Draft Day
Theatrical release poster
Directed byIvan Reitman
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyEric Steelberg
Edited by
Music byJohn Debney
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate
Release dates
  • April 7, 2014 (2014-04-07) (Los Angeles)
  • April 11, 2014 (2014-04-11) (United States)
Running time
110 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[2]
Box office$29.5 million[3]

Draft Day is a 2014 American sports drama film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. The premise revolves around the fictional general manager of the Cleveland Browns (Costner) deciding what to do after his team acquires the number one draft pick in the upcoming National Football League draft.

The film premiered in Los Angeles on April 7, 2014[4] and was released in the United States on April 11, 2014. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure grossing only $29 million against its $25 million budget. The film was Reitman's final directorial effort and Jim Brown's final acting role before their deaths in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Plot


On the morning of the 2014 NFL Draft, Cleveland Browns general manager Sonny Weaver, Jr. faces a difficult decision. With the seventh overall pick, he must choose the best way to improve the team but he has other matters on his mind. His semi-secret girlfriend, Ali Parker, the team's salary cap analyst, is pregnant, and the recent death of Sonny's father has caused tension between him and his mother. Sonny had fired his father, a legendary coach for the Browns, something he later admits was for his mother's sake because his father refused to retire despite his failing health. The pressure of the draft and the strained relationships with those closest to him weigh heavily on Sonny as he tries to make the best decision for the team, and for his future with Ali. Ultimately, Sonny has to decide whether or not to put his personal life aside and make the best decision for the team or if his personal issues will ultimately drive his decision.

When the Seattle Seahawks offered to trade their first overall draft pick to the Browns, General Manager Tom Michaels saw a chance to help the team make a splash and offered it to Sonny. Sonny was initially reluctant to make the deal, but was convinced by team owner Anthony Molina to make the move. The trade would allow the Browns to acquire highly-rated Wisconsin quarterback prospect Bo Callahan, a move that would excite Browns fans. While initially the deal was to give the Seahawks the Browns' first pick in the current draft and the next year, along with a third-round pick the year after, Michaels ups the ante and wants Cleveland's first pick for the next three years. Sonny agrees to the deal without notifying anyone else in the Browns' organization. The decision splits the Browns' war room, as Cleveland coach Vince Penn is strongly behind current Cleveland quarterback Bryan Drew, and would prefer that the Browns draft Florida State running back Ray Jennings, whose father played for the Browns.

When Ohio State linebacker Vontae Mack receives the news that the Browns have the first pick, he goes on Twitter to lambast the Browns for moving up to take Callahan. During a conversation with Sonny, he tells Sonny to watch the game tape from last year's Wisconsin-Ohio State game, where Mack had sacked Callahan four times. Sonny begins to have doubts about Callahan's ability to perform under pressure, and the Browns' investigations into Callahan's character further fuel these doubts. Offers are made by other teams to get Cleveland to trade out of the first pick, but Weaver sticks with his decision to stay at #1.

When the draft finally begins that evening, tensions are high as the decision makers in each of the 32 NFL franchises agonizes over the life-altering choice that they have to make. For the first time in League history, the Cleveland Browns hold the number one overall pick, and Sonny Weaver is certain that he has the best option for the team's future. After much deliberation, Sonny drafts Vontae Mack, sparking the entire stadium and sending shockwaves across the league. Many of the other teams had placed Vontae very low in their ratings and now realise their plans must be hastily changed in order to keep up with the unpredictable atmosphere. This causes a great deal of unrest and anger, the most vocal coming from team owner Molina. He is so livid with Sonny's decision that he flies back to Cleveland immediately, intent on firing him from his position. Head coach Vince Penn shares in his anger and disgust, and threatens to resign himself.

When Callahan is not picked first, other teams go with their prospective picks, opening up the possibility that Callahan could fall to Seattle at #7, allowing the Seahawks to draft him and come away with the two extra picks that Cleveland traded to them. Sonny contacts the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are picking sixth, and trades for that pick in exchange for the Browns' second-round draft picks over the course of the next three years. On the clock with the #6 pick, Sonny threatens to take Callahan, knowing that Michaels is feeling heat from Seahawk fans who were upset that they had lost their chance to take Callahan. Sonny finally convinces the Seahawks to exchange picks with Cleveland so that Seattle can get Callahan and the Browns can get all their first round picks back, plus a punt returner. Seattle selects Callahan, at which point the Browns, picking back at the seventh pick that they started the draft with, select Jennings. Through a series of bold moves, Sonny demonstrates his savvy in the NFL draft and reinforces his commitment to the team and the fans. The 2014 season is sure to be an exciting one for the Browns.

At the end of the night, the Browns host a draft party introducing Mack and Jennings. After the celebration, Sonny quickly made his way to reconnect with his mother. Already thrilled for her son's success in the draft, she was even more ecstatic due to her soon-to-be first grandchild. She was beaming with pride and they hugged each other in a heartfelt embrace. Sonny knew without his mother's love and support during his entire life, that he wouldn't have been able to achieve his dreams and be the person he is today. Needless to say, it was a night to remember. Sonny and Ali celebrate with Browns legends Jim Brown and Bernie Kosar in the luxury boxes on Opening Day as Sonny finally gets to see the team that he built take the field in Cleveland.

