Exclusive: Brand management company Foundation Media Partners is leading development, packaging, and production on a new slate of projects for cheerleading and dance team company Varsity Spirit.
Among the projects is a new movie from Point Break and Varsity Blues scribe Peter Iliff, an animation featuring Morgan Simianer, the breakout star of Netflix docuseries Cheer, and a college football documentary narrated by Bill Courtney, the subject of Oscar-winning documentary Undefeated.
The brand expansion for Varsity Spirit will cover film, TV, music, live events, publishing, podcasts, documentaries, and hybrid content.
The feature film is a sports drama written by Iliff and is targeted toward young women. Set under the lights of a major university, the film “lives at the intersection of football and cheer, ushering audiences into the spirit world from a new perspective”. Iliff most recently scripted 2022 Antonio Banderas movie The Enforcer.
The feature documentary,...
Among the projects is a new movie from Point Break and Varsity Blues scribe Peter Iliff, an animation featuring Morgan Simianer, the breakout star of Netflix docuseries Cheer, and a college football documentary narrated by Bill Courtney, the subject of Oscar-winning documentary Undefeated.
The brand expansion for Varsity Spirit will cover film, TV, music, live events, publishing, podcasts, documentaries, and hybrid content.
The feature film is a sports drama written by Iliff and is targeted toward young women. Set under the lights of a major university, the film “lives at the intersection of football and cheer, ushering audiences into the spirit world from a new perspective”. Iliff most recently scripted 2022 Antonio Banderas movie The Enforcer.
The feature documentary,...
- 3/7/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Bill Courtney, who was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary, Undefeated is launching a podcast. In An Army of Normal Folks, the businessman, speaker and coach has heart-breaking and inspiring conversations with people who are catalysts for change in their communities. Stories shared in episodes include Therapy Under the Hood of a Car with Bob Zachheo, who was frustrated with how traditional therapy was failing kids with substance abuse and mental health challenges, so he decided to do something wildly different.
- 6/5/2023
- by PodcastingToday
- Podcastingtoday
There's nothing that compares to watching a live sporting event in real-time, an experience that can be full of action, emotion, and unpredictability for the viewer. A sports documentary may not be the same as watching live, but can actually offer even more, capturing that excitement while also adding perspective and nuance that can deepen any fan's appreciation of pretty much any sport.
But what makes a sports documentary great? That's a question for which there's not a single easy answer, given that different documentaries offer different pleasures depending on their focus, agenda, and, to a certain extent, the way in which they're put together. With that in mind, it shouldn't be surprising that Netflix is a phenomenal source for documentaries and docuseries set in the world of sports, spanning pretty much every sport imaginable. Some of these feature some of the biggest names in sports, while others highlight fascinating...
But what makes a sports documentary great? That's a question for which there's not a single easy answer, given that different documentaries offer different pleasures depending on their focus, agenda, and, to a certain extent, the way in which they're put together. With that in mind, it shouldn't be surprising that Netflix is a phenomenal source for documentaries and docuseries set in the world of sports, spanning pretty much every sport imaginable. Some of these feature some of the biggest names in sports, while others highlight fascinating...
- 1/14/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- Slash Film
Cinelinx.com goes the whole nine yards with the Undefeated Blu-ray, the 2011 Oscar winner for Best Documentary!
The Set-up
A documentary team follows the football team of Manassas High School in West Memphis, as they try to end decades of futility and win the first playoff game in the school's history.
Directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin
The Delivery
The winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary, Undefeated is not about football, but rather about a group of high school athletes who find a purpose, and a future, through the sport. Documentarians Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin avoid the usual trappings of football movies, for the most part. There's plenty of football action to be sure, but besides the final game shown in the film, the focus is on a handful of players and their coach, Bill Courtney.
The school, Manassas High in West Memphis, had never had...
The Set-up
A documentary team follows the football team of Manassas High School in West Memphis, as they try to end decades of futility and win the first playoff game in the school's history.
Directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin
The Delivery
The winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary, Undefeated is not about football, but rather about a group of high school athletes who find a purpose, and a future, through the sport. Documentarians Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin avoid the usual trappings of football movies, for the most part. There's plenty of football action to be sure, but besides the final game shown in the film, the focus is on a handful of players and their coach, Bill Courtney.
The school, Manassas High in West Memphis, had never had...
- 3/17/2013
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Victor Medina)
- Cinelinx
You’ll feel like you have seen Undefeated before, even if you haven’t. Newly released on Blu-ray, the 2011 Academy Award-winner for Best Documentary Feature follows a downtrodden Memphis high school football team, the Manassas Lions, in a seemingly impossible quest to turn years of devastating losses into a surprisingly winning season. Their struggle to do so requires a lot of hard work both on the field and off, instigated by the words and actions of inspiring volunteer coach Bill Courtney.
Filmmakers Dan Lindsay and Tj Martin utilize music, title cards and visuals to perfectly accentuate the natural arc of the story and bring out the most moving moments. It helps that Courtney is a wonderful protagonist who truly cares about the students on his team; watching him coach these kids both at football and at life will bring a smile to your face and possibly even a tear to your eye.
Filmmakers Dan Lindsay and Tj Martin utilize music, title cards and visuals to perfectly accentuate the natural arc of the story and bring out the most moving moments. It helps that Courtney is a wonderful protagonist who truly cares about the students on his team; watching him coach these kids both at football and at life will bring a smile to your face and possibly even a tear to your eye.
- 2/20/2013
- by Lee Jutton
- JustPressPlay.net
Undefeated, the heart-warming story of an inner-city high school, a group of kids who bettered themselves through football, and the volunteers who made it all possible, won the Oscar for best documentary at the 2012 Academy Awards. Now, one year later, the film is finally coming to Blu-ray and DVD so everyone can see the story of Coach Bill Courtney’s final season at Manassas high school and the success that team and its players experienced.
