I know Im probably going to hate this movie but Im wearing all of my academy stuff to the theatre to suffer through it with my best friends.
Posted on 01/26/2006 5:01:29 PM PST by Little_shoe
By: Laura Limón, Senior Staff Writer Issue date: 1/26/06 Section: Tempo Article Tools:Email This ArticlePrint This Article Page 1 of 1
Media Credit: Courtesy Photo
Imagine applying to an educational institution where, on top of keeping up with academics, you're required to do extreme physical training and participate in boxing matches.
That's exactly what goes on at the exclusive United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, where only 1,200 of more than 50,000 applicants are accepted. In the new movie, appropriately titled "Annapolis," movie-goers are able to get a glimpse behind the scenes of this cutthroat training ground.
"I didn't know anything about what goes on at the Naval Academy before this film," James Franco, who plays protagonist Jake Huard, said. "What is the most surprising is the commitment that these people have made at such a young age."
Besides being a "plebe," or first-year Naval Academy student, Jake is also a boxer training for the Academy's infamous Brigade Boxing Championship. Franco, a dedicated actor, spent six months training for the boxing scenes by gaining about 25 pounds before filming even began.
"I went to a gym called the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood … and asked them to train me as they would a real fighter … and they got me in pretty good shape," Franco said.
Jake's company commander and boxing-ring nemesis, midshipman Lt. Cole, is played by actor/singer Tyrese Gibson.
Like his other co-stars, Gibson faced some physical challenges while filming "Annapolis." As opposed to Franco, he had to tone down for the film.
"I'm not a fan of nobody but that food," Gibson said. "My arms are actually that big because I tend to eat heavy burgers."
He added that the experience was very rewarding: "Of all the posters that I've seen my face on from films, I look at that poster and I'm very proud of it."
Jordana Brewster, the only female in the cast ensemble, plays Ali.
"I didn't want her to think of herself as an inferior," Brewster said. "I wanted her to regard herself as an equal.
"They're all in a tough position, and they all have to thrive."
Ali is also Jake's love interest, but in a more subtle way than you'd expect for a Hollywood production.
"I liked that there was a lot of flirting - a lot of build up - a lot of tension," Brewster said.
The film's romantic relationship progresses slowly to maintain accuracy with real-life Annapolis students who are forbidden from engaging in such activities while they are in the Academy.
Doing a film about an actual place is very difficult to do, but director Justin Lin had some help from technical advisors who helped guide the direction of the script.
But not without some disagreements.
"I would talk to (the advisors) and they would say, 'Well there's no racism here at Annapolis,' and I'd go to Annapolis and within two hours someone called me a gook," Lin said of the delicate racial issues addressed in the film.
Overall, the film's theme is more universal and extends beyond the walls of military compounds.
"On a theme level it's more universal in how you define yourself," Lin said. "Do you define yourself by what people around you tell you, or do you ultimately step up and answer that for yourself?"
I know Im probably going to hate this movie but Im wearing all of my academy stuff to the theatre to suffer through it with my best friends.
Sounds like a damned lie to me.
This movie has already been extensively discussed on several military forums. The verdict: a POS.
I doubt this happened. As far as I can tell, the Academy, after appointments, is pretty color-blind.
Husband is a 1973 graduate of the Naval Academy. He has no plans to see it, nothing can describe what it was/is really like. He said it was a great place to be from, not at.
Note he didn't say it was a Midshipman. "Someone" = Probably someone who was his shill.
That's what hubby needed. He also took his commission in the Marine Corps. So there was an additional six months of training at basic school. I guess that was where they made him a Marine.
Further, the movie does not accurately portray the academy or the life of the students. They also portray as common practice some things (hazing) that are not permitted or accepted.
I had not heard that the movie is based on Webb's book. There was a review of the movie in the Baltimore Sunwebsite entitled, "Thumbs down from Annapolis."
I haven't decided if I will attend this movie or not. I think I will follow the advice of my sons who both graduated from USNA ('01 and '02).
Basic school is six months?
Having read Webb's book and just seen the previews I would guess they just vaguely based the movie on the book. Basically in the book there is a plebe who is straighted out by a firstie... at the cost of the firstie getting separated for "hazing"
It was in '73. He always joked that they cramed eight weeks of boot camp into six months of training. He really seemed to have liked it. In fact, Ollie North was one of his instructors. Said he was a good and entertaining speaker back then.
And you still don't.
This movie will be about as accurate as both Top Gun and Officer and a Gentleman.
I got an email about a month and a half ago from the Navy distancing itself at flank speed from this movie. From looking at the trailers it looks nothing like my 4 years on the Severn River.
My first reflex to this statement is that he is lying. He spent two hours there. I spent four years there and never heard anything like that.
My second is is to connect this type of statement to the position of the Navy and the Naval Academy. Besides some initial background footage shot on Induction Day none of the rest of the movie was shot on the Yard. The Navy chose not to support the production because it did not accurately reflect either the ideals of the Academy or the type of training that is conducted there.
And you still won't after watching this distorted account of the academy. What is the most abhorrent word to the Hollywood movie maker? ACCURACY
Rather than make a movie that explains and lifts up some of the marvelous traditions and customs at USNA; instead of taking us on a factually accurate tour of some of the displays in Memorial Hall, or telling us some of the stories about some of the many monuments around the yard which are placed there to remind and motivate us to emulate the lives of these heroes, we are shown a distorted, falsified, dishonoring, misleading, and outright erroneous account as Hollywood tries to destroy another magnificent American military school.
I remember watching a JV basketball game when I was a youngster. The Navy's center absolutely stunk. He was loafing on the court, the JV coach was screaming at him. His arms and legs were so skinny he looked like Don Knotts. I asked one of my friends who he was. He said, "He's some plebe named David Robinson."
Flash forward two years later. Navy put him on a weight training program. Photographers followed him around the yard. I read an article in Sports Illustrated about him and found out he attended an across town rival high school. I approached him one day, introduced myself and told him we were from the same town. He was the nicest, most down to earth individual. I actually broke off the conversation to get to class.
My brush with greatness...
They run a tight ship at Annapolis---the right way and the Navy way. I hope this film does the Academy the justice it fully desrves.
9% on Rotten Tomatoes. Probably a movie to skip.
Mr Robinson is one class act. He might as well be the mayor of San Antonio.
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