Coach Carter

Coach Carter is a 2005 American biographical teen sports drama film starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by Thomas Carter. The film is based on the true story of Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter (played by Samuel L. Jackson), who made headlines in 1999 for suspending his undefeated high school basketball team due to poor academic results.[2][3][4] Carter is very committed to education before sports. The things that took place in the real life of Ken Carter translates to the film. Samuel L. Jackson shows his tough love, ambition and passion for basketball. One thing Carter made clear he put academic success before anything.[5] Carter talks in a very firm voice he is not the type to joke around with in practice, if players are disrespectful or have gotten in trouble he punishes them with sprints and push-ups. Carter treats his players with the most upright respect, he refers to them as "Sir" and the players have to return that favor to him as well.[6] The story was conceived from a screenplay co-written by John Gatins and Mark Schwahn, who created the TV series One Tree Hill. The film also recycles a handful of plot devices from another television series, The White Shadow, which director Carter also co-starred in. The ensemble cast features Rob Brown, Channing Tatum, Debbi Morgan, Robert Ri'chard and singer Ashanti.

    Coach Carter
    Theatrical release poster
    Directed byThomas Carter
    Produced byDavid Gale
    Brian Robbins
    Michael Tollin
    Written byMark Schwahn
    John Gatins
    StarringSamuel L. Jackson
    Rob Brown
    Ashanti
    Music byTrevor Rabin
    CinematographySharone Meir
    Edited byPeter Berger
    Production
    company
    Distributed byParamount Pictures
    Release date
    • January 14, 2005 (2005-01-14)
    Running time
    		136 minutes
    CountryUnited States
    LanguageEnglish
    Budget$30 million[1]
    Box office$76.7 million[1]

    The film was a co-production between the motion picture studios of MTV Films and Tollin/Robbins Productions. Theatrically and for the home video rental market, it was commercially distributed by Paramount Pictures. Coach Carter explores professional ethics, academics, and athletics.[7] The sports action in the film was coordinated by the production company ReelSports. On January 11, 2005, the original motion picture soundtrack was released by the Capitol Records music label. The film score was composed and orchestrated by musician Trevor Rabin.

    Coach Carter premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on January 14, 2005 grossing $67,264,877 in domestic ticket receipts. The film took in an additional $9,404,929 in business through international release for a combined worldwide total of $76,669,806. Preceding its initial screening in cinemas, the film was generally met with positive critical reviews. With its initial foray into the home video marketplace; the DVD edition of the film featuring deleted scenes, a music video, and special features among other highlights, was released in the United States on June 21, 2005.

    Plot

    Ken Carter lives in Richmond, California. He becomes the coach for Richmond High School’s basketball team, the Richmond Oilers, having played for the team thirty years earlier. The team is rowdy, rude, and disrespectful. Carter gives the team contracts to sign and obey, asking them... to sit in the front rows of all their classes, to wear ties on game day, to go to class everyday[8] and to maintain a 2.3 (C+) grade point average in their studies. The kids have difficulty maintaining these promises because they live in tough neighborhoods with distractions that make them lose their focus.[9] Carter asks the school’s staff for progress reports of the players' grades and attendance. Several team members walk out in disagreement, including Timo Cruz, a gifted player who is also a drug dealer and criminal.

    Carter begins a strict, disciplinary training regime for the team. Carter’s son Damian joins the team, switching from the private school St. Francis, to play for his father because he was not getting enough playing time at the private school. Kenyon Stone, the team’s captain, struggles to come to terms with his girlfriend Kyra being pregnant. The couple later have a falling out over Kenyon’s inability to commit to fatherhood. Another member, Junior Battle, skips classes, leading to Carter suspending him from the team. Battle’s mother Willa visits Carter, asking him to let Battle back on the team. Carter agrees once Battle apologizes. He says, "You owe me 1,000 push-ups and 1,000 suicides before you can play."

    Cruz witnesses the team win a match, asking Carter to let him rejoin the team. Carter agrees, but only if Cruz completes a number of exercises before Friday. Cruz commits himself to this, though when it looks like he will fail, the rest of the team supports him.

    The team undergoes extensive teamwork training, bonding with Carter. This leads them winning the Bay Hill Holiday tournament. That night, whilst Carter is speaking to his wife on the phone, telling her how their son hit the game-winning bucket, he notices the team had snuck out to a nearby mansion. Carter discovers their absence, crashing the party to round up the team. Carter berates the boys on the way home, though Cruz points out the team are now winners as Carter intended. Carter discovers the team has not been keeping to their contracts as the team said they were.

    A livid Carter locks the gym, directing the team to the library where they will study with their teachers until their grades improve. A disillusioned Cruz quits the team again. Carter enforces his lockdown, forfeiting several games and enraging the local community. Carter reasons that aside from basketball, the boys have no other options in Richmond aside from crime, hoping their commitment to their studies will give them better options in life. During the lockdown Carter, experienced a drive-by at his shop. The shooters yelling, "LET THE KIDS PLAY."

