FMC 071 : Any Given Sunday Co-written and Directed by Oliver Stone

Full Episode Transcript
This episode of Filmmaker Commentary Oliver Stone's 1999 football drama *Any Given Sunday*, exploring its production, themes, and lasting relevance to the sport.

Opening & Film Context
Reginald Titus Jr.: Filmmaker Commentary, episode 71. Welcome to Filmmaker Commentary, where we give you insights from our favorite filmmaking commentaries. These commentaries can be heard on your DVD and Blu-rays of your favorite movies. We'll show you how you can use these commentaries and apply them to improve your video production and filmmaking techniques. All of this here on Filmmaker Commentary. I'm your host, Reginald Titus Jr.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Welcome to Filmmaker Commentary. I'm Reginald Titus Jr. I'm joined with Casey G. Smith. Welcome back, sir.
Casey G. Smith.: Good to be back, sir.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And today we are talking about *Any Given Sunday*. Co-written and directed by Oliver Stone, released December 1999. So we have a full domestic at the box office, domestic, of 75.5 million. Foreign 24.7 million with a worldwide of 100.2 million. What was the budget for this film?
Casey G. Smith.: The budget for this film is sitting at approximately 55 million.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So worldwide, that's a win. Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Not slaying at the box office, but I think the I think the the actual date of release also impacted some of the some of the the box office as well, the time of time of year.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Because Oliver Stone, what was he saying? He said something about that. He mentioned, of course, it's in hindsight, you know, kind of looking back, but what about the should it been later or earlier in the year? Like September, like football season time?
Casey G. Smith.: Somewhere, yeah, somewhere citing kind of closer to sometime around when the the football season would have potentially helped.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That would make sense. Also, I wonder about the budget a little bit because he mentioned that some of the actors like took pay cuts, and even him as a director didn't take his full salary. So he said the budget is a lot smaller than you think, but
Casey G. Smith.: Plus back then, in '99, like December December was a time where a lot of movies, December was not a blockbuster time period. It really up until *The Force Awakens* came out, you did not have blockbusters in Decembers. In Decembers, in December.
Reginald Titus Jr.: There's more than one?
Casey G. Smith.: Well, you know, that's what made it so confusing. No. So this dropping in December, even though the football season is still going on, typically a lot of people weren't going to the theater in in December, so
Reginald Titus Jr.: And you're kind of in the mood for like, we want to see something different.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Uh
Reginald Titus Jr.: And football's over. It's not over, but it kind of is.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, before we dive further into *Any Given Sunday*, let's talk about news and movies watched.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Do we have any news?
Casey G. Smith.: The movie *Angel Has Fallen*, which is actually the sequel to *London Has Fallen*, which is the sequel to *Olympus Has Fallen*. Wow, franchise starring Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman, uh, is tracking to do very well this Labor Day weekend as the summer season comes to a close, according to Box Office Mojo.

Current Viewings & Modern Relevance
Reginald Titus Jr.: TV shows or movies watched?
Casey G. Smith.: So, I had a very pleasant viewing experience, um, with the Blu-ray DVD release. Uh, it's been out for a couple of months though, but I finally got around to watching the animated feature *Batman versus Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, ninja.
Casey G. Smith.: And let me tell you, boys and girls, this one was awesome. Um, sure, as many of you, I I grew up a TMNT fan back in the day. They've had many iterations, uh, animated iterations throughout the years. Of course, even some live-action movies. Um, Turtles have remained a pop culture steadfast for various generations. And of course, the Batman is the freaking Batman. He's, you know, iconic throughout the world.
Reginald Titus Jr.: He's going nowhere.
Casey G. Smith.: Exactly. So they had a comic book crossover a couple of years ago, and so they decided to do this animated feature. And I wasn't sure. I was like, I don't know how that's going to turn out, but let me tell you, they they make the Turtles and, of course, Batman, and even the Shredder, everybody looks like a boss when it comes to their actual martial art skills in this feature. Now, this kind of leans a little bit more like TV, like PG-13, like a hard PG-13. There's literally leave a little bit of blood. And and this is not Saturday morning cartoon violence. This is like, people are getting people are, some people are dying, and people are getting hit hard. Like, there's a little bit of blood, bones get broken.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. That's a party.
Casey G. Smith.: Yo, this is this is the real deal. So if you got small kids that you're watching it with, yeah, something to keep in mind, depending on, you know, what your what your thing is, but it was awesome. It was so awesome. *Batman versus TMNT*, nice pleasant surprise.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I watched *Hard Knocks* on HBO. *Hard Knocks* is a behind-the-scenes look at the Raiders, like the preseason camp. The preseason just concluded. Um, that's four weeks, it's like four episode. And when you see Jon Gruden like cussing out people and this is like Al Pacino's character when we get into the movie, uh, *Any Given Sunday*. This is like, oh man, this is like real life kind of what's going on. You know, who's hurt, who's in, you know, who's injured, who's going to get cut, who's slacking, you know, who needs to be cussed out, who needs to be motivated. How are you going to motivate them? It's like very interesting to see it. So, yeah, man, *Hard Knocks*. That was my first time watching *Hard Knocks*. *Hard Knocks* has been around for a while.
Casey G. Smith.: It has, I've never watched any of them.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's, um, that guy. I can't It's a famous voice actor guy that went, "It's Sunday morning," you know. And he like, he he's like the NFL voiceover guy for certain NFL films. And it's like, I don't know, man, it's like a religion when it opens up. It's like God talking and like the football's floating in the air, man. It's like, it's like a religious experience.
Casey G. Smith.: John in. John in.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, man, he's pretty good. I don't know the name of the voice actor that does that intro, but you you will know his voice right away when you hear it.
Casey G. Smith.: Sure. Very cool.
Casey G. Smith.: Um, I also, kind of on a, I guess kind of a DC kick, I finished up uh, season three of *Young Justice* on the the DC Universe app, which is, uh, again, one of my favorite animated shows. They are doing some, man, some really cool things. *Young Justice* is kind of a slight different spin on kind of like the Justice League, dealing with some of the younger members, and ties in really well with kind of different things going on today, but
Reginald Titus Jr.: Mhm.
Casey G. Smith.: you know, being on the DC Universe app, they can push the boundaries a little bit more. Not not super, super crazy, but there's some cool themes and a cool outcome and a lot of diversity. Man, so much diversity in *Young Justice*. There's that was very, very cool. And then, uh, lastly, uh, I I went a little nostalgic, and I I watched both *Conan the Barbarian* and *Conan the Destroyer*. Uh, both on HBO this this week. It was nice.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. Wow. Okay, okay.
Casey G. Smith.: Nice throwback.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Stream it.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, yeah. And, uh, just, you know, slight spoiler, I I I used to think that only one had kind of the end clip of of of Conan. I think I actually watched, originally watched one of these literally in the theater with my dad.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow, brought back one of those memories.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. I literally remember like sitting and watching on the screen just the image of Conan at the end where he's sitting in the chair and it's got the the the red background where he's like like sitting like like a king.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Mm.
