Coming to theaters this December, The Boys in the Boat looks to have all of the makings of an Oscar contender, or at least George Clooney hopes so. He directs this inspirational sports drama based on 2013’s bestselling non-fiction novel by Daniel James Brown. The story is about the 1936 University of Washington (go Huskies) rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Berlin.
The movie has been a work in progress for many years starting way back in 2011 when The Weinstein Company acquired film rights to Brown’s book. Kenneth Branagh was set to direct it. Years later, Lantern Entertainment acquired The Weinstein Company’s assets including The Boys in the Boat. In 2018, Clooney had been given the director’s chair for the film. Filming began March 2022, but not in Seattle. Instead, it was filmed in Berkshire, UK, Los Angeles and Berlin among other places.
Set during the height of the Great Depression, this true story follows a group or working-class student athletes who appear to be true underdogs. With guidance by Coach Al Ulbrickson (played by Joel Edgerton) this ragtag group find themselves thrown into the spotlight ready to take on their elite rivals from around the world competing in the Men’s Eight at the Summer Olympic Games. Taking the story’s center stage is Joe Rantz (Callum Turner) who lived a life where he felt disposable and with good reason. He was abandoned by his father and stepmother when he was young.
The Boys in the Boat open is theaters on Christmas Day, 2023.
Main Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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