Seabiscuit
Short description
Set during the Great Depression, Seabiscuit follows three men whose lives are reshaped by an unlikely racehorse. Charles Howard is a wealthy automobile dealer who has lost his sense of purpose after a personal tragedy. Tom Smith is a horseman whose way of life has largely disappeared. Red Pollard is a part-time boxer with failing eyesight who finds work as a jockey. Howard buys a small, ungainly horse named Seabiscuit, entrusts him to Smith's training and puts Pollard in the saddle. The horse's unexpected success on the track draws national attention at a time when many Americans are looking for something to believe in.
Gary Ross wrote and directed the film, his second feature after Pleasantville (1998). Tobey Maguire plays Pollard, Jeff Bridges plays Howard and Chris Cooper plays Smith, with Elizabeth Banks as Marcela Howard and David McCullough providing narration. The film runs 141 minutes and was produced by Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment and The Kennedy/Marshall Company, with Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ross among the producers.
Released in July 2003, Seabiscuit carries a production budget of 87 million USD and took in roughly 148 million USD worldwide, a modest return relative to its cost. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.3 from about 76,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.1 from roughly 960 votes. A critics' rating of 7.1 from 208 reviews places it in line with the audience scores on both platforms.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film used 40 horses, 10 of which portrayed Seabiscuit.
- A special device acting as a horse was used for close-up shots. It was a wheeled platform measuring 3.5 by slightly over 6 meters, with steering at both the front and back. The platform moved along rails and could reach speeds of up to 80 km/h.
- Chris Cooper had to be artificially aged for the role because he was twenty-five years younger than his character. His hair was lightened, and his hairline was pushed back.
- In the scenes at the Santa Anita racetrack, a statue of a horse can be noticed near the paddock. It is a monument to Seabiscuit. One hundred yards from it is a monument to jockey George Woolf, who was played in the film by professional jockey Gary Stevens, a winner of the most prestigious competitions.
- Toby Maguire received $12 million for his role.
- The film shows Red Pollard (played by Tobey Maguire) dropping his weight to 52 kg. This was because his horse was to participate in a handicap race. A 'handicap' refers to the additional weight assigned to each horse based on its past performances and its estimated ability to compete against other horses, whether heavier or lighter. Jockeys lose weight to minimize the load on their own horse (since, in addition to the jockey's own weight, the horse must carry special lead weights).
- Preparing for the role, Maguire lost 9 kg to resemble a real jockey. During the filming of the movie, Maguire suffered a back injury.
- The DVD version of the film sold 5.5 million copies, a record for films made in the drama genre.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
