Forever Strong
| Forever Strong | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Ryan Little |
| Produced by | Adam Abel Ryan Little Steven A. Lee Brian Peck Brad Pelo |
| Written by | David Pliler |
| Starring | Sean Faris Gary Cole Penn Badgley Arielle Kebbel Sean Astin Neal McDonough Olesya Rulin |
| Music by | J Bateman, Bart Hendrickson, Pieter Schlosser, Clay Duncan |
| Cinematography | T.C. Christensen |
| Release date(s) | September 26, 2008 |
| Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Forever Strong is a sports film directed by Ryan Little and written by David Pliler and released on September 26, 2008. The film stars Sean Faris, Gary Cole, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley and Arielle Kebbel. The film is about a troubled rugby union player who must play against the team his father coaches at the national championships. Forever Strong is based on a compilation of individual true stories.
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[edit] Plot
Talented but troubled high school rugby player Rick Penning (Sean Faris) loses his position as the star of an Arizona rugby union team when he is sentenced to a boys' Juvenile Detention Center in Salt Lake City.[1] Rick ends up playing for Salt Lake's notable Highland rugby team, coached by Larry Gelwix (Gary Cole), in the national championships—against his old team, who is coached by his father, Richard Penning (Neal McDonough). Emily (Arielle Kebbel) is Rick's love interest, and Marcus (Sean Astin) is his guidance counselor.
[edit] Cast
- Gary Cole as Coach Larry Gelwix
- Sean Astin as Marcus Tate
- Neal McDonough as Coach Richard Penning
- Sean Faris as Richard 'Rick' Seymour Penning, Jr.
- Penn Badgley as Lars
- Michael J. Pagan as Kurt Addison
- Nathan West as Quentin 'Q' Owens
- Max Kasch as Griggs
- Julie Warner as Natalie Penning
- Arielle Kebbel as Emily Owens
- Tyler Kain as Tami
- Larry Bagby as Coach Cal
[edit] Production
The movie was filmed in Salt Lake City beginning in July 2006 at three local high schools.[2] Sean Faris ran six miles twice a day to get in shape for the film.[3] During filming, Faris sprained his ankle, but had the ankle taped, and continued filming.[3] Several All-American rugby players, predominantly from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, played in the film. Some Highland Rugby alumni and current players also played roles in the film.
The name of the film is based on a phrase the Gelwix often shares with his team members, "kia kaha" which in the Maori language means Forever strong. The longer version: "Be forever strong on the field, so that you will be forever strong off the field." The players call them "Gelwixims".[4]
Forever Strong is based on an amalgam of true stories about the Highland Rugby high school team.[2] The character Rick Penning is based on a real member of the rugby team who played in Flagstaff, Arizona and was sent to a group home in Salt Lake City.[2] The story attracted the production company Go Films.[2] "Forever Strong" was the first sports themed film Go Films had made. Producer Adam Abel and Director Ryan Little were attracted to the story because of Highland Rugby's tradition of winning both on and off the field. The film name "Forever Strong" is taken from the team motto of the Highland High School rugby team.[5] "Forever Strong" was released in fall 2008 and distributed by Crane Movie Co.
[edit] Maori culture
Forever Strong contains use of the haka (traditional Maori dance and song) "Ka Mate". The iwi (tribal grouping) Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha is credited with composing this particular haka. The film contains a scene in which one player translates the lyrics of "Ka Mate" for his teammate.
[edit] Critical reception
As of October 10, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 29% of critics rated the film positively based on 14 reviews.[6] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 37 out of 100 based on 9 reviews — indicating generally negative reviews.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Sean Faris in Forever Strong!". IMTA. 2006-08-07. http://that-imta-blog.blogspot.com/2006/08/sean-faris-in-forever-strong.html. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ a b c d Missy Thompson (2006-08-10). "GHS turned into movie set for rugby film". Tooele Transcript-Bulletin. http://www.tooeletranscript.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=15423&Itemid=2. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ a b "Forever Strong (2007) - Trivia". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840322/trivia. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ Sullivan, Bryan (October 7, 2008). "Larry Gelwix "The Real Forever Strong Coach"". http://highlandrugby.net/?option=com_content&view=article&id=49. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "Highland High's Larry Gelwix". Rugbymag.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20070103191704/http://rugbymag.com/archive/2001/may/gelwix.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
- ^ "Forever Strong Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10010155-forever_strong/. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- ^ "Forever Strong (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/foreverstrong?q=forever%20strong. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Forever Strong at the Internet Movie Database
- Forever Strong at Rotten Tomatoes
- Lonesome Highway Productions
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