Million Dollar Baby

Million Dollar Baby , or The Million Dollar Girl ¹ inQuebec, is an Americanfilmdirected byClint Eastwood, released in2004.

Summary

Formerly known boxing coach , Frankie ( Clint Eastwood ) runs a small regional boxing hall with his best friend, a former boxer named Scrap ( Morgan Freeman ). Their daily life is shattered by the arrival of a young boxer named Margaret “Maggie” Fitzgerald ( Hilary Swank ), determined but awkward.

Frankie is reluctant to become Maggie’s coach , but he eventually agrees to take charge of her. He makes her a famous fighter, chaining the knockouts in one round, but refuses to push her too far, until the day he organizes a fight in Las Vegas against Billie “The Blue Bear” (interpreted by boxer Lucia Rijker ) For the title of world champion. During this match, she is the victim of an illegal blow from her opponent after the end of a round and accidentally falls on the stool that her coach tries to remove before she falls. Wounded in the spinal cord , she becomes quadriplegic : she is condemned to end her days on a hospital bed.

She begs Frankie to put an end to her life because she can not do anything with her life. After long hesitations, the latter finally accepts the euthanasia, considering that she has succeeded her life and has nothing to regret. He is put in danger to respect the choice of Maggie.

Data sheet

• Title: Million Dollar Baby
• Quebec Title: The Million Dollar Girl
• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Scenario: Paul Haggis , based on the new One Million Dollar Girl from FX Toole
• Original Music: Clint Eastwood ²
• Director of photography: Tom Stern
• Production Designer: Henry Bumstead
• Editor: Joel Cox
• Format: 35 mm - color Technicolor - ratio : 2,35: 1
• Producers: Clint Eastwood, Paul Haggis , Robert Lorenz
• Production Companies: Warner Bros. , Malpaso Productions , Lakeshore Entertainment , Albert S. Ruddy Productions and Epsilon Motion Pictures
• Distribution companies: Warner Bros. France , Ascot Elite ³
• Country of origin: United States
• Original language: English
• Duration: 132 minutes
• Budget: USD 30 million
• Genre: sports drama
• Release dates ⁴ :
  • United States : 15 December 2004 ( Limited output )
  • United States : 28 January 2005
  • France , French-speaking Switzerland :23 March 2005
  • Belgium :30 March 2005

Distribution

• Clint Eastwood (VF: Marc Cassot , VQ: Jean-Marie Moncelet ) : Frankie Dunn
• Hilary Swank (VF: Marjorie Frantz , VQ: Camille Cyr-Desmarais ) : Margaret “Maggie” Fitzgerald
• Morgan Freeman (VF: Med Hondo , VQ: Aubert Pallascio ) : Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupris
• Jay Baruchel (VF: Emmanuel Garijo , VQ: Philippe Martin ) : Danger Barch
• Mike Colter (VF: Daniel Lobé , VQ: Sébastien Ventura ) : Big Willie Little
• Lucia Rijker : Billie “The Blue Bear”
• Brían F. O’Byrne (VF: Philippe Peythieu , VQ: François Godin ) : Father Horvak
• Anthony Mackie (VF: Lucien Jean-Baptiste ) : Shawrelle Berry
• Margo Martindale (VF: Marion Game , VQ: Anne Caron ) : Earline Fitzgerald
• Riki Lindhome (VF: Dorothée Pousseo , VQ: Julie Burroughs) : Mardell Fitzgerald
• Marcus Chait (VF: Emmanuel Karsen ) : JD Fitzgerald
• Michael Peña (VQ: Frédéric Paquet) : Omar
• Benito Martinez : Billie Manager
• Morgan Eastwood : Little girl in the truck

Sources and legend : French version (VF) on Voxofilm ⁵ . Version Québécoise (VQ) on Doublage Québec ⁶

Production

Development

The film is inspired by several semi-autobiographical novels written by FX Toole . This is the pseudonym of Jerry Boyd, a former professional boxing trainer ⁷ .

