The Blind Side (film)
Encyclopedia
The 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.
Bullock stars alongside, 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.
(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.
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.
.
reports that, , 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".
's career. The per-theater average for The Blind Sides 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
.
, Lucy Woodward
, The Books
, Canned Heat
, Five for Fighting
, and film costar Tim McGraw
. However, while the score soundtrack by Carter Burwell
was released on CD, none of the featured songs were included.
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.
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
. It is written and directed by John Lee Hancock
John Lee Hancock
John Lee Hancock, Jr. is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for directing the sports drama films The Rookie and The Blind Side.-Early life:...
, and based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game is a book by Michael Lewis released in 2006 about American football.-Plot:It features two dominant storylines...
by Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis (author)
Michael Lewis is an American non-fiction author and financial journalist. His bestselling books include The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, Panic and Home Game: An...
. The storyline features Michael Oher
Michael Oher
Michael Jerome Oher is an American football offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Mississippi for the Ole Miss Rebels...
, an offensive lineman who plays for the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
of the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. The film follows Oher from his impoverished upbringing, through his years at Wingate Christian School (a fictional representation of Briarcrest Christian School
Briarcrest Christian School
Briarcrest Christian School is an independent coeducational college preparatory school with two campuses in Shelby County, Tennessee, in Memphis and Eads ....
in the suburbs of Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
), his adoption by Sean
Sean Tuohy
Sean Tuohy is an American sports commentator and restaurateur. He played college basketball at the University of Mississippi in the early 1980s, and is known for being the all-time assists leader in the Southeastern Conference ....
and Leigh Anne Tuohy
Leigh Anne Tuohy
Leigh Anne Roberts Tuohy is an American interior designer. She is best known for being featured in Michael Lewis's 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, and its 2009 feature film adaptation The Blind Side...
, and on to his position as one of the most highly coveted prospects in college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. For her performance, Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
won the Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
, 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
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
for Best Picture.
Bullock stars alongside, Quinton Aaron
Quinton Aaron
Quinton Aaron, born August 15, 1984, is an American actor whose first lead role was as Michael Oher in the 2009 film The Blind Side.-Early Life:...
as Michael Oher, Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
as Sean Tuohy, and Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...
as Miss Sue. The movie also features appearances by several current and former NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
coaches, including SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
coaches Houston Nutt
Houston Nutt
Houston Dale Nutt, Jr. is an American football coach and former player. Most recently he was the head football coach at the University of Mississippi from 2008 to 2011. Previously, he served as the head coach at Murray State University , Boise State University , and the University of Arkansas...
and Ed Orgeron
Ed Orgeron
Ed Orgeron is an American football coach who is currently serving as the defensive coordinator/defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator for the USC Trojans. Orgeron previously served as the head football coach of the Ole Miss Rebels from 2005 to 2007...
(Oher's coaches in college, though Nutt represented Arkansas
Arkansas Razorbacks football
The Arkansas Razorbacks football program is a college football team that represents the University of Arkansas. The team is a member of the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, which is in Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
at the time and therefore does so in the film) and Nick Saban
Nick Saban
Nicholas Lou "Nick" Saban is the head coach of the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide football team. Saban has previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and three other NCAA universities: LSU, Michigan State and Toledo...
(who was at LSU
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...
at the time and represents it in the film), former coaches Lou Holtz
Lou Holtz
Louis Leo "Lou" Holtz is a retired American football coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker in the United States...
, Tommy Tuberville
Tommy Tuberville
Thomas Hawley Tuberville is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Texas Tech University, a position he has held since the 2010 season...
, Phillip Fulmer
Phillip Fulmer
Phillip Fulmer is a TV college football analyst and the former head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, who compiled a 152–52 record from 1992–2008 as head coach, but was fired during a 5–7 season in 2008...
, as well as recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.
Plot
For most of his childhood, 17-year-old Michael OherMichael Oher
Michael Jerome Oher is an American football offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Mississippi for the Ole Miss Rebels...
(Quinton Aaron
Quinton Aaron
Quinton Aaron, born August 15, 1984, is an American actor whose first lead role was as Michael Oher in the 2009 film The Blind Side.-Early Life:...
) has been in foster care with different families throughout Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. 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
Ray McKinnon (actor)
Ray McKinnon is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. He was married to actress and producer Lisa Blount from 1998 until her death on October 25, 2010...
), 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
Jae Head
Jae Head is an American child actor. He is best known for portraying Sean Junior Tuohy, son of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy , in the 2009 film The Blind Side directed by John Lee Hancock...
). SJ's mother Leigh Anne Tuohy
Leigh Anne Tuohy
Leigh Anne Roberts Tuohy is an American interior designer. She is best known for being featured in Michael Lewis's 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, and its 2009 feature film adaptation The Blind Side...
(Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
) is a strong-minded interior designer and the wife of wealthy businessman Sean Tuohy
Sean Tuohy
Sean Tuohy is an American sports commentator and restaurateur. He played college basketball at the University of Mississippi in the early 1980s, and is known for being the all-time assists leader in the Southeastern Conference ....
(Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
). 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
Lily Collins
Lily Jane Collins is a British-American actress and television personality.-Early life:Collins was born in Guildford, Surrey, England, and is the daughter of British musician Phil Collins and his second wife, American-born Jill Tavelman...
) 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
Percentile rank
The percentile rank of a score is the percentage of scores in its frequency distribution that are the same or lower than it. For example, a test score that is greater than 75% of the scores of people taking the test is said to be at the 75th 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
Grade (education)
Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters , as a range , as a number out of a possible total , as descriptors , in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary...
, so they hire a tutor, Miss Sue (Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...
). 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
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
(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
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
Neyland Stadium
Neyland Stadium
Neyland Stadium is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several NFL exhibition games. The stadium's official capacity is 102,455...
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
Boosterism
Boosterism is the act of "boosting," or promoting, one's town, city, or organization, with the goal of improving public perception of it. Boosting can be as simple as "talking up" the entity at a party or as elaborate as establishing a visitors' bureau. It is somewhat associated with American small...
, 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
2009 NFL Draft
The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft consisted of two rounds on the first day starting at 4:00...
with the real Michael Oher being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
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
John Lee Hancock
John Lee Hancock, Jr. is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for directing the sports drama films The Rookie and The Blind Side.-Early life:...
's father, a football player and coach who died in 2009.
Cast
- Quinton AaronQuinton AaronQuinton Aaron, born August 15, 1984, is an American actor whose first lead role was as Michael Oher in the 2009 film The Blind Side.-Early Life:...
as Michael "Big Mike" OherMichael OherMichael Jerome Oher is an American football offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Mississippi for the Ole Miss Rebels... - Sandra BullockSandra BullockSandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
as Leigh Anne TuohyLeigh Anne TuohyLeigh Anne Roberts Tuohy is an American interior designer. She is best known for being featured in Michael Lewis's 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, and its 2009 feature film adaptation The Blind Side... - Tim McGrawTim McGrawSamuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
as Sean TuohySean TuohySean Tuohy is an American sports commentator and restaurateur. He played college basketball at the University of Mississippi in the early 1980s, and is known for being the all-time assists leader in the Southeastern Conference .... - Kathy BatesKathy BatesKathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...
as Miss Sue - Lily CollinsLily CollinsLily Jane Collins is a British-American actress and television personality.-Early life:Collins was born in Guildford, Surrey, England, and is the daughter of British musician Phil Collins and his second wife, American-born Jill Tavelman...
as Collins Tuohy - Jae HeadJae HeadJae Head is an American child actor. He is best known for portraying Sean Junior Tuohy, son of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy , in the 2009 film The Blind Side directed by John Lee Hancock...
as Sean "S.J." Tuohy, Jr. - Ray McKinnonRay McKinnon (actor)Ray McKinnon is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. He was married to actress and producer Lisa Blount from 1998 until her death on October 25, 2010...
as Coach Cotton - Kim DickensKim DickensKimberly Jan "Kim" Dickens is an American actress and model.-Early life:Dickens was born in Huntsville, Alabama, graduated from that city's Lee High School, and attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she majored in communication...
as Mrs. Boswell - Adriane LenoxAdriane LenoxAdriane Lenox is an American stage and film actress whose performance in the play Doubt: A Parable garnered her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2005. She also appeared as Hattie in the Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate and had a role in the 2009 film The Blind Side, as Denise...
as Denise Oher
Coaches playing themselves
- Tommy TubervilleTommy TubervilleThomas Hawley Tuberville is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Texas Tech University, a position he has held since the 2010 season...
, then coach of AuburnAuburn Tigers footballOnly Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the... - Nick SabanNick SabanNicholas Lou "Nick" Saban is the head coach of the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide football team. Saban has previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and three other NCAA universities: LSU, Michigan State and Toledo...
, then coach of LSULSU Tigers footballThe LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as... - Lou HoltzLou HoltzLouis Leo "Lou" Holtz is a retired American football coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker in the United States...
, then coach of South CarolinaSouth Carolina Gamecocks footballThe South Carolina Gamecocks football team represents the University of South Carolina in NCAA Division I college football. The Gamecocks have been a member of the Southeastern Conference since 1992. Steve Spurrier is the current head coach, and the team plays its home games at Williams-Brice... - Philip Fulmer, then coach of TennesseeTennessee Volunteers footballThe Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....
- Houston NuttHouston NuttHouston Dale Nutt, Jr. is an American football coach and former player. Most recently he was the head football coach at the University of Mississippi from 2008 to 2011. Previously, he served as the head coach at Murray State University , Boise State University , and the University of Arkansas...
, then coach of ArkansasArkansas Razorbacks footballThe Arkansas Razorbacks football program is a college football team that represents the University of Arkansas. The team is a member of the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, which is in Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association... - Ed OrgeronEd OrgeronEd Orgeron is an American football coach who is currently serving as the defensive coordinator/defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator for the USC Trojans. Orgeron previously served as the head football coach of the Ole Miss Rebels from 2005 to 2007...
