FILM 1521: THE BLIND SIDE
TRIVIA: When Quinton Aaron auditioned
for the film, he was working as a security guard between acting gigs. After his
audition, he left a card with his contact information and offered to work as a
security guard on the set in case he wasn't selected to play Michael Oher.
Collins Tuohy, an A
student, rearranged her schedules, and dropped out of several advanced placement
classes, to share more classes with Michael Oher
and help him graduate.
The Lawrence Taylor hit on Joe Theismann happened
November 18, 1985, during a Monday Night Football game between the Giants and
Redskins. It was the most gruesome injury ever seen on a nationally-televised
regular season NFL game. Taylor, who frantically motions for help after the hit,
claims that he has never seen replays of it, and never wants to.
Julia Roberts was offered
the role of Leigh Anne
Tuohy before Sandra
Bullock, who turned it down three times because of her concerns
about playing the part of a devout Christian. During the first couple of weeks
of shooting, Bullock thought her acting was so bad she considered dropping out.
John Lee Hancock had
worked so hard on the project she didn't want to ruin it. However, she didn't
quit and ended up winning the Best Leading Actress Oscar for her performance.
Michael Oher was an
experienced football player when he enrolled at Briarcrest. He developed into a
premier left tackle, and was heavily recruited by top schools in the
Southeastern Conference. Oher was less than pleased by the movie's depiction of
him as passive, unskilled big guy who was only barely acquainted with football.
Nor was he enamored by the Forrest Gump
(1994)-like depiction of himself in the film.
While Miss Sue fibs to Michael
about where the bodies are stored, she is telling the truth about the
University of Tennessee and its association with the FBI. The University has a
facility, started by William Bass (often called BARF - Bass Anthropological
Research Facility), that does study the stages of decomposition of human
remains in a variety of scenarios.
When the Tuohys are riding home
from S.J. Tuohy's school play, Sean Tuohy says the
"quesadilla saved our ass". According to the book, Taco Bell sales
were down at one time and Sean's stores were in some financial trouble. Then,
Taco Bell introduced the quesadilla and sales increased and Sean's stores
prospered.
The highest-grossing sports drama
of all time.
Sandra Bullock took a pay
cut to make the film and agreed to a percentage of the film's profits, which
turned out to be considerable.
The first time a movie marketed
with a sole actress's name above the title grossed over $200 million.
Among the texts on the set-list
proposed by Miss Sue are Tale Of Two Cities and Great Expectations by Charles
Dickens, and Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. All concern transformation of
the protagonist into an improved person, and the latter two particularly by
protagonists born in poverty.