    Cruz sees his cousin, Renny, a drug dealer, gunned down in front of him. Distraught, Cruz goes to Carter, begging to be let back on the team. The school board hold a hearing, where Carter explains his rationale, though he promises to resign if the lockdown is lifted. Aside from Principal Garrison and the board's chairwoman, the councillors vote to end the lockdown. However, Carter discovers the team refuse to play, continuing with their studying. Cruz, whom Carter has repeatedly asked what his greatest fear is, answers by quoting from A Return to Love.

    Carter decides to stay, with the team succeeding in their academic goals. Kenyon reunites with Kyra, learning she has had an abortion. They make up, Kenyon asks Kyra to come with him to college, to which she agrees. The team played in a match against St. Francis, but lost by two points. St. Francis’ star player, Ty Crane, praises Battle’s skills. Though they did not win, Carter expresses his pride that the team came together to give themselves other options. The film ends with the team celebrating with the community, as graphics explain how several members went on to college.

    Cast
    Actor Samuel L. Jackson who portrayed real-life basketball coach Ken Carter.

    Production

    Filming locations for the motion picture included, Long Beach, California and Los Angeles.[10] In real life Ken Carter was a tremendously good coach. By his actions he was the inspiration for this film. He could probably get a coaching job at any college.[11] Carter could possibly step his way up to the pros.[11] He did not want to coach in the NBA. Carter loved children and had a desire to help kids and see them grow so he started a league for kids called "Junior high sports education" in San Francisco.[11] He states that at that level kids does not care about the scoreboard or how many points someone has.[11] As a kid winning or losing was not a big deal or priority. Carter has cracked jokes saying since he was a kid he knew this was going to happen; even when he could not "Shoot a shot," he promised his mom that he would be on the big stage on day where millions of people could see him. He said it just took "MTV Films 35 years to call me."[11]

    Soundtrack
    Main article: Coach Carter (soundtrack)

    The original motion picture soundtrack for Coach Carter was released by the Capitol Records label on January 11, 2005. The score for the film was orchestrated by Trevor Rabin. An extensive list of songs are featured on the soundtrack, which differs from the soundtrack recording. The recording includes five songs which were not featured in the film: "About da Game" by Trey Songz; "Balla" by Mack 10 featuring Da Hood; "Beauty Queen" by CzarNok; "What Love Can Do" by Letoya; and "Wouldn't You Like to Ride", by Kanye West, Malik Yusef, and Common.

    Coach Carter: Music from the Motion Picture
    No.TitleLength
    1."All Night Long"3:33
    2."No Need for Conversation"3:38
    3."Professional"3:36
    4."Southside"4:13
    5."Roll Wit' You"3:23
    6."Wouldn't You Like to Ride"3:51
    7."Hope"4:12
    8."Your Love (Is The Greatest Drug I've Ever Known)"3:34
    9."This One"3:06
    10."Beauty Queen"3:44
    11."Balla"4:07
    12."Time"4:52
    13."What Love Can Do"4:04
    14."About Da Game"3:39
    15."Let the Drummer Kick" 
    Total length:53:23

    Release

    Following its cinematic release in theaters, the Region 1 edition of the film was released on DVD in the United States on June 21, 2005. Special features for the DVD include; two commentaries: Coach Carter: The Man Behind the Movie, Fast Break at Richmond High, Deleted Scenes and Music Video "Hope" by Twista Featuring Faith Evans.[12] The film was also released on VHS.

    A restored widescreen high-definition Blu-ray Disc version of the film was released on December 16, 2008. Special features include; two commentaries - The Man Behind the Movie; Fast Break at Richmond High; 6 Deleted scenes; "Hope" music video by Twista featuring Faith Evans; Writing Coach Carter: The Two Man Game; Coach Carter: Making the Cut; and the theatrical trailer in HD.[13] An additional viewing option for the film in the media format of Video on demand has been made available as well.[14]

    Response

    Critical reception

    Coach Carter received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 64% based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Even though it's based on a true story, Coach Carter is pretty formulaic stuff, but it's effective and energetic, thanks to a strong central performance from Samuel L. Jackson."[15] Samuel noted that he was really happy how Carter made education a priority in the film because he feels like it is important to have in life.[16] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average, the film has a score of 57 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F.[18] In the film Coach Carter the reviewer argues that Timo Cruz is a thug because of how he carries himself.[19] In the film Timo wants to be like his cousin and follow after his foot steps, which is not a good idea.

    Box office

    Coach Carter premiered in cinemas on January 14, 2005 in wide release throughout the United States.[1] During that weekend, the film opened in 1st place grossing $24.2 million from 2,524 locations, beating out Meet the Fockers ($19.3 million).[20] The film's revenue dropped by 24% in its second week of release, earning $8,015,331. For that particular weekend, the film slipped to 5th place with a slightly higher theater count at 2,574. The thriller film Hide and Seek opened in 1st place with $21,959,233 in box office business.[21]

    During its final week in release, Coach Carter opened in 61st place grossing a marginal $26,554 in revenue. For that weekend period, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy starring Martin Freeman opened in 1st place with $21,103,203 in box office receipts.[22] Coach Carter went on to top out domestically at $67,264,877 in total ticket sales through an initial 16-week theatrical run.[1] For 2005 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 36.[23]

    Accolades

    The film was nominated and won several awards in 2005–06.

