The Final Season
| The Final Season | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Mickey Evans |
| Written by | Art D'Alessandro |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | Sean Astin Powers Boothe Tom Arnold Rachael Leigh Cook Michael Angarano |
| Cinematography | Dan Stoloff |
| Edited by | Harry Kerimidas |
| Music by | Nathan Wang |
| Distributed by | Yari Film Group Freestyle Releasing[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,159,691[2] |
The Final Season is a 2007 baseball film starring Sean Astin, Rachael Leigh Cook, Tom Arnold, Powers Boothe, Brett Claywell, Michael Angarano, and Marshall Bell and directed by David Mickey Evans. The film wrapped production in 2006 in Shellsburg, Iowa, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and was released in the United States and Canada on October 12, 2007, by Yari Film Group.
The film premiered three times at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.[citation needed] The film also premiered in Cedar Rapids on October 7, 2007.
Plot
This is the true story of Kent Stock (Sean Astin), who in the early 1990s, takes the job of a lifetime as head coach of the Norway High School baseball team, a school which had won 19 state titles and equated baseball with life. Kent must win over his players and convince them and himself that he can fill their former coach's shoes, all while dealing with the reality that this will be the team's final season due to an impending merger with a nearby school.
In the summer of 1991, Norway High's baseball tradition ended on a triumphant but somber note.
The film depicts the Norway School District merging with the "Madison School District". Norway actually was consolidated into the Benton Community School District.
Cast
- Sean Astin as Kent Stock
- Rachael Leigh Cook as Polly Hudson
- Michael Angarano as Mitch Akers
- Powers Boothe as Jim Van Scoyoc
- Tom Arnold as Burt Akers
- Brett Claywell as Patrick Iverson
- Marshall Bell as Harvey Makepeace
- Danielle Savre as Cindy Iverson
- James Gammon as Jared (Grandpa) Akers
- Jesse Henecke as Principal Halberstorm
- Larry Miller as Roger Dempsey
- Roscoe Myrick as Sammy
- Chris Olsen as Eddie Fitz
- Angela Paton as Ann Akers
- Nick Livingston as Kevin
- Ryan Flood as Baseball Player #4
- Nick Schmitt as Baseball player #5 91 Norway team
- Nathan Pyan as Baseball Player #10 91 Norway team
- Josh Merino as Reed Ellis
Reception
The Final Season received mainly negative to mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a "Rotten" rating of 26%, based on 50 reviews.[3] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 43 out of 100, based on 16 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[4] The film grossed $1,159,691 in the USA.
Production notes
- Sports action was by Rob Miller of ReelSports.
- Amy Acker and Eliza Dushku were at one point cast in the role of Polly, but both dropped out because of scheduling conflicts.
- Cameraman Roland Schlotzhauer was killed during a helicopter crash while filming a scene in the movie. His Bell 206 helicopter hit a powerline and crashed in a field, killing him and injuring the pilot and a producer.
References
- ^ http://freestylereleasing.com/the-final-season/
- ^ Boxofficemojo.com
- ^ "The Final Season - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
- ^ "Final Season, The (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-10-13.