George Clooney Directs The Boys in the Boat in First Look Photos and Behind-the-Scenes Video (Exclusive)

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[size=39]George Clooney Directs The Boys in the Boat in First Look Photos and Behind-the-Scenes Video (Exclusive)
"Every film we’ve ever seen that has an underdog in it, you’re always rooting for them," George Clooney says
By 
Tommy McArdle
 
 
Published on October 4, 2023 09:00AM EDT




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George Clooney is bringing an inspirational true story to light.

PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at The Boys in the Boat, directed by Clooney, 62, and adapted from author Daniel James Brown's book of the same name.

The film, which stars Joel Edgerton and Callum Turner among an ensemble cast, follows the true story of the University of Washington's 1936 rowing team and their journey to the Summer Olympics in Berlin.

"Rowing, particularly in the 1920s, was the No. 1 attended sport in the United States," Clooney says in a behind-the-scenes video. "The Boys in the Boat is about strong, tough kids, but they were poor and hungry. They’re rowing because it was the only way they could stay in college."

He adds, "The stakes were much higher for them, and it gave them an edge."


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George Clooney. 
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The group of students who made up University of Washington's rowing team that year started out as the college's second-tier rowing team, but worked their way into representing the U.S. in the Olympics, according to a 2012 Slate article about the team.

They ultimately won a gold medal in Berlin, narrowly beating Italy and Germany for first place at an event that Adolf Hitler attended, the outlet reported.

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George Clooney. 
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“These guys at the University of Washington take on the seniors, and then taking on the fraternity kids, and then taking on the Nazis," Clooney says in the video. "Every film we’ve ever seen that has an underdog in it, you’re always rooting for them, that you can pull yourself up from nothing and succeed.”


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Author Brown, 72, tells PEOPLE he found the true story behind The Boys in the Boat "one of those rare stories that just got better, more complex and rewarding," as he initially conducted research into his book, published in 2013.

Brown said he and Clooney discussed Clooney's upbringing in Kentucky and the actor-director's struggles to make money early in his career.


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"That experience, [Clooney] said, helped him understand [the movie's central character] Joe Rantz, and all [the] difficulties he went through back in the 1930s," Brown says. "I think that understanding really shines through in the movie."


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"At its heart, this is a story not just about a rowing team but about a generation of Americans who learned to put aside differences and come together in very tough times to accomplish great things," Brown adds.

"The young men at the heart of the story personify what is best about Americans — our perseverance, our optimism, our sense of fairness, our ability to confront adversity together."


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In addition to Edgerton, 49, and Turner, 33, the cast also includes Peter Guinness, Jack Mulhern, James Wolk, Hadley Robinson, Courtney Henggeler, Sam Strike, Thomas Elms, Luke Slattery, Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Wil Coban, Thomas Stephen Varey and Chris Diamantopoulos.

The screenplay is by Mark L. Smith, with music by Alexandre Desplat. The Amazon MGM Studios film is produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov.

The Boys in the Boat is in theaters Dec. 25.

I dunno. It sounds like it should be a good film, but I just can't get excited about it.  I still haven't seen his last couple of films yet.

How do you guys all feel about this? Going to go and see it as soon as it comes out, or a bit 'meh'?

I rarely go to the movies anymore unless Clooney is in FRONT of the camera. The last time I went to the actual movies waz for Ticket To Paradise

Boys in the Boat sounds interesting but it's probably something I will wait to see at home

TBH I'm not super excited about it, although it does sound like a good film. That was the same year Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals for the USA in track & field. I wonder if that gets a mention in the film.

Q: Has anyone seen or heard anything about the release of the OSU film? I thought maybe they were holding back the release until closer to elections, but Jim Jordan might put himself forward to be Speaker of the House. That film could derail his efforts.

Interesting and big article in Awards Daily about possible Oscar potential considering it's a part of Olympic history:

   https://www.awardsdaily.com/2023/10/04/2024-oscars-george-clooneys-the-boys-in-the-boat-finally-revealed/


This was the film George directed near his home on the Thames...seems a long time ago.....

PAN - This seems to be getting a lot of press, so I guess they're pretty sure they've got a winner. Honestly, I'm more interested in the OSU film. Jim Jordan is running for speaker of the House (which puts him in line for the presidency after Kamala Harris) &  he needs to be stopped. The OSU film might do it, if only they'd release it. I wonder what's holding it up.

Lizzy, OSU has a petition before the US Supreme Court to - if I remember correctly - stop the former students from being able to sue the university. A lot of the students' and families' claims are in the documentary. From what I've been told, if the Supremes decide in favor of OSU, the petitioners have a claim to stop HBO from releasing the doc. When HBO has been asked, which has happened a lot, they say they have no new information or updates on a release date. But I wouldn't be surprised if they're waiting for that decision.

