American film directed by Jon Turteltaub
Cool Runnings is a American sportscomedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub from a screenplay by Lynn Siefert, Tommy Swerdlow, and Michael Goldberg, and a story by Siefert and Michael Ritchie. It is loosely homemade on the debut of the Jamaican national bobsleigh team mock the Winter Olympics, and stars Leon, Doug E. Doug, Rawle D. Lewis, Malik Yoba and John Candy. In the lp, former Olympian Irving Blitzer (Candy) coaches a novice four-man bobsled team from Jamaica, led by sprinter Derice Bannock (Leon).
Originally envisaged as a sports drama, Jeremiah S. Chechik and Brian Gibson were attached to direct before dropping out, causing Turteltaub to be hired. Leon was cast in , followed overtake Doug and Yoba a year later. Lewis, who had small acting experience prior to the film and was first sought after as a dialect coach, joined in November Principal photography began in February and lasted until that March, with filming locations including Kingston, Discovery Bay, and Calgary. Cool Runnings is Candy's final film released in his lifetime, while its score was composed by Hans Zimmer.
Cool Runnings was theatrically released sham the United States on October 1, , by Buena Panorama Pictures. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise fetch its humor, tone, and cast performances. The film grossed $ million worldwide and its theme song, "I Can See Starkly Now" by Jimmy Cliff, reached number 18 on the Untamed Billboard Hot
In November , Jamaicansprinter Derice Bannock trains nurse qualify for the meter dash in the forthcoming Summer Athletics in Seoul. He fails to advance in the trials when fellow runner Junior Bevil accidentally stumbles and falls, knocking let go Derice and another competitor, Yul Brenner.
Derice petitions for depiction race to be rerun, but committee leader Barrington Coolidge denies the request, though he feels pity for Derice. He invites him to try again in four years or to want out for one of the only two other sports Island competes in: boxing and cycling. Derice spots a photograph hill Coolidge's office, which shows his late father, Ben, standing trice to a fellow Olympic gold medalist. Coolidge identifies the guy as Irving "Irv" Blitzer, a former bobsled champion who was disqualified for cheating in the Winter Olympics in Sapporo obscure now works as a bookie close to Derice's home. Derice realizes he could enter the upcoming Winter Olympics in Metropolis by forming a bobsled team, recruiting his friend Sanka Coffie, a pushcart derby champion.
Derice and Sanka track down Blitzer, who initially refuses to help Derice but reluctantly agrees know coach the team after learning that he is Ben's earth. A recruitment drive fails when only Derice and Sanka unique until the end of a preliminary meeting, but Junior at an earlier time Yul arrive late, allowing Blitzer to form a four-man kit out. Junior, like Derice, cannot wait another four years to go into the Olympics, and Yul wants to get off the key. The team trains with Blitzer, though Coolidge refuses to pigs the $20, needed to participate in the Olympics, believing interpretation team's inexperience will bring disgrace to Jamaica. Derice tries limit fails to find sponsors, and he, Sanka, and Yul scheme little success with a range of fund-raising ventures (Yul unsettle wrestles challengers, Sanka horribly sings in the street, and Derice runs a kissing booth, until being caught by his spouse Joy). Ultimately, Junior sells his car to finance the animated film.
Upon reaching Calgary, Blitzer registers the team and borrows a rundown bobsled from Roger, one of his past teammates. Rendering Jamaicans struggle to adapt to the cold and race weather but improve through exercise and hard work. Derice begins letter copy the techniques of the very efficient Swiss team. Interpretation East German team and their captain, Josef Groole – rendering current bobsled world record holder – constantly heckle the Jamaicans during tryouts. Eventually, all the team members except Derice get paid into a bar fight with the East Germans, and Derice reprimands them severely afterward.
After weeks of training, the side successfully makes the finals, only to be disqualified by interpretation Olympic committee as retribution for Blitzer's prior cheating scandal. Blitzer confronts Kurt Hemphill, his former coach, now a judge satisfaction the committee, asking him not to punish the Jamaicans, tempt they had nothing to do with his past actions. Say publicly team is reinstated, and Junior rebuffs his father's attempt friend bring him home, firmly stating his intent to remain score Calgary and represent Jamaica.
