Remember the Titans

Remember the Titans
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Boaz Yakin
Written by	Gregory Allen Howard
Produced by	Jerry Bruckheimer Chad Oman
Starring	Denzel Washington Will Patton Wood Harris Ryan Hurst Kip Pardue Donald Faison Nicole Ari Parker Hayden Panettiere Kate Bosworth
Cinematography	Philippe Rousselot
Edited by	Michael Tronick
Music by	Trevor Rabin
Production companies	Jerry Bruckheimer Films Technical Black Films
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date	September 29, 2000
Running time	119 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$136,706,683

Remember the Titans is a 2000 American sports drama film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman and directed by Boaz Yakin.

Inspired by real events, the plot was conceived from a screenplay written by Gregory Allen Howard. The film starts as a new coach of the Titans, a football team previously coached by the white Bill Yoast, begins coaching the team. The new coach, Herman Boone (portrayed by Denzel Washington), is a black man, and his team is a mixture of black players and white players. The struggles that arise from the racial diversity are profound.

Actor Will Patton portrays Bill Yoast, making a transition to help out Boone as an assistant coach. The portrayal of real life athletes Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell (played by Ryan Hurst and Wood Harris, respectively) appears within the integrated storyline. Kip Pardue and Kate Bosworth also star in principal roles.

A joint collective effort to commit to the film's production was made by the film studios of Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. Remember the Titans explores civil topics, such as racism, discrimination and athletics.

Remember the Titans premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on September 29, 2000 grossing $115,654,751 in domestic ticket receipts. It earned an additional $21,051,932 in business through international release to top out at a combined $136,706,683 in gross revenue. The film was considered a financial success due to its $30 million budget costs. Preceding its theatrical run, the film was generally met with positive critical reviews before its initial screening in cinemas.

Plot

In 1971 in Alexandria, Virginia, at the desegregated T. C. Williams High School, African American head coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) is hired to lead the school's football team. Coach Boone takes the coaching position from current head coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton), who has been nominated for the Virginia High School Hall of Fame, and who also later decides to move on to other coaching opportunities. In a show of respect and in an attempt to ease racial tension, Boone offers an assistant coaching position to Yoast. Yoast at first refuses Boone's offer, but is then tempted to join after the white players pledge to boycott the team if he doesn't participate. Dismayed at the prospect of the students losing their chances at scholarships, Yoast changes his mind antivated conflicts at their football camp, including those between captain Gerry Bertier (Ryan Hurst) and Julius Campbell (Wood Harris). However, after forceful coaxing and rigorous athletic training by Boone, and partly because of white Offensive Lineman Louie Lastik (Ethan Suplee), the team achieves both racial harmony and triumph. In one scene, Coach Boone wakes the team up around 3:00 AM and takes them to a cemetery where the Battle of Gettysburg was fought and delivers a speech about hatred. After returning from football camp, Boone is told by a member of the school board that if he loses even a single game, he will be fired. Subsequently, the Titans go through the season undefeated while battling racial prejudice, before slowly gaining support from the community.

Just before the state semi-finals, Yoast is told by a member of the school board that he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame after the Titans lose their game, implying that the game has been fixed to ensure Boone gets fired over his race. During the game, when it becomes apparent that the referees are engaging in biased officiating against the Titans, after seeing his daughter upset at the horrible calls, Yoast warns the head official that he will go to the press and expose the scandal unless the game is called fairly. The referees yield and the Titans ultimately win the game, but Yoast is told afterward that his actions have resulted in his loss of candidacy for the Hall of Fame.

Later, while celebrating after the victorious game, Bertier is paralyzed in a car accident, when he is hit by a truck while accelerating into an intersection. Despite the fact that Bertier is no longer able to play, the team goes on to win the championship. Ten years later, the coaches and athletes from the team reunite to attend Bertier's funeral, as Sheryl reiterates the message of racial equality taught by the Titans.

The epilogue reveals what many of the Titans are doing, ranging from getting married to going to college.