I recently had a chance to talk to Coach Courtney in anticipation of the film’s Blu-ray release. He talked about his current relationship with the players from the team, how the film developed from a small documentary about one player, and his advice to others volunteering with underprivileged kids.
Check it the interview below.
We Got This Covered: You’re no longer coaching at Manassas. Do you miss being there?
Bill Courtney: Yeah I miss it every day.
I recently had a chance to talk to Coach Courtney in anticipation of the film’s Blu-ray release. He talked about his current relationship with the players from the team, how the film developed from a small documentary about one player, and his advice to others volunteering with underprivileged kids.
Check it the interview below.
We Got This Covered: You’re no longer coaching at Manassas. Do you miss being there?
Bill Courtney: Yeah I miss it every day.
- 2/19/2013
- by Alex Lowe
- We Got This Covered
Super Bowl Sunday is filled with stories of players and coaches told across multiple networks. While today might be all about the Ravens and 49ers, it.s also a good day for Undefeated, the 2011 Oscar Winning football documentary that hits Blu-ray this month. If you.re up for a few more motivational speeches and shots of players hard at work, we have an exclusive Blu-ray clip just for you. Anchor Bay Home Entertainment and the Weinstein Company have teamed up to bring Undefeated into homes. The film follows the Manassas Tigers, a football team associated with an underprivileged school system that must overcome obstacles on the football field, but also in the classroom. The clip features Coach Bill Courtney, a no-nonsense guy challenging his players to buy into his system. In return, he says he can deliver the boys a playoff win. The clip focuses on shots from several days...
- 2/3/2013
- cinemablend.com
I couldn’t possibly be less interested in American football, but this film -- the 2012 Oscar winner for Best Documentary -- is extraordinary in how it turns upside-down the typical feel-good, triumph-of-the-underdogs tropes of the subgenre. Not that Undefeated is “feel-bad,” mind you, just that it eschews clichés and easy answers to intractable problems as it highlights just how wrongheaded some of those clichés and tropes are. The high-school football team in the very depressed town of North Memphis, Tennessee -- an institution from which students more typically continue on to prison rather than college -- has been something of a joke in the region: other, better schools used to pay them for a game, for a guaranteed win, they were that bad... which only fueled a downward spiral of demoralized players who couldn’t be bothered to shape up and win games. Enter coach Bill Courtney. Filmmakers Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin are there,...
- 11/15/2012
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
The Dark Knight Rises stays atop of the box office mountain this week taking in over three times more than its nearest rival in the process. It’s difficult to see anything displacing it for a few weeks yet, perhaps even until the new Bourne movie hits screens in a few weeks’ time. The Lorax meanwhile went in at the number 2 spot but it did so only by a narrow margin over its animated rival, Ice Age 4, which has now of course already been out for 5 weeks. Universal may have hoped for a slightly stronger opening weekend but with the school holidays in full swing they may still have a good few weeks ahead as parents are looking for that family friendly option.
Searching for Sugar Man had a solid opening weekend too coming in at 7th place despite only showing at around 28 cinemas nationwide. StudioCanal definitely picked a...
Searching for Sugar Man had a solid opening weekend too coming in at 7th place despite only showing at around 28 cinemas nationwide. StudioCanal definitely picked a...
- 8/3/2012
- by Rob Keeling
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
What was the best documentary of the last year? That would be Senna, right? Well, not according to The Academy who failed to put Asif Kapadia’s film on even the shortlist for last year’s Best Documentary Feature award (a decision which was arguably a contributing factor behind a change of rules for the category). Senna eventually snagged a well-deserved BAFTA, but on the other side of the pond there was a surprise Oscar-winner in the category in the form of another sports documentary, Undefeated.
But when you consider that the American Football centric doc had the campaigning super-team of the Weinsteins and Sean “Diddy” Combs behind it, is that gong necessarily a mark of quality? Well, quite simply, yes. And an emphatic yes at that. It may be a completely different beast to Senna in regards to its form and the perspective from which it approaches its chosen sport,...
But when you consider that the American Football centric doc had the campaigning super-team of the Weinsteins and Sean “Diddy” Combs behind it, is that gong necessarily a mark of quality? Well, quite simply, yes. And an emphatic yes at that. It may be a completely different beast to Senna in regards to its form and the perspective from which it approaches its chosen sport,...
- 8/3/2012
- by Joe Cunningham
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
There's a bit too much Coach, and not enough of the players, in this Oscar-winning documentary about high-school American football
Everyone loves big-hearted poppa bears like Bill Courtney, volunteer coach of high school American football team the Manassas Tigers. We love Coach. The players – huge, fast O.C.; sensitive, smart Montrail – love Coach. Even this Oscar-winning documentary's directors love Coach. Perhaps a bit too much, because Coach swamps the screen time, leaving just a little to discuss the home lives of these players in deprived north Memphis. A slim slice of bald reality stretched across the framework of a life-affirming sports movie. Since the Oscar win, Courtney has said these kids' life chances are dismal. Undefeated won't muddy itself with such concerns. All eyes are on the ball, while the future screams from the sidelines.
Rating: 3/5
DocumentaryHenry Barnes
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies.
Everyone loves big-hearted poppa bears like Bill Courtney, volunteer coach of high school American football team the Manassas Tigers. We love Coach. The players – huge, fast O.C.; sensitive, smart Montrail – love Coach. Even this Oscar-winning documentary's directors love Coach. Perhaps a bit too much, because Coach swamps the screen time, leaving just a little to discuss the home lives of these players in deprived north Memphis. A slim slice of bald reality stretched across the framework of a life-affirming sports movie. Since the Oscar win, Courtney has said these kids' life chances are dismal. Undefeated won't muddy itself with such concerns. All eyes are on the ball, while the future screams from the sidelines.
Rating: 3/5
DocumentaryHenry Barnes
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies.
