Any Given Sunday

This article is about the film. For the Australian sports television show, see Any Given Sunday (television show).

Any Given Sunday
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Oliver Stone
Produced by	Richard Donner Oliver Stone
Written by	Oliver Stone Daniel Pyne John Logan Pat Toomay (novel)
Starring	Al Pacino Dennis Quaid Cameron Diaz James Woods Jamie Foxx LL Cool J Aaron Eckhart
Cinematography	Salvatore Totino
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	December 22, 1999 (1999-12-22)
Running time	Theatrical cut 162 minutes Director's cut 156 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$55,000,000
Box office	$100,230,832

Any Given Sunday is a 1999 American drama film directed by Oliver Stone depicting a fictional professional American football team. The film features an ensemble cast, consisting of Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, Jamie Foxx, James Woods, LL Cool J, Matthew Modine, John C. McGinley, Charlton Heston, Ann-Margret, Lauren Holly, Bill Bellamy, Lela Rochon, Aaron Eckhart, Elizabeth Berkley, Marty Wright, and legendary NFL players Jim Brown and Lawrence Taylor.

The film also featured many American football players including Dick Butkus, Y.A. Tittle, Pat Toomay, Warren Moon, Johnny Unitas, Ricky Watters, Emmitt Smith and Terrell Owens as well as coach Barry Switzer.

Plot

The Miami Sharks, a once-great American football team, are now in turmoil and struggling to make the AFFA (Associated Football Franchises of America) playoffs in the (then-future) year of 2001; the film was released in 1999. (The AFFA apparently exists alongside the real NFL in the film's universe, as the Miami Dolphins are mentioned.) They are coached by thirty-year veteran Tony D'Amato.

During the first game shown, which is the thirteenth game of the season, both the starting quarterback Jack "Cap" Rooney (Dennis Quaid) and the second-string quarterback Tyler Cherubini are injured and forced to leave the game due to poor offensive line play in blitz pickup. (This leads to a recurring theme that "on any given Sunday, anything can happen.") The ailing and increasingly desperate Sharks are forced to call upon third-string quarterback and former seventh-round draft pick Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx). Beamen is visibly nervous and makes a number of errors illustrating his lack of knowledge regarding the team's playbook. During one play he lines up under the guard instead of the center and, later in the game, he audibles to a play which does not exist. He throws up in the huddle, which begins a ritual that he follows every game, reminiscent of Hall of Fame Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino. While the Sharks lose this game by a small margin, Beamen, despite his initial struggles, plays well and gains confidence.

During the next game Beamen begins to get comfortable with the game and quickly learns the offense. However, he dislikes the Sharks' conservative offense and much to the dismay of Coach Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino), Beaman begins to change the plays in the huddle, not realizing the disrespect this shows to his coaches. Beamen displays his raw athletic talent and starts to run and pass extremely successfully and leads the sharks to the playoffs after winning the last three of the last four games of the season, bringing the Sharks to 9-7 on the year. Beaman's new found success results in a growing narcissism and arrogance. He becomes "Steamin'" Willie Beamen, the new poster boy for the AFFA, and receives numerous lucrative advertisement deals, including a music video.

His new-found success, and inability to handle it, leads to tension within the Sharks locker room and the front office. D'Amato confronts Beamen to ask why he has been changing the plays, to which Beaman responds selfishly. After displaying to D'Amato that Beamen is not capable of leading the team, D'Amato tells Beamen that it is likely that 'Cap' Rooney will probably be fit and available for the playoffs, demoting Beamen back to the bench. Beaman fails to understand the team concept as he is filled with self-pity about how his career has been until he got a chance to play. A rift forms between Beaman and D'Amato after D'Amato tells him just how far he still has to go to fulfill his potential and lead the team. After learning of his demotion he alienates the rest of the team, to the point that he gets his car sawed in half at a party, and the Sharks are blown out at home in a game that could have given the Sharks home field advantage in the playoffs. Beaman contemplates and amends his selfish behavior.