, then coach of Ole MissOle Miss Rebels footballThe football history of the University of Mississippi , includes the formation of the first football team in the state and is 26th on the list of college football's all-time winning programs...
Production
The Blind Side was produced by Alcon EntertainmentAlcon Entertainment
Alcon Entertainment, LLC is an American film production company, founded in 1997 by film producers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Since its establishment, Alcon Entertainment has developed and financed films that are ultimately distributed by Warner Bros., following a ten-year motion picture...
and released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
According to Reuters, the film's production budget was $29 million. Filming for the school scenes took place at Atlanta International School
Atlanta International School
Atlanta International School is a private primary and secondary school located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The more common name for Atlanta International School is AIS. AIS is based on the International Baccalaureate Programme...
and The Westminster Schools
The Westminster Schools
The Westminster Schools is a private school in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1951 and tracing its origins to 1878, Westminster has the largest endowment of any non-boarding school in the United States...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, and it features many of their students. The film premiered on November 17 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
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.
Accolades
The Blind Side has earned numerous awards and nominations for the lead performance of the film's star, Sandra BullockSandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
.
| Awards and Nominations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| Academy Award 82nd Academy Awards The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after... |
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... |
Sandra Bullock | |
| Best Picture Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only... |
Film | ||
| Critics’ Choice Award Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2009 The 15th Critics' Choice Awards were presented on Friday, January 15, 2010 at the Hollywood Palladium to honour the finest achievements in 2009 film-making, on January 15, 2010 on VH1... |
Best Actress | Sandra Bullock | (tied with Meryl Streep) |
| ESPY Awards ESPY Awards An ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993... |
Best Sports Movie Best Sports Movie ESPY Award The Best Sports Movie ESPY Award has been presented annually since 2002 to the sports-related feature film adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year.... |
Film | |
| Golden Globe 67th Golden Globe Awards The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were... |
Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama | Sandra Bullock | |
| Screen Actors Guild Award 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards ----Best Cast - Motion Picture: Inglourious Basterds----Best Cast - Drama Series: Mad Men Best Cast - Comedy Series: Glee ... |
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role | Sandra Bullock | |
| People's Choice Award 36th People's Choice Awards The 36th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2009, was held on January 6, 2010 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and was broadcasted on CBS. Not all of the awards were presented on air during the show, as many including Favorite Movie were left out... |
Favorite Movie Actress 36th People's Choice Awards The 36th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2009, was held on January 6, 2010 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and was broadcasted on CBS. Not all of the awards were presented on air during the show, as many including Favorite Movie were left out... |
Sandra Bullock | |
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2009 The 8th Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2009 were given in December 2009.-Winners and nominees:*Best Film:**Up in the Air*The Hurt Locker*Inglourious Basterds*Precious*Up*Best Director:... |
Best Actress Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2009 The 8th Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2009 were given in December 2009.-Winners and nominees:*Best Film:**Up in the Air*The Hurt Locker*Inglourious Basterds*Precious*Up*Best Director:... |
Sandra Bullock | |
| Teen Choice Awards 2010 | Favorite Drama Movie | Film | |
| Movie Actress – Drama | Sandra Bullock | ||
| Breakout Male Actor | Quinton Aaron | ||
Critical reception
The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with Sandra Bullock's acting being critically acclaimed. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that, , 66% of 188 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
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
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
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 BullockSandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
's career. The per-theater average for The Blind Sides 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
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang is a 2010 family film. It is a sequel to the 2005 film Nanny McPhee. It was adapted by Emma Thompson from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda books...
and Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
's Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
.
Soundtrack
The movie features 23 songs by artists including Young MCYoung MC
Marvin Young , better known by his stage name Young MC, is an English-born American singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit "Bust a Move"...
, Lucy Woodward
Lucy Woodward
Lucy Woodward is an American pop/jazz singer and composer.Woodward was born in England, and moved with her family to Amsterdam when she was three. At the age of five, her parents split up and she relocated to the Bronx with her mother...
, The Books
The Books
The Books are an American duo, formed in New York City in 1999, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Nick Zammuto and cellist Paul de Jong. Their releases typically incorporate samples of obscure sounds and speech...
, Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
, Five for Fighting
Five for Fighting
Five for Fighting is the stage name of American singer-songwriter John Ondrasik. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the Top 40 songs "Superman " , "100 Years" , and "The Riddle" .-Early years:...
, and film costar Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
. However, while the score soundtrack by Carter Burwell
Carter Burwell
Carter Benedict Burwell is an American composer of film scores.-Life and career:Burwell was born in New York City, the son of Natalie , a math teacher, and Charles Burwell, who founded Thaibok Fabrics, Ltd...
was released on CD, none of the featured songs were included.
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.
External links
- The Blind Side History vs. Hollywood at Chasing the Frog
- The Blind Side at The Fan Carpet
- Sandra Bullock Interview at UGR