Casey G. Smith.: I thought that was only in one of the films, but lo and behold, they show that that clip at the end of both films. And they're slightly different. It was so that's why everybody's been clamoring for years for a King Conan movie to come out. And I was always like, oh, you know, we're going to do it, but it's it's it's obviously never happened. So there's still, you know, rumors of it happening, especially now that he's older. He'd be perfect to play that. But I I still want that King Conan movie.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Because Arnold is a boss in these films. His sword work, when he's working the sword,
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, he was so swole, he was like, out of this world swole.
Casey G. Smith.: And see, he had slimmed down even from what where he was at when he was, you know, Mr. Universe. He's, he'd, you know, trimmed down some, but he's still, yeah, just a specimen. And Wilt Chamberlain, yo, Wilt Chamberlain is huge. Like, not just in height, but like, when he's next to, when he's next to Conan, um, he's no slouch, like, you know, this dude is is is he's swole. He's swole.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Swollen.
Reginald Titus Jr.: What else you got, Reginald?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, the only other show watch is a show that we me and the wife been watching this for for a while. Dang, it's hard to nine seasons called *Suits*. So if you're into like the legal stuff, it the whole premise of *Suits* started out with, you know, just a guy that had a, um, photographic, uh, what was it called? Yeah, photographic memory, and basically he just memorizes the, um, the LSAT. Uh, he passes the LSAT tests so people can get into legal schools. And so he gets paid to do that. One thing leads to another, he ends up working for a firm and he has to hide that the first like two seasons, he's like hiding the fact that he's not a real lawyer, even though he's like one of the best lawyers. Because he can pull up whatever he needs right away. And so like that's the premise of it and now we're on nine seasons and I'm
Casey G. Smith.: Wow. Nine seasons, dang. That's also where, uh, Megan, uh, Markle, Markle, Markle, her her her claim to fame. The the the, is she a Duchess?
Reginald Titus Jr.: She plays a lovelorn actress. Yeah, she's a Duchess now. Yes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So, yeah, so she had to exit the season, season last season. Either season eight or season seven, I can't remember. Uh, but she had to make that exit to go get married. Become a part of the Royal family. That's a big deal, so.
Casey G. Smith.: That's a big deal. Kudos, darling.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wooh. I know that's rough. Or is it?
Casey G. Smith.: Nice, nice, nice. Inquiring minds want to know.
Reginald Titus Jr.: You know? Well, let's get back into the show.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Welcome back to Filmmaker Commentary. We're talking about *Any Given Sunday*, directed and written by or co-written by Oliver Stone, December 1999. Now let's jump into the synopsis.
Reginald Titus Jr.: When a devastating hit knocks a professional football legend and quarterback Cap Rooney out of the game, a young unknown third stringer is called to replace him. Having ridden the bench for years because of a string of bad luck stories and perhaps insufficient character, Willie Beamen seizes what may be his last chance and lights up the field with a raw display of athletic prowess. His stunning performance over several games is so astounding and fresh, it seems to bring in a new era in the history of this Miami franchise and forces aging coach Tony D'Amato to reevaluate his time-tested values and strategies and begins to confront the fact that the game, as well as a post-modern life, may be passing him by. Adding to the pressure on D'Amato to win at any cost is the aggressive young President co-owner of the team, Christina Pagniacci, now coming into her own after her father's death. Christina's driving desire to prove herself in a male-dominated world is intensified by her focus on the marketing and business of football, in which all coaches and players are merely properties. *Any Given Sunday*.
Casey G. Smith.: And this is your first time listening to Filmmaker Commentary, synopsis are normally not that long. That's right. But also know that there will be spoilers. You've been forewarned.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Man, what do I like about this movie? Man, it felt like, uh, well, before we talk about what I liked, how did you watch this movie?
Casey G. Smith.: So, this movie came out in '99, and, uh, I was already in college. Uh, it would have been in my potentially second year of college. Uh, no, December, yeah, I would have been in my my sophomore year of college. And, uh, yeah, one of my buddies saw this in the theater. Um, you know, we would jam out to the soundtrack. And I just remember just being in awe of this film. Like after seeing, like, it just it's got it's got you hyped. I was like, yo, and this cast, this cast is amazing, just a phenomenal cast. So, yeah, I I dug it. And I was already an Oliver Stone fan. Again, I saw *JFK* as a kid in the theater with my dad. Um, yeah. Back and to the left. Back and to the left. Uh, so, yeah, this just, uh, I I I I dug it, man. Like, this was yeah, it was a it was an awesome film-going experience that stuck with me.
Reginald Titus Jr.: While you were in college, I was in high school. Watching this with my girlfriend at the time, and man, it was a blast. To see, it was like, like the music, like the one like the music that was blasting that had me tripping was, uh, DMX was hot at the time. Remember we talked about DMX in the, uh, one of the other episodes of *Never Die Alone*. Get that hiss. And just him rapping, like he just can't stop. But he was like, couldn't be stopped in the 90s. Like he was at his max.
Casey G. Smith.: Late 90s, early 2000s. X gon' give it to ya.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Man, so when they when this song blast in 1998 in the theater, and they're just passing and Willie Beamen's just passing the ball to my nigga. I'm in the I'm in the theater like, ah. Y'all better not say it. But it was awesome, man.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, it's again, this soundtrack, man. Like, again, Mystikal. Me and my buddy, we used to ride, and we would put on Mystikal's "Jump! Jump!" You know, and and it's the the lyrics are just speaking directly to this to this movie, you know, volume and speed, steroids and alcohol, still athletic. You know, it's just like just speaking to it and, uh, yeah, man, this yeah, this soundtrack, man, can get you just live.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, so I I was on fire looking at this film. But yeah, that's how I saw the movie in the theater as well. Memorable experience.
Casey G. Smith.: Mhm.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, what I like about the movie is like kind of seeing, this is 1999, or he probably recorded this what, '98, '97. Um, but seeing how the realities of the NFL currently reflect the things that they're doing that they documented back then. I mentioned I mentioned that to you. I was like, man, this this is speaking to so many things that are happening right now. This is 20 years ago. So you have one of the examples, Andrew Luck. He just retired. Andrew Luck plays for the Colts, 28, 29, 27, somewhere around that age. You know, his late 20s. Quarterback. He he probably wouldn't even have to play this year and will still get his millions, but he decided like, hey, man, I've been he's been injured so much that it's just taking a toll on his body, and he decided instead of, you know, I can probably make it to about 35 or 38 or, you know, I'm saying, instead of trying to ride it out and just like kind of milking the game, he took it upon himself, like, you know what, I got a new wife, I got a new kid. I got enough money. Let me go ahead and exit. And it's kind of sad that like the fans booed him, you know, when when he did that, and Aaron Rodgers like, that's just disgusting, you know, you know, it was
Casey G. Smith.: It kind of it kind of is disgusting. Like, we somehow again, put athletes in this position where they are somehow beholden to us. When again, if you just flip the perspective and say, this was your kid, and they worked at a job, which it it's just a job, ladies and gentlemen. If they chose to make a decision to leave that job to focus on their family, who who on Earth has any right to criticize them for that? Nobody does.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, but when it comes to fans, fans are fanatical and they just want they don't whatever you can do for them for bragging rights. I think Shannon Sharpe said that, it's for bragging, that's all they have is bragging rights. There's nothing else. That's what you can give them as value is the bragging rights. And if you can't give them that, you can't make that first down or get that touchdown, you are of no use and you are thrown away by the fans. Not by the league. Uh, so also another example is, you know, Ezekiel Elliott, you know, the story that's been making the rounds in Dallas, um, and cross the nation, you know, him holding, he's a running back. Holding out for more money, you know, he's like, hey, man, if for him to maximize how much money he can make, this is a he's in his prime. He's either going to get that deal and get more money now or never because the running back position is short short term. Yeah, very much so. And it's kind of funny, it's kind of seeing that correlation with uh, LL Cool J's character and how he's, you know, in order to get make maximize the amount of money on his contract, he's got to get he's got to make his stats, he's got to get his touchdowns. Because a lot of these contracts aren't guaranteed. They may say it's 20 million, but out of that 20 million, maybe 12 is guaranteed. And in order to get the rest, well, if you have a thousand yard season or if you make this, you know, you got to make sure you get those stats to get the rest of that money, so.
