How old is remember the titans

He said something like, 'When I met you, I hated you. But I was hating my brother because I was afraid. We're dealing with fear. Fear of change. And I think that's why this movie still I think that's why it holds up. It created a legacy, one through which so many people indeed remember the Titans -- but it's a story that came close to not being told.

He didn't like it. So he moved back east and found a place where, as a Black man, he noticed something different. Gregory Allen Howard, screenwriter: I moved to Alexandria [Virginia] sight unseen, which is right across the bridge from D. When I got settled in and started looking around, the place was really integrated, which I thought was kind of amazing. The integration that caught my eye was that it was socially integrated. So I started asking questions about how is Alexandria so socially integrated.

And a guy told me, several people told me this. They said, "You won't believe this, but a high school football team integrated our city however many years ago. I've never heard anything like that. Williams High School.

He convinced them to tell him the story. Then he returned to Hollywood to sell it. He tried it as a pitch first, and it didn't work. Undeterred, he went back, wrote the whole script on spec and tried again. Howard: I pitched it to every entity in Hollywood, which is the truth, and they all rejected it.

Several of them said, "We can do it as a football story, but you have to take this race s out. Chad Oman, producer: At that time our studio passed on it.

We had a small discretionary fund, but I didn't have enough money in it to make a big offer. I made a small offer. They passed, went to the rest of the town, and what I was hoping for is that it would come back to me.

Jerry Bruckheimer, producer: It was one of those scripts that when I read it, it was so emotional that I had tears in my eyes a number of times.

That's rare for somebody who has made as many movies as I have and has been through so much. It was that emotional kind of underpinning of the script that was so important for us to get this made. Oman: When I read the script, I felt like there's an opportunity to tell a story about racism in a way that it is not like medicine. It's a way that people will enjoy it and a lot more people will see it. They didn't want it. Boaz Yakin, director: What drew me to the script is that I've always been moved by civil rights pieces.

I respond to that stuff emotionally almost more than anything. If I watch a documentary on the Globetrotters, I'll start crying, right?

By the time I got to the end of the script of "Titans," even though it's about football and not normally a subject I care about, at the end of it I was moved. Oman: When "Armageddon" opened, it opened really big, and that Monday morning I sent the ["Titans"] script to [then-Disney executive David] Vogel a third time and said, "You made enough profit Saturday morning to pay for this whole movie. It's important. You have to do it. Howard: When I wrote the original, it was R-rated.

The N-word was flying, MFs and everything else. They said, "No, you've got to take all that s out. Jerry, these scenes aren't going to work. It didn't matter a bit. I think it's a movie about the potential of the human spirit.

Washington was attached to the movie early, one of the reasons it was greenlighted. The rest of the cast, on a small budget for Hollywood, needed to be found.

Ronna Kress, casting director: By the time they got to me, they were seven weeks out from shooting. I had to cast everything.

Denzel was [already] cast, and we had to pull the rest of the movie together. Kate Bosworth [who played Emma Hoyt] wasn't a big star at that time. A lot of these, I say kids, well, Hayden was a kid but the rest weren't. They weren't big stars at the time. Ryan Gosling [who played linebacker Alan Bosley] wasn't an A actor then when we cast him.

It was very fast, but one of Jerry's fortes is casting. I had a roommate at the time, and I remember reading this and I was like, "Dude, I will get coffee on this movie. I'll be a PA on this movie. I will whatever. A lot of the stuff wasn't written by Black writers, and I'm sorry, they just don't know how to write for Black characters when that's not your culture.

I just loved the script, and I told my agent, "However you can get me in this room, get me in the room.

I read for Petey and they said, "Yeah, that's cool, but we're thinking about somebody else. I wore the tank top because I had been a football player and I had been working out and stuff because it had been pretty much all I could do at the time.

I remember Boaz saying, "You work out, huh? We went through the audition and he said, "Very good. Look how big you are. He said he wanted to audition for Julius but they were saying he's too old.

He and I are about the same age. I remember thinking, "Aw, man. I didn't get the part. I'm going out for Petey Jones, and if they think Anthony's too old, they definitely think I'm too old. Panettiere: I can even remember what the room looked like and our director, Boaz Yakin, being really excited about my performance. I walked out feeling like I had gotten the job, and in all my years in the business, that was one of the only times I had ever felt that sure of myself.

Bruckheimer: The kind of glue, even though all the kids were great, was Ryan Gosling. I know we had a hard time getting him. Oman: Boaz laid across the tracks for him. We weren't against Ryan. It was [an issue with a work visa since he is Canadian]. We cast him. Boaz really wanted him. Ronna really believed in him. It wasn't a big part. Kress: I remember Jerry saying to me, "He doesn't look like a football player. There is Ryan Gosling in that movie, which is crazy. Kirkwood: The cast was really strong.

