"Seabiscuit" is gonna be a big hit

[CMJ]

My most antcipated film in ages came out today..."Seabiscuit" based on Laura Hillenbrand's masterpiece about the depression era racehorse. I really liked it, but I had problems with it....mostly because I'd READ the book. Alterations, and event shuffling bugged me, but the crowd ate it up like a steak dinner. They laughed, cheered, clapped, and cried.

This baby is gonna have terrific word of mouth.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I really want to see this. :)

[Sene Unty]

I saw it today...I enjoed it very much, but probably because I haven't read the book. :) It was probably the best feel good movie I have ever seen...left me smiling... Tobey was amazing, but than again so was everyone else. If you enjoy movies with lots of story and characters with alot of depth go see this now :D

[CMJ]

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it too. Nonetheless, I was constantly thinking about things they altered.

The second time I see it I'll most likely judge it more on what was on the screen...not what wasn't. Nonetheless, I *really* recommend it.

[Mu Satach]

That has to be one of the hardest things to do, put aside what you already know and let a movie just be...

[Jedi Master Carr]

I was going to see it but it only playing in one theater on one screen in my area, I guess I am going to have to wait which sucks maybe next weekend I will be able to go.

[ReaperFett]

That has to be one of the hardest things to do, put aside what you already know and let a movie just be...

That's why I loved Daredevil. I didn't have to much :D

[sirdizzy]

i plan on catching a show tommorow or maybe a midnight tonight

[Jinn Fizz]

My parents are both children of the Depression, so they were growing up when the real Seabiscuit was in the news. They're probably going to go see it this week, since it's a part of their childhood. :)

[CMJ]

So they can verify this...(excerpted from the intro to "Seabiscuit: An American Legend").

***************************

In 1938, near the end of a decade of monumental turmoil, the year's number one newsmaker was not Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hitler, or Mussolini. It wasn't Pop Pius XI, nor was it Lou Gehrig, Howard Hughes, or Clark Gable. The subject of the most newspaper column inches in 1938 wasn't even a person. It was an undersized, crooked-legged racehorse named Seabiscuit.

In the latter half of the Depression, Seabiscuit was nothing short of a cultural icon in America, enjoying adulation so intense and broad-based that it transcended sport. When he raced, his fans choked local roads, poured out of special cross-country "Seabiscuit Limited" trains, packed the hotels, and cleaned out the restaraunts. They tucked their Roosevelt dollars into Seabiscuit wallets, bought Seabiscuit hats on Fifth Avenue, played at least nine parlor games bearing his image. Tuning into radio broadcast of his races was a weekend ritual across the country, drawing as many as forty million listeners. His appearances smashed attendance records at nearly every major track and drew two of the three largest throngs ever to see a horse race in the United States. In an era when the United States' population was less than half of its current size, seventy-eight thousand people witnessed his last race, a crowd comperable to those at today's Super Bowls. As many as forty thousand fans mobbed tracks just to watch his workouts, while thousands of others braved ice storms and murderous heat to catch a glimpse of his eighty-foot Pullman railcar. He galloped over Manhattan on Massive Billboards and was featured week after week, year after year, in TIME, LIFE, NEWSWEEK, LOOK, PIC, and THE NEW YORKER. His trainer, jockey, and owner became heroes in their own right. Their every move was painted by the glare of the flashbulbs.

***************************

[Charley]

It's a horse. It runs. With a little guy on top. I'm not much of a horse racing fan at all. Maybe I'll rent it or something, or catch it on HBO.

[ReaperFett]

I saw a making of thing. Tobey Maguire's expressions ruined every clip they showed. And there were some AWFUL shots where he clearly wasn't ona horse too :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Wow that is incredibly impressive. The excerpt, that is.

[Telan Desaria]

I am afraid I agree. The movie is not up to par, and Toby Maguire is not, in my opinion, a good actor.

Bfore I am yelled at for this, I do have acting credentials. In my gymnasium, I played the part of Frederich the Great in a play about the rsie of Prussia. I got raved reviews.

Hmm!

[CMJ]

I actually thought Tobey Maguire was really good. Hell he's one of my favorite of the young crop of actors. He continues to be in good stuff.

[ReaperFett]

He damaged Spiderman for me. Between him and his script, that wasn't Peter Parker for me.

[CMJ]

I'm not even thinking about "Spider-man". I'm thinking "The Cider House Rules", "Wonder Boys", Pleasantville", etc. when I say I like the stuff he's been in(and that he's a great young actor).

[Mu Satach]

He was fer me!
Toby is on the Mu List of Approved Male Leads.
(aka THE List)
:p

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Oh yeaaah baby! :D:thumbup

[CMJ]

It's only off an estimated 17% this weekend(we'll know for sure tommorrow). Pretty decent hold - looks like I was right about word of mouth.

[Mu Satach]

I think it's going to do all right. It's a nice change of pace from the sequel fodder floating around this summer.

[ReaperFett]

Sequels are made because people want them. Why is originality so important?


X2 = A sequel
Gigli = An original



WHich would YOU rather see? ;)

[Mu Satach]

*smacks reap upside the head with dead gopher guts*
*SPLAT!*

Gigli is not original... it's a lame attempt at best.
And I've got nothing against sequels as the majority of my money has gone to repeat viewings of sequels, TMR(3 times), X2(4 times), CA:FT(2 times)...

What I said was that I think that it's a NICE CHANGE OF PACE.

