Rollerball (2002 Film)
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''Rollerball'' is a 2002
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus of the plot. D ...
directed by
John McTiernan John Campbell McTiernan Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American former filmmaker best known for his action films. His work as director includes ''Predator (film), Predator'' (1987), ''Die Hard'' (1988), and ''The Hunt for Red October (film), ...
. A
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
of the 1975 film of the same name, based on William Harrison's short story ''Roller Ball Murder'', the film stars Chris Klein,
Jean Reno Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez (born 30 July 1948), commonly known as Jean Reno (), is a French-Spanish actor. He established himself as a Leading actor, leading man of French cinema through his collaborations with director Luc Besson, and has w ...
,
LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...
,
Rebecca Romijn Rebecca Alie O'Connell ( , ; later Romijn-Stamos; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the ''X-Men'' film series, as Joan from '' The P ...
and
Naveen Andrews Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born 17 January 1969) is a British-American actor. He is best known for his role as Sayid Jarrah in the television series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primet ...
. While both versions of ''Rollerball'' use the same basic premise, the 2002 version has a much greater focus on action sequences, more muted social and political overtones than the original, and takes place in the mid-2000s rather than in a future
dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...
n 2010s. ''Rollerball'' was released on February 8, 2002. It was universally panned by critics and became a
box-office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...
, grossing $25.9 million against a production budget of $70 million. In 2014, the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' listed the film as one of the most expensive box office flops of all time.


Plot

In 2005, the new sport of Rollerball, a violent extension of
roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...
involving motorcycles and a metal ball, becomes popular in many countries. Marcus Ridley invites the talented sports fanatic Jonathan Cross to join him playing for the Zhambel Horsemen in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
. Jonathan refuses, hoping to try out for the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
in some months. However, after he recklessly skates through his hometown, the police start looking for Jonathan, who is forced to accept Marcus's offer to escape them. The highly paid Marcus and Jonathan are teamed with low-paid locals, who are often severely injured in the game. In the beginning, Jonathan, the team's star player and the poster child of promoter Alexi Petrovich, is enamored by the high-octane sport, the popularity, sports cars, and his female teammate Aurora. The two keep their relationship a secret and refuse to put a stop to rumors that Aurora is a lesbian. During one game, one of their teammates is killed by an opponent, something that is prone to happen in a match. However, the team quickly discovers that that murder might have been planned before the game, as one of the straps of the victim's helmet had been cut and the cameras filming the event seemed ready for the death to happen. Jonathan and Ridley eventually discover that Alexi and his assistant, Sanjay, have a vested interest in keeping the game as popular as possible, through planned gory "accidents" and ensuring that Jonathan and Ridley cannot quit the team and remain high-profile stars. Both the deaths and Jonathan's talent seem to generate upticks in ratings. Jonathan and Ridley pretend to know nothing about this situation, wanting to keep their current lifestyle, but after an "accident" almost kills Aurora, the two friends decide that they need to flee the country to save their lives. Their teammates, including Aurora, cannot join them, though, as they have families there. Jonathan and Marcus are followed by Alexi and several bodyguards, who attack the two before they can reach the Russian border. Jonathan is injured and Ridley has to leave him behind. Alexi and his men capture Jonathan and kill Ridley before the latter can cross the border. Jonathan says that he will keep working for Alexi if Aurora is traded to another team, wanting to keep her away from danger. Alexi complies, secretly transferring Aurora to the opposing team for the next match. Knowing he cannot trust Jonathan anymore, Alexi tries to stage a public execution of him by removing all the rules from the upcoming Rollerball match. The match becomes more violent than ever before, and many players die. However, Jonathan, with the help of players from both teams, starts a revolution, causing the fans to see the sport for what it really is. In a fit of rage, he kills Alexi and Sanjay before reuniting with Aurora.


Cast

* Chris Klein as Jonathan Cross *
Jean Reno Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez (born 30 July 1948), commonly known as Jean Reno (), is a French-Spanish actor. He established himself as a Leading actor, leading man of French cinema through his collaborations with director Luc Besson, and has w ...
as Alexi Petrovich *
LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...
as Marcus Ridley *
Rebecca Romijn Rebecca Alie O'Connell ( , ; later Romijn-Stamos; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the ''X-Men'' film series, as Joan from '' The P ...
as Aurora "The Black Widow" *
Naveen Andrews Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born 17 January 1969) is a British-American actor. He is best known for his role as Sayid Jarrah in the television series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primet ...
as Sanjay *
Mike Dopud Mike Dopud (, ''Мајк Допуђ'') is a Canadian actor, stuntman, and former gridiron football and ice hockey player. His best known roles include Vic Hadfield in the miniseries '' Canada Russia '72'', Jason Micic on ''Power'', Kimbo Comst ...
as Michael "The Assassin" Uglich * Andrew Bryniarski as Halloran *
Kata Dobó Kata Dobó or Kata Dobo (born Katalin Kovács, Hungarian: Kovács Katalin, Dobó Kata, on 25 February 1974) is a Hungarian actress and filmmaker. Life Dobo was born in Budapest, Hungary and moved to Los Angeles, USA in 1999 to her partner of ...
as Katya Dobolakova * Lucia Rijker as Lucia Ryjker *
Oleg Taktarov Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov (; born 26 August 1967) is a Russian actor and retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He was a practitioner of Sambo (martial art), Sambo and Judo and competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride ...
as Oleg "Denny" Denekin *
Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former executive, promoter, and commentator. He is signed to WWE as the on-screen manager of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, and is widely regard ...
as Sports Announcer * Janet Wright as Coach Olga The film features
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
s by
Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...
, Slipknot, and
Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon ( ; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his tenures in WWE. The son of Vince McMahon, he is a fourth-generation wrestling promoter as a ...
.