These are really good actors. They were just really good. We were very competitive, and they made us do that stupid football camp beforehand and almost broke all of us. While Washington, who declined to be interviewed for the story, was the first actor attached to the script, getting him was a process.

Worthington: Jerry slid the script to Denzel, which, once you have a major lead actor, it makes the sell a lot easier. Howard: They sent him the script but he wouldn't commit, and Jerry told me, "Hey, he got the script and he's mulling it. Since you know him. I was really, basically, the only Black screenwriter at the time, and I met him when I was flavor of the month. Despite the fact that Bertier is no longer able to play, the team goes on to win the championship. Ten years later, the coaches and athletes from the team reunite to attend Bertier's funeral, as Sheryl reiterates the message of racial equality taught by the Titans.

Trevor Rabin composed the instrumental score, of which "Titans Spirit" was the only cue of 12 composed added to the soundtrack. It is also the only piece of music on the soundtrack album not to have been previously released. It has been used on many sports telecasts, particularly those on NBC , which has the score during its closing credits for the Salt Lake , Athens , Torino , Beijing and the Vancouver Olympic Games as well as with the final closing credits montage for their year run with the NBA in The song was also played as veteran New York Mets players crossed home plate during the closing ceremonies at Shea Stadium.

It was also used during the Democratic National Convention to accompany the celebration and fireworks at Invesco Field after future president Barack Obama gave his nomination acceptance speech, and also at Chicago's Grant Park immediately following Obama's victory speech upon winning the Presidential Election.

Disney Wiki Explore. Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update Remember the Titans. Your privacy is important to us. We won't share this comment without your permission. If you chose to provide an email address, it will only be used to contact you about your comment. See our privacy policy. A lot or a little? The parents' guide to what's in this movie. Stands out for positive messages and positive role models.

Positive Messages. Positive Role Models. Boy taunts another boy by calling him a "fruitcake"; boy responds by kissing him. White characters infrequently use racial slurs. What parents need to know Parents need to know that Remember the Titans tells the inspirational true story about the struggles and victories of a newly-integrated high school football team in Alexandria, Virginia. Continue reading Show less.

Stay up to date on new reviews. Get full reviews, ratings, and advice delivered weekly to your inbox. User Reviews Parents say Kids say. Parent Written by Michelle J.

January 12, Outstanding Film for Children Outstanding film for children in 3rd grade and above. Showcases the harsh realities of race relations in 20th Century America on a contextual level that younger Continue reading. Report this review. Adult Written by Nathan R. October 26, Kid, 12 years old July 21, This movie is incredible I love this movie and cry every time.

This film include racism, bullying, homophobia and sexual assault. Every disappointing, as this film only shows disagreement with racism and not all the other s What's the story? Is it any good? After stopping at a local fast-food restaurant and dropping off some friends, Gerry continued home in his mother's new Camaro.

Only six blocks away from his house, the car went out of control striking both a fire hydrant and a flashing school sign, the latter of which sent the car tearing across the road into a ditch GerryBertier. It was later determined that the accident had been caused by a mechanical failure in the motor mount of the Camaro's engine '71 Titans Website. As stated on the '71 Titans website, many of the players were stopped by the nurses at the desk on the floor of the intensive care unit.

They all replied that they were immediate family, not just Julius Campbell. As a nationally ranked defensive player, Gerry Betier was Alexandria's first high school All-American football player. He had been approached by elite college football powerhouses, such as Notre Dame and Alabama. Many believe that the movie Remember the Titans failed to accurately depict the true significance of his talent. The real Gerry Bertier left and actor Ryan Hurst right in the movie.

You say, 'Well, I've got an all-star game to play. The real Gerry Bertier in the decade following the accident. This part of the movie Remember the Titans is true. On his way home from a business trip on March 20, , Gerry Bertier's Oldsmobile was struck by a drunk driver who crossed over the center line.

Bertier was pronounced dead two hours later at the University of Virginia Hospital. Like in the film, many of the Titan players and coaches attended Gerry's funeral. At the time of his death, Gerry had been working as a sales manager for Abbey Medical, a company that manufactured walking braces for the handicapped.

He had also been attending Northern Virginia Community College where he had been working toward a degree in business. The rest of his time had been spent traveling the country speaking on behalf of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.

Gerry strived to help make the world accessible to the disabled. Gerry Bertier was paralyzed after the highschool football season, but his life was far from over. Here, Gerry's mom Jean Bertier recounts her son's accident, his recovery, and the inspiration that he was to her and so many others. Williams High School football state champions. It all came about and was possible through the hard work and sacrifices of these young men and their coaches who worked together proving to everybody that different ethnic groups can mesh unanimously for a singular ambition.

In the movie, Coach Boone Denzel Washington takes the team on a 3 a.