Casey G. Smith.: But there's nothing wrong with that, because we all have, you know, you you work jobs where there's, you know, performance, you know, that that's expected. I don't have an issue with that, but then you got to know how to on your and also, you know, how to work it to ensure you do what you you need to do at the same time.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, true. But it also changes your incentive. You know, like in the book *Freakonomics*, I think that's Stephen Levitt. Um, it talks about the incentives changing depending on, you know, how you're making your money. So, if now you your incentive necessarily isn't winning.
Casey G. Smith.: Sure.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's getting your yardage, getting your touchdown at any cost. Not being a team player. No, but a, uh, again, like a mercenary, an independent agent.
Casey G. Smith.: There to get the job done.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Exactly. So it changes that, you know, it's like, I if I make this extra, I get make the yard, I make the money, but we might lose. Or step out of bounds and whatever. So like kind of seeing like, you know, real life, how Ezekiel's holding out where the fans are like, you need to get your butt on the field. And but me, I'm just like, I'm not the one out there running against these 300 pound guys. And especially as much as they put on him last year. I guess we're going to you know, in the sports. This is a football movie. Football movie. Football. Well, yeah, considering how much they leaned on him last year, how much he ran last year, he ran a lot. He ran a lot of touches last year. I saw a couple of hits where I'm just like, is he alive? Yeah. I I thought, yeah. Yeah. Like a regular human couldn't take those hits. Like, we don't know what kind of pain he's going through like, that's a lot of running. And then there's stuff that they talk about, like just, yeah, even in the film, even in the commentary, like after the fact, when, you know, we, you know, when after the game, you know, athletes sitting in ice baths for, you know, however much time, you know, after a game because their pardon me, because their whole body is aching. And a lot of times a lot of times people say, you know, it's not a matter if you or you know, it's the question of are you are you hurt or are you injured? They say almost all players are playing hurt. You know, but it's a matter of are you at a point where you are injured, you need to be, you know, out of the game. And in an NFL toughness, injured is almost, is your arm all the way off? Like, does your foot all the way broken? Like if it's just one bone, we could probably do something about it. But if it's several, you probably don't need to be on it. Now, I remember, uh, listening to Shannon Sharpe, he was talking about every single game. They were putting needles in his like in the Achilles heel, in the ankle area. Every single game, he had to get that needle plugged into his ankle. Every single game. You know, you pushed through it. And they then they make it a norm to to speak to these things. So, yeah, we got some more thoughts on that.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, uh, and then also, you know, relaying, you know, this film to the reality of football now. You got, you know, the Tom Brady, because I, you know, went from Ezekiel Elliott to these quarterbacks to Tom Brady being the older quarterback that's the franchise, but he has a career that's working out for him, you know, and but he's taken less in order to sustain his career.
Casey G. Smith.: Sure.
Reginald Titus Jr.: But he's in a position to do that. Like he makes 100 million or something like that. But anyway, that's what I did like about the movie, how like it was kind of ahead of its time because it's exposing these things early on where like to this day, we're still seeing this. It's very relevant.
Casey G. Smith.: Here's the interesting thing. It's actually, even though it came out in '99, it's actually set in the year 2000 or 2001. So it's even set slightly in the future. Oliver Stone, man, that that was pretty brilliant on his part. But yeah, super, super relevant. If you haven't seen the film, uh, I encourage you to to give it a watch and just be kind of marvel at the the relevancy of it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's one of the better football films that I've seen and as I go through all the film. There's there's other films that are like more fun, you know, some of the comedy stuff and things like that. It's kind of hilarious. But just as far as like, the feeling like you've been there. This is it.
Casey G. Smith.: Cuz this, I mean, this take takes you into the huddle, you know, you're hearing the conversation. It takes you behind the scenes, it takes you into the locker room, it takes you into the the the board room. Uh, it takes you into the coach's home. It it it takes you into the athlete's you know, the after parties and it takes you just everywhere, uh, throughout the the the league.

Deep Dive into the Film: Visuals, Tone, Tropes & Production
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes. Visual style. You get more of the player perspective, like you were saying. Got a lot of slow motion. Very, very warm. The film is warm. It's orange, but there's kind of contrast with the dark tone of like the jerseys and stuff, but it it feels like very, very warm and explosive sound design.
Casey G. Smith.: I agree. I agree. They do a lot to play with time and movement throughout the throughout the film itself, especially on the field. You have these moments where you'll go into the to a first-person perspective of of, you know, whoever has the ball at different times, but then you also have these moments of, you know, there's a lot a lot of a, uh, like there's a special like harness, uh, a, uh, uh, they call it, uh, an image shaker. And they literally are, uh, some scenes where they literally this one running back has literally this camera harness strapped to his waist. And we're not talking like a small, this thing like extends out at least like say like, I don't know, two and a half, three feet behind him. And the camera's perspective is almost like through his legs. Uh, I don't know how much of the actual shots they used. It didn't seem like they used a whole lot of them, but it it's yeah, and this guy then literally they're showing him, they show him actually running, you know, with this thing strapped to the back of him. And so, yeah, they play a lot with with with time and motion, especially with the QB, how how initially when Jamie Foxx's character gets out there, how the game seems so fast to him. Uh, and trying to like kind of, you know, you can hear the breathing at times and maybe hear the clock ticking and you can see his like him looking around and and people closing in and moving in and him not seeing what's coming and then getting hit, versus later on, especially towards the end, like, okay, things kind of slowing down. He's getting better. Yeah, and all, the game slows down for him. I mean, you hear you hear quarterbacks say this, you get over the game slows down for you. Um, and that's it's fascinating to to see that constant play with, uh, with those things.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, and adding to that, you got the montage storylines, you got anamorphic lenses, um, like you were like the shaky cam that like, you feel like you were hit, like it feels like you were there with them.