- 8/3/2012
- by Henry Barnes
- The Guardian - Film News
When Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin’s film beat out Wim Wenders, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky to win the 2012 Academy Award for Best documentary it was considered something of an upset and the parallels of this victory to the subject matter of their film are all too obvious.
The story of the misfires and misfortunes of the Tennessee based Manassas Tigers captivated the Academy and on the 3rd of August we here in the UK will have our chance to take in the film as Lindsay and Martin’s documentary is released.
Though the easy comparison of The Blind Side, itself an Oscar winner in 2010, offers a flavour of what’s in store this is the story of how coach Bill Courtney took on the near-impossible task of leading a bottom-place football team to their first win. Inspiration guaranteed.
The film is playing in nearly 40 cinemas on the 3rd and...
The story of the misfires and misfortunes of the Tennessee based Manassas Tigers captivated the Academy and on the 3rd of August we here in the UK will have our chance to take in the film as Lindsay and Martin’s documentary is released.
Though the easy comparison of The Blind Side, itself an Oscar winner in 2010, offers a flavour of what’s in store this is the story of how coach Bill Courtney took on the near-impossible task of leading a bottom-place football team to their first win. Inspiration guaranteed.
The film is playing in nearly 40 cinemas on the 3rd and...
- 7/31/2012
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
"If you will allow it, football will save your life," a troubled student athlete is told in Undefeated. This could be the motto of this documentary depicting the impact of the sport on the lives of four Tennessee residents. A deeply moving look at the 2009 season of Manassas High's football team -- which screened at SXSW 2011 -- the film won the Best Documentary Oscar in February and is back on Austin screens this week.
Situated in blighted North Memphis, Manassas High has served as a sort of punching bag for other teams; it's the kind of team that gets bused in for richer schools to beat. Bill Courtney, an area businessman and volunteer head coach, is in his sixth year of leading the guys. He is determined for the team to make the playoffs, since Manassas has never done so. "This is our season," he states optimistically. "I don't care what happens.
Situated in blighted North Memphis, Manassas High has served as a sort of punching bag for other teams; it's the kind of team that gets bused in for richer schools to beat. Bill Courtney, an area businessman and volunteer head coach, is in his sixth year of leading the guys. He is determined for the team to make the playoffs, since Manassas has never done so. "This is our season," he states optimistically. "I don't care what happens.
- 4/6/2012
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
Following a triumphant win at this year.s Oscar ceremony, Exclusive Media has sold international rights in a number of key territories to its Academy Award® Winning documentary feature film Undefeated, it was announced today by Exclusive Media, President of International Sales and Distribution, Alex Walton.
Deals have been completed with the leading documentary distributor Dogwoof in the UK and to Madman Entertainment in Australia as well as with Cdc in Latin America, Independent Films in Benelux, Impuls Pictures/Rialto in Switzerland, Sam Films in Iceland and United King in Israel. Additional sales were made withCathay in Singapore, Pt Amero in Indonesia, Lots Home Entertainment in Taiwan and M Pictures in Thailand. Negotiations are currently underway with a number of remaining territories.
On finalizing the sales, Walton said, .Undefeated is a universally crowd pleasing film exploring the triumph of the human spirit and it is attracting some of the leading...
Deals have been completed with the leading documentary distributor Dogwoof in the UK and to Madman Entertainment in Australia as well as with Cdc in Latin America, Independent Films in Benelux, Impuls Pictures/Rialto in Switzerland, Sam Films in Iceland and United King in Israel. Additional sales were made withCathay in Singapore, Pt Amero in Indonesia, Lots Home Entertainment in Taiwan and M Pictures in Thailand. Negotiations are currently underway with a number of remaining territories.
On finalizing the sales, Walton said, .Undefeated is a universally crowd pleasing film exploring the triumph of the human spirit and it is attracting some of the leading...
- 3/22/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Like the teenagers they chronicle in their Oscar-winning documentary Undefeated, directors Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin weren't expected to emerge as winners. The two were up against some formidable competition on Oscar night, from their fellow nominees Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory and Wim Wenders' Pina. If their reaction seemed jubilant and surprised, it was. That might explain the "F-bomb" not heard round the world. Undefeated chronicles the final season from volunteer coach Bill Courtney at Manassas High School in North Memphis, Tenn. Courtney, who's white, leads a once seemingly hopeless squad of primarily African-American players to a winning season. Having been abandoned by his father at age eight, he understands his players because many of them don't have fathers in their lives. It also helps him motivate the players on and off the field, even when the economically depressed community comes dangerously close to swallowing them home.
- 3/14/2012
- by Dan Lybarger
- Moviefone
At the end of each month, the Sound On Sight staff will band together to write an article about their favourite scenes in films released. Here are our favourite scenes from the month of February.
Click here to see January’s releases.
A Separation – Opening scene
A Separation opens with a simple but wonderful stationary shot that quickly sets everything up. The scene features a couple speaking to a divorce councilor about their troubled relationship. In practically breaking the fourth wall the sequence prepares us for the mess of selfish bad decisions wrapped around good indentations that follows; these choices eventually leading to the cause for everything spiraling out of control.
- Ricky D
Chronicle - Space Needle
Chronicle will never be mistaken for an artistic breakthrough, but it is unquestionably endowed with the best special effects this low-budget shaky-cam movie could afford. The effects here (handled by Simon Hansen,...
Click here to see January’s releases.
A Separation – Opening scene
A Separation opens with a simple but wonderful stationary shot that quickly sets everything up. The scene features a couple speaking to a divorce councilor about their troubled relationship. In practically breaking the fourth wall the sequence prepares us for the mess of selfish bad decisions wrapped around good indentations that follows; these choices eventually leading to the cause for everything spiraling out of control.
- Ricky D
Chronicle - Space Needle
Chronicle will never be mistaken for an artistic breakthrough, but it is unquestionably endowed with the best special effects this low-budget shaky-cam movie could afford. The effects here (handled by Simon Hansen,...