The project remains long in ” development hell ” , as no studio believes in it, even when Clint Eastwood signs as director and actor. The Warner , regular collaborator of the director refuses to give him a budget of $ 30 million. Clint Eastwood persuades Tom Rosenberg and his company Lakeshore Entertainment to make him half the budget ⁷ .

Casting

To prepare for the role, Hilary Swank had only three months. She trained with Hector Roca, former coach of Iran Barkley , Arturo Gatti , Regilio Tuur . The actress also had for sparring-partner boxing champion Lucia Rijker ⁷ .

Morgan Freeman finds Clint Eastwood , a few years after the Western Impitoyable (1992).

Turning

Shooting lasted less than 40 days between June and July 2004, mostly in Los Angeles and Warner Brothers Burbank Studios in Burbank ⁸ .

The exteriors were shot in several Los Angeles neighborhoods, including the Venice Boardwalk and Hollywood Boulevard . Boxing matches are filmed at the Grand Olympic Auditorium ⁷ .

Original Soundtrack

Clint Eastwood himself wrote the music for his film, which is performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra . Three songs are written by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens .

Track List ⁹

1. Blue Morgan (Opening)
2. It’s Nice Viewing
3. Boxing Baby - written and performed by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
4. Boxing Montage
5. Pick Up Money
6. Nice Working With You
7. The Letters
8. Blue Diner - written and performed by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
9. Deep In Thought
10. Driving
11. Blue Bear
12. Frankie Horrified
13. They’re Amateurs
14. May Have To Lose It
15. Maggie’s Plea
16. Frankie’s Dilemma
17. Frankie’s Decision
18. Lethal Dose
19. Frankie’s Office
20. Blue Morgan (Ending)

Distinctions

Rewards

Oscars 2005

• Best film
• Best Director for Clint Eastwood
• Best Actress for Hilary Swank
• Best Supporting Actor for Morgan Freeman

Golden Globes 2005

• Golden Globe for Best Director for Clint Eastwood
• Golden Globe of Best Actress in a Dramatic Film for Hilary Swank

Other

• Critics’ Choice Movie Award for best actress for Hilary Swank
• César awarded best foreign film in 2006
• Satellite Award for Best Actress for Hilary Swank
• Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
• NAACP Image Awards for Best Supporting Actor for Morgan Freeman
• Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress for Hilary Swank
• Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor for Morgan Freeman

Appointments

Oscars 2005

• Oscar nomination for best actor for Clint Eastwood
• Oscar nomination for Best Editing
• Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay

Golden Globes 2005

• Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for Morgan Freeman
• Golden Globe for Best Dramatic Film
• Golden Globe of Best Film Music for Clint Eastwood

Other

• Critics’ Choice Movie Award for best actor in a supporting role for Morgan Freeman
• Critics’ Choice Movie Award for best director for Clint Eastwood
• Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Picture
• Grammy Award for Best Film Song
• Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Distribution

Box office

• United States :$ 100,492,203 ¹⁰
• France : 3 160 585 entries ¹¹
• Worldwide : $ 216,763,646 ¹⁰

Remarks

• A film with the same title, Million Dollar Baby , was released in 1941 .
• The title of an episode of the Simpsons in English (season 21 episode 11), is inspired by the title of this film: Million dollar Maybe .
• This film is one of many films shot at the Quality Cafe in Downtown Los Angeles .
• Hilary swank took 10 kg of muscle during a full and intensive workout.

Comments and analysis

Adapted from the new Girl with a million dollars from the book Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner ( The Burning ropes ) of former boxing trainer FX Toole (1930 - 2002), and directed by Paul Haggis , this Powerful tragedy tackles big themes that make it much more than a simple boxing film, feminine in this case: success at any cost beyond social cleavages, star-system and fanaticism of the public, family relations the Christian faith, sickness, death, old age and euthanasia ¹² .

In addition, there are blatant resemblances between Hilary Swank ‘s own story and her character played in the film.

Notes and references