Coach Carter
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| Coach Carter | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Coach Carter |
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| Directed by | Thomas Carter |
| Produced by | David Gale Brian Robbins Michael Tollin |
| Written by | Mark Schwahn John Gatins |
| Starring | Samuel L. Jackson Robert Ri'Chard Rob Brown Debbi Morgan Ashanti Rick Gonzalez Antwon Tanner Nana Gbewonyo Channing Tatum |
| Music by | Kenneth Burgomaster DMX Paul Linford Trevor Rabin |
| Cinematography | Sharone Meir |
| Editing by | Peter Berger |
| Distributed by | Paramount |
| Release date(s) | January 14, 2005 |
| Running time | 136 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$30 million |
| IMDb profile | |
Coach Carter is a 2005 film, directed by Thomas Carter. It is similar to the 1986 movie Hoosiers, both being centered around a high school basketball team. It is based on a true story, in which Richmond High School (Richmond, California, USA) head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.
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[edit] Plot
Ken Carter, owner of Carter Sporting Goods, takes over the coaching job at Richmond High School, where their basketball team The Oilers are struggling. Carter had himself been a student at Richmond in the early '70s, and took the job as both a challenge and a favor to the previous coach. The motivation was certainly not for the $1600 yearly stipend.
Coach Carter uses respect as the basis of his coaching style. He forbids use of the word "nigger" and expects his players to address him as "Sir". Carter pushes the entire team hard in training, concentrating on building stamina, which causes them to be able to outlast their opponents on the court. Additionally, he makes players sign a contract, in which they agree to maintain a 2.3 GPA (California only required student-athletes to maintain a 2.0 at that time), attend every class, sit in the front row of the classes they attend, and wear a suit and tie on game day (similar to current NBA dress codes). His goal is not only to get the players to respect and believe in him as coach, but to respect and believe in each other and themselves.
The team does well with Coach Carter and wins all the games they played at this point so far. But when Coach Carter gets academic progress reports for the team, he is understandably disappointed, since many of the players have not lived up to their end of the contract. He puts a lock on the gym and refuses to have practice or allow the players to play ball until everyone has at least a 2.3 GPA. He meets with opposition from the parents as well as the school staff, including the principal, the staves of the high schools the team was scheduled to play against, and even the citizens of Richmond. It didn't help that Carter's punishment was against the entire team, including players who did maintain a 2.3 GPA. He sticks with the plan in spite of intense media pressure. The parents point out that for some of the kids on the team, basketball is everything. The principal agrees, stating privately to Carter that a senior year winning streak might be the high point of some of the players' lives. Carter responds that their goals should be higher, and that high school basketball, while worthwhile, is not an end unto itself. He argues that there is and should be more for these students to live for.
Eventually, the Principal, while not exactly seeing eye to eye with Carter, supports him when the school board decides whether or not to remove the lock from the gym. Carter says he will resign if they remove the lock. Though the school board does decide to remove the lock from the gym, the players begin to realize that his message is the correct one. Just as he is about to clean out his office, he see his players in the gym, but studying. Eventually, the team's grades meet Carter's standards, and he allows them to resume the season. They eventually realize that they can do more with their lives, thanks to Carter's focus on their academic careers. They study their school work and then get to play basketball. They lose in the first round of the state championship tournament but they win as champions.
Tagline: It begins on the streets. It ends here.
[edit] Box Office
The movie debuted at #1 on the U.S. Box Office and has grossed over $67 Million so far. Worldwide the movie was not as big of a hit however only managing to bring in $9 Million overseas for a total of $76 Million.
[edit] Soundtrack
The film features the song "Hope" by Twista and Faith Evans as the main song off the film's soundtrack. An extensive list of songs is featured on the soundtrack which differs from the soundtrack recording (Capitol Records ASIN B0006FFRZM). One difference is the recording has five recordings which do not feature in the film : About da game, Trey Songz/Neek Rusher; Balla, Mack 10 featuring Da Hood; Beauty queen, CzarNok; What Love Can Do, LeToya; and Wouldn't You Like to Ride, Kanye West; Malik Yusef, Common & JV.
The full soundtrack listing is:
- All my peoples, Invisible Men;
- All night long, Red Cafe;
- Booty Skater, Carman Carter;
- Can you feel the beat (within my heart), Lisa Lisa;
- Changes, 2Pac; Comin’ from where I’m from, Anthony Hamilton;
- Coolie dance rhythm, Cordel “Scatta” Costa; Dance Sucka, T-Ray;
- Enjoy the show, Erin Thompkins; Everybody got their something, Nikka Costa;
- Get Low, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz;
- Halftime (Stand up and get crunk, Ying Yang Twins;
- Headsprung LL Cool;
- Hope, Twista, featuring Faith Evans;
- I can’t turn you loose, Otis Redding;
- I Changed My Name Keyshia Cole, Kanye West;
- I like that, Houston;
- In the air tonight, Nonpoint;
- Lately, Tyrese;
- Let me prove my love to you, The Main Ingredient;
- Let the drummer kick, Citizen Cope; Locked up ,Akon;
- Lost Ones, Lauryn Hill;
- Move ya body (Radio Edit), Nina Sky;
- No need for conversation, Fabolous, featuring. Mike Shorey;
- Off the wall, Ali Theodore;
- Oh Boy, Francci Richard;
- Professional, Chingy, featuring G.I.B.;
- Read your mind, Avant; Roll wit' you, Ciara;
- Same team, no games, Gang Starr;
- She wants to move, N*E*R*D*;
- Shut up, Black Eyed Peas;
- Southside, The Game, featuring Lil Scrappy;
- This one, Ak'sent, You Don't Know My Name, Alicia Keys.
[edit] Cast
- Samuel L. Jackson — Coach Ken Ray Carter
- Robert Ri'chard — Damien Carter
- Nana Gbewonyo — Junior Battle
- Rob Brown — Kenyon Stone
- Channing Tatum — Jason Lyle
- Rick Gonzalez — Timo Cruz
- Antwon Tanner — Jaron 'Worm' Willis
- Ashanti — Kyra
- Debbi Morgan — Tonya
- Denise Dowse — Principal Garrison
- Vincent Laresca — Renny
- Octavia Spencer — Willa Battle
- Lacey Beeman — Susan
- Dana Davis — Peyton
- Adrienne Bailon — Dominique
- Sonya Eddy — Mrs. Willis
- Texas Battle — Maddox
[edit] External links
- Official movie site
- Official Coach Carter Soundtrack
- Coach Carter at the Internet Movie Database
- Coach Carter (non-film)