    Award Category Nominee Result
    2005 BET Awards[24] Best Actor Samuel L. Jackson Nominated
    2005 Black Movie Awards[25] Outstanding Achievement in Directing Thomas Carter Won
    Outstanding Motion Picture David Gale, Brian Robbins, Michael Tollin Nominated
    Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Samuel L. Jackson Nominated
    Black Reel Awards of 2006[26] Best Director Thomas Carter Won
    Best Actor Samuel L. Jackson Nominated
    Best Breakthrough Performance Ashanti Nominated
    Best Film David Gale, Brian Robbins, Michael Tollin Nominated
    ESPY Awards 2005[27] Best Sports Movie ———— Nominated
    2005 37th NAACP Image Awards[28][29] Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Samuel L. Jackson Won
    Outstanding Directing in a Feature Film/Television Movie Thomas Carter Nominated
    Outstanding Motion Picture ———— Nominated
    Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Ashanti Nominated
    2005 MTV Movie Awards[30] Breakthrough Female Ashanti Nominated
    2006 38th People's Choice Awards[31] Favorite Movie Drama ———— Nominated
    2005 Teen Choice Awards[32] Choice Movie Actor: Drama Samuel L. Jackson Nominated
    Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Female Ashanti Nominated
    Choice Movie: Drama ———— Nominated

    See also

    References
    Footnotes
    1. "Coach Carter (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    2. Turner, Miki (January 19, 2005). "The real Coach Carter is a class act". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
    3. "Coach scores points for academics". San Francisco Chronicle. SFGate.com. January 8, 1999. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
    4. McManis, Sam (January 12, 1999). "Richmond Rebound". San Francisco Chronicle. SFGate.com. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
    5. Sid Smith, Tribune,arts critic. "'Coach Carter' Victorious as True Tale of Tough Love ; 'COACH CARTER' ***: [Chicago Final Edition]." Chicago Tribune, Jan 14, 2005, pp. 1-7A.1. ProQuest.
    6. Morgenstern, Joe. "PERSONAL JOURNAL; Your Life -- Film Reviews: Getting Carter; 'Coach Carter' Clumsy but Worthy." Asian Wall Street Journal, Apr 15, 2005. ProQuest.
    7. Thomas Carter. (2005). Coach Carter [Motion picture] Production Notes. United States: Paramount Pictures.
    8. Morgenstern, Joe. "PERSONAL JOURNAL; Your Life -- Film Reviews: Getting Carter; 'Coach Carter' Clumsy but Worthy." Asian Wall Street Journal, Apr 15, 2005. ProQuest.
    9. Morgenstern, Joe. "PERSONAL JOURNAL; Your Life -- Film Reviews: Getting Carter; 'Coach Carter' Clumsy but Worthy." Asian Wall Street Journal, Apr 15, 2005. ProQuest.
    10. "Coach Carter Production Details". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    11. Campbell, Clete. "Education Still Greatest Passion for Coach Carter; Popular Coach has no Interest in Big-Time Jobs." Telegraph - Herald, Nov 15, 2005. ProQuest.
    12. "Coach Carter DVD Widescreen". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    13. "Coach Carter Blu-Ray". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    14. "Coach Carter VOD Format". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    15. Coach Carter (2005). Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    16. "Coach Cool: Coach Samuel L. Jackson Takes to the Court in Coach Carter: [Final Edition]." Examiner, Jan 15, 2005, pp. B5. ProQuest
    17. Coach Carter. Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    18. "Coach Carter". CinemaScore. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
    19. Jaafar, Ali. “Coach Carter.” Sight & Sound, vol. 15, no. 3, Mar. 2005, pp. 46–47.
    20. "January 14-16, 2005 Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    21. "January 28-30, 2005 Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    22. "April 29-May 1, 2005 Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    23. 2005 DOMESTIC GROSSES. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    24. "BET Awards 2005". BET.com. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    25. "2005 Nominees and Winners". Black Movie Awards. Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    26. "Black Reel Awards winners". Black Reel Awards. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    27. "The 2005 Espy Awards Nominees". ESPN. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    28. "37th Image Awards Nominees". NAACP Image Awards. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    29. "Jackson, Samuel L." Marquis Who's Who in America, edited by Marquis Who's Who, Marquis Who's Who LLC, 70th edition, 2016. Credo Reference,
    30. "MTV Movie Awards 2005". MTV.com. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    31. "People's Choice Awards 2006 Nominees". People's Choice Awards. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    32. "The 2005 Teen Choice Awards nominees". TV.com. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
    Further reading
    • Carter, Ken (2012). Yes Ma'am, No Sir: The 12 Essential Steps for Success in Life. Business Plus. ISBN 978-1-455-50234-9.
    • Niemiec, Ryan (2008). Positive Psychology At The Movies: Using Films to Build Virtues and Character Strengths. Hogrefe Publishing. ISBN 978-0-889-37352-5.
    • Johnson, Rick (2009). The Power of a Man: Using Your Influence as a Man of Character. Revell. ISBN 978-0-800-73249-3.
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