The Hammer (2010)

A coming of age drama following the life of Matt Hamill, the first deaf wrestler to win a National Collegiate Wrestling Championship.

Director:

Oren Kaplan

Writers:

Eben Kostbar, Joseph McKelheer

Stars:

Russell Harvard, Raymond J. Barry, Shoshannah Stern

6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Russell Harvard	...	Matt Hamill
Raymond J. Barry	...	Stanley Leroy McCoy
Shoshannah Stern	...	Kristi Jones
Michael Anthony Spady	...	Jay Jakubowski
Courtney Halverson	...	Michelle
Susan Gibney	...	Janet Hamill
Joseph McKelheer	...	Ron Gross
Eben Kostbar	...	Coach Cantrell
Rich Franklin	...	Coach Pruitt
Stephen Dodd	...	Coach Rich
Gavin Bellour	...	Pat Hamill
Theodore Conley	...	Young Matt Hamill
Lexi Marman	...	Kelly
Kara Luiz	...	Vivian
Cory Knauf	...	Dale

Storyline

THE HAMMER is a sports drama depicting the struggles and successes Matt Hamill faced on the way to becoming a champion. Raised among those with the ability to hear, Matt later finds himself no less an outsider amidst the Deaf Community. Through sheer determination, he uses his perceived disability as an asset, and becomes both the first deaf wrestler to win a National Collegiate Championship and an inspirational force to the hearing and deaf alike.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | surname as title | one word title | deaf | wrestling | 

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Taglines:

He knew he could be a champion. They knew he could be much more.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual material

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hamill

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,442, 24 October 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$75,729, 3 November 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Harvest, Fifth Year Productions, Sawhorse Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Coach Pruitt, wrestling coach from Purdue, was played by Rich Franklin. In real life, Franklin fought Matt Hamill in UFC on September 6, 2008.

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Goofs

The grandfather told him that RIT would consider him for a scholarship in his second year if the first went well. RIT is a Division III school and cannot offer athletic scholarships.

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Quotes

Stanley Leroy McCoy: Well, if you don't believe in yourself, I'm not going to.

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Connections

Featured in MMA H.E.A.T.: R You Ready? (2011)

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Soundtracks

Pleasant Day
Written by Ian Young
Performed by Ian Young
Courtesy of Ian Young

User Reviews

The real peoples champ!

I have been fan of the UFC for some years now, it has some great characters, some of the fighters did it the real hard way to get to the top of the sport, and The Hammer is one of them! I grew up with my cousin who was born deaf, so I sort of know what Matt had to deal with, but like Matt my cousin was great at most things he had a go at, my cousin even got married and has 3 beautiful kids, something I never got the courage to do! What I liked about this film was that there was a lot of effort put in to try and make you feel and see what it must be like to be deaf, the story flows at a nice pace, and has a solid cast.

Give this film a go, even if you are not into MMA, you will still feel like a champ watching Matt become The Hammer! A solid 8 out of 10, HI5