuse, and overall college life. It follows the trials of Coach Sam Winters (Caan), the Heisman Trophy candidate Joe Kane (Sheffer), the freshman running back Darnell Jefferson (Epps), their girlfriends (Berry & Swanson), and other team members. The film was released by Touchstone Pictures in September 1993. The movie went on to gross over twenty million dollars at the box office. The film was shot on location at several American universities, including: Boston College, Duke University, the University of Michigan, the University of Iowa, and the University of South Carolina. The film includes a cameo appearance from Miami University and Michigan coaching legend Bo Schembechler. Synopsis The ESU Timberwolves are entering a season with high expectations after two disappointing seasons. The film begins with a loss to end the prior season, along with the school president putting pressure on Sam Winters to win this coming season or face a possible firing. Quarterback Joe Kane spends the Christmas bowl season with his alcoholic father and brother, while NFL prospect Alvin Mack gives his mother a present to go with the new house she will soon have when he turns pro. The film then follows the recruiting of Darnell Jefferson, a highly rated running back, and his eventual commitment to ESU. The film then cuts to the following fall, as football season is about to get underway. Fall camp commences, with Jefferson fumbling during practice and subsequently forced to carry a football with him at all times. Winters warns that if any other player brings the football back to him, "you'll wish you were never born." Kane has trouble with the pressure put upon him by the school and its Heisman campaign prepared for him, and drinks to deal with his stress. He meets a tennis player, Camille, (Kristy Swanson) and as their first date they go on a thrilling and scary motorcycle ride. They then develop a relationship. Mack's indifference to academics is shown clearly in a tutoring session where he couldn't care less about learning the material, but his strong ability to read offenses and football strategy during film study shows his commitment to football. Lattimer is obviously taking performance-enhancing drugs as he goes from a backup to starter on defense in one season (after gaining 30 lbs. of muscle in the offseason), and showing signs of "roid rage" when he learns he will be a starter at the beginning of the season. Lattimer walks into the parking lot, and shatters car windows with his head while screaming "STARTING DEFENSE!! PLACE AT THE TABLE!!" The film progresses to show the problems of a "big-time" football program. Winters' daughter is expelled for taking a test for Bobby Collins, a backup quarterback. Kane and ESU then lose a close game to Michigan, calling into question Kane's ability to win the Heisman. Later incidents occur when Lattimer assaults a girl unwilling to "hook up" with him, but her father is a large football booster and gets her to drop the charges (Lattimer is forced to take urine tests with coach Winters watching). Lattimer is suspended for three games based on this steroid use. All-American Alvin Mack criticizes him, but Lattimer defends himself by saying "Not everyone has your ability Alvin, you do what you have to do to play." Also, Kane is forced into rehab when he is involved in a bar fight and DUI after the Michigan loss. With Kane out for 4 games, the team goes 2-2. After losing to Iowa where Mack suffers a career ending injury also, Lattimer is run over at the goal line by the Iowa running back (the film implying that Lattimer is weaker without steroids) for the winning score, ESU has a final game against Georgia Tech. This game will win the Eastern Athletic Conference (EAC) and secure a major bowl game. GT leads the game 10-0 at the half. Joe Kane was benched for Bobby Collins but asked to start in the 2nd half. He proceeds to lead the team to victory, securing a major bowl game. The film ends with Kane reuniting with Camille, and the coaches leaving on a recruiting trip to look for next season's freshmen. Season Schedule and Results Mississippi State @ ESU - 20-28 (Win) Michigan @ ESU - 20-14 (Loss)(score is a guess based on Kane's 2 TD performance and ESU not attempting a tying FG at closing of game) ESU @ Boston College - 14-10 (Win) Texas @ ESU - 13-0 (Loss) ESU @ North Carolina - 14-13 (Win) ESU @ Iowa - 10-14 (Loss) Georgia Tech @ ESU - 10-13 (Win) Characters Coach Sam Winters : James Caan Autumn Haley : Halle Berry Darnell Jefferson : Omar Epps Joe Kane : Craig Sheffer Camille Shafer : Kristy Swanson Bud Kaminski : Abraham Benrubi Steve Lattimer : Andrew Bryniarski Alvin Mack : Duane Davis Ray Griffen : J. Leon Pridgen II Bobby Collins : Jon Pennell Daniel Luciano : Daniel Lee Louanne Winters : Joey Lauren Adams Reporter #3 : Rhoda Griffis Controversy The film originally included a scene in which Kane reads aloud comically "It says here that I'm good under pressure," while holding a Sports Illustrated college football preview issue with him on the front cover. He then lies down the middle of a road on the yellow line as cars barely pass him at highway speeds. Several team members who are at first trying to stop Kane decide that it is a test of their bravery and team unity and join him. Influenced by the film, several teenagers imitated this scene and were either killed or suffered injuries. This resulted in the scene being removed from the film after its release. A brief clip of the scene in question showing team members lying in the street had already been aired repeatedly in the television commercials for the film and therefore captured on VCRs. Later versions of the trailer had the offending clip removed. The only known home video release with this scene intact is the Hong Kong laserdisc published by Taishan International. This version of the film is three minutes longer than the theatrical cut and clocks in at a 115-minute run time.

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QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Oct 24, 2011 -> 12:32 AM) Although still true, I honestly have no recollection of making this post. That's what BHB will do to you. Big Hurt Beer... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ItxVWTikGI#t=0m29s