Casey G. Smith.: And they had, I mean, they they would like have these long shoots and there's a combination of of actual football players, retired football players, some players who were taken from their, um, Arena League, uh, and then
Reginald Titus Jr.: There's Terrell Owens there, Jim Brown, Jim Brown.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, man. You know, LT.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, man.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, and then and then you and then you have these actors who they they went through like a actual like camp for a while and like and like the the competition was like there, like there are people taking like real hits, you know, they had extras, obviously, you know, who who were really really taking the hits.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, there's no way you can fake that. Like these guys, you could tell this
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Tone. Uh, the tone of the movie, uh, to me, like the movie opens up, we see the Q-back, the quarterback, Dennis Quaid, getting hit while diving for a touchdown. Uh, he he damages a disc in his back. It's a ruptured disc. Yeah, I think it's a ruptured disc. Yeah. And so it it's gritty, it's violent, and it kind of sets the tone for the whole film. It's going to be raw. You know, he's like grabbing the grass. When you see someone grabbing and like dragging, you know they're jacked up.
Casey G. Smith.: Well, not only does he go down, but I I think about one of the quotes that I have I'll I'll share later, but he goes down and then the the backup quarterback goes down. Yes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, that's right. Yes.
Casey G. Smith.: And so like, honestly, like there's a lot in this, you know, you mentioned Ezekiel Elliott earlier. There's a lot in this film that that that to me mirrors like the Cowboys. Like different
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. I was like
Casey G. Smith.: From the partying to the
Reginald Titus Jr.: Well, yeah, but also even the, um, you know, even Dak, you know, Dak Prescott coming in, you know, because their aging quarterback Romo goes down, a play involving his back. The next QB comes in and goes down, and all of a sudden, you know, comes in the third stringer who is, you know, a young QB, but who can also move with his legs and black. And he was, and he was they got him in the later rounds.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Oh, I forgot about that. I told you, you forgot about that. I told you, I totally forgot about that. second stringer.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Now comes in the third stringer. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And he was, and they got him in the later rounds. Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: And I was like, what? Oh, man. Yeah. Fascinating. Fascinating.
Reginald Titus Jr.: The F-word was used around 117 times. Uh, nudity, drugs, women hitting men, and men spitting on women. Raw. That's the tone of the film.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. No, no doubt. And and and and because of that, like they got zero help from the NFL. No stock footage, nothing. They had to made that, they come up with their own leagues, their own teams. Uh, they even wanted to, um, they wanted to train at at a certain college. And and and because of whatever kind of ties they had at the NFL, they denied them to be able to do that. So, yeah, they Oliver Stone had to, you know, get very resourceful, um, and they had to come up with everything.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Tropes. I just had one, the prostitute with a heart of gold. Elizabeth Berkley. Yeah. Playing the character Mandy.
Casey G. Smith.: Mhm. I had uh, several. I had, um, the young player versus the coach, uh, and other older players, you know, you got your young upstart. The, um, drugs in sports, which, you know, we've we've seen that trope many times. Yeah, almost hand in hand. Um, or maybe needle and arm. Whatever you want to say. Uh, and then also, uh, the last minute wins, you know, that that first and goal and all right there, and let's get that last minute, uh, you know, punch it in for the touchdown or, you know, hit the three-pointer at the buzzer, the the last minute victory.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. That's right. That is a trope. Sports tropes.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Themes. Uh, the director stated, you know, that the theme is change. You know, that's what he said, one of the theme was was change. I I got quite a few. Um, but like kind of derived from change. So, for example, you have succession. You know, you got the new GM. The old GM was taken out by death. Then you got, uh, the quarterback, taken out by injury. So, how do you bring the new, you know, quarterback in? Then you got the the coach, who's being taken about age, you know, is he aging out of this situation. Um, and then you got the doctors. The doctor who who was fired because of malpractice, but then you got the other one that succession that's coming in because of that.
Casey G. Smith.: And even with with the coach, you have the, um, offensive coordinator. You know, kind of waiting waiting in the in in the wings. Yep.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Offensive coordinator. Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's crazy. So, succession, you know, what's the right way to do it? And sometimes, uh, people don't prepare for it. I think that's more times than not, people aren't preparing for succession. It's just you just get taken out, whether it's by death or whatever, injury or whatever. And somebody just going to come in and just kind of take over from there.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Nice, nice. I had uh, a couple of uh, well, I had a theme of uh, football as a spiritual journey. And throughout the whole film, we see we we keep seeing these these flashes of of older like clips from like older football games, like even going back to like I mean like we're like, you know, we're wearing the leather helmets. Like there's this Yeah, it's like like and then but these flashes continually come through and kind of at the end begin to merge, um, with Jamie Foxx's, uh, character as he makes his kind of final play. He sees like a a vision of an older player diving in the end zone and then he then connects with that and dives into the into the end zone. So also with that, I had I had specifically a a theme of connecting, uh, the history, connecting with the history and the heritage of of the game. And that's what the perspectives of both, uh, Coach D'Amato and Steamin' Willie Beamen are what they are, you know, at odds and struggling against. And and it's these two forces, even from an acting standpoint, right? This old established, you know, greatness of of Pacino against the up and coming, uh, potential greatness of Jamie Foxx, and, um, it's even mentioned by Oliver Stone in the movie, oh, you know, I think you know that Jamie Foxx has a brilliant future ahead of him. This is before he has done Ray. Uh, and and so that's just speaking to the truth. Like this is the future Academy Award winner and, um, yeah, so, yeah, that was the some of the themes that I had. I still got a couple more, but you got any more?
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, that's a truth.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Purity versus commercialism, playing for the love versus, you know, once commercialism commercialism comes in, you know. What's going to win? More than likely it's going to be commercialism. Having that battle.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, it's yeah, you're right. I mean, when you're when you're playing football initially as like for fun, you know, when you're, you know, where you're playing in a in a in a in a driveway or you're playing, you know, in somebody's yard. You're playing for fun, you're playing for you're playing for you're you're playing for bragging rights. Yeah. Right. You still you want to win, right? You're playing for bragging rights. That's what will lead you to say, you know, join a team in in in junior high or high school. And then all of a sudden the stakes begin to raise. Okay, now we're now we're playing for an organization, right? And we want bragging rights, but, you know, we want a ring. Uh, we maybe want a scholarship now to to a college. Uh, so already we have incentive to to get something for ourselves. And then in college, of course, then we want, you know, those those who want to they want to go pro. They want to get drafted and go pro. And and again, and now you've got boosters and other temptations that are there to to for you to to have gain. And then and then, you know, once you go to the big leagues, then now you're you you got the salary and you know, maybe endorsements are coming in. And, yeah, now it's another now you got agent and and all kinds of stuff. So it's, yeah. And I I had that theme also of of uh uh the theme of of a corporation that everything has a price. Like and throughout you see that everything has a price. Are you willing to pay this price, you know? You know, what's the price for your integrity? What's the price you'll pay for your body, you know? What's the price you'll you'll you'll pay for your, um, you know, maintaining your your relationships?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Yes.