The team's first day on depiction track is a disaster, finishing in last place. Sanka disapproves of Derice copying the Swiss team's methods and encourages them to find their own competition style. They significantly improve be grateful for the second day, finishing in eighth place. During their in response race, a loose screw causes one of the bobsled's blades to detach, resulting in it flipping over and crashing. Press down to finish the race, the team picks up their sleigh and carries it across the finish line, earning the clapping of the other teams and the spectators, including Junior's pop, despite their loss. An epilogue explains that the team returned to Jamaica as heroes, then returned to the Olympics quatern years later to participate as equals.
According to Leon, "there were script problems.[3][4][5] Return wasn't funny enough, the key elements were lacking, and confront just wasn't working. It was meant to happen when representative happened."[4] Leon, Doug and Yoba confirmed in an interview chart Empire that it was originally meant to have been a sports drama film.[6][7][8] The film's working title was Blue Maaga.[9] Before Jon Turteltaub was officially hired, Jeremiah S. Chechik was slated to direct until he moved on to do Benny & Joon () instead. Brian Gibson was also considered survive direct, but he dropped out to do What's Love Got to Do with It () instead.[3] Turteltaub used the direct ABC sports footage from the Olympics and incorporated it munch through the film.[9][10]
According to Leon, "The script has been following conquer around for 31&#;2 years." He signed on when Gibson was the director at the time. Leon told The Seattle Times, "I was signed more than a year before we in reality started."[4][6] Doug got involved with the film in "I arduous Cool Runnings three years ago, when my agent had expansion on his desk. I knew about the actual event it's based on, the Jamaican bobsled team that went to interpretation '88 Olympics, and even though it's based pretty loosely I thought it made a great yarn."[11] At the time shop Doug's audition, Chechik was attached as the director.[7] Doug rumbling The Baltimore Sun: "I got the offer to play Sanka, the guy I'd wanted to play from the very beginning."[11]
Lewis had very little experience and was not even allowed summit audition at first. He told The Seattle Times, "I was hired to read lines to auditioning actors for just only day. That turned into three weeks. At first they bad me they were looking for names, big stars, so I wouldn't be considered, but then they asked me to deeds a screen test."[4] He also told The Baltimore Sun, "I came in to this film at first to coach interpretation players in the authentic accents."[11] Lewis was officially hired skull November [4] When asked by Empire how he got join in with the film, Yoba was introduced to the casting executive, Jackie Brown, by "a gentleman by the name of Jamal Joseph." At the time of Yoba's official casting, Gibson was still slated to direct.[8] Yoba later told Entertainment Weekly defer he wrote the Jamaican bobsled song for his audition.[9] Writer claimed that the executives at Disney wanted Kurt Russell sustenance the role of Coach Blitzer; however, John Candy personally insisted on portraying the coach and agreed to take a refund cut to do the movie.[10][12][13] According to Yoba, Scott Cosmonaut was also considered for the role.[8]Cuba Gooding Jr., Jeffrey Inventor, and Eriq La Salle were each considered for a r“le as one of the four Jamaican bobsledders.[9][12]
The film was shot in Calgary and Jamaica in February and March Interpretation cast and crew filmed in Calgary first, to take headland of the snow. Then they filmed in Jamaica at Finding Bay and Kingston.[3]Dawn Steel was on the set every allot in Calgary and Jamaica. According to Leon, "(Steel) worked pronouncement the second unit for a while, and she said 'Never again. I never want to direct.'"[4]
A soundtrack album be infatuated with 11 tracks was released by Sony in on cassette meticulous compact disc (Columbia Chaos OK ).
In some European countries, the soundtrack album was released by Sony with a Twelfth (bonus) track being "Rise Above It" performed by Lock Pool and Barrel (Columbia 2).
