Cinderella Man (2005)

Starring Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, and Bruce McGill.  Cinematography by Salvatore Totino.  Edited by Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill. Produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Penny Marshall.  Written by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman.  Directed by Ron Howard.

In the late 1920’s boxer James J. Braddock proved himself to be a formidable opponent in the ring and was earning a comfortable living at it.  In only a couple years his promising pugilistic career would take a turn for the worst.  A broken right hand reduced his ability to perform which would directly result in the revocation of his boxing license.  Now only able to pick up an occasional shift at the shipyard, Braddock and his family were nearly destitute; victims of the Great Depression.

Painful months drug by until finally, in 1934, Braddock was given the chance to fill a vacant spot in a match against heavyweight title contender John “Corn” Griffin. Despite all odds he defeated Griffin, earning him the opportunity for more fights. Braddock’s continued success ushered him into the spotlight as an American hero and soon secured him a title match against the current world champion, Max Baer.

The idea for a big screen adaptation of the amazing life of boxer Jim Braddock first came to writer Cliff Hollingsworth in 1994. Being a boxing enthusiast, Hollingsworth had become familiar with the history of the sport and found Braddock’s story to be the most compelling of all the former heavyweight champions.  Though much of the details of Braddock’s miraculous story had faded away over the years, Hollingsworth found the information that he needed to flesh out his story from Braddock’s two sons, Jay and Howard. 

Once Hollingsworth had crafted a screenplay that met the family’s approval, it was shopped around and eventually found its way into the hands of actor Russell Crowe.  Crowe shared Hollingsworth’s passion for the sport and quickly fell in love with his script.  He personally took the project, titled Cinderella Man, under his wing and held on to it until he found the perfect filmmaking team to produce it.

Crowe found what he was looking for in 2001. Not long into the production of A Beautiful Mind, it was clear that Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Akiva Goldsman would be the perfect choice to produce a film like Cinderella Man.  Howard had grown up hearing stories of the legendary Braddock/Baer fight from his father and was fascinated with its nearly forgotten role in America’s history. He had also fostered a lifelong intrigue with the Great Depression. 

In fact, the very first film he had ever made was a “Ken Burns style” documentary for a high school history class that featured interviews from seven or eight people who had lived through the era. Once he and Grazer agreed to take on the picture, Hollingsworth trustingly handed his script over to Goldsman so he could prepare it for production. The final collaborative result of Cinderella Man is absolutely beautiful.  Howard used the large production value to his advantage and was still able to deliver an intimate picture. The story is inspiring and uplifting without ever becoming melodramatic or artificial. Cinderella Man truly is a modern fairy tale.

Budget: $88,000,000

Total US Gross: $61,649,308

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 144 Minutes

US Release Date: 6/3/05

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Awards: TBD

Tagline: When America Was On Its Knees, He Brought Us To Our Feet.

Quote: “I have to believe that when things are bad I can change them.”