Casey G. Smith.: Uh, there's
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, Does the coach, you know, he sacrificed basically sacrificed his family for the game.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. And and and and and, you know, let him to different addictions. He's clearly like a, you know, borderline alcoholic. Um, yeah. And, yeah, he said he said he, you know, pissed his all all of his money away and it's like, man, this just just this lifestyle.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: And the theme of gladiators and that's, you know, a whole speech that James Wood character gives about these guys being gladiators. Um, and then I I thought it was cool. Again, you know, the fact that there was a woman owner in the film. That you talking about ahead of its time, you know what I'm saying? This is '99. Like, to have a a woman owner of a of a franchise. I mean, to this day, do we have any women owners in the NFL?
Reginald Titus Jr.: I don't know, uh, from an NFL standpoint. I know from the Lakers, you know, we have, uh, the succession, that's a family business.
Casey G. Smith.: Sure, Jeanie Buss's daughter, right? That you're talking about?
Reginald Titus Jr.: I think so. I don't know the name, but I know it's a Lakers.
Casey G. Smith.: She's yeah, she was dating Phil Jackson.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, she was?
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, when he was, yeah, yeah. She was, I mean, if it's who I'm thinking of. Yeah. I'm going to say it's Jerry West's daughter and, uh, and she was, yeah, her and Phil Jackson were together for a while.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's out of a family situation, you know, it's a family situation that kind of passed down this way. And then this film. I don't know for from a football.
Casey G. Smith.: But he chose but but he chose he chose her. Like he didn't give it to the coach. He chose he chose she chose her. But remember he wanted a son, and his son would probably take it over. Kind of like Jerry Jones. Steve Jones is, you know, kind of doing the same thing. But there, but there, you know, doing their due diligence. Cause a lot of people say that now, a lot of the decisions that are that that were made, the better decisions that have been made from a draft standpoint are because he's beginning to relinquish some of those. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Exactly. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Succession, man, it's hard. It's a hard thing. But yeah, I don't know if there are any women owners that are, uh, in the football, in the NFL.
Casey G. Smith.: Cuz I think we would have we would have heard it would have been a big thing. Like when I think when that happens, like it'll
Reginald Titus Jr.: From a marketing standpoint, yeah, everybody would know about it.
Casey G. Smith.: Mhm.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Correct us if we're wrong, everybody. Please do.

Commentary, Quotes, Scenes & Final Thoughts
Reginald Titus Jr.: Commentary. Uh, so we have the commentary that's led by Oliver Stone. He's solo. Um, always enjoy like his commentaries, usually insightful. Uh, this one has like a little spots here and there. This one, I don't know. What what's your vibe from this commentary?
Casey G. Smith.: He's talking about a lot of things in this in this commentary. You you get I think this commentary gives you more insight to who Oliver Stone is. And kind of his approach to things as a as a whole. There's some, you know, definitely some some technical things, but he's he's talking about a lot of different things and I I I enjoyed the commentary. Uh again, I know you usually like, you know, to be like pretty technical. Give me the goods. Yeah, yeah. But he's talking about, you know, how the film was done, how how it was made, different aspects. Um, so I mean, I was I was fine with it as a whole. But yeah, he's he's diving deep in some different different areas and yeah, I found I found it I thought it was good, you know, it's not the best commentary I heard, but I thought it was I thought it was I thought it was solid.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It was okay. Okay. It was decent.
Casey G. Smith.: Okay.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's kind of hard to say. I would probably I would I definitely want to check out Jamie Foxx's commentary. And I would probably have to watch that documentary of the making of this film. I didn't see it.
Casey G. Smith.: That actually is is is pretty good. There's a there's a there's a yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Cuz I know it's when the commentary is kind of lacking like, okay, let me check the behind the scenes. Yes, best.
Casey G. Smith.: They they dive in pretty pretty deep. And this is another one of those uh Blu-rays where again, if you're a fan of this film, this Blu-ray is packed with features. I mean, it's one of those it's one of those Warner Brothers releases where when you go to the menu where just it the menu is not sexy. The menu interface isn't sexy. It just gives you a list. Man, like three columns of two different commentary tracks, behind the scenes featurette, uh the HBO first look stuff, the um, the actual uh audition videos that Jamie Foxx sent, music tracks of this the soundtrack we were bragging about, uh the actual like musical tracks of of of at least seven or eight songs from the soundtrack, several like actual videos, deleted like about 13 or 14 deleted scenes. Uh, yeah, this thing is packed out. So if you get a chance, uh, it's super inexpensive, but uh you're a fan of *Any Given Sunday*, highly recommend the Blu-ray.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Just tabs.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Quotes. Got any quotes?
Casey G. Smith.: Yes. Okay, so kind of going back to the beginning of the film. After after Cap goes down, and then they put in the the backup QB Sharpay. While they have Cap on the cart and they're and they're taking him away, somebody comes up to to uh James Wood's character. They're like, hey, we need you to go back. They need you to get Sharpay. He's like, Sharpay. He goes, what happened? He fall off the bench? I was like, dang, that's that is cold.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And then moments later after that, uh, they're going to Jamie Foxx's character, Willie Beamen. He's he's eating snacks. He's like chilling, you know, talking to guys, eating food. It's like his what, sixth year into the season. Um, the coach is like, get your head in the game and get your ass. And then Jamie Foxx like, what happened? He's like, I told you to warm up five minutes ago. He said, Beamen, your play card is upside down. That's the card that they watch see all the plays on their arm. And so he is that tells you everything about his character. He hasn't played in a while.
Casey G. Smith.: Not not not a lot of reps in. Um, also then, uh, there's a scene with, uh, Jim Brown, defensive coach, and they're and they're like, uh, he's like, like, come here, coach. You're gonna have a stroke. He said, I don't get strokes, mother. I give them. I'm like, man, that is a that is awesome. I don't get strokes, mother. I give them.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Yeah. Jim Brown is that dude.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, there's a scene where Willie Beamen, he's, you know, he's him and his girlfriend, they kind of like, they had a bad fight. But he's at a club with some other women. Not a club, it's a restaurant/club. Um, and he sees his ex-girl kind of walking around and he follows her into the restroom. And while he's while he's in there, there's an old lady. He said, oh my God, Mama Bush. You look good, too.
Casey G. Smith.: Looking good, too. Where you been all my life?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Of course, you know, as, um, Willie Beamen's star begins to rise, once he gets on the field, of course, now he's he's, uh, doing promotional videos and commercials with MetRex. Met Met MetRex. And of course, he has his music video, and, um, "Steamin' Willie Beamen." I got the ladies. "Steamin'." Oh, man. So Willie Beamen, he's starting to, you know, he's taking over, he's changing plays, he's doing all this stuff. And he's not getting LL Cool J, you know, his touchdowns. There was there was a play where, uh, Willie Beamen was supposed to throw it to the the running back played by LL Cool J. He doesn't give it to him and throws it to, uh, Bill Bellamy's character, who was playing the wide receiver. And LL Cool J's pissed, you know. Keep in mind, he's trying to get his stats. It's not because he cares about the team. He needs his stats for to make sure he gets his guaranteed money. And so he goes to, uh, you know, uh, D'Amato, he's like, my touchdown. He's like a little kid, he's like, my touchdown.