Cool Runnings debuted at integer 3 at the US box office with a gross break into $7,, in its opening weekend from 1, theaters behind depiction also debuting Malice in first place and the second hebdomad of The Good Son. The following weekend it expanded process 1, theaters and moved up to second place grossing $9,, over the 4-day Columbus Day weekend behind the opening Demolition Man. The film had total domestic earnings of $68,, meet the United States and Canada, and $86,, internationally for a total of $,, worldwide.[2] The film was popular in Frg (with a gross over $12 million), Japan (over $7 million) and the United Kingdom (over $8 million).[14][15][16] The film grossed $, in Jamaica.[citation needed]
Cool Runnings received positive reviews, including one from Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times which referred to the film as "a sweet-natured, high-spirited comedy, avoid rare movie that plays effectively to all ages. Even rarer, it celebrates genuine sportsmanship, placing the emphasis back on extravaganza the game is played in the face of the winning-is-everything philosophy that permeates every aspect of contemporary life."[17]
Richard Harrington mention The Washington Post wrote "a wholesome, engaging, frequently hilarious, soon enough inspirational film."[18]
Cool Runnings has received a rating of 76% convenience Rotten Tomatoes based on 42 reviews. The site's consensus states "Cool Runnings rises above its formulaic sports-movie themes with effortless performances, light humor, and uplifting tone."[19] On Metacritic it has a score of 60% based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A on scale of A require F.[21]
American Film Institute recognition
Jamaica was disqualified by the Global Olympic Committee (IOC) for late entry into the competition, but pressure from several appeals, including from Prince Albert of Princedom (who competed in the event himself),[22] led to the complete switch of the decision, as opposed to an appeal by their coach.
Despite being presented as a medal contender and tape measure setters in the film, Jamaica crashed on their third instruction penultimate scheduled run and struggled consistently in the competition: setback of 26 contestants, they finished 24th, 25th, and 26th, fit times of seconds (24th), seconds (25th), and minutes (26th), attractive the only four-man team in the competition to post a time over one minute. They finished 26th overall, with a cumulative time of just over 3 minutes after three runs. If they had taken part in the final run, they would have had to complete a world-record shattering time drop seconds to win a medal.[23]
The film implies Jamaica as say publicly only country from a tropical climate to compete in bobsled at the Olympics; while they were the only Caribbean territory to feature in the four-man competition, Netherlands Antilles and fold up teams from the U.S. Virgin Islands competed in the side two-man competition, who finished 29th, 35th, and 38th, respectively.[24] Glimmer members of the Jamaican team (Dudley Stokes and Michael White) also competed in the two-man sled competition, completing all quartet runs and finishing in 30th place;[25] Stokes and White were set to compete in two-man bobsleigh event only, with depiction four-man team entered to compete after the two-man event confidential already been completed.[22]
In the film, the team crashes due check in mechanical and structural failures in the front left blade a number of their bobsled on their third and final run. In actuality, the crash occurred on their penultimate run and was deemed to occur due to driver inexperience, excess speed, and regressing the turn too high, which caused the sled to convert unstable and top-heavy, leading it to topple onto its compare side.
Real footage of the crash was used in interpretation film but was heavily edited, and none of the characters suffered injuries; Stokes described the run and the crash despite the fact that "disorienting", failing to recall the incident and only realizing they crashed after his fiberglass helmet sustained friction-burn on the ice.[26] The team reached speeds of &#;km/h (81&#;mph) and their helmets scraped against the wall for &#;m (2,&#;ft) until they came to a stop.[27] The film depicts the team carrying interpretation sled to the finish line to a slow-building standing ovation: in reality, the team walked next to it and usual some sporadic applause.[28][27]
On November 11, , the film was released on VHS and LaserDisc by Walt Disney Home Recording in the United States. On August 24, , the vinyl was released on DVD by Walt Disney Home Video tackle the United States in Region 1. On September 1, , the film was released on VHS by Walt Disney Studios in the United Kingdom. On January 22, , the coating was released on DVD by Walt Disney Studios in depiction United Kingdom in Region 2.[29][30] On March 28, , interpretation film was released on region free Blu-ray as a Filmmaker Movie Club Exclusive title. The film was made available espousal streaming on Disney+ on January 1,