Friday Night Lights (2004)

Based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.

Director:

Peter Berg

Writers:

Buzz Bissinger (book) (as H.G. Bissinger), David Aaron Cohen (screenplay)

Stars:

Billy Bob Thornton, Jay Hernandez, Derek Luke

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Coach Gary Gaines
Lucas Black	...	Mike Winchell
Garrett Hedlund	...	Don Billingsley
Derek Luke	...	Boobie Miles
Jay Hernandez	...	Brian Chavez
Lee Jackson	...	Ivory Christian
Lee Thompson Young	...	Chris Comer
Tim McGraw	...	Charles Billingsley
Grover Coulson	...	L.V. Miles
Connie Britton	...	Sharon Gaines
Connie Cooper	...	Mrs. Winchell
Kasey Stevens	...	Flippy
Ryanne Duzich	...	Melissa
Amber Heard	...	Maria
Morgan Farris	...	Jennifer Gaines

Storyline

Odessa, Texas, is a small, town in Texas. Racially divided and economically dying, there is one night that gives the town something to live for: Friday Night. The Permian Panthers have a big winning tradition in Texas high school football, led by QB Mike Winchell and superstar tailback Boobie Miles, but all is not well, as Boobie suffers a career-ending injury in the first game of the season. Hope is lost among citizens in Odessa, and for the team, but Coach Gary Gaines, who believes that "Perfection is being able to look your friends in the eye and know you did everything you could not to let them down", is somehow able to help the team rise up from the ashes and make a huge season comeback. Now on their way to state, the Panthers must go out and be perfect, because they may never matter this much for the rest of their lives.

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Plot Keywords:

football | texas | coach | high school football | odessa texas | 

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Taglines:

Hope comes alive on Friday nights

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic issues, sexual content, language, some teen drinking and rough sports action

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Studios [United States]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Friday Night Lights

Filming Locations:

Abilene, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,269,025, 10 October 2004

Gross USA:

$61,255,921

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$61,950,770

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Friday Night Lights LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Don Billingsley and his father, Charles Billingsley did indeed reconcile. They ended up attending the same church as Gary Gaines and his family.

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Goofs

American flag decals were first added to football helmets during the 1990s.

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Quotes

Mike Winchell: This is for the state championship. I love all of ya'll, baby. I love all of ya'll.

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Connections

References Hawaii Five-O (1968)

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Soundtracks

Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean
Written by Christopher Hrasky, Munaf Rayani, Mark Thomas Smith, Michael Aaron James
Performed by Explosions in the Sky
Courtesy of Explosions in the Sky

User Reviews

This is what highschool football is all about

Friday Night Lights is a very realistic portrayal of highschool Texas football. I just saw this movie 3 hours ago with my whole family and I couldn't have seen a much more realistic football film that this. The acting was great especially by Billy Bob Thornton and my favorite character in the film was that number 90 guy named Christian, also know as the "Preacher." He was excellent and he couldn't of done any better. The music especially was excellent and so good by Explosions in the Sky. The guitar playing is brilliant! There might of been some messups in the movie from the book but this film is excellent. It is the 2nd best football film, close to #1 Rudy, but this one of the best football films ever made. I highly recommend it because this film is really touching and realistic.

Hedeen's outlook: 9.5/10 **** A