Casey G. Smith.: MetRex.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, man. Yeah, man.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And then when Beamen comes in, and then Al Pacino's like, what the hell was that? It was a bootleg. Oh, man. So like, just how is like, says like, man, uh, the coach is like the parent, you know, kind of like keeping this dysfunctional family together. Seriously, and then then they are dysfunctional. Um, towards the end of the of the film, you know, this relationship has been tumultuous between coach and and and Beamen, but they finally begin to find this common ground. And and Beamen says earlier when he's at coach's house, like, you know, always talking at me. But then like as as he puts Beamen in during that that that game against the Dallas Knights, uh, and it's kind of towards the end of the game, they've called a time out, and coach is next to Beamen, and he simply simply asks him, "Did you not like the jambalaya?"
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Something I wanted to ask you. "Did you not like the jambalaya?" It's so simple, but it calls back to, you know, the the meal that they had at his house and it's just there, you know, just to kind of break the ice. You know, just to kind of get Beamen to relax. He's not talking at him. He's just breaking the ice, just to make him just to feel comfortable. And tells him to go out and win the game. And so I just, you know, I like that that olive branch of coach, the coach growing, um, and adapting that, you know, allowing their relationship to to to blossom.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, man.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And then he's like, yeah, he's like
Casey G. Smith.: It's so simple.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Beating a good coach, you got to know how to manipulate your players. Uh, you know, the coach is when he talks to Cap, he knows Cap is going to be a good soldier and do what he's supposed to do. But Al Pacino still has to seduce him in order to get him to do that thing. He'll go out and risk his life for this coach. But Willie Beamen is not that dude. You know.
Casey G. Smith.: No. Not not initially, you know, cuz but because Beamen grows as well. And there's this dichotomy between again, the team, the team player, which Cap is, versus the again, the individual commodity, which Beamen sees himself as, like, look, I need to, you know, raise my stock on this team, do what I need to do. So in case y'all trade me or whatever, I'm going to be worth more later on and take take care of myself. But then when he watches Cap sacrifice and play, that's that that really sparks it in him to once he gets in, he actually apologizes to his teammates for having a big head.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Changes them, changes them. Yeah, sir. Um, for quotes, uh, when D'Amato, uh, whenever people are talking down, he's like, let it. Anything else? Am I done? Can I go? And then Cameron Diaz's like, oh, who's the kid now? You know, it's just like that was just like a thing that Pacino just added to that character, like just to finish up whatever situation he's in.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, yeah. One of my favorite lines by him is, uh, I can't remember which game, uh, it it it's it's during, but I think they're losing, and he's like, "Defense! This is what we have to do. I don't know, we have to do something. Tackle somebody." I'm like, what kind of advice is that? He comes out, he's like, he's like, "Defense, this is what we have to do. I don't know. Tackle somebody." I'm like, what? What are you talking about, coach? Oh, like, I got the plan. Now I don't have the plan. Just do what you're supposed to do.
Reginald Titus Jr.: The one my last quote is, um, uh, James, is it James Wood? The actor, um, he's playing the doctor, that's just malpractice. He's just doing what the hell he wants to do. And in his downtime, he's talking to women, prostitutes, who knows? Always talking to cheerleaders, just having a good old time. And once he once, uh, he gets fired, it's time for him to go. Um, he says, Courtney, come with me. She's like, nah, I'm gonna stay. And he mumbles and curses her out on his way out. Whatever. Hope he get gangbanged by some knee on the trolls or whatever he said, some like I was like, dang, James Wood's is just, he's really good at playing the sleazeball. It's something about him. He's like, he's just he's just able to do it, man.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, and then my my last quote is from, uh, from from LT himself. Once he gets that last tackle. And they're they're cutting him out and he's like, don't y'all drive me. I'm worth a million bucks. That's pretty sad. Man. Favorite scenes. Uh, I got a couple of them. Quite a few. Um, but one is the the speech, man, the Game of Inches speech. That is a tearjerker, bro. Like it's just especially getting older, just kind of like, oh, man, you got the guitar playing while Pacino does his thing. Then you see, uh, Jamie Foxx's character just kind of leaning in a little bit, like he gets it now, you know. It's like sinking in, you can tell that visually. It's like, man. This is like, these are these are these guys' life. Yeah, it was a powerful speech, though.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, man. That's a tearjerker.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, man.
Casey G. Smith.: Nice, nice. Um, I love, I kind of, you know, doing a, you know, montage scene, but when they show the touchdown celebration with the grenade. Yeah, the football, the grenade they take it and they throw it and boom, and they all power down. Ah. First I thought that was like, oh, that is the coolest thing. And then apparently they, you know, mimicked that in the NFL like the next the next weekend. So, but yeah, that is that's one of the coolest celebrations. That's one of the coolest celebrations. Then add that sound effect to it, just yeah, it sells it. It's beautiful.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah. That was cool.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: There's a, uh, Willie Beamen, uh, he's he throws a 60-yard like perfect spiral and the camera like follows the football in the air. It's like spiraling perfectly and just lands. Like I'm in my brain, I'm like, how are they even tracking this? That's hard to do. These guys are throwing this ball 40, 50, 60 miles an hour. I'm just like, how are they doing it? Well, it turns out, you know, they found some people that were trained to do that. But that's hard to follow a ball like that. They followed it in the air and it just lands in, uh, Bill Bellamy, the receiver that's playing, in his arms for the touchdown. But when he launches it off, the Kirk Franklin song, "Do you want a revolution?" I was like, what? This is like awesome. In 1998, I'm like, ah.
Casey G. Smith.: That's a real good point. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, the the the music and the film as a whole, like they they license I'm going to get that into trivia but they license a lot of music. Like a lot. That budget must be nice.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's the budget right there.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Uh Cap's big touchdown at the at the at the uh towards the end where he's just like, you see him going for it and you're like, oh no, don't do it, Cap. Like, he's jacked up. Maybe, no. Uh, it's true tension. And he's just going for it. He just looks over and then Yeah, and even like and it's and it's so mirrors what Willie, you know, what what Steamin' Willie Beamen, you know, did during his, you know, kind of premiere uh game and you're like, oh man, he's going to make it. And he just goes for it and he just gets nailed. There's nowhere near.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: It's always a nasty seeing those quarterbacks take those hits.
