Eddie the Eagle (2015)

The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Director:

Dexter Fletcher

Writers:

Simon Kelton (story), Sean Macaulay (screenplay)

Stars:

Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Tom Costello

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Costello	...	Eddie (10 years old)
Jo Hartley	...	Janette
Keith Allen	...	Terry
Dickon Tolson	...	UK Doctor
Jack Costello	...	Eddie (15 years old)
Taron Egerton	...	Eddie Edwards
Mark Benton	...	Richmond the BOA Official
Tim McInnerny	...	Dustin Target
Edvin Endre	...	Matti Nykänen
Mads Sjøgård Pettersen	...	Erik Moberg (as Mads Pettersen)
Marc Benjamin	...	Lars Holbin
Iris Berben	...	Petra
Rune Temte	...	Bjørn the Norwegian Coach
Hugh Jackman	...	Bronson Peary
Carlton Bunce	...	Old Jumper

Storyline

Inspired by true events, Eddie the Eagle is a feel-good story about Michael "Eddie" Edwards (Taron Egerton), an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself - even as an entire nation was counting him out. With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach (played by Hugh Jackman), Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. From producers of Kingsman: The Secret Service, Eddie the Eagle stars Taron Egerton as Eddie, the loveable underdog with a never say die attitude.

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Plot Keywords:

ski jumper | coach | 1988 winter olympics | winter olympics | athletic training | 

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Taglines:

Inspired by a dream come true

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Family | History | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some suggestive material, partial nudity and smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

Three actors portray Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards. They are: Tom Costello as the ten year old Eddie, Jack Costello as the fifteen year old Eddie, and Taron Egerton as the adult Eddie.

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Goofs

When the Calgary ski jump event is presented on television, Matti Nykänen is spelled correctly based on Scandinavian alphabets. In reality international competitions use AE instead of the actual letter Ä. Therefore Matti Nykänen was actually spelled in the international competitions as Matti Nykaenen. This has always been funny to Finnish people especially when there are more than one Scandinavian extension letter like the 80's cross-country skiing Olympic champion Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen whose last name was always spelled Haemaelaeinen before she got married.

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Quotes

Official Speaker: [At the Closing Ceremony of the Calgary Olympics] You have broken world records. You have established many of your own personal bests and some of you have even soared like an eagle.

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Crazy Credits

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation did not receive any payment or other consideration, or enter into any agreement, for the depiction of tobacco products in this film.

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Connections

Referenced in Eddie the Eagle: Attitude Is Altitude - Filming the Ski Jumps (2016)

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Soundtracks

Eagle Will Fly Again
(Howard Jones)
Published by Howard Jones Music Ltd.
Administered by Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Performed by Howard Jones
Courtesy of Howard Jones Music

User Reviews

The best sport films need a true underdog story

I've seen some sport films through the years but I've actually never seen one about ski jumping. Eddie the Eagle is the truth based story of the British ski jumper Michael "Eddie" Edwards who participated in the 1988 Olympic winter games in Calgary, Canada. Eddie has since childhood, dreamed of becoming an Olympic participant. When he gets older and is denied to compete in downhill skiing by the British committee, he decides to try ski jumping instead. The problem is that the Olympic games is one year away and Eddie has never before in his life tried ski jumping. The incredibly charming Taron Egerton plays Eddie the Eagle and Hugh Jackman also takes part as the drunken American ex pro jumper Bronson Peary.

Classic underdog stories always works well within the sport genre and really are a well played card by now. And yet there is something with the story about Eddie that grabs hold of me. Nobody believes in him, he is odd and rather strange. Despite dealing with all the resistance and sometimes humiliation, he never gives up. The thing that also really keeps me interested is the ski jumping. I have always found that sport pretty funny, but I now seriously have to confess that I would never dare to jump that high with skis on. Hugh Jackman's mentor character is actually very cliché and perhaps a bit exaggerated. They should probably have toned him down to add a little more realism in the story.

According to the filmmakers the story is really not that truthful, especially not the parts about Eddie Edward's life outside of ski jumping. His result and what happened to him is however not changed that much, but besides that much of the story is made for film. I really don't think that's a problem. I rank Rocky as my favorite sport film and it is because I think that the ultimate sport film needs an underdog story. It is actually the same thing here in Eddie the Eagle. A struggle for the little man and a display with an encouragement to never give up. Perhaps well needed in our sometimes dark world.

David Lindahl - www.filmografen.se

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK Germany USA

Language:

English German Norwegian

Release Date:

26 February 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eddie the Eagle

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,084,682, 28 February 2016

Gross USA:

$15,789,389

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,152,800

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hurwitz Creative, Lionsgate, Marv Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1