- 3/3/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Chicago – “Undefeated” takes some time to connect. It’s like a football team that starts slow and can’t quite find the right play calls for the first quarter. I’ll admit to being nonplussed at the start of the film as it seemed unfocused and a bit disconnected. Then something amazing happens. These guys start to connect. They start to become real. You start to root for them. Feel for them. Even care about them. This is one of the best sports documentaries of the last few years and while I don’t think it should have won in a Very good year for non-fiction film, I’m really not upset at all that it did.
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Damn, 2011 was amazing for documentaries. Werner Herzog made two (“Into the Abyss,” “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”). Steve James made one nearly as good as his “Hoop Dreams” (“The Interrupters”). Cameron Crowe (“Pearl Jam Twenty...
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Damn, 2011 was amazing for documentaries. Werner Herzog made two (“Into the Abyss,” “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”). Steve James made one nearly as good as his “Hoop Dreams” (“The Interrupters”). Cameron Crowe (“Pearl Jam Twenty...
- 3/2/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
This year’s Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature seems almost too good to be true…but that’s what makes it so effective. Directed, photographed and edited by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin, it profiles a most unusual fellow: Bill Courtney, a volunteer football coach for a Memphis high school that most people have given up on. The fact that he is white and his players are black is barely mentioned, which has bothered some observers. I think what matters is what we can see with our own eyes: this man loves and supports his players unconditionally, and they in turn respect him and his dedication to their team. I’m not a sports fan, but Undefeated is less about...
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- 3/1/2012
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Although "Undefeated," the Best Documentary winner from this year's Oscars, follows a high school sports team, coach Bill Courtney wants you to know that the film goes way beyond athletics.
"The bedrock of the movie is football," he says. "But what you find out when you watch the movie is it's really about relationships and what can be accomplished when people put aside preconceived notions and selfishness, and just work together for one common goal."
In a new behind-the-scenes featurette from the film, viewers get a glimpse inside the life of the football program at Manassas High School in North Memphis, Tenn., which, in it's 110-year history, has yet to make the playoffs. The new coach, Courtney, hopes to change all that.
"This movie is not just about sports. It's about never giving up. It's about somebody believing in you when you don't even believe in yourself," said Sean Combs,...
"The bedrock of the movie is football," he says. "But what you find out when you watch the movie is it's really about relationships and what can be accomplished when people put aside preconceived notions and selfishness, and just work together for one common goal."
In a new behind-the-scenes featurette from the film, viewers get a glimpse inside the life of the football program at Manassas High School in North Memphis, Tenn., which, in it's 110-year history, has yet to make the playoffs. The new coach, Courtney, hopes to change all that.
"This movie is not just about sports. It's about never giving up. It's about somebody believing in you when you don't even believe in yourself," said Sean Combs,...
- 2/29/2012
- by Alex Suskind
- Huffington Post
Although "Undefeated," the Best Documentary winner from this year's Oscars, follows a high school sports team, coach Bill Courtney wants you to know that the film goes way beyond athletics. "The bedrock of the movie is football," he says. "But what you find out when you watch the movie is it's really about relationships and what can be accomplished when people put aside preconceived notions and selfishness, and just work together for one common goal." In a new behind-the-scenes featurette from the film, viewers get a glimpse inside the life of the football program at Manassas High School in North Memphis, Tenn., which, in it's 110-year history, has yet to make the playoffs. The new coach, Courtney, hopes to change all that. "This movie is not just about sports. It's about never giving up. It's about somebody believing in you when you don't even believe in yourself," said Sean Combs,...
- 2/29/2012
- by Alex Suskind
- Moviefone
Billy Crystal's blackface wasn't the only controversy from Sunday's Oscar ceremony. After winning the Best Documentary award for his work on "Undefeated," co-director T.J. Martin' mistakenly dropped an ill-fated f-bomb on live television, saying it would be "fucking awesome" if his fellow nominees were able to join him on stage. The 2012 Oscar winner apologized for the tongue slip.
"First and foremost I want to apologize for that," the filmmaker admitted. "I don't think that was the classiest thing in the world, however, with that said it did come from the heart. It was absolutely spontaneous and there's no way in the world I thought this would happen. This is the most insane thing that's ever happened."
"Undefeated" follows the football program at Manassas High School in North Memphis, Tennessee, and coach Bill Courtney, who looks to lead the team to their first playoff birth in the school's 110-year history.
"First and foremost I want to apologize for that," the filmmaker admitted. "I don't think that was the classiest thing in the world, however, with that said it did come from the heart. It was absolutely spontaneous and there's no way in the world I thought this would happen. This is the most insane thing that's ever happened."
"Undefeated" follows the football program at Manassas High School in North Memphis, Tennessee, and coach Bill Courtney, who looks to lead the team to their first playoff birth in the school's 110-year history.
- 2/27/2012
- by Alex Suskind
- Huffington Post
Billy Crystal's blackface wasn't the only controversy from Sunday's Oscar ceremony. After winning the Best Documentary award for his work on "Undefeated," co-director T.J. Martin' mistakenly dropped an ill-fated f-bomb on live television, saying it would be "fucking awesome" if his fellow nominees were able to join him on stage. The 2012 Oscar winner apologized for the tongue slip. "First and foremost I want to apologize for that," the filmmaker admitted. "I don't think that was the classiest thing in the world, however, with that said it did come from the heart. It was absolutely spontaneous and there's no way in the world I thought this would happen. This is the most insane thing that's ever happened." "Undefeated" follows the football program at Manassas High School in North Memphis, Tennessee, and coach Bill Courtney, who looks to lead the team to their first playoff birth in the school's 110-year history.
