Foxcatcher
Short description
Foxcatcher follows Mark Schultz, an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling who is invited by wealthy heir John du Pont to live and train at his family estate. Du Pont is funding a training program for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and Mark accepts, hoping to focus on his sport and step out of the shadow of his older brother Dave, himself a respected champion. Mark's brother eventually joins the team as well, and the relationship between the athletes and their patron grows increasingly strained.
The film is directed by Bennett Miller, his fourth feature after The Cruise, Capote and Moneyball. Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye wrote the screenplay, and the cast includes Steve Carell as du Pont, Channing Tatum as Mark Schultz, Mark Ruffalo as David Schultz, Sienna Miller, Vanessa Redgrave and Anthony Michael Hall. It runs 134 minutes and was produced by Annapurna Pictures and Likely Story.
Released in November 2014, the film earned 19 million dollars worldwide against a budget of 24 million. It holds a 7.9 out of 10 critics' rating from 251 reviews, while audiences rate it 7 out of 10 on IMDb from 155,000 votes and 6.6 out of 10 on TMDB from 2,536 votes, a gap that suggests critics responded to the film more strongly than general viewers did.
What's left behind the scenes
- During preparation for filming, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo intensely practiced wrestling for six months.
- During auditions, Steve Carell wore different variations of prosthetic noses. Applying makeup took two hours. Steve’s hairstyle was changed and makeup was applied to alter his skin tone.
- Gary Oldman was considered for the role of DuPont.
- It took many years to realize the project. Actors such as Heath Ledger, Ryan Gosling, and Bill Nighy were considered for the leading roles in the early stages of pre-production.
- Nancy Schultz, David Schultz's widow, gave Mark Ruffalo her husband's glasses, so Ruffalo wears David's actual glasses in the film.
- The film's final scene is a reference to Mark's only MMA fight, held under UFC rules.
- In the scene where the team is sitting and watching no-holds-barred fights on television, they show a fight from UFC 2. This tournament took place in March 1994, although the action is set in 1987.
- Preparing for his role, Steve Carell spent hours watching footage dedicated to John du Pont. After the film was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, Carell told reporters: “I rewatched everything I could, reread everything I could about du Pont, and tried to become a person like him.”
- The film is based on a true story.
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