Production

The movie was filmed in about 15 weeks, between July 24 and November 2000. The original script, which focused on fleshing out the social commentary of the original film, was completely re-written several times on the orders of director
John McTiernan John Campbell McTiernan Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American former filmmaker best known for his action films. His work as director includes ''Predator (film), Predator'' (1987), ''Die Hard'' (1988), and ''The Hunt for Red October (film), ...
so that it focused more on WWE-like showmanship, including crazy costumes and stunts, while changing the film's storyline from a modern-day success story to a classic underdog story. Initial screenings of a two hour workprint cut in Las Vegas around April-May 2001 received a very negative response from test audiences. MGM pushed the release date back from May to July 13 to test the movie again, hoping that they would find the right audience for it.
Harry Knowles Harry Jay Knowles (born December 11, 1971) is an American former film critic and writer known for his website ''Ain't It Cool News'' (AICN). Knowles was a member of the Austin Film Critics Association until he was removed in September 2017 "b ...
from ''
Ain't it Cool News Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book proj ...
'' was invited by McTiernan for a test screening of the film in Long Island sometime after the first test screening, and in his review of McTiernan's original cut, Knowles said that the movie was bad, but was at least an unapologetic hard-R film with much nudity and some brutal violence in Rollerball scenes, but even as a workprint it was obvious how poorly the action scenes were edited, and the story was bad. "The 'Rollerball' edit I saw was one of the worst films I'd seen in my life. There was jeering in the theater," Knowles said. Knowles was also one of the people who read the original first draft of the script (the one that McTiernan rejected) and he said that it was an amazing script which solved all the problems of the original film. Following the negative test screenings, MGM ordered massive re-shoots and re-edits to be done on the film in the middle of 2001. Shortly after the test screenings, MGM appointed a new head of marketing and distribution, Robert Levin, who convinced McTiernan to let go of the summer release date. This would give the studio more time to devise a better marketing strategy and allow McTiernan to do re-shoots and to re-edit the film for a PG-13 rating, in an attempt by the studio to get a wider audience to see the film. The release date was then pushed back again from August all the way to February 2002, due to all the post production work causing delays. McTiernan shot two weeks of additional footage in late 2001 to clarify certain scenes, especially the film's ending, and also cut down the violence and all the nudity. On orders from the studio, around 30 minutes were cut out of the original rough cut of the film and the entire ending was re-shot and changed. Some of the cuts were made because MGM thought the movie was "too Asian". In the original ending, Petrovich gets killed by Sanjay and Jonathan and Aurora fly back to the US, during which Jonathan says that he will continue playing the Rollerball game in the US, and how he is now part owner of the game. Some of the scenes that were cut for the PG-13 rating, but were never put back even in later DVD and Blu-ray so called R rated versions of the film, include lots more blood in all the Rollerball scenes and parts like skulls getting smashed, bones getting broken, teeth flying out, a scene where Aurora is topless and walks towards Jonathan in the locker room originally didn't have a shadow over her (this was added in post production to cover her up for the PG-13 rating), their sex scene was also longer, and so was their conversation while they are lying down in a sauna. Some of the other similar edits that were done on more graphic scenes in the film include digitally replacing blood spurts with sweat. Some of the action scenes were also longer in the original cut and/or edited differently or re-shot, such as the opening scene in San Francisco which was partially re-shot after the original version of it was considered to be too confusing due to the editing. The original score by Brian Transeau was also removed, purportedly because it sounded "too Arabic", and was replaced with a new score by
Éric Serra Éric Serra (; born 9 September 1959) is a French film composer, known as a frequent collaborator of director Luc Besson. He is a five-time César Award nominee, winning once for '' The Big Blue'' (1988). Early life Serra was born in Sain ...
. Also, some of the other music was changed or removed from the first cut of the film.


