Secondhand Lions
Short description
In 1960s Texas, a shy, introverted boy named Walter is left by his mother on the farm of two elderly great-uncles he barely knows, Garth and Hub. Neither the boy nor the old men are pleased with the arrangement. The uncles live as recluses, are rumored to be sitting on a fortune, and behave in ways that strike Walter as strange. As the summer goes on, their tales of a adventurous youth in exotic places stir the boy's imagination and draw the three of them closer.
Tim McCanlies wrote and directed the film, his first as director, followed a decade later by Angels Sing. Michael Caine plays Garth, Robert Duvall plays Hub, and Haley Joel Osment plays Walter, with Josh Lucas as the grown Walter, Kyra Sedgwick as his mother Mae, and Christian Kane as the young Hub. New Line Cinema and David Kirschner Productions made it, and it runs 111 minutes.
Released in September 2003, the film took in about 48 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.5 out of 10 from roughly 60,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.2 out of 10 from around 860 votes. A critics' rating of 6.1 out of 10, drawn from 136 reviews, sits below those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- After negative feedback on test screenings of the film's finale, it was reshot. $600,000 was spent on the reshoots. The original version of the finale is available on the DVD release of the film.
- During filming, Haley Joel Osment was attacked by a pig. The trainers were focusing on the lion at the time, as no one thought to be wary of this seemingly peaceful animal.
- Haley Joel Osment signed a contract to appear in the film without being informed which studio would produce it or who would play the other leading roles. This went against established Hollywood practice and initially surprised Eugene Osment, the young actor's father and manager. However, he gave his consent, as he was confident that his son's famous name would attract worthy co-stars and a reputable studio to the project.
- Haley Joel Osment really wanted to film scenes with a live lion, but he was not allowed to. Therefore, for close-ups of Walter playing with the lioness, a stuffed lion was used. In wide shots, when Walter appears to be wrestling with Jasmine, Osment was replaced by animal trainer Mary Reeves.
- In addition to the human actors, animal actors play an important role in the film—five dogs of different breeds, piglets, lions, and even a giraffe. Four pigs participated in the filming, but scenes primarily featured a piglet named Norton, who the crew nicknamed... "Brad Pitt of the pig actors' association" for his acting talent. Three African lions—2-year-old lionesses Pasha and Toreg, and 3-year-old lion Kenny—played the role of the lioness Jasmine.
- To bring as much realism as possible to the relationship between Walter, played by Haley Joel Osment, and his uncles, director Tim McCanlies made an important decision – to shoot all the scenes in the order they would appear in the film.
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