- 2/27/2012
- by Alex Suskind
- Moviefone
It may not be "The Artist," but it's still a win for the Weinstein Company. On Sunday, "Undefeated" nabbed the Best Documentary Oscar at the 84th Annual Academy Awards with an upset win over presumed favorite "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory." The film, directed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin, follows a the football program at Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee, and coach Bill Courtney, who looks to lead the team to their first playoff birth in the school's 110-year history. "Undefeated" is in limited release now. Photos:...
- 2/27/2012
- by Alex Suskind
- Moviefone
The voice of Bill Courtney — powerful and punctuated, resolute and fearless — permeates every ounce of Undefeated, a marvelously spirited high school football documentary from Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin. A businessman by day, Courtney, whose love for football flows through his veins with more vigorous density than his own blood, is the volunteer football coach at North Memphis’s Manassas High School. He took over in 2004, when the team’s hopes equaled the decrepit emptiness of the town that surrounds the high school. As the film begins, Courtney’s program is filled with promise and the potential for the program’s best season to date.
Courtney’s the main presence in the film, but there are a handful of players the filmmakers focus on as well. First is O.C. Brown, an offensive lineman with blinding power and speed and the most naturally gifted athlete on the entire roster. Thanks to...
Courtney’s the main presence in the film, but there are a handful of players the filmmakers focus on as well. First is O.C. Brown, an offensive lineman with blinding power and speed and the most naturally gifted athlete on the entire roster. Thanks to...
- 2/21/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Tipped as a big contender in this year’s Best Documentary Feature category, Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin’s Undefeated has already been picked up by The Weinstein Company for both distribution and remake rights in what’s thought to be a seven-figure deal, and the story sounds like an inspirational one.
Following the Manassas Tigers, an American football team in Memphis, the documentary tells the story of their history of defeat that was turned around when their coach, Bill Courtney, arrived on the scene in 2004 to bring the team together, culminating in Lindsay and Martin’s documentary of their 2009 season.
We’ve now got a new clip to share with you from the film, courtesy of Yahoo Movies, entitled, ‘Together,’ giving us a sense of Courtney’s ambition to not just play well, but to create a better team, and (forgive the cliché) to turn his boys into men.
Following the Manassas Tigers, an American football team in Memphis, the documentary tells the story of their history of defeat that was turned around when their coach, Bill Courtney, arrived on the scene in 2004 to bring the team together, culminating in Lindsay and Martin’s documentary of their 2009 season.
We’ve now got a new clip to share with you from the film, courtesy of Yahoo Movies, entitled, ‘Together,’ giving us a sense of Courtney’s ambition to not just play well, but to create a better team, and (forgive the cliché) to turn his boys into men.
- 2/20/2012
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Undefeated
Directed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin
Documentary, 2011, USA
After the Academy Award nominations were announced, there was some grumbling from the political site Wonkette about “the Sarah Palin movie” being nominated for Best Documentary. That just goes to show how far under the radar Undefeated flew: as Wonkette eventually realized, it’s a different movie altogether (the Palin doc was The Undefeated), and unlike the Palin film it wholly deserves mention among the great documentaries of the year.
This is the story of the Manassas (Tenn.) Tigers’ quest to win a football playoff game, something which has not happened in the long history of that high school. Manassas is an inner-city school, its surroundings ravaged by the recent recession, and its kids are mostly dirt-poor. Thus the film sometimes strays from a Friday Night Lights type of tone and leans toward The Blind Side, as coach Bill Courtney...
Directed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin
Documentary, 2011, USA
After the Academy Award nominations were announced, there was some grumbling from the political site Wonkette about “the Sarah Palin movie” being nominated for Best Documentary. That just goes to show how far under the radar Undefeated flew: as Wonkette eventually realized, it’s a different movie altogether (the Palin doc was The Undefeated), and unlike the Palin film it wholly deserves mention among the great documentaries of the year.
This is the story of the Manassas (Tenn.) Tigers’ quest to win a football playoff game, something which has not happened in the long history of that high school. Manassas is an inner-city school, its surroundings ravaged by the recent recession, and its kids are mostly dirt-poor. Thus the film sometimes strays from a Friday Night Lights type of tone and leans toward The Blind Side, as coach Bill Courtney...
- 2/18/2012
- by Mark Young
- SoundOnSight
There's nothing like a feel-good football movie with a great story and a great message. It's even better when that movie is a showcase of actual events.
The Oscar nominated documentary feature, Undefeated, follows the 2009 football season of the North Memphis Manassas High School Tigers. The underfunded football team was known for being so awful that other schools would pay to use them for their homecoming games. This is until the huge heart of volunteer Coach Bill Courtney, stepped in to change the fate of the team -- and the lives of the players.
Executive produced by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs along with the work of filmmakers Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin; the production team does a remarkable job of showing the underprivileged reality of a city hit hard by unemployment and factory closures. The doc manages to capture the beauty of camaraderie.
This film explores the controversy of a white coach leading a predominately African-American school...
The Oscar nominated documentary feature, Undefeated, follows the 2009 football season of the North Memphis Manassas High School Tigers. The underfunded football team was known for being so awful that other schools would pay to use them for their homecoming games. This is until the huge heart of volunteer Coach Bill Courtney, stepped in to change the fate of the team -- and the lives of the players.
Executive produced by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs along with the work of filmmakers Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin; the production team does a remarkable job of showing the underprivileged reality of a city hit hard by unemployment and factory closures. The doc manages to capture the beauty of camaraderie.
This film explores the controversy of a white coach leading a predominately African-American school...
- 2/17/2012
- Entertainment Tonight
by Ryan Rigley
Ever wonder how long it would take to clap 900 times? This exclusive clip from the Oscar nominated documentary, "Undefeated," might not have the answer that you're looking for. But it does have a very motivational speech!
"Undefeated" is a documentary that chronicles the Manassas Tigers' 2009 football season through the eyes of their tough as nails coach, Bill Courtney. Taking place in the inner-city of Memphis, the team goes through a number of trials and tribulations as they strive to break their high school's 110 year losing streak.