Reception

Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film a grade B− on scale of A to F. '' Time Outs Trevor Johnson described it as "a checklist shaped by a 15-year-old mallrat: thrashing metal track, skateboards, motorbikes, cracked heads and Rebecca Romijn with her top off". ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' reviewer
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
called it "an incoherent mess, a jumble of footage in search of plot, meaning, rhythm and sense". Chris Klein, the lead actor, was also a subject of criticism, with Ebert saying Klein seemed like a "nice kid" and was not convincing in what aspired to be a hard-edged violent film.


Accolades

Rebecca Romijn was nominated for a
Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John ...
as Worst Supporting Actress, where she lost to
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
for her cameo in ''
Die Another Day ''Die Another Day'' is a 2002 spy film and the twentieth film in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It was directed by Lee Tamahori, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and written by Neal Purvis and Rober ...
''. At the 2002
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards (formerly known as the ''Hastings Bad Cinema Society'') was a Los Angeles–based group of film buffs and film critics devoted to honoring the worst films of the year. The society was founded by Mike Lancaster and R ...
, the film won the awards for Worst Director (McTiernan), Worst Remake, and Worst Female Fake Accent (Romijn-Stamos). Romijn-Stamos was also nominated for Worst Actress but lost to Madonna for '' Swept Away''. The creator of ''Rollerball'', science fiction author William Harrison, said, "I've never watched the 2002 incarnation of ''Rollerball'', and have no interest in it."


Controversy

In 2013, director
John McTiernan John Campbell McTiernan Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American former filmmaker best known for his action films. His work as director includes ''Predator (film), Predator'' (1987), ''Die Hard'' (1988), and ''The Hunt for Red October (film), ...
was sentenced to 1 year in federal prison for making false statements to an FBI investigator in February 2006 over hiring infamous Hollywood fixer
Anthony Pellicano Anthony J. Pellicano (born March 22, 1944) is an American private investigator and convicted felon, known as a high-profile Hollywood fixer. Pellicano served thirty months in a federal prison for illegal possession of explosives and firearms. I ...
to wiretap
Charles Roven Charles "Chuck" Roven (born August 2, 1949) is an American film producer and the president and co-founder of Atlas Entertainment. He is known for producing superhero films such as ''The Dark Knight Trilogy'', '' Man of Steel'', '' Batman v Supe ...
, the producer of the film, around August 2000. McTiernan had been in a disagreement with Roven about what type of film ''Rollerball'' should be, and hired Pellicano to investigate Roven's intentions and actions. He had asked Pellicano to try to find instances where Roven made negative remarks about the studio executives or said things to others that were inconsistent with what he said to the studio.


Soundtrack

The score was released, but the soundtrack was not. # " Boom" – P.O.D. # "Told You So" –
Drowning Pool Drowning Pool is an American rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film '' The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie ...
# "Ride" – Beautiful Creatures # "Millionaire" – Rappagariya # "I Am Hated" – Slipknot # "Body Go" – Hardknox # " Feel So Numb" –
Rob Zombie Robert Bartleh Cummings (born January 12, 1965), known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live show ...
# " Keep Away" –
Godsmack Godsmack is an American Rock music, rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is currently composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. Since its formation, Godsmack has released eig ...
# "
Insane in the Brain "Insane in the Brain" is a song by American hip-hop group Cypress Hill, released in June 1993, by Ruffhouse and Columbia Records, as the first single from the group's second album, '' Black Sunday'' (1993). The song was written by group members ...
" –
Sen Dog Senen Reyes (born November 20, 1965), also known by his stage name Sen Dog, is a Cuban-American rapper who is best known as a member of the hip hop group Cypress Hill and as the lead vocalist for the nu metal band Powerflo. He has nurtured a sol ...
# " Flashpoint" –
Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial met ...
# " When I Come Around" –
Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...
# " Crawling in the Dark" –
Hoobastank Hoobastank (sometimes stylized as h∞bastank, and originally known as Hoobustank) is an American rock band formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, by lead vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassis ...
# "Time to Play" –
Pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
# "
Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy) "Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)" is a promotional single taken from Rob Zombie's second album '' The Sinister Urge''. The song can also be found on Zombie's '' Past, Present & Future'' and ''The Best of Rob Zombie''. It was nominated for ...
" –
Rob Zombie Robert Bartleh Cummings (born January 12, 1965), known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live show ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rollerball 2002 films 2002 science fiction action films Remakes of American films American science fiction action films German science fiction films Japanese science fiction films Films scored by Éric Serra Films about competitions Films shot in Minnesota Films based on science fiction short stories Films directed by John McTiernan Films set in 2005 Films set in Kazakhstan Films shot in Wyoming Roller derby films Roller skating films Films with screenplays by Larry Ferguson Atlas Entertainment films Columbia Pictures films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films about death games Films produced by John McTiernan Films produced by Charles Roven 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Japanese films 2000s German films Buena Vista International films English-language science fiction action films