User:Dharris221/Coach Carter

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LEAD SECTION

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. '''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 he made clear he put academic success before anything. Carter talks in a very firm voice he isn’t really 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 the players with the most upright respect, he refers to them as “sir” and the players have to return that favor to him as well. '''

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.

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. 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, 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 (joe). So, 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 has  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 to 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 sneaking 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 that 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 shooting 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 holds 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 councilors vote to end the lockdown. However, Carter discovers the team refuses 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 makeup, 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.

PRODUCTION

Filming locations for the motion picture included Long Beach, California, and Los Angeles. '''In real life Ken Carter was a tremendously good coach in real life. By his actions he was the inspiration for this film. He could probably get a coaching job at any college. Carter could possibly step his way up to the pros. 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. He states that at that level kids does not care about the scoreboard or how many points someone has. As a kid winning or losing was not a big deal or a 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 one day where millions of people could see him. He said it just took “MTV Films 35 years to call me."'''

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." '''Samuel noted that he was really happy about how Carter made education a priority in the film because he feels like it is important to have in life. ''' 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". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F. '''In the film, Timo Cruz is a thug because of how he carries himself. '''