As the perennial laughing stock of the state, the Manassas Tigers have done some exceptionally degrading things in order to turn a profit, even going so far as to auction off their home games to the highest bidder. Talk about throwing a game!
However, in 2004 that all changed. With the help of Bill Courtney, a former football coach/lumber salesman, the...
Ever wonder how long it would take to clap 900 times? This exclusive clip from the Oscar nominated documentary, "Undefeated," might not have the answer that you're looking for. But it does have a very motivational speech!
"Undefeated" is a documentary that chronicles the Manassas Tigers' 2009 football season through the eyes of their tough as nails coach, Bill Courtney. Taking place in the inner-city of Memphis, the team goes through a number of trials and tribulations as they strive to break their high school's 110 year losing streak.
As the perennial laughing stock of the state, the Manassas Tigers have done some exceptionally degrading things in order to turn a profit, even going so far as to auction off their home games to the highest bidder. Talk about throwing a game!
However, in 2004 that all changed. With the help of Bill Courtney, a former football coach/lumber salesman, the...
- 2/16/2012
- by MTV Movies Team
- MTV Movies Blog
Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to worthwhile titles currently streaming on Netflix Instant Watch. This week we offer alternatives to This Means War, The Secret World of Arrietty and Undefeated.
Tomorrow in theaters it’s spy versus spy when two secret agents become romantic rivals, a scrappy underdog team fights their way to football glory and a teeny teen discovers a grand new world. But if you want more action-romance-comedies, more heartwarming sports tales, and more spirited adventures with pint-sized protagonists , we’ve got you covered with the best titles Now Streaming.
Chris Pine and Tom Hardy play a brawny pair of debonair spies who turn into prank-prone rivals when they uncover they’re dating the same woman. Reese Witherspoon co-stars, McG directs.
Do you desire more love, action and laughs?
Charade (1963) In this cheeky classic, Audrey Hepburn stars as a...
Tomorrow in theaters it’s spy versus spy when two secret agents become romantic rivals, a scrappy underdog team fights their way to football glory and a teeny teen discovers a grand new world. But if you want more action-romance-comedies, more heartwarming sports tales, and more spirited adventures with pint-sized protagonists , we’ve got you covered with the best titles Now Streaming.
Chris Pine and Tom Hardy play a brawny pair of debonair spies who turn into prank-prone rivals when they uncover they’re dating the same woman. Reese Witherspoon co-stars, McG directs.
Do you desire more love, action and laughs?
Charade (1963) In this cheeky classic, Audrey Hepburn stars as a...
- 2/16/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
After debuting at last year's SXSW Film Festival, Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin's football documentary "Undefeated" was picked up by The Weinstein Company. The film follows a high school football team in Memphis, Tennessee as they attempt to turn around a decades-long losing streak. Lindsay and Martin frame the story around the team's coach, Bill Courtney, and three of the team's players: promising left tackle "O.C.," honors student lineman "Money" and hot-tempered linebacker Chavis. The film was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and will be opening in theaters Friday, February 17. Directors Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin sat down with Indiewire to discuss their nomination, how they became involved with the project, working with producer Seth Gordon and the difficulties of shooting high school football games. How did you feel when you found out about your Oscar nomination? Where did you find out...
- 2/13/2012
- Indiewire
Poster for the Undefeated documentary on the Manassas Tigers' 2009 football season. Weinstein Co's football docu gets its first movie poster for the film helmed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin. Pic opens on February 17th and is produced by Seth Gordon, Glen Zipper and Rich Middlemas. Undefeated is set in the inner-city of Memphis and chronicles the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school’s 110-year history. A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand. When he arrived, the team consisted of 17 players, some timeworn equipment and a patch of grass masquerading as a practice field...
- 2/12/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Poster for the Undefeated documentary on the Manassas Tigers' 2009 football season. Weinstein Co's football docu gets its first movie poster for the film helmed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin. Pic opens on February 17th and is produced by Seth Gordon, Glen Zipper and Rich Middlemas. Undefeated is set in the inner-city of Memphis and chronicles the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school’s 110-year history. A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand. When he arrived, the team consisted of 17 players, some timeworn equipment and a patch of grass masquerading as a practice field...
- 2/12/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Poster for the Undefeated documentary on the Manassas Tigers' 2009 football season. Weinstein Co's football docu gets its first movie poster for the film helmed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin. Pic opens on February 17th and is produced by Seth Gordon, Glen Zipper and Rich Middlemas. Undefeated is set in the inner-city of Memphis and chronicles the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school’s 110-year history. A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand. When he arrived, the team consisted of 17 players, some timeworn equipment and a patch of grass masquerading as a practice field...
- 2/12/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Title: Undefeated Director: Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin Featuring: Bill Courtney, O.C. Brown, Montrail “Money” Brown, Chavis Daniels Undefeated shows a human being – Coach Bill Courtney – who encompasses and projects attributes all of us desire in some respect. It also shows that the stories we hear about inner-city life are in fact true. This is a 113 minute documentary about a coach who took on a high school football program that should have been cut years ago. Some may categorize this as a documentarian version of The Blind Side. Some may even draw comparisons to Hoop Dreams. Yours truly we’ll just say that this is a documentary version of...
- 2/11/2012
- by joe
- ShockYa
Breaking: Sean Combs has joined the Oscar nominated documentary Undefeated as executive producer, and he will be involved in a narrative remake that The Weinstein Company is working on. The remake was part of the deal when TWC acquired the film after it debuted at SXSW. The hip hop icon known as P Diddy will take the executive producer title on both the docu and the remake. Directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, Undefeated is a verite style documentary that focuses on three underprivileged student athletes and the volunteer coach who guides them through a football season in North Memphis. They play for the Manassas High School Tigers, which never won a playoff game and at one point was so bad that the school would sell its regular season games to rival schools looking for a punching bag to beat up. That changed when businessman Bill Courtney volunteered to...
