Trailer “Champions” – North American film 2023

The new comedy “Champions” stars Woody Harrelson and Kaitlin Olson, but the veteran actors have fierce competition for the spotlight with some charismatic newcomers.

Harrelson plays a hot-tempered college basketball coach who faces jail time or community service for misbehavior. To avoid punishment, he finds himself coaching a basketball team made up of mentally handicapped young adults, who help him find the joy of playing again.

Harrelson’s agent and another producer wanted to do a new version of the original film, called “Campeones”, the biggest box office success in Spain in 2018, and they thought the actor and basketball fan would be a perfect fit. Harrelson loved the story and took on star and executive production, hiring his old friend Bobby Farrelly to direct.

Trailer “Champions” – Spanish Film 2018

Casting was difficult because the producers wanted the athletes to be played by actors with disabilities, who also needed basketball skills. They auditioned hundreds of people before finding the 10 outstanding personalities who make up the basketball team. Friends (Friends).

Harrelson says he wasn’t sure what to expect on the first day of filming. “Once I walked in and met everyone and we started, I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be so much fun! And it was reallyHarrelson told The Associated Press. “They taught me that they can follow their lines, no problem. But they also taught me the great fluidity of being who they are.”

The 10 actors have different intellectual challenges, but many have found their comedic chops on screen.

FILE – Cast members Madison Tevlin, left, and James Day Keith attend the premiere of their movie “Champions” in New York on Feb. 27, 2023. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)

“Everyone brought something so unique and different,” Olson said. “And parts of their real personalities shone through, which is probably why…they got the part in the first place. There were a lot of…wonderful performances, but there’s also a lot of wonderful things about just being themselves, and it gave us a chance to play on that.”

The film was an opportunity for Harrelson to collaborate with Farrelly again after directing the bowling comedy “Kingpin” in 1996. The director said he thought audiences were more open to actors with disabilities on screen and to see their stories. He remembers doing the 2005 movie “The Ringer” with his brother, Pete Farrelly, where Johnny Knoxville infiltrated the Special Olympics. Farrelly said at the time that they cast able-bodied actors in disabled roles.

“We would never do that today, so the world has changed in that direction,” Farrelly said. “We played much wider. It was…much more of a goofy kind of comedy. This is located in reality. They are all very real people. We didn’t think of it before. It was just what people did. Dustin Hoffman played ‘Rain Man’, you know? But today, I think we’ve realized that actors with disabilities have a hard time getting roles…so the roles they have in the Hollywood world should be for them.”

This image released by Focus Features shows, from left, Kevin Iannucci, Kaitlin Olson, James Day Keith, Madison Tevlin, Cheech Marin and Woody Harrelson in a scene from "Champions".  (Shauna Townley/Focus Features via AP)
This image released by Focus Features shows, from left, Kevin Iannucci, Kaitlin Olson, James Day Keith, Madison Tevlin, Cheech Marin and Woody Harrelson in a scene from “Champions.” (Shauna Townley/Focus Features via AP)

Some of the actors who play the Friends crew attended the film’s premiere in New York last week and for many it was their first time on a red carpet. Special Olympics basketball athlete James Day Keith, who plays Benny in the film, said he likes to set a positive example for other actors with disabilities. “I see myself as a role model because seeing what I’ve done will probably make them want to do it themselves because there’s no limit to success”said Keith.

Casey Metcalfe, who plays Marlon, said she hopes actors with disabilities have a place in Hollywood in the future. “The more people we have in this industry who are diverse, like me…not just racially diverse…but neurodiverse. I think that’s exactly what the industry needs,” Metcalfe said.

Some of the actors, like Madison Tevlin, who plays the team’s only female, said that learning basketball moves was harder than playing.

Actors Woody Harrelson, from left, director Bobby Farrelly and Kaitlin Olson attend the premiere of "Champions" at Focus Features at AMC Lincoln Square on Monday, February 27, 2023 in New York City.  (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Actors Woody Harrelson, L-R, director Bobby Farrelly and Kaitlin Olson attend the premiere of Focus Features’ “Champions” at AMC Lincoln Square on Monday, February 27, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

“I’m very natural in front of the camera when it comes to acting, but with basketball I’ve never played before… so the team has helped me a lot.”

Olson, who gave all the friends big hugs at the premiere, said working with them was “really inspiring”.

“They showed up every day, 100%. They are ready to work, ready to do their best, ready to receive all the information. And it was really beautiful,” Olson said. “Sometimes you work with a lot of people who say, ‘It’s just a job and they’re doing it.’ These guys were like, ‘We’re here. We’re ready to milk every last drop.

(with information from AP)

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