LizzyNY wrote:PAN - This seems to be getting a lot of press, so I guess they're pretty sure they've got a winner. Honestly, I'm more interested in the OSU film. Jim Jordan is running for speaker of the House (which puts him in line for the presidency after Kamala Harris) &  he needs to be stopped. The OSU film might do it, if only they'd release it. I wonder what's holding it up.

The Oscar press is par for the course for all of George's films. Think it's the playbook for promoting his films.

I'd gently suggest starting a new thread to talk about the other film . . . pretty please?

Sorry, Katie. It was just a comment in passing.

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     Stepping up the publicity a bit......

Hopefully more press coverage for it comes soon

[size=39]The Boys in the Boat cast trained 'just like regular rowers'
George Clooney's producing partner Grant Heslov says they brought in "Olympic-level coaches" to prepare their stars, including "Fantastic Beasts" alum Callum Turner.
By 
Clark Collis
 
 
Updated on November 16, 2023




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Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Shorty Hunt, Callum Turner as Joe Rantz, and Jack Mulhern as Don Hume in 'The Boys in the Boat'. PHOTO: 
LAURIE SPARHAM/METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES

The cast of Depression-era rowing movie The Boys in the Boat (out Dec. 25) had been in England for several weeks, training to look like oarsmen on the river Thames, when director George Clooney and producer Grant Heslov stopped by to see how they were doing. Turns out, they were not doing well.

"They looked terrible," the producer tells EW. "They looked like amateur rowers. We were like, 'Oh s---! We're in trouble.'" The problem? The actors were supposed to be portraying one of history's greatest rowing teams, an eight-man crew from the University of Washington who not only defeated all-comers in the US but went on to compete at 1936's Nazi-overseen Berlin Olympics.

Callum Turner from the Fantastic Beasts franchise plays rower Joe Rantz and remembers that day as, "a nightmare. "We wanted to impress and we couldn't," he recalls. "We tried but it just didn't work. I remember his face. You could see, behind the smile, the worry." Asked if Turner is talking about Clooney or Heslov, he replies, "Both of them!"

Fortunately for the filmmakers, their stars' sporting skills were much improved the next time the duo saw them on the water. "About six weeks later, we went back again and it was like night and day," Heslov says. "By the time we actually started shooting, they looked amazing."


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The titular boys in the boat. 
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The Boys in the Boat is based on author Daniel James Brown's acclaimed 2013 non-fiction book of the same name. Like Brown, the film’s screenwriter Mark L. Smith foregrounds the story of Turner's Rantz, a remarkable, self-reliant character who, as a teenager, was left behind when his family moved during the hard times of the '30s yet still managed to become a mainstay of the Washington University team. "He was abandoned when he was pretty young to fend for himself, and he did. He decided that he wanted to go to college," Heslov says. "Rowing was a way to go to school and get a step up."

When Heslov and Clooney went looking for their Joe Rantz, Turner fulfilled the requirements of being both a talented actor and large enough to convincingly portray an Olympic rower. "We saw him on tape and we were like, 'That's the guy!'" the producer says. "We didn't know how big he was at the time, but he's big. He's like 6' 3'' and he's strapping."

The film's cast also includes Joel Edgerton as the crew's taciturn coach Al Ulbrickson. Heslov calls Ulbrickson “a very stoic" and "very driven guy." Turner was joined for the production's extensive training period in London by costars Luke Slattery (NBC's New Amsterdam) and Jack Mulhern (Pet Sematary: Bloodlines), and the other actors portraying the Washington team. For months, the cast spent four hours a day on the water with an hour of fitness training thrown in for good, muscle-forming measure. By the end, Turner recalls, "It did feel like being part of a professional sports team. We were able to achieve things in the boat that were pretty spectacular."


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Director George Clooney and producer Grant Heslov on the set of 'The Boys in the Boat'. 
LAURIE SPARHAM/METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES

Heslov and Clooney, meanwhile, were learning how best to shoot the film's rowing races. "They say don't shoot with animals, don't shoot on water," Heslov says. "It's really hard because nothing will stay still. Even if you anchor something, it's still moving. The boys are moving in their boats, you're moving in your boats. We can't be in front of them, because we can't make a wake, so we have to be to the side or behind them. Then you've got to have a long arm with a camera on it, so it can swing around and get up close. It took us about a week to figure out what were the right lenses to use, how to compress the action to make it feel very exciting."

For Heslov, these exertions were made worthwhile when he started showing the film to real-life rowers. "They're all like, 'Well, finally! Somebody has captured rowing the way that it really feels," the producer recalls. "So, that's a nice compliment."

Heslov's next project is the Jon Watts-directed thriller Wolves, which finds Clooney back on screen and reuniting with his Ocean's Eleven franchise costar Brad Pitt. The producer is tight-lipped about the movie but teases, "It's everything you hope for in a movie with George and Brad Pitt." And, we're guessing, it doesn't have too many scenes set on the water.

Here's the first trailer....

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfEA-udzjjQ