Leatherheads

Leatherheads
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	George Clooney
Written by	George Clooney Steven Soderbergh Duncan Brantley Rick Reilly Stephen Schiff
Produced by	George Clooney Barbara A. Hall Grant Heslov Casey Silver Jeffry Silver
Starring	George Clooney John Krasinski Renée Zellweger Jonathan Pryce Stephen Root Wayne Duvall Keith Loneker Malcom Goodwin Tim Griffin Robert Baker Nick Paones Nick Bourdages
Edited by	Stephen Mirrione
Distributed by	Universal Studios
Release dates	April 4, 2008 U.S. April 11, 2008 U.K.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$58 million

Leatherheads is a 2008 American film from Universal Pictures directed by and starring George Clooney. The film also stars Renée Zellweger and John Krasinski.

Plot

Clooney plays Dodge Connolly, captain of a struggling professional football team in the 1920s, the Duluth Bulldogs. Dodge is determined to save both his team and pro football in general when the players lose their sponsor and the league is on the brink of collapse. He convinces a college football star, Carter "the Bullet" Rutherford, to join the Bulldogs, hoping to capitalize on Carter's fame as a war hero.

In addition to his legendary tales of combat heroism, Carter has dashing good looks and unparalleled speed and skill on the field. As a result of his presence, both the Bulldogs and pro football in general begin to prosper.

Zellweger provides a romantic interest as Chicago newspaper reporter Lexie Littleton, who becomes the object of the affections of both Dodge and Carter. One knows but the other doesn't that Lexie has been assigned to find proof that Carter's war heroics are bogus.

Meanwhile, Dodge's attempts to legitimize pro football start to backfire, as rules are formalized, taking away much of the improvisational antics that made the game fun for many of its players.

With his own playing career near an end, Dodge gets to play in one last big game. This time it will be against Carter, who has changed sides to the Chicago team. Their rivalry for Lexie's affection spills over onto the football field for one last day.

Real-life basis

The character Jimmy "Dodge" Connolly is based on the life of Johnny "Blood" McNally who played for multiple NFL teams from 1925 to 1938. From 1926-1927 he played for the Duluth Eskimos and later won four World Championships with the Green Bay Packers. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The film, in fact, is loosely based on the Duluth Eskimos of the 1920s and how they essentially saved the NFL. However, in the film, the team uses the name Duluth Bulldogs.

In an interview on The Late Show with David Letterman, Clooney mentioned the plot is loosely based on George Halas's signing of University of Illinois football star Harold "Red" Grange. Grange was signed to a contract with the Chicago Bears in 1925, the day after his final game at Illinois.

The script was written by longtime Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly and his former magazine colleague, Duncan Brantley.

Cast

• George Clooney as Jimmy "Dodge" Connolly
• Renée Zellweger as Lexie Littleton
• John Krasinski as Carter Rutherford
• Jonathan Pryce as CC
• Stephen Root as Suds
• Wayne Duvall as Coach Frank Ferguson
• Keith Loneker as Big Gus
• Malcolm Goodwin as Bakes
• Matt Bushell as Curly
• Tim Griffin as Ralph
• Robert Baker as Stump
• Nick Paones as Zoom
• Nick Bourdages as Bug
• Jeremy Ratchford as Eddie

Production

Leatherheads began filming on February 12, 2007. Filming locations mainly included locations in and around upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina around Statesville. Filming wrapped in mid-May 2007. After initially being set for release in December 2007, the studio moved the release date to April 4, 2008. On March 24, George Clooney and Renée Zellweger premiered the movie in Maysville, Kentucky, birthplace of Clooney's aunt, Rosemary Clooney.

The setting of most of the film is Duluth, Minnesota, but was filmed in the Carolinas. In late March 2008, Clooney and Zellweger visited Duluth to promote the film.

The piano player bent over the tack piano with eyes glued to music really didn't need to conscentrate so. He is the composer of the original music in this movie, Oscar-winning songwriter Randy Newman. He is the nephew of famous film composer David Newman and grand nephew of David's father, the prolific movie composer Alfred Newman.

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. As of April 5, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 54% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 108 reviews. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.

Box office performance

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $12.6 million in 2,769 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #3 at the box office behind Nim's Island, below the expectations of Universal Studios. Viewers in their 30s and 40s were the main audience for the film. As of May 1,2008, the movie has made about $29.7 million from the domestic box office and $6 million from the foreign box office making a total of $35.8 million.

Writing credit

In 2007, a Writers' Guild of America arbitration vote decided not to award Clooney a screen credit for the film, preferring to credit only the original writers, Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly. Clooney said that he did not want to exclude Brantley and Reilly, agreeing that they deserved the first position credit for their work, but felt that his "major overhaul" of the 17-year-old script to turn it into a screwball comedy left only two of the original scenes intact. In response to the WGA's ruling, Clooney opted not to contest the decision but resigned his full WGA status to go "financial core" within the guild, meaning that while still technically a member, he only has limited rights.

Co-producer Grant Heslov stated that he thought the guild "made the wrong decision," saying, "This script that Duncan and Rick wrote sat languid until after we finished Good Night, and Good Luck. [...] George liked Leatherheads but said it never felt quite right. He took it to Italy with him, and I remember when he called to say he thought he'd solved it. One thing that you clearly see, if you read the original, the subsequent drafts and then his draft, is that he wrote the majority of the film [...] We both thought Duncan and Rick would get first position credit, which they deserved. But this wasn't right."

Trivia

The motorcycle that Clooney and Zellweger ride in Leatherheads is not a vintage V-twin motorcycle. It is one of three custom-built 36-volt electric-powered Indian replicas. The movie motorcycles were designed after a vintage 1918 Indian and fabricated in El Segundo, CA at Customs By Eddie Paul. Eddie Paul and shop manager Brian Hatano fabricated the frame, sidecar, mock engine (that conceals a high-tech DC motor inside)and then "age painted" everything to create the authentic look. Customs By Eddie Paul is known for building many Hollywood film and TV vehicles.

The "fight song" played in the final game is the one of Yale University, called "Boola Boola." The same tune is used by the University of Oklahoma, but titled "Boomer Sooner."

At one point the announcer refers to a "Hail Mary" pass. The term Hail Mary, as applied to a football game, in all likelihood dates only back to the mid-'70s.

The actor who portrayed a man attempting to commit suicide also portrayed the man's mother.

Train scenes were filmed at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, TN.

A modern freight train can be seen in the background during the scoreboard's close-up scenes in the final game of the movie.

External links

• Official site
• Leatherheads at IMDb
• Leatherheads at Rotten Tomatoes
• Leatherheads at Metacritic
• Leatherheads at Box Office Mojo
• Leatherheads at AllMovie
• Leatherheads Film History
• Advanced Screening Promotion for the movie
• Leatherheads at the Sports Movie Guide