Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, the co-founders of The Blind Aspect financier Alcon Leisure, who additionally served as producers for the supposedly true-life household drama, have addressed controversy stemming from a latest lawsuit filed by pic’s topic Michael Oher, claiming there have been “many mischaracterizations and uninformed opinions” put out concerning the scenario, and that the movie they made is “as true today as it was 14 years ago.”
Former NFL star Oher’s petition filed in Tennessee court docket alleges that his adoptive mother and father depicted within the movie, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, tricked him right into a conservatorship to safe authorized authority over enterprise offers in his identify, depriving him of earnings from the movie whereas mischaracterizing the true nature of their relationship.
The Tuohys’ lawyer Marty Singer referred to the swimsuit as a part of a “shakedown effort” on the a part of Oher, with Michael Lewis, the writer of The Blind Aspect‘s source material, also weighing in to suggest that “the Hollywood studio system” is more at fault for Oher’s lack of revenue participation than the Tuohys personally.
A feel-good field workplace hit from director John Lee Hancock, The Blind Aspect watches because the Tuohys take within the impoverished and deserted Oher, serving to him to perform his desires of a professional soccer profession. The movie nominated for the Greatest Image Oscar led Sandra Bullock to nab her first, for her flip as Leigh Anne Tuohy, and grossed over $309M worldwide.
Learn the Alcon principals’ full assertion on the Blind Aspect controversy beneath.
Because the Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Alcon Leisure, the corporate that financed THE BLIND SIDE, in addition to being two of the film’s producers, we really feel it’s now vital for us to reply to some latest media studies, which embrace many mischaracterizations and uninformed opinions. The impetus for these tales has been a lawsuit by Michael Oher, which appears to have given critics and journalists alike a justification to unfairly decide aside the film fourteen years later – some going as far as to name it “fake” or a “lie.”
THE BLIND SIDE was a movie that no main studio would make, again when Alcon financed the movie in 2009. The prevailing “wisdom” was {that a} soccer film starring a lady wouldn’t enchantment to soccer followers, it had an excessive amount of soccer to enchantment to households, and that motion pictures starring Black actors don’t work abroad. Our opinion was that it could enchantment to everybody, and, in 2009, when this nation, and the world extra broadly, was extra hopeful and fewer divided – it did. The 2 of us are the longest-running interracial enterprise partnership within the historical past of the movie business. We’ve got led not via publicity or pontification, however relatively via the quiet energy of instance.
Within the story of THE BLIND SIDE we noticed the higher angels of human nature. We noticed it within the Tuohy’s fantastic acts of kindness towards Michael Oher. Nonetheless, extra importantly, we noticed it within the extraordinary braveness that Michael Oher demonstrated in accepting the Tuohys’ generosity not as a handout, or as his saviors, however as a approach via which he might enhance his personal life. Michael’s tutorial accomplishments and athletic achievements reveal this. His elevating of his personal kids now, who shall know a lifetime of risk the likes of which Michael by no means knew as a baby, is the last word testomony to Michael’s personal power and braveness. In each of these regards, THE BLIND SIDE is verifiably genuine and can by no means be a lie or faux, whatever the familial ups and downs which have occurred subsequent to the movie. Certainly, scores of trusted people, not the least of whom is Michael Lewis, one among our nation’s most revered writers and journalists and the writer of the ebook THE BLIND SIDE, have spoken of their first-hand information of the authenticity of the Tuohys loving Michael dearly and elevating Michael as their son via the top of highschool, after which all through faculty and onto the NFL.
We additionally wish to converse to the enterprise aspect of the equation, which it appears, partly, is the place a number of the present antipathy within the press towards the movie is sourced. The movie rights to Michael Lewis’s ebook, and the related rights contracts had been negotiated by Twentieth Century Fox and inherited by Alcon when the movie was put in turnaround. It is very important notice that in 2006, the character of life rights offers for books, documentaries and movie, in addition to the restrictions of what faculty athletes had been in a position to do and keep eligibility, had been very completely different than they’re as we speak. Evaluating them to as we speak’s market for these rights is akin to evaluating a basketball Corridor of Famer’s deal from 25 years in the past to the nine-figure offers which are prevalent in as we speak’s NBA. The deal that was made by Fox for the Tuohy’s and Michael Oher’s life rights was in line with {the marketplace} at the moment for the rights of comparatively unknown people. Subsequently, it didn’t embrace important payouts within the occasion of the movie’s success.
Consequently, the notion that the Tuohys had been paid tens of millions of {dollars} by Alcon to the detriment of Michael Oher is fake. In reality, Alcon has paid roughly $767,000 to the expertise company that represents the Tuohy household and Michael Oher (who, presumably, took fee earlier than passing it via). We anticipate that the Tuohy household and Michael Oher will obtain further earnings as audiences proceed to take pleasure in this true story within the years to come back. Along with these contractual funds, Alcon made a charitable contribution to the Tuohy household basis. We provided to donate an equal quantity to a charity of Mr. Oher’s selecting, which he declined.
In November, it is going to be 14 years since THE BLIND SIDE was launched by our distribution companion, Warner Bros. Trying again, the 2 of us passionately believed that THE BLIND SIDE was a narrative that must be instructed. John Lee Hancock had executed an excellent job adapting Michael Lewis’ ebook and we knew John Lee would direct a considerate and uplifting movie. Moreover, we believed that the wonderful Sandra Bullock’s work as a dramatic actress was underappreciated, and we thought Quentin Aaron’s display screen check was a revelation. Goodness is aware of, the 2 of us are hardly right on a regular basis, however we certain had been proper about our determination to make this movie. The most effective human traits displayed in THE BLIND SIDE is likely to be straightforward to dismiss within the bizarro world of elitist movie critique and social media cynicism. Nonetheless, in the true world, they type the idea of a wholesome society and so they should be celebrated. We’re as pleased with the movie as we speak as we had been when our wonderful collaborators made the film 14 years in the past. We hope our fellow filmmakers all around the world will proceed to search for uplifting tales to inform, and have the liberty and empowerment to have their voices heard.
