Cinderella Man

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Cinderella Man

Directed by	Ron Howard
Produced by	Brian Grazer Ron Howard Penny Marshall
Written by	Cliff Hollingsworth (story & screenplay) Akiva Goldsman (screenplay)
Starring	Russell Crowe Renée Zellweger Paul Giamatti
Music by	Thomas Newman
Cinematography	Salvatore Totino
Editing by	Daniel P. Hanley Mike Hill
Distributed by	Universal Studios (USA) Miramax Films/Touchstone Pictures (non-USA)
Release date(s)	June 3, 2005
Running time	144 min.
Language	English
Budget	US $88 Million
IMDb profile

Cinderella Man is a 2005 American Academy Award-nominated drama film titled after the nickname and inspired by the real life story of former Heavyweight boxing champion, James J. Braddock. The film was produced by Ron Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.

1 Primary cast
2 Plot synopsis
3 Filming
4 Reaction
- 4.1 Timing
- 4.2 Depiction of Max Baer
5 Exhibitors' refund offers
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Primary cast

Russell Crowe - Jim Braddock
Renée Zellweger - Mae Braddock
Paul Giamatti - Joe Gould
Craig Bierko – Max Baer
Paddy Considine - Mike Wilson
Connor Price - Jay Braddock
Angelo Dundee - Angelo the cornerman

[edit] Plot synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Braddock, an Irish-American hard-nosed boxer, formerly a light heavyweight contender, is forced to give up on boxing after losing a number of fights. As the United States enters the Great Depression, Braddock worked at a variety of menial jobs to support his family, but still dreams of somehow returning to boxing and making it big. Thanks to a last minute cancellation by another boxer, Braddock gets a second chance to fight but is put up against the number two contender in the world by the promoters who see Braddock as nothing more than a punching bag. Braddock stuns the boxing experts and fans with a third round knockout of his formidable opponent. Fighting with permanent injuries to his hands, Braddock continues to win and before long he comes to represent the hopes and aspirations of the American public coping with the Depression. Dubbed the "Cinderella Man," in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, he would eventually defeat the seemingly invincible Max Baer to become the heavyweight champion of the world.

[edit] Filming

During filming in Toronto, several areas were redressed to resemble 1930s New York. The Richmond Street side of the The Bay Queen Street store was redressed as Madison Square Garden, complete with fake store fronts and period stop lights. A stretch of Queen Street East between Broadview and Carlaw was also made up to appear to be from the '30s and dozens of period cars were parked along the road. Maple Leaf Gardens was also used for all the fight scenes. Many scenes were filmed in the Distillery District.

The TTC's historic Peter Witt streetcar and two more Witts from the nearby Halton County Radial Railway were used for the filming (in the opening scene if you look closely you can see the TTC logo on the streetcar), traveling on the existing streetcar track.

The filming was done at night, so these important streets could be used during the day.

[edit] Reaction

Although the movie received very good reviews from most critics (many described it as "Oscar-worthy")^{[citation needed]} and audiences, it fared relatively poorly at the box office during its first several weeks. During its North American theatrical run, the movie (which cost $88 million) had earned only approximately $60 million.^{[citation needed]} There are several theories as to why ticket sales were so low:

[edit] Timing

The film was released in summer, the season of the blockbuster. Would-be Oscar nominees are usually released from autumn onwards, culminating around the Christmas holidays. However, as of July 2005, it was expected that the movie's worldwide theatrical releases would begin in September, at the onset of the Oscar race, and that the movie will be a success outside the U.S. and Canada and turn a profit for its owners.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Depiction of Max Baer

Max Baer is portrayed as a complete villain who behaves inappropriately outside the ring and viciously inside (to the point of killing two opponents in the ring). Baer's relatives and boxing historians have criticized the film's depiction of him, arguing that he killed only one man in the ring, Frankie Campbell, not two (in the movie, it is stated that he also indirectly caused the death of Ernie Schaaf, something commonly claimed by the press at the time, but never proven, and highly unlikely), and was considered by many to be a gentleman. This is supported by historical evidence which shows that Baer's demeanor, both within and outside the ring, was much less brutal than the film portrayed, and he often cracked jokes.

The author of the book on which the movie was based has asserted that Baer was kind, charismatic, loved and respected, and pointed out the emotional pain that Baer endured the rest of his life following Campbell's death, and the fact that he gave purses from his bouts to Campbell's family to help give Campbell's children an education.[[1]]

Some of the criticism, however, was unbalanced. The depiction of Max Baer in the film is no different from his depiction in the press at the time, and this image was often used by promoters to attract interest in his fights. Also, the Max Baer on screen never actually boasts about killing Campbell or Schaaf. In fact, his feelings on the matter are never mentioned. Perhaps more significantly, Max Baer himself (who was also an actor) starred as a much more negatively depicted, hostile boxer in the movie " The Harder They Fall", which holds many similarities to him in real life.

[edit] Exhibitors' refund offers

In a campaign to boost ticket sales after the film's disappointing opening, AMC Theatres advertised on June 24, 2005 that in 30 markets (about 150 theaters nationwide), it would offer a refund to any ticket-buyer dissatisfied with the film.^[1] The advertisement, published in The New York Times and other papers and on internet film sites, read, "AMC believes Cinderella Man is one of the finest motion pictures of the year! We believe so strongly that you'll enjoy Cinderella Man we're offering a Money Back Guarantee." The promotion moderately increased box office revenue for a short period, while at least 50 patrons demanded refunds. Following suit, Cinemark Theatres also offered a money-back guarantee in 25 markets that did not compete with AMC Theaters. AMC had last employed such a strategy (in limited markets) for the 1998 release of Mystic Pizza,^[2] while 20th Century Fox had unsuccessfully tried a similar ploy for its 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street.