Reginald Titus Jr.: From Cam in real life, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, uh, who uh, even Dak sometimes getting those hits. I'm like, uh. These are big dudes. Cam Newton's a big dude. Yep. So is Dak. Dak is a big dude. But still, they're taking hits. It's nasty seeing two big grown almost 300 pound person knock each other upside the head. That is not a happy sight. Another one of my favorite scenes is the Willie Beamen music video. It reminds me of Deion Sanders. "Must be the money. Must be the money." I'm going to change my library card to a credit card. Willie Beamen is Deion Sanders. Uh, and Deion Sanders, like that that's a real character in real life. Like Deion Sanders is Willie Beamen turned up. I'm just trying to figure out, man, who does he remind me of? Yeah, that's that's that's on the money. "Must be the money." "Must be the money." I remember the first time I saw that music, I was like, what is this? I I personally prefer straight to my feet with him and MC Hammer on the Street Fighter soundtrack. That that one was good. That was good. He got the professional recording artist. Prime to the Hammer. Hammer to the Prime. Oh, man. One of my my, uh, last favorite scene, so at the very end of the movie, um, you know, you think that, you know, that coach is is just going to retire, and while the credits are rolling, you have this this kind of conversation, this press conference and when he mentions he is actually leaving to go and join the new expansion team. And Willie Beamen is going to be his star quarterback.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, yeah. That's real.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Man, they missed out on that one because, uh, Dwayne Martin, who's playing I'm assuming it's Willie Beamen's agent. He said, hey, man, we're going to hold, we can do the two million. We can hold out. So you can kind of see he's working on his contract. But because they held out, he gets more money and he's the franchise quarterback. So his his career is set in stone. That's beautiful. Yes, it is. One of the other scenes I liked is, uh, man, it's kind of it's sad, you know, when they find when uh, the doctor lets it known that, you know, LT, his neck is they call him Shark. His neck is messed up. If he has another concussion, it could be over. Same thing happened to my father when he played high school. He had so many concussions that, you know, when he started playing in college and stuff, he was like, hey, man, you might want to chill out.
Casey G. Smith.: Mhm. Yes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, man.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, wow. Yeah. Um, you know, the doctor's letting him know, like, hey, man, you you got to let you go. You got to, you know, we got to do something here, but you can't play anymore. But we got to let we got to let you know what's going on. And LT, man, he's just bringing it. He got the tears in his eyes, he's like, man, football's all I got, you know, come on, man. And then coach is like torn. You can tell like he don't want to make this decision. Head on, you know, on his hands. You got to sign a waiver, you know. And then Jim Brown, you can see from his character, he's pissed that he's that he that the coach said that. He gave in, yeah. He gave him that way. He was going to punch drunk fighter. Drooling on himself. You got to you got to sign a waiver. Bring it on, man. Like, bring it on.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Well, here here's there is a deleted scene, um, at Shark's, uh, house when he has the big house party. Of a of a of a former player who is like on like like on like walkers? Yeah. Well, he's not well, the walker but he has the the the the ones that that attached to the wrist. For being paralyzed or something? Yeah, like just like, he got too many concussions, whatever. And like, you know, he used drugs throughout. He was a former like Sharks player. He would come around, you know, some of these parties, and he just looked jacked. And and like, um, like just messed up, or? Yeah, like and and and and he talks and he talks to to to Willie Beamen and says, oh, you know, they once they, you know, I don't care about you anymore. And, uh, he was just there and he just like, you know, trying to get it, get you know, get some drink or whatever, and then kind of just struts. Limps limps off. And they cut that scene, but that makes that makes it even more powerful when you see, you know, Shark's scene later on, because that's what he could become. Yeah, and it's it's it's it's like, ooh, it's he looks bad, dude. He looks real bad. Um, but
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, man. Oh, man. That's so sad. Oh, so sad.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Trivia. I've got a few. I've got a few. Okay. The NFL was extremely unhelpful. That was my yeah. That was my top one, too. Mhm. But Jerry Jones actually ended up helping out.
Casey G. Smith.: That was my yeah. That was my top one, too. Mhm.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Really?
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, he I think he helped with some of the Arena League contacts.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, that makes sense. Because they used the the actual stadium. Yeah. Because Oliver Stone said, you know, you know, the league didn't want, you know, that, but he said, who can control Jerry Jones? He's going to do what he wants to do. Jerry's that dude, man. He's always going to buck it a little bit. Actors did get hurt. There were some broken bones apparently with some of these people. Um, but they did use doubles to kind of make it safe, but they because of the competitive nature of guys and things like that, you know, hey, you got that, you know, I mean, you got Terrell Owens on the field, like.
Casey G. Smith.: Mhm.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Terrell Owens. Man. And then Ricky Waters. I mean, you got real players out here, like, what are we going to do? You can't just be out there, you know, they make you, oh, you're just some Hollywood soft sucker. Yeah, people are like, well, wait a minute. I'll show you. I remember on, uh, uh, Jamie Foxx's standup when they were talking about, he was talking about his altercation with LL Cool J and they had had to get into it or whatever. And he LL Cool J thought he was a real football player. Oh, man. Oh, man. Ah, just the way he told the joke. It was funny.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Nice. And they they said that they both had gotten in. I didn't I didn't know that until the commentary. I was like, oh, lawsuits. Yeah, I didn't know it was that serious. What? They kept that wrapped pretty good. Yeah. Um, Miami, uh, where the Sharks played was actually the, uh, Miami Orange Bowl. That's what they used for the the Sharks, uh, home stadium. And, of course, you know, Texas Stadium, former Texas Stadium, which was in Irving was used for the the Dallas Knights, uh, home field.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, indeed. Uh, Metrix was a major sponsor in the film. So, you know, you got you got to get the money where you can. A lot of people weren't really helping out. They're kind of scared. Other places were scared. Metrix. Mhm. Uh, players went through a 10-week camp to prepare for for for the film.
Casey G. Smith.: Mhm. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow.
Casey G. Smith.: I didn't really realize this, but, you know, in in in in NFL, they have to take timeouts. The the official timeouts are controlled for for TV breaks, for commercials. And that specifically breaks up the breaks up the game. Kills kills momentum. I never I never knew that. I thought that was the coach's call and timeouts. That's that's crazy. Anyway, and it's for reality. Uh, this was a 65-day shoot to get everything in. Um, you know, most NFL teams have actual chaplains. Um, and so like this it's it's Oliver gets into it so interesting that, you know, they're praying, you know, before the games and yet, you know, they're going out and, you know, you know, coming at each other violently, you know. It's it's it's it's interesting. Um, He used the correlation of him being in Vietnam, you know, they're out there killing and chaplains are there encouraging them, you know. Lord, let them kill a whole bunch of people, you know, it's like, wait, what? Yeah. Ain't no atheists in the foxhole. Yeah, right? good quote, good quote. There are 120 pieces of music that were purchased for this film. And it's instead of having a a score, it's just like from my understanding, it's like, I think almost all just different music lifted from different, um, pieces that they that they purchased. Uh, that's how they they scored the film through actual music. It's Tarantino style. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah. So they they they utilized that. There were five different editors, uh, used on the film.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. That's the budget right there.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I could see that. Oh, God. Because they basically had to create all the archival footage because they couldn't use any NFL stuff.
