I agree that the whole "saving the kids from the ghetto life using **insert recreational activity**" plot is getting hackneyed, but chess needs to be advertised more. It still feels like a niche community.
Yes, but this is based on a true story. Probably not much different from that Ted Danson movie, what was it, Knights of the South Bronx, but looks good. I'll go see it with my chess playing brother-in-law.
At this point, we could say "that's already been done" for any superhero movie, cop thriller, or horror film. It looks like Knights of the South Bronx, but with a much larger budget. I'm excited for it!
Any movie with Cuba is usually pretty good. Most overlooked actor I can think of.
Snow Dogs? Norbit? Please!
Looks terrible?! Are you kidding? This looks excellent; good cast, good camera work, good dialogue. The plot may be a bit preditcable, but all stories/movies pertaining to sports have the problem of generating the same drama that the sport itself provides; ever see The Natural? That was as predictable as it gets, but it was a good movie, anyway. And a little tidbit from my creative writing classes--there are only sixteen plot lines available to the writer, and every one has been done over and over again. They are all variations on an established theme, like music, and it's the quality of the interpretation that matters. And I do have to ask all the nay-sayers here--if this isn't good enough, what would be? What could be done as far as a story goes that you would think it worthy of presenting to the general public? I think that this is the perfect story for chess: We all start off at square one, and what you do with it is what YOU do; chess, like life, is all on you. You can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to support chess through supporting this movie, and if the movie gets enough support, it won't be a one-and-done deal, and we may have more movies about chess in the future. I can only hope.
lol...I meant his serious movies..radio/Jerry M/ etc...
My current students (25) have NEVER seen a chess movie... especially one that says no matter your background, you can compete with anybody if given a chance.
So snowman dude... you dont see it...
My students and I... we will see it :P
I'm getting all teary eyed & misting up. I'll watch it too, of course (plus Cubas a good actor), & I'll make sure I go "aww, that's so sweet" at the end. I also bet anyone that at the end of the movie they'll surely twist reality & make the last opponent out to be the evil villain even if he wasn't in real life. That's standard. Even if he was in reality very friendly & tried to get along with his opponents they'll likely portray him as a troublemaker even if in real life it was exactly the opposite. Just like in the Joshua Waitzkin movie they changed the real ending.
Ok, I went & looked at the trailer again. I got all choked up. But seriously, it does look like it's a better put together movie than other chess movies but still quite predictable. I'll surely watch it. Still, I'm waiting for the Fischer story, I'd heard there was one in production but I haven't checked in a while. I guess I'll check around the net & see if there's anything about it.
Looks terrible?! Are you kidding? This looks excellent; good cast, good camera work, good dialogue. The plot may be a bit preditcable, but all stories/movies pertaining to sports have the problem of generating the same drama that the sport itself provides; ever see The Natural? That was as predictable as it gets, but it was a good movie, anyway. And a little tidbit from my creative writing classes--there are only sixteen plot lines available to the writer, and every one has been done over and over again. They are all variations on an established theme, like music, and it's the quality of the interpretation that matters. And I do have to ask all the nay-sayers here--if this isn't good enough, what would be? What could be done as far as a story goes that you would think it worthy of presenting to the general public? I think that this is the perfect story for chess: We all start off at square one, and what you do with it is what YOU do; chess, like life, is all on you. You can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to support chess through supporting this movie, and if the movie gets enough support, it won't be a one-and-done deal, and we may have more movies about chess in the future. I can only hope.
BAMM!
Dude you absolutely nailed it! Thank you. better than I could have said it.
A BIG....+1
Wow; Hollywood twists things around and doesn't deal with reality; whooda thunkit? Yeah, you have to have a protagonist and an antagonist and Jeff Sawyer got the short end of that deal. Have you ever watched the Harry Potter movies? They even get fiction wrong. Maybe you only think documentaries are worth watching; oh wait, they have an agenda and only promote their version of events, too. So I ask again: What story would you write to promote chess through the movies, or do you think that chess isn't worth promoting in the movies? What story could Hollywood do that would make you happy?
clms_chess
Thaks for the post, and you're welcome.
A true story sounds like a good idea. If they advertise that it's a true story I was thinking maybe, kind of, sort of, it would be cool to maybe use the actual true story. Just sayin'............. But that's just me.
What story would you write to promote chess through the movies, or do you think that chess isn't worth promoting in the movies? What story could Hollywood do that would make you happy?
Here are some ideas:
It's not that there is a shortage of good chess topics that can be turned into Hollywood productions. "The Queen of Katwe" is going to be yet another "get out of the ghetto thanks to chess" movie, and it's getting tiresome.
Looking forward to this one. Cuba Gooding Jr. never seems to disappoint in the movies he's in.
Another "get out of the ghetto thanks to chess" movie? Would you mind telling me all the titles of the other chess movies that are like this because I missed them all.
I will agree that there are tons of potential plots for a good chess movie; I even wrote a short story about the 1850 Morphy-Lowenthal meeting (here on chess.com) that the lack of comments and readers convinced me to not waste my time doing this anymore, and that's the main problem: As a general rule, chess players don't support chess. So the appeal has to be made to the general public, and improving one's self through chess is always a good topic for presentation to the public, in the same vein as to make a good (read profitable) action movie requires at least one car chase, one fight scene, several explosions, and two scenes with nudity, and they make money no matter how badly they are done.
Read the posts in the thread; you should find the movies. "Brooklyn Castle" is yet another.
One movie, "Knights of the South Bronx."
I agree that the whole "saving the kids from the ghetto life using **insert recreational activity**" plot is getting hackneyed, but chess needs to be advertised more. It still feels like a niche community.
Bobby Fischer had such a dramatic life regardless of chess. Still waiting for that biopic :(