It's like food, I love pizza... but when I have it all the freaking time I get sick of it. I want variety in life, not the same thing over and over and over again. That's not to say I don't like simple pepperoni pizza, it's just I've had it all summer long now and I'd like to have a NY steak dinner with some garlic potatoes please.

[CMJ]

Some sequels are okay Reaper...but the simple fact that several of this summer's sequels have not done particularly well at the BO shows that not *every* hit movie should have a sequel.

Not that any of them are huge financial disappointments either...yet. We won't know that for some time(after international numbers and video).

Now onto the original point. ;) If "Seabiscuit" continues to have great holds and clears say 120M...I think a Best Picture nomination is likely. That's a big "if", but I'm using "Road to Perdition" as my template. A summer prestige film...grossing 104M - got 6 total noms and most folks figure it just missed a BP nomination. If the Biscuit does slightly better I figure it's in the top 5.

[sirdizzy]

Seabiscuit (2003)


Drama
2 hrs. 20 min.
MPAA Rating:PG-13
Release Date: July 25th, 2003
Starring:Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, William H. Macy
Directed by:Gary Ross



Just because a life gets beat up a little doesn’t mean you throw it away. The true story of three men and one horse that have been down and out in their lives and the tale of their rise to the top once more. Red Pollard had a happy childhood as he lived on a huge piece of land with his family and learned to ride horses and found a love for the great classics and reading in such stories as The Arabian Nights. But his luck and the luck of his family came crashing down with the infamous stock market crash in 1929. Now forced to live out of their car like so many others the father still wishes for his son to have success. When a local trainer discovers that Red has a wonderful ability as a jockey and great knowledge of horses his father sends him off to live with the trainer but his luck doesn’t change much as he doesn’t win the races. He finds himself in Mexico mucking together a life when his world is about to change once more. Charles Howard once a bicycle repairman who got rich and famous repairing automobiles that became famous at the turn of the century is looking to change his life and maybe take back to his roots of horses. For this he will need a jockey, and a trainer and even more importantly a horse. He is about to find the trainer in the most unlikely of places as Tom Smith had become too old to train and took to living in the bushes. But Charles who is already on his second chance is willing to take a chance on him. So with his help they look for a horse that could become a winner and they find Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit is a wild horse that almost looks untamable but shows the spirit and heart that Smith wants in a horse. He is small and walks with an odd gait but he is also cheap to own. But now the problem is finding a jockey who can actually race the horse as he wild and untamed. And this is where Red comes in as he is just wild and untamed and shows the same spirit and heart that the horse is already shown. So a group of long shots prepare to take on the world and prove that everyone deserves a second chance. So with a horse to small, a jockey to big, a trainer to old, and a owner who is too dumb to know the difference the four of them are about to change the sport of horse racing forever and give hope to those who were once down and out like them.

Very few movies inspire such emotion that members of the audience actually clap and cheer at the screen forgetting it is just a movie. But this movie is one of them as the audience I saw the movie with did actually cheer on Seabiscuit in one of his most famous wins of all time. The movie may be about horseracing but it is more than that. It is about hope, it is about second chances, it is about rooting for the underdog and most importantly it is about everyone getting a second chance and proving that they can reach the sky and accomplish all their dreams. It is hard to not be moved by this film as it is about so many thing that most people wish and dream for and everyone likes to root for the underdog. The acting wasn’t that great at times and came off as forced and over the top but this movie is about the story and is so good because of this incredible real story that just blows you away. It also really nice to see some more dramas as this summer as been completely dominated by one action/adventure movie after another. Diversity is the spice of life and its nice to have different types of movies to watch. This is the kind of movie that will have you on your seat in anticipation and on the grips of reality through out. And while the ending is what you would expect it to be it is still hard to not be pleased with this wonderful movie.
4 stars out of 5

[CMJ]

Oh ye of little faith. ;)

I had a feeling you'd like it.

[Jinn Fizz]

CMJ--My parents both finally went to see Seabiscuit today, and they both liked it very much :). My mother said it even made her get kind of teary-eyed at a couple of points. She also said it was interesting to see that for a town of this size on a weekday afternoon, there was a fair amount of people in the theater--about 60--and all but 2 of them had gray hair :D. So it's definitely appealing to the generation that grew up with the real Seabiscuit. A lot of them applauded when it was over and the credits started to roll. :thumbup

[CMJ]

The fact that it seems to be skewing older will also help with Academy voters come next year. The average age of the membership is afterall like 58 I believe.

[sirdizzy]

are you calling me old cmj i am highly offended i am only 26

[CMJ]

Dude, I'm 25. :p But the film's audience is scewing older, based on polling done right after opening night...and just word of mouth. Most audiences are filled with more seasoned movie goers than the 15-25 demographic.

[sirdizzy]

LOL i had this english prof a couple years ago and she goes to a lot of the same movies as me and shes got to be easily 55-65

i am old enough that i can enjoy a good drama and i am still young enough to like to see things explode

i should be the target demographic ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah I loved it too its a great movie, I think Bridges will get an Oscar. I also enjoyed Macy's performance he was hilarious, any chance he might get nominated? Right now it is one of my favorites of the year I would put it right next to X2 those are the two films I have enjoyed the most this year although POTC is a close third.

[CMJ]

I'd say Macy is a longshot for a nomination. I could see Bridges or Cooper getting nods though.