Casey G. Smith.: Mhm. And then, uh, again, like we already talked about the Jamie Foxx and LL Cool J had real heat.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Filmmaking tips. A noisy set can loosen people up. You know, he, uh, this is from Oliver Stone. He says, he likes to have a little bit of background noise to kind of make it lively. This is experience talking because you talk to any other, you know, filmmaker, they they ain't having that, you know. They want it quiet, so we can get good audio. Uh, he said it drives the sound people nuts. Um, and sometimes he plays music in the background to get a vibe. But that's a filmmaker that's at the top of his craft that knows what he's doing. This is Oliver Stone here. Everybody else, make sure you get good sound.
Casey G. Smith.: Good sound. First and foremost. But yeah, Oliver again, he's a yeah, auteur. He he makes it work.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, use yourself if you have to when it comes to acting. So, he couldn't get, uh, some of the commentaries that he that he wanted, so he ended up, uh, having himself. And I didn't even realize it until after until the commentary. I'm like, oh. So Oliver Stone actually plays one of the commentators, uh, throughout the movie, uh, and the and the in the booth. Um, and a little bit of trivia. There's a scene where, uh, one of the players for the Sharks actually like pushes one of the officials or bumps into one of the officials on purpose. And it cuts to one of the commentators, and it's Barry Switzer.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, Barry Switzer. Yeah, that was pretty cool.
Casey G. Smith.: Who used to play, who used to coach, excuse me, for the Dallas Cowboys and at one point had actually gotten in trouble for actually bumping an official. And his character says, he bumped an official. And so it was a nice little throwback.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, wow. Full circle. Full circle. Oliver Stone talks about like, uh, from a filmmaking, you know, whether you use an inductive or deductive technique. And basically it's the shower scene where there's Jamie and LT. And LT tells Jamie, um, what to bring coach to his meeting. And so the thing is, do you, um, cut directly to that scene? Or do you cut to something else? And like that's just a that's, uh, film thing that's like kind of for debate, you know, do you kind of build it up to that, or cut straight to it, or do you just kind of put it in later?
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Yeah. Who used to play for the Dallas Cowboys and at one point, he actually gotten in trouble for actually bumping an official. And his character says, he bumped an official. Yeah, it was a nice little throwback.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And interesting, cuz that scene is not in the theatrical version. Which one? Uh, when he bring what what Oh, the shower scene. Not in the theatrical version? Really? Yeah, it was added back in for the director's cut. Uh, so in the in the in the film, you just have Jamie going to coach's house and doing the flowers and and coach got like, oh, well, that's great. I'll just put him in the refrigerator. And then him just, you know, kind of cursing Shark's name. You just kind of get the you get the you get the inference that, okay, clearly Shark pranked this guy. You know, for him to bring those flowers. He goes and see all these fake flowers everywhere. Mhm. So, if that scene's in there, is d it's inductive. If it's out, it's deductive. And it is effective either way. That's for the film nerds out there. Yes, sir. You can also consider doing your own cuts of a film. Uh, Oliver Stone talked about, of course, they had the theatrical release. Then they had the release for other territories because over in Europe, because American football isn't anywhere near as big, they don't maybe care about or maybe even understand some of the some of the politics. There was a different cut for that. That maybe focus on maybe some of the drama or other elements. Uh, then he did his own cuts for the the TV edit of the film. Uh, because he says he hates the how they're sometimes edited. So he did his own cut for that. Yeah, cuz they cut it down for time. Mhm. And then there was another cut he did. I don't remember the name of it. And then of course, there was this this this final director's cut. So, five different cuts of the film that he was, uh, he was a part of, and over.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Unbelievable. He he was mentioned something of how like he he used to like establishing shots of the city. Um, but he wanted to show like the different classes of people. And like how kind of everybody's kind of eating, you know, from the the the owners and what that world and what they're seeing with the owners to when you see the prostitutes and how they're doing their thing to the players and how they're kind of negotiate their money and doing their thing. You you're like in these different worlds and different classes of people from the everyday working people, like, uh, uh, Willie Beamen's girlfriend and what she's into, the square people, to their lifestyle. So you get a chance to see all these different classes of people. And he used the backdrop of Miami to do that. I found it just so interesting as a whole, just the whole, I don't know, the whole film. Again, all those different perspectives play a role and all the different dynamics that it it's exploring. Um, one small bit of trivia that I didn't mention, you know, speaking of Miami, is that Oliver Stone was actually the writer of the film *Scarface*. Boom. Of course, starring Al Pacino. And so, having them reunited back in Miami is, uh, is pretty pretty cool. One last bit of of of these tips, kind of almost like like trivia, but Oliver Stone mentions in the commentary that he has a fascination with leaders. And a lot of his films, he kind of deals with diving into talking about, uh, leaders. And so, of course, with him approaching the the the role of a of the coach, uh, there was a lot of talk about leadership, you know, and Cameron Diaz's role as a as the, you know, GM and owner of her team. You know, how how she will lead. And then even getting into some of the league politics, the the league representative or maybe the president of their of the the league that comes to see Cameron Diaz being, uh, Charles, uh, Charles Heston. Is that right? Am I saying his name right? Uh, Charles Charlton Heston, there we go. Yes, there we go. So Charlton Heston, uh, we see him as of him and from Ben Hur playing at coach's house, but then, of course, we actually see Charles Heston playing a a role of a GM. Now, uh, of the AF the AFFA football commissioner, unnamed. Now talking to Cameron Diaz, and to me, he looks like a a Jerry Jones-esque character. When I see him, I'm like, he looks like he's like Jerry Jones in it, you know? Um, it might just be similarities and look, but he kind of kind of has that that kind of vibe kind of going on about him. And, you know, they bring up, you know, their accusations against Meg Smith Pacniasi. Pacniasi. Um, where, well, next time we are going to dive, you know, we're going to stick with this football season thing. Did you ever watch the movie *Friday Night Lights*?
Casey G. Smith.: Boom.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Yes. Yes. Mhm.
Reginald Titus Jr.: All right. I'm saying his name right.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Yeah. Mhm. Uh, no, but I have seen all three episodes of the the TV show. Three episodes is only three episodes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Excuse me.
Casey G. Smith.: I've seen three episodes and, uh, three seasons.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, there we go. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Casey G. Smith.: Of *Friday Night Lights*. It's one of my one of my favorite shows of all time.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Did the show come out first or did the movie come out?
Casey G. Smith.: The movie and the show came out years after.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It stemmed out from the movie. Okay, got it. Um, well, you're in for a treat then. Okay, looking forward to it. Um, and where can they catch us?
Casey G. Smith.: They can catch us at facebook.com/filmmakercommentary. You can also like, rate, and subscribe to us on iTunes, uh, as well as SoundCloud and Stitcher Radio. If there is a film you would like for us to to check out and to talk about on Filmmaker Commentary, number one, please make sure that it has commentary. And, uh, simply contact us either through Twitter. Um, you can also contact us through Instagram at Filmmaker Commentary. If you want to reach out to Reginald Titus Jr. directly, you can find him on Twitter at Reggie Titus or on Instagram at Reginald Titus Jr., that's Jr. You can also find me on both Twitter and Instagram simply at Casey G. Smith 32.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yep. Until next time. Peace. Respect.