- 2/9/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Since everyone here in North America still has football on the mind, it seems like as good a time as any to post the official trailer for the upcoming high school football documentary Undefeated (not to be confused with the similarly-titled Sarah Palin film The Undefeated). The movie generated a lot of strong buzz at Tiff last year and has since managed to drum up an Academy Award nomination. Although sports docs usually tend to get overlooked at the Oscars (Hoop Dreams, anyone?), this one is distributed by The Weinstein Company, which means it might actually have a shot at winning. The movie follows The Manassas Tigers, an inner-city high school football team in Memphis, Tennessee that has been consistently destroyed by its opponents, partially because most of its star players either end up dead or in jail. However, coach Bill Courtney took over the team in 2004 and slowly started to turn things around,...
- 2/6/2012
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Already appearing on our Films to See In February list, The Weinstein Company have released a trailer for their upcoming sports documentary Undefeated. One of the five films nominated for the best documentary Academy Award, the film – which follows the down-trodden team at an inner-city Memphis – has been receiving fantastic reviews since its SXSW premiere.
Although I’m not a football fan, this seems like an exceptionally well-crafted look at a series of personal stories. Forget the Super Bowl, this is the next sporting event on my radar. Knowing the Weinsteins and their heavy marketing push, I doubt this is the last time we’ll hear about this one. Directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, you can see the trailer below via Apple.
Synopsis:
Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game...
Although I’m not a football fan, this seems like an exceptionally well-crafted look at a series of personal stories. Forget the Super Bowl, this is the next sporting event on my radar. Knowing the Weinsteins and their heavy marketing push, I doubt this is the last time we’ll hear about this one. Directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, you can see the trailer below via Apple.
Synopsis:
Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game...
- 2/2/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
It seems like I'm frequently often asked if there are any moments in movies that make me cry. I honestly can't think of many, but I can tell you the image from Undefeated represented a scene in this amazing documentary that got me. Now set to hit theaters on February 17, Undefeated centers on the inner-city Memphis high school football team, the Manassas Tigers and their 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they are led by volunteer head coach Bill Courtney. I haven't officially reviewed the film, but I feel I've discussed it at length including the exclusive clip I debuted last week and my comments on it back in December after first seeing it. The fact of the matter is, this was the best documentary I saw in 2011 and I'd love to see it take home the Oscar on February 26. Check out the trailer directly below and look for it in theaters later this month.
- 2/2/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Although Hollywood is celebrating 2011 in film at the end of the month, there are more than a few promising options at the theater. After the year getting off to a surprisingly strong start with The Grey, Haywire and more, the trend continues here. Check out the list below and, as always, check your local theater listings to see when some of these limited releases will be available in your area.
To See:
10. Perfect Sense (David Mackenzie; Feb. 10th)
Synopsis: A chef and a scientist fall in love as an epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions.
Trailer
Why You Should Look Forward To It: It’s been about a year since its Sundance premiere, where we called the peculiar drama/romance sappy but perfectly fitting for the unique world created as Mackenzie is determined to find optimism in the most dire of science-fiction scenarios. Headed to VOD at the same time,...
To See:
10. Perfect Sense (David Mackenzie; Feb. 10th)
Synopsis: A chef and a scientist fall in love as an epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions.
Trailer
Why You Should Look Forward To It: It’s been about a year since its Sundance premiere, where we called the peculiar drama/romance sappy but perfectly fitting for the unique world created as Mackenzie is determined to find optimism in the most dire of science-fiction scenarios. Headed to VOD at the same time,...
- 2/1/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Clip from Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin's Undefeated documentary from Weinstein Co Catch a new video from BeliefNet.com on the film produced by Seth Gordon, Glen Zipper and Rich Middlemas. Pic opens on February 10th in limited areas and includes Montrail 'Money' Brown, O.C. Brown, Bill Courtney and Chavis Daniels. Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school’s 110-year history. A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand...
- 1/25/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Clip from Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin's Undefeated documentary from Weinstein Co Catch a new video from BeliefNet.com on the film produced by Seth Gordon, Glen Zipper and Rich Middlemas. Pic opens on February 10th in limited areas and includes Montrail 'Money' Brown, O.C. Brown, Bill Courtney and Chavis Daniels. Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school’s 110-year history. A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand...
- 1/25/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Clip from Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin's Undefeated documentary from Weinstein Co Catch a new video from BeliefNet.com on the film produced by Seth Gordon, Glen Zipper and Rich Middlemas. Pic opens on February 10th in limited areas and includes Montrail 'Money' Brown, O.C. Brown, Bill Courtney and Chavis Daniels. Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school’s 110-year history. A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand...
- 1/25/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
One Oscar prediction I'm happy I got wrong was predicting the fantastic documentary Undefeated would not get a nomination. It did and I hoped it would ever since the first saw it back in early December. Suffice to say, I was floored. Writing about it on December 6, I described it as "hands-down, without a doubt fantastic" and I stick by those words as I later declared it the Best Documentary of 2011. With the film now set to hit theaters on February 17, the Weinstein Co. is moving forward with the marketing plan and what better time than just after the film was nominated for a Best Documentary (Feature) Oscar? And I am happy to be the one to debut a brand new, exclusive clip from the film, which I gladly jumped at the opportunity to premiere when offered. Directed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin, Undefeated centers on the inner-city Memphis high school football team,...
- 1/24/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Photo of the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football team in Dan Lindsay’s and Tj Martin’s film Undefeated
Photo by: Dan Lindsay/Tj Martin/ The Weinstein Company
A coming-of-age documentary, Undefeated provides audiences an intimate view of an underprivileged group of teens and their inspirational coach, as they attempt to make history in this new clip from the film. It’s one of the 15 in the Documentary Feature category that advanced in the voting process for the 84th Academy Awards®. One hundred twenty-four pictures had originally qualified in the category.