Cast

• Denzel Washington as Coach Herman Boone
• Will Patton as Coach Bill Yoast
• Wood Harris as DE Julius Campbell
• Ryan Hurst as LB Gerry Bertier
• Donald Faison as RB Petey Jones
• Ethan Suplee as OL Louie Lastik
• Kip Pardue as QB Ronnie "Sunshine" Bass
• Craig Kirkwood as QB Jerry "Rev" Harris
• Nicole Ari Parker as Carole Boone, Herman Boone's wife.
• Krysten Leigh Jones as Nicky Boone, Herman Boone's daughter.
• Hayden Panettiere as Sheryl Yoast, Bill Yoast's daughter.
• Kate Bosworth as Emma Hoyt
• Earl C. Poitier as OL Darryl "Blue" Stanton
• Ryan Gosling as DB Alan Bosley
• Gregory Alan Williams as Coach Paul "Doc" Hi
• Burgess Jenkins as TE Ray Budds

Comparison to actual events

In the movie Bertier is paralyzed in a car accident near the end of the season, while Bertier did get Paralyzed in real life the accident didn't occar until after the championships were over.

In one scene Coach Bill Yoast was told he lost his chance for the Virginia High School Hall of Fame, In reality the hall of fame didn't exist in 1971.

Sheryl Yoast is potrayed as the only child of Bill Yoast, This is untrue as he has four daughters and Sheryl has since passed away in 1996.

In the movie the Titans dance during a warm-up, There is no evidnce of that ever happning.

In the movie the Titans are potrayed as the underdogs, This is also untrue by the end of the 1971 season (including playoffs) the T.C. Williams Titans were 13-0 and ranked second in the nation. They dominated almost every game that they played, shutting out their opponents in nine of their thirteen games and outscoring them by a margin of 338-38. The championship game was a blowout as well, unlike the film.

Musical score

Trevor Rabin composed the instrumental score, of which "Titans Spirit" was the only cue (of 12 composed) added to the soundtrack. It is also the only piece of music on the soundtrack album not to have been previously released.

"Titans Spirit" was a rousing seven-minute exploration of the movie's energetic themes that projected from Denzel Washington as he spoke during filming. It has been used on many sports telecasts, particularly those on NBC, which has the score during its closing credits for the Salt Lake 2002, Athens 2004, Torino 2006, Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as with the final closing credits montage for their 12-year run with the NBA in 2002. The song was also played as veteran New York Mets players crossed home plate during the closing ceremonies at Shea Stadium, and as the New York Yankees were awarded their rings from their 2009 World Series championship.

It was also used during the 2008 Democratic National Convention to accompany the celebration and fireworks at Invesco Field after future president Barack Obama gave his nomination acceptance speech, and also at Chicago's Grant Park immediately following Obama's victory speech upon winning the 2008 Presidential Election.

Reception

Remember the Titans has received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes provides links to 132 reviews, 73% of which are positive. The critical consensus is that the film is "an inspirational crowd-pleaser with a healthy dose of social commentary," and that it was "well-crafted and features terrific performances." Conversely, it has a score of 43 on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing "The movie is heartfelt, yes, and I was moved by it, but it plays safe." However Empire magazine called the movie "pretty bad" awarding it two stars out of a possible five.

Awards and nominations

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
Angel Awards	February 15, 2001	Silver Angel - Feature Film	Remember the Titans	Won
BET Awards	June 19, 2001	Best Actor	Denzel Washington	Won
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	April 10, 2001	Favorite Actor - Drama	Denzel Washington	Nominated
		Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama	Wood Harris	Nominated
Casting Society of America	October 4, 2001	Artios - Best Casting for Feature Film, Drama	Ronna Kress	Nominated
Image Awards	February 23, 2001	Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture	Denzel Washington	Won
		Outstanding Motion Picture	Remember the Titans	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Wood Harris	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Nicole Ari Parker	Nominated
		Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress	Krysten Leigh Jones	Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	January 16, 2001	Best Performance by a Youth in a Leading or Supporting Role	Fintan Ryan	Won
Political Film Society Awards	2001	Human Rights	Remember the Titans	Won
		Exposé	Remember the Titans	Nominated
Golden Satellite Awards 2000	January 14, 2001	Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama	Denzel Washington	Nominated
Teen Choice Awards	August 12, 2001	Film - Choice Drama/Action Adventure	Remember the Titans	Nominated
Young Artist Awards	2001	Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actress	Hayden Panettiere	Won
		Best Family Feature Film - Drama	Remember the Titans	Nominated

External links

• Remember the Titans at IMDb
• Remember the Titans at AllMovie
• Remember the Titans at Rotten Tomatoes
• Remember the Titans at Box Office Mojo