Cast

Production

When the idea was first made public, the film was to be centered on the Buffalo Bills, but the studio subsequently changed it to the Cleveland Browns because of cheaper production costs in Ohio.[8]

Crowd reactions of fans at the actual 2013 NFL Draft, as well as Cleveland Browns fans at local bars, were filmed. Cameos with real-life NFL figures such as league commissioner Roger Goodell and ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman were filmed before and after the draft took place. The rest of the film began filming on May 8, 2013.

2014 NFL Draft

As in the film, the Cleveland Browns made splashes at the draft, trading up to select quarterback Johnny Manziel with the 22nd pick. The team also made several deals, trading away their fourth pick to the Buffalo Bills but for their ninth pick, as well as their 2015 first round pick. They later traded up to the eighth pick to draft Justin Gilbert. Finally, after watching Manziel drop farther than projected, they again traded up for the 22nd pick. Chris Berman, who played himself in the fictionalized draft, commented at the 2014 NFL Draft that the events surrounding the Cleveland Browns were more exciting than the film. Unlike the film, the Browns selected the much-hyped Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, as opposed to passing on Bo Callahan, the fictionalized first pick favorite.

Marketing

The first poster and trailer for the film were released on December 23, 2013.[9]

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $28.8 million in North America with an additional $604,801 overseas for a worldwide total of $29.5 million, against a budget of $25 million.[10]

The film grossed $9.8 million in its opening weekend, finishing in fourth place at the box office behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Rio 2, and Oculus (the latter two also being new releases).[11]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 60% based on 162 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It's perfectly pleasant for sports buffs and Costner fans, but overall, Draft Day lives down to its title by relying too heavily on the sort of by-the-numbers storytelling that only a statistician could love."[12] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[14]

Chicago Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper gave the film a "B", stating the film is "a sentimental, predictable, sometimes implausible but thoroughly entertaining, old-fashioned piece."

On the contrary, Jack Hamilton of Slate was harshly critical. "The 'filmmaking' here consists of making sure the camera is pointed at people who are explaining the film's plot to one another, preferably while they are wearing logos and standing in front of more logos," he wrote. He suggested the NFL's involvement had made the film too upbeat. "[It] isn't so much a movie as a movielike infomercial for the kinder, gentler NFL ... In the wake of labor strife, off-field scandals, and the ongoing CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) crisis, the NFL is doubling down on its fantasy of paternalism, and Draft Day is that fantasy's porn film."[15]

Former Green Bay Packers vice president Andrew Brandt criticized Draft Day as "lacking any true depiction of how an NFL team operates leading up to and during the draft", and less realistic about the business of sports than Jerry Maguire and Moneyball.[16]

The screenplay was the number one script on the 2012 Black List survey of unproduced screenplays and WhatCulture listed it as the 10th best script of the 2010s. It was argued that the script "follows one of the central tenets of screenwriting which is, 'thou shalt make things as hard as possible for your protagonist'". However, it was also stated that "[some] of this high-octane drama was lost in the screen translation, which is a shame, since the script is as good as it gets."[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "DRAFT DAY (15)". Lions Gate Entertainment. British Board of Film Classification. August 7, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Feature Film Study" (PDF). Film L.A. Inc. 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Draft Day (2014)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  4. ↑ Burton, Danielle (April 8, 2014). "'Draft Day' Premiere: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner Cheered as Stars Take the Field-Like Carpet". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Production Begins on Sports Dramedy DRAFT DAY; Sean Combs and Terry Crews Join the Cast". Collider. April 25, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ Patten, Dominic (May 14, 2013). "Sam Elliott Joins Ivan Reitman's 'Draft Day'". deadline.com. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ Venable, Nick (May 13, 2013). "Smallville's Tom Welling Hits The Gridiron In Ivan Reitman's Draft Day". cinemablend.com. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  8. ↑ "NFL Draft movie starring Kevin Costner moves from Bills to Browns". sbnation.com. March 6, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Check Out the Trailer and Poster for Draft Day, Starring Kevin Costner". comingsoon.net. December 23, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  10. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (April 13, 2014). "Box Office: 'Captain America: Winter Soldier' Trumps 'Rio 2' With $41.4 Million". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for April 11-13, 2014". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Draft Day (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Draft Day Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017.
  15. ↑ Hamilton, Jack (April 10, 2014). "Draft Day movie: Kevin Costner and Roger Goodell star in the NFL's version of Moneyball". Slate. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  16. ↑ Brandt, Andrew (April 16, 2014). "'Draft Day' Reality Checks". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  17. ↑ Hynes, David (February 2, 2017). "10 Best Movie Screenplays Since 2010". WhatCulture.com. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
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