Sundance Film Festival

When everyone involved with bringing Resurrecting the Champ to the big screen read the soul-searching truth that ran through every word in J.R. Moehringer‘s article (LA Times, 1997, also entitled “Resurrecting the Champ”), it became the utmost of priorities to make the film as genuinely true to the spirit of the article as possible. To that end, writer/director Rod Lurie (The Contender) wanted to capture the powerful authenticity of the newsroom, so instead of constructing a set of a newsroom, he shot in a real one.

For logistical and financial reasons, Lurie chose to film in Calgary and the story was reset to Denver because the look of the city was a better match. Therefore, they later shot key exteriors in Denver itself so that when audiences see the Bronco‘s training ground and John Elway‘s restaurant (where he makes a cameo appearance), they are looking at the real thing.

The newsroom scenes were also authentic, shot over six days right in the middle of the Calgary Herald. “I wanted to show the actual hustle and bustle that goes on in such a place,” says Lurie. “We didn‘t even ask people to stop working while we filmed and some of the real staffers actually found themselves in the movie.”

Similarly, the production filmed at a real homeless shelter called The Mustard Seed and wound up hiring approximately forty of the shelter‘s residents and guests to be extras. “The caring individuals at The Mustard Seed opened their arms to us as they do to everyone,” says Lurie. “We wanted to make them part of something special and special is what they gave us in return.”

The boxing flashbacks were filmed at the Corral Arena at the Calgary Stampede Grounds and at a local ranch. Eric Bryson, the film‘s boxing choreographer and stunt coordinator, was one of Lennox Lewis‘ former sparring partners, and he was dedicated to recreating the boxing style of the fifties. He also wanted to bring a sense of continuity to the fighting styles of the older Champ, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane), and the young Champ, portrayed by Troy Amos Ross, a real-life Olympian boxer and Canadian Cruiserweight Champion.

“Troy‘s eyes conveyed all the hopes and dreams of the young Champ, and I was delighted to find that he could act as well,” says Bryson, who also choreographed the stunts in the sci-fi action thrillers The Day After Tomorrow and Rollerball. “I was also very impressed by Sam Jackson‘s extraordinary ability to reproduce Troy‘s style and memorize a fight sequence after watching it or only a few minutes. It turns out that Jackson had boxed as a young man and had competed in a few fights when he was nineteen, so he was able to draw on that experience and bring a greater sense of authenticity to his movements.”

Bryson added that writer/director Lurie was literally hands on with his support. “Rod came down to the club and actually put the gloves on himself,” says Bryson. “He got right into the ring and honestly he surprised me. He showed exactly what movements he needed from the fighters and so they were able to give him what he wanted.”

In addition to working with Troy and Jackson, Bryson succeeded in finding excellent boxers who actually looked like the fighters they were supposed to play in the film. “Richard Reittie, a member of a Canadian boxing team, truly looks like heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles, who knocked out Satterfield in two rounds in 1954, and Amateur Canadian Light Heavyweight Champion, Glenn Hunter, not only looks like a young Rocky Marciano, he punches like him,” says Bryson. “Every fighter who appears in the film rehearsed at a local Calgary gym and studied DVDs of fights from the era. In the end, they poured their hearts into the movie, and I think it turned out to be a beautiful story.”

Bryson‘s meticulous work on the film as well as the stunning cinematography of Adam Kane (Heroes; The West Wing) made the film a wonderful visual experience, and the magnificent performances of the cast filled the movie with emotion. “Each boxing scene was choreographed and filmed perfectly, and audiences are really going to feel like they‘re ringside at a 1950s boxing match,” says Lurie. “The cast, the crew and everyone involved Resurrecting the Champ really went to the mat for this film and we can all be very proud of it.”