8 Seconds
Encyclopedia
8 Seconds is a 1994 biographical film
about American rodeo
legend and world bull riding
champion Lane Frost
. It details his life from his youth learning how to ride bulls, until his death in 1989. It was directed by John G. Avildsen
and stars Luke Perry
as Frost, Stephen Baldwin
as real life rodeo legend Tuff Hedeman
, and Red Mitchell as cowboy poet Cody Lambert
. The title refers to the length of time a bull rider is required to stay on for a ride to be scored.
(Cameron Finley
) learns the tricks of the bull riding
trade at the hand of his father, Clyde (James Rebhorn
), an accomplished rodeo bronco rider himself. As he enters his teenage and early adult years (Luke Perry
) he travels the western rodeo circuit with his best friends Tuff Hedeman
(Stephen Baldwin
) and Cody Lambert
(Red Mitchell). He meets and falls in love with a young barrel racer, Kellie Kyle, and eventually they marry in 1984.
As Lane's legend and fame increase, so does the amount of pressure he puts on himself, to be what everyone wants him to be, and he wants to show that he is a good as they say he is. His ascent to the world championship is marred by a cheating incident, questions about his wife's devotion and a near broken neck. The film also follows him through the true life series between himself and Red Rock, a bull that no cowboy had ever been able to stay on for 8 seconds. It cuts the series down to three rides, when in reality it was seven (Lane was able to get the best of him, going 4-3 in the series). It culminates at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo; Lane is the second-to-last rider that day, riding on the bull known as "Takin' Care Of Business". As he dismounts after his 8 second ride the bull turns back and hits him in the side with his horn, breaking some ribs and severing a main artery. As a result of excessive internal bleeding, he dies on the arena floor before he can be transported to the hospital.
The final scene shows Hedeman later that same year at the National Finals Rodeo
riding for the world championship. After the 8 second bell sounds, he continues to ride and stays on an additional 8 seconds as a tribute to his fallen best friend.
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
about American rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
legend and world bull riding
Bull riding
Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....
champion Lane Frost
Lane Frost
Lane Clyde Frost was a professional bull rider and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association member, who died in the arena at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo as a result of injuries sustained riding the bull "Takin' Care of Business".-Early life:Lane was born on October 12, 1963. At that time,...
. It details his life from his youth learning how to ride bulls, until his death in 1989. It was directed by John G. Avildsen
John G. Avildsen
John Guilbert Avildsen is an American film director.-Life and career:Avildsen was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of Ivy and Clarence John Avildsen...
and stars Luke Perry
Luke Perry
Luke Perry is an American actor. Perry starred as Dylan McKay on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990–95, and then from 1998–2000. Much publicity was garnered over the fact that even though he was playing a sixteen-year-old when 90210 began, Perry was actually in his...
as Frost, Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Andrew Baldwin is an American actor, director, producer and author. One of the Baldwin brothers, he is known for his roles as William F. Cody in the western show The Young Riders and as Stuart in the movie Threesome...
as real life rodeo legend Tuff Hedeman
Tuff Hedeman
Richard Neale "Tuff" Hedeman is a retired 3 time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Champion bull rider, as well as the 1995 Professional Bull Riders World Champion, and is the current president of Championship Bull Riding...
, and Red Mitchell as cowboy poet Cody Lambert
Cody Lambert
Cody Lambert is a former professional saddle bronc & bull rider. He was a Champion Bull Riding Cowboy and Vice President of the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. He created the protective vest that most Professional Bull Riders wear, after seeing the death of his friend, Lane Frost at the Cheyenne...
. The title refers to the length of time a bull rider is required to stay on for a ride to be scored.
Plot
Young Lane FrostLane Frost
Lane Clyde Frost was a professional bull rider and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association member, who died in the arena at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo as a result of injuries sustained riding the bull "Takin' Care of Business".-Early life:Lane was born on October 12, 1963. At that time,...
(Cameron Finley
Cameron Finley
Joseph Cameron Finley is an American former child actor.Finley was born in Garland, Texas, the son of Lexa Iann , a spiritual healer, and Charles David "Chuck" Finley, a software developer. He has two siblings, Taz and Stopher. When he was three, he was taken by his parents to an acting seminar...
) learns the tricks of the bull riding
Bull riding
Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....
trade at the hand of his father, Clyde (James Rebhorn
James Rebhorn
James Robert Rebhorn is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 television shows, feature films and plays.-Personal life:...
), an accomplished rodeo bronco rider himself. As he enters his teenage and early adult years (Luke Perry
Luke Perry
Luke Perry is an American actor. Perry starred as Dylan McKay on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990–95, and then from 1998–2000. Much publicity was garnered over the fact that even though he was playing a sixteen-year-old when 90210 began, Perry was actually in his...
) he travels the western rodeo circuit with his best friends Tuff Hedeman
Tuff Hedeman
Richard Neale "Tuff" Hedeman is a retired 3 time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Champion bull rider, as well as the 1995 Professional Bull Riders World Champion, and is the current president of Championship Bull Riding...
(Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Andrew Baldwin is an American actor, director, producer and author. One of the Baldwin brothers, he is known for his roles as William F. Cody in the western show The Young Riders and as Stuart in the movie Threesome...
) and Cody Lambert
Cody Lambert
Cody Lambert is a former professional saddle bronc & bull rider. He was a Champion Bull Riding Cowboy and Vice President of the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. He created the