Pride (2007)

Director:

Sunu Gonera

Writers (WGA):

Kevin Michael Smith (screenplay) &
Michael Gozzard (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Family | Sport

Tagline:

Inspired by true events.

Plot:

The determined Jim Ellis starts a swim team for troubled teens at the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. |

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Boy | Basketball | Janitor | Teenage Girl | Coach

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Terrence Howard	...	Jim Ellis
Bernie Mac	...	Elston
Kimberly Elise	...	Sue Davis
Tom Arnold	...	Bink
Brandon Fobbs	...	Puddin Head
Alphonso McAuley	...	Walt
Regine Nehy	...	Willie
Nate Parker	...	Hakim
Kevin Phillips	...	Andre
Scott Eastwood	...	Jake (as Scott Reeves)
Evan Ross	...	Reggie
Gary Anthony Sturgis	...	Franklin (as Gary Sturgis)
Jesse Moore	...	Artrell (Willie's Father)
Carol Sutton	...	Ophelia (Andre's Mother)
Tony Bentley	...	Race Official (UOFB) (as Tony Bently)

Also Known As:

P.D.R. (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic material, language including some racial epithets, and violence.

Runtime:

USA:104 min | Germany:104 min (European Film Market)

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #43194) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Louisiana State University - Highland Road & Dalrymple Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Cinered Internationale Filmproduktionsgesellschaft mbH & Co. 1. Beteiligungs KG

Trivia:

The journal that the character of Puddin Head writes in is actor Brandon Fobbs's actual personal journal.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Thugs were having a confrontation with Jim, it was pouring rain. The front passenger window of the 1973 Chrysler Imperial were wide open, yet the person sitting there was not getting wet at all.

Quotes:

Jim Ellis: My life is way too short for me to spend my time around people who don't care about nothin'.

Movie Connections:

References Jerry Maguire (1996)

Soundtrack:

BACK STABBERS

good exposure

I am interested to know how involved Coach Ellis was with this film. I am an African-American swimming coach as well; and I am delighted to see Black swimming get this kind of exposure. However, there were some technical aspects of the film relative to the swimming (the order of events, the starter's pistol, the starters command, the coaching instructions) that were not quite accurate.

Also, I thought Cheney State was a historically Black college. How was he the only Black swimmer on the team? I swam on a predominantly Black team during that era. We visited all-white venues. I do not remember any hostility. And we were traveling south of the Philadelphia area. I guess the tension was fictional and for theatrical purposes.

Lastly, the pulling at the heartstrings and tears were a little over the top. I guess the success of Oprah and chick flicks is precipitating this type of genre. I would have appreciated Bernie Mack's humor coming out a little more to balance the crying.