Synopsis
Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers. 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school.s 110-year history.
A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney,...
Photo by: Dan Lindsay/Tj Martin/ The Weinstein Company
A coming-of-age documentary, Undefeated provides audiences an intimate view of an underprivileged group of teens and their inspirational coach, as they attempt to make history in this new clip from the film. It’s one of the 15 in the Documentary Feature category that advanced in the voting process for the 84th Academy Awards®. One hundred twenty-four pictures had originally qualified in the category.
Synopsis
Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers. 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school.s 110-year history.
A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney,...
- 1/17/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
New clip from the Undefeated football documentary on the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season. Helmed and edited by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, the Weinstein Co-distributed documentary opens on February 10th and features Coach Bill Courtney, Montrail “Money”, Chavis, O.C. and Coach Mike Ray. Thanks to Belief.net, we have a new exclusive movie clip from the film produced by Rich Middlemas, Dan Lindsay, Seth Gordon, Ed Cunningham and Glen Zipper. Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school’s 110-year history. A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand.
- 1/14/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
New clip from the Undefeated football documentary on the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season. Helmed and edited by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, the Weinstein Co-distributed documentary opens on February 10th and features Coach Bill Courtney, Montrail “Money”, Chavis, O.C. and Coach Mike Ray. Thanks to Belief.net, we have a new exclusive movie clip from the film produced by Rich Middlemas, Dan Lindsay, Seth Gordon, Ed Cunningham and Glen Zipper. Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school’s 110-year history. A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand.
- 1/14/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
New clip from the Undefeated football documentary on the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season. Helmed and edited by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, the Weinstein Co-distributed documentary opens on February 10th and features Coach Bill Courtney, Montrail “Money”, Chavis, O.C. and Coach Mike Ray. Thanks to Belief.net, we have a new exclusive movie clip from the film produced by Rich Middlemas, Dan Lindsay, Seth Gordon, Ed Cunningham and Glen Zipper. Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school’s 110-year history. A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand.
- 1/14/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
I wrote about Project Nim last time (read that here) and since then I have watched six more documentaries, trying to close the gap on the number of documentaries I missed out on seeing over the course of 2011. As a result, I have now seen five of the 15 documentaries shortlisted by the Academy for Oscar consideration and unfortunately I don't have access to the other ten, though I still have the much talked about Senna and Werner Herzog's Into the Abyss yet to watch. Beyond all that, however, I have six documentaries to briefly discuss today so let's no waste anymore time... Undefeated Undefeated is hands-down, without a doubt fantastic. Yet, at the moment, two things piss me off about it. The Weinstein Co. hasn't done anything to promote it. There isn't a clip; there isn't a trailer; and the poster I used to the left is some rush...
- 12/6/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
by Vadim Rizov
[Doc NYC begins tonight at the IFC Center in Manhattan, and continues through Nov. 10.]
Undefeated follows a North Memphis high school's 2009-10 football team overcoming years of losses, a lack of funding and general institutional disregard. We see a player break down in tears after learning an anonymous local millionaire he's never met will bankroll his higher education: no matter where he's accepted or if injuries destroy his athletic career, he has four guaranteed, paid-up years to get a degree. That's a logical echo of the earlier intervention of volunteer coach Bill Courtney, the white, relatively patrician owner of a lumber firm who got involved with Manassas High's barely maintained football program through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Courtney figured out how to raise $15,000 in necessary supplies, coaching and expenditures for free, this in a country where the sport is big business even on the collegiate level. For many young black men, going pro is a concrete aspiration within reach, though...
[Doc NYC begins tonight at the IFC Center in Manhattan, and continues through Nov. 10.]
Undefeated follows a North Memphis high school's 2009-10 football team overcoming years of losses, a lack of funding and general institutional disregard. We see a player break down in tears after learning an anonymous local millionaire he's never met will bankroll his higher education: no matter where he's accepted or if injuries destroy his athletic career, he has four guaranteed, paid-up years to get a degree. That's a logical echo of the earlier intervention of volunteer coach Bill Courtney, the white, relatively patrician owner of a lumber firm who got involved with Manassas High's barely maintained football program through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Courtney figured out how to raise $15,000 in necessary supplies, coaching and expenditures for free, this in a country where the sport is big business even on the collegiate level. For many young black men, going pro is a concrete aspiration within reach, though...
- 11/2/2011
- GreenCine Daily
Chicago – Three crowd-pleasing films were selected by audiences at the 47th Chicago International Film Festival as their favorites of the year. A record 50 percent of festivalgoers participated in the selection of this year’s winners of the American Airlines Audience Choice Award.
Two pictures garnered the award for Best Narrative Feature. The first is French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius’ affectionate valentine to cinema, “The Artist,” which snagged the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for its lead, Jean Dujardin (who played the title role in Hazanavicius’ “Oss 117”). It’s a black-and-white, nearly silent romance with a talent-packed ensemble including John Goodman and Malcolm McDowell. The festival buzz has been so strong that some movie buffs have speculated about whether this could actually become a surprise mainstream hit. Regardless, this accolade has further solidified this film’s status as a top Oscar contender.
The Artist.
Photo credit: The Chicago International...
Two pictures garnered the award for Best Narrative Feature. The first is French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius’ affectionate valentine to cinema, “The Artist,” which snagged the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for its lead, Jean Dujardin (who played the title role in Hazanavicius’ “Oss 117”). It’s a black-and-white, nearly silent romance with a talent-packed ensemble including John Goodman and Malcolm McDowell. The festival buzz has been so strong that some movie buffs have speculated about whether this could actually become a surprise mainstream hit. Regardless, this accolade has further solidified this film’s status as a top Oscar contender.
The Artist.
Photo credit: The Chicago International...
- 10/25/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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