McFarland, USA (2015)

Jim White moves his family after losing his last job as a football coach, and at his new school he turns seven disappointing students into one of the best cross-country teams in the region.

Director:

Niki Caro

Writers:

Christopher Cleveland (screenplay), Bettina Gilois (screenplay)

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Ramiro Rodriguez

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Costner	...	Jim White
Ramiro Rodriguez	...	Danny Diaz
Carlos Pratts	...	Thomas Valles
Johnny Ortiz	...	Jose Cardenas
Rafael Martinez	...	David Diaz
Hector Duran	...	Johnny Sameniego
Sergio Avelar	...	Victor Puentes
Michael Aguero	...	Damacio Diaz
Diana Maria Riva	...	Señora Diaz
Omar Leyva	...	Señor Diaz
Valente Rodriguez	...	Principal Camillo
Danny Mora	...	Sammy Rosaldo
Maria Bello	...	Cheryl White
Morgan Saylor	...	Julie White
Elsie Fisher	...	Jamie White

Storyline

A struggling coach and teacher who has had to move around for different incidents in his career finally comes to one of the poorest cities in America: McFarland, California. There he discovers buried potential in several high school boys and slowly turns them into championship runners and brings them closer than even he could ever imagine.

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Plot Keywords:

coach | hispanic | state championship | cross country running | running | 

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Taglines:

Champions can come from anywhere

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material, some violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jim White retired in 2003 after twenty-three years of coaching.

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Goofs

The school buses in the background at the final meet are wrong. At the original meet there are Crowns in the parking lot.

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Quotes

Maria Marisol: [reading Jose Cardenas's paper] We fly like blackbirds through the orange groves, floating on a warm wind. When we run, we own the earth. The land is ours. We speak the birds' language. Not immigrant no more. No stupid Mexicans. When we run, our spirits fly. We speak to the gods. When we run, we are the gods.

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Connections

Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Kevin Costner/Portia de Rossi/David Frei (2015)

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Soundtracks

Vato Loco
Written by Happy Sanchez, Karl Perazzo, Marc Pinate
Performed by Latin Soul Syndicate
Courtesy of LoveCat Music

User Reviews

Simple, predictable, but very appealing

In making this movie Kevin Costner stuck to the formula, the one that most feel good sports movies use, and made it work beautifully. There are no unexpected fancy twists in this one. The acting is straight up and solid. The ethnic background of the movie adds to the movie in good way. I enjoy a few of the scenes that involve the interactions between the coach or his family and the locals. They demonstrate how cultural interaction and familiarity can eliminate fear and breakdown the walls that divide us. Don't get me wrong, the movie is not trying to give you a social/cultural lecture, this stuff comes naturally mixed with the main story line.

If you like the genre, you'll enjoy this movie.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Spanish]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

20 February 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

McFarland, USA

Filming Locations:

Kern County, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,020,798, 22 February 2015

Gross USA:

$44,482,410

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$45,710,059

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mayhem Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1