In the final game shown, Miami manages a come-from-behind win in the final seconds against the Dallas Knights, winning the first round of the playoffs. The final game sees Cap return to start as quarterback and he plays strongly until being injured by a hit. His replacement, Beaman, apologizes for his actions to the team in the huddle on the game-winning drive. Off-screen, Miami beats Minnesota for their conference championship and then loses to San Francisco in the Pantheon Cup Championship 32-13 (reminiscent of Super Bowl XIX).

At D'Amato's final press conference as head coach, all feuds have been resolved or at least put on hold and he leaves on a positive note, being thanked by owner Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz) and the media for his contributions to the team. D'Amato is then expected to announce his retirement, but then drops a bombshell and announces that he has been hired as Head Coach and General Manager of an expansion team, the Albuquerque Aztecs. He adds that he signed Willie Beamen as his starting quarterback and franchise player, after the Sharks refused to extend Beamen's expiring contract mid-season. As the scene ends, Christina and the other executives are angrily asking Crozier how he could have let Beamen finish the season without re-signing him to a longer contract for the Sharks.

Cast

Al Pacino as Tony D'Amato – The Head Coach of the Miami Sharks. Having held his position for decades and given much autonomy by the elder Pagniacci, "Tony D" is widely respected for leading his men to great successes, including two Pantheon Cups, the Championship for the film's professional football league. He gave most of his time to the team, and it led him to lose touch with and become estranged from his wife and children. However, despite his legacy, D'Amato's traditional and old-fashioned methods have come under fire for poor results during his last seasons, including missing the playoffs several times. During the last few years, being bitter that he was never promoted to general manager, he also resents the hands-on approach or "interference" of Christina Pagniacci, who succeeded her father Arturo as team owner. The character was inspired by Tom Landry who was the longtime coach of the Dallas Cowboys. His last name comes from legendary boxing trainer Constantine "Cus" D'Amato.

Cameron Diaz as Christina Pagniacci – The Owner and General Manager of the Miami Sharks who inherited the team from her father Arturo, she is young and attractive and boasts a Cornell MBA. Given the team's poor results in the last few years, which she attributes to Coach D'Amato's "old-school methods", she attempts to take a more hands-on approach to the team, including bringing in an innovative Offensive Coordinator Nick Crozier. She has hinted several times that D'Amato will not return after his contract expires, adding to his distractions. She also threatens several times to move the franchise if the city refuses to build a new stadium, causing a confrontation with the AFFA Commissioner and the Mayor of Miami. Her character is based upon Jerry Jones and Georgia Frontiere.

Dennis Quaid as Jack "Cap" Rooney – The starting quarterback & Captain of the Miami Sharks. Seen like a son to Coach D'Amato, the two have been credited with the team's greatest on-field successes. However, Rooney is now an aging veteran who is losing motivation and faces conflicts with team personnel. New owner Christina Pagniacci wants to dump him, although he remains the favorite of D'Amato who insists that Rooney's departure would never be ceremonial. Relations have soured between Rooney and his wife Cindy (Lauren Holly) who consistently goads him on without sympathy to his physical or mental situation, mercilessly browbeating him when he even mentions retiring (it is implied that Cindy married Jack only because he was a well-paid athlete and, she has grown accustomed to their lifestyle and her position as Quarterback's Wife and is unwilling to lose the social standing). With the team in a mid-season slump, he is injured during a game and is replaced but is determined to make a comeback. His perseverance pays off as he recovers in time for the first round of the playoffs to earn the start, where he plays well until suffering a hard hit.

James Woods as Dr. Harvey Mandrake – The team physician for the Miami Sharks. He is a crooked Doctor who risks the injury of players to enable the team to have a better shot at winning, often at the direction of Christina Pagniacci. He is later fired after his practices are discovered by the team internist.

Jamie Foxx as "Steamin" Willie Beamen – The third-string quarterback for the Miami Sharks who takes over as starter after an injury to Rooney, and then an injury to the backup quarterback. Though surprisingly successful, Beamen causes tension among staff and teammates, as he frequently changes the plays the Coach calls, or just calls his own. He begins a singing career and even asks owner Christina Pagniacci for a date when she enters a postgame locker room full of mostly naked players. Beamen later matures, listens to his coaches and teammates, and is inspired by "Cap" Rooney's gutsy performance in the Sharks' first playoff game.

LL Cool J as Julian "J-Man" Washington – The starting running back for the Miami Sharks. He is a very good back but becomes increasingly angry at Beamen for his cockiness and tendencies to call plays away from him. He is motivated by incentive clauses in his contract, and Coach D'Amato refers to him as a "merc" (mercenary) "who will be gone before next season."

Lawrence Taylor as Luther "Shark" Lavay – The Captain of the Miami Sharks' defense. Mandrake has concealed that "Shark" is suffering from a previous injury, a broken neck that did not heal properly. If he suffers a serious hit again, he may be killed or permanently disabled. The team's intern Doctor informs him and D'Amato of the situation, and "Shark" says he will lose over a million dollars if he does not make his incentive stats if he retires as the intern doctor suggests. He also has an earlier confrontation with Willie Beamen over the role of offense vs. defense in football (which culminates with him cutting Beamen's Chevrolet Suburban in half with a circular saw during a party when fed up with Beamen's attitude). He later gives the younger player a quiet but impassioned speech about playing with 100% emotion.

Jim Brown as Montezuma Monroe – The Defensive Co-ordinator of the Miami Sharks. He is vocal and brings high intensity to the defense and to the rest of the team in general. A longtime friend of Tony D'Amato's, the Coach personally confides in Montezuma several times. Monroe states at one point he would like to return to high school coaching where the game is "pure".

Aaron Eckhart as Nick Crozier – The Offensive Co-ordinator of the Miami Sharks. Nick is an offensive guru brought in from Minnesota by Christina Pagniacci. Young and tech-savvy (making use of a laptop computer while calling plays), he is highly critical of Tony's old fashioned offensive play calling, Willie's changing the plays in the huddle and Julian's playing for contract incentives. Despite the tension between himself and Head Coach D'Amato, the latter recognizes Crozier's talent, and he is named D'Amato's successor, after D'Amato departs to lead an expansion franchise in New Mexico.

Matthew Modine as Dr. Oliver "Ollie" Powers – The intern Doctor for the team. He discovers Harvey covering for players who are suffering from near-career-ending injuries but are overdosing on painkillers, steroids and hormones to cover the pain. He faces his own dilemma in the need to relieve the players' pain vs. prescribing too much medication at the insistence of the addicted players.

John C. McGinley as Jack Rose – An abrasive and prominent sports reporter with his own cable show, who displays an incredible distaste for all things D'Amato. This leads to D'Amato physically assaulting Rose near the end of the regular season, but no charges are pressed after D'Amato makes a public apology. Rose is a a thinly disguised impression of Jim Rome.

Further cast

• Lela Rochon as Vanessa Struthers
• Lauren Holly as Cindy Rooney
• Ann-Margret as Margaret Pagniacci
• Elizabeth Berkley as Mandy Murphy
• Charlton Heston as Commissioner / Judah Ben-Hur (scenes from Ben-Hur)
• Clifton Davis as Mayor Tyrone Smalls

Director Oliver Stone appears uncredited as an announcer at the stadium.

Production

Development

Oliver Stone developed a script called Monday Night written by Jamie Williams, a former tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, and Richard Weiner, a sports journalist. Stone separately acquired the spec script On Any Given Sunday, by John Logan. Stone later amalgamated a third screenplay, Playing Hurt by Daniel Pyne, into the project.

As of May 1, 1999, the screenplay's cover page listed the following writers: original draft by Jamie Williams & Richard Weiner, John Logan, Daniel Pyne; subsequent revisions by Gary Ross; revisions by Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans; revisions by John Logan; revisions by Lisa Amsterdam & Robert Huizenga; latest revisions by Oliver Stone.

The Writers Guild of America ultimately awarded screenplay credit to Logan and Stone, with "story" credit to Pyne and Logan. Williams and Weiner went uncredited for their original screenplay, but were credited for their work on the film as technical consultants.

The screenplay was also based in part on the book You're Okay, It's Just a Bruise: A Doctor's Sideline Secrets by Robert Huizenga. Huizenga was the intern doctor for the L.A. Raiders in their 1980s heyday, working under Dr. Rosenfield, who dismissed many players' injuries with the phrase, "You're okay, it's just a bruise." James Woods' character was based on Rosenfield, and his first diagnosis of "Cap" Rooney's career-threatening injury at the beginning of the film is "you're okay, it's just a bruise." Huizenga left the Raiders in the early 1990s, disgusted at the way the medical advice was kept from players and Rosenfield being allowed to continue treating them after several mishaps, one of which is closely mirrored in the film—Shark's neck injury and risk of sudden death, based on the real-life Mike Harden case.

Casting

Director Oliver Stone's first two choices to play Tony D'Amato were Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Although De Niro declined the role, Pacino had already accepted. Henry Rollins was offered a role as a football player but turned it down as he felt he did not have the size to make the portrayal believable. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs was cast as Willie Beamen, but dropped out amidst rumors he could not throw a football convincingly. Publicly Combs dropped off the project because of scheduling conflicts with his recording career. According to Cuba Gooding Jr., he met with Oliver Stone about playing the role of Willie Beamen but Stone turned Gooding down because he had already played a football player in Jerry Maguire (1996).

Five NFL Hall of Fame Players made cameo appearances as opposing head coaches. Bob St. Clair, with Minnesota, the first game. Y.A. Tittle, for Chicago, the second game. Dick Butkus, with California, the road game. Warren Moon, with New York in the rain soaked game. And finally, Johnny Unitas with Dallas, in the finale.

Jim Caviezel played Tony D'Amato's estranged son, but his scenes were cut. They can be seen in the extras of the Oliver Stone Collection DVD. Tom Sizemore also had a role in the film, but it too was cut.

Principal photography

The film was shot in Miami, Florida and Irving, Texas. Miami's Orange Bowl stadium represents the home of the fictitious American football team, the Miami Sharks. When the team traveled to California, the stadium used was actually Pro Player Stadium, which is located in Miami. Texas Stadium is used for the home of the fictitious Dallas Knights.

Director Oliver Stone requested but did not receive the National Football League's permission to use real NFL team logos and stadiums for the film. As a result the fictional Associated Football Franchises of America (AFFA) was created (not to be confused with the real AFA). In the movie, the fictitious AFFA apparently exists alongside the real-life NFL, since the Miami Dolphins are mentioned.

For the scenes during a football game, production asked local schools to participate as extras for the film, including Lake Stevens Middle School in Miami, Florida. For each shot the crowd was asked to move around so that each section looked filled, in empty seats cardboard cutouts were placed in seats with balloons attached to them so that they would seem in motion.

A scene in the film was shot at Villa Vizcaya. Dennis Quaid's character's house is really Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino's house.

Release

Reception

The film received an aggregated score of 50% from 115 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Soundtrack

Main article: Any Given Sunday (soundtrack)

A soundtrack containing hip hop, rock and R&B music was released on January 4, 2000 by Atlantic Records. It peaked at #28 on the Billboard 200 and #11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Oliver Stone wanted to use the music of the Canadian band Godspeed You! Black Emperor and actually filmed a scene using their music, when he later asked for permission, the band said no, so Stone was forced to redo the scene without the music.

Film composer Richard Horowitz, who supplied the original score, published his complete music for the film on a promotional CD.

Director's cut

When released to home video on VHS and DVD, a new director's cut by Oliver Stone was used. Due to the packaging listing "6 minutes of previously unseen footage" and a running time of 156 minutes, many assumed that the theatrical cut was 150 minutes, and that Stone had added six minutes of footage. In actuality, the theatrical cut ran 162 minutes; 12 minutes was deleted for the Director's Cut, and six minutes of new footage was added. Stone said these changes were made to help with the film's pacing. The differences between the two versions are discussed on IMDb's entry for the film.

External links

• Any Given Sunday at the Internet Movie Database
• Any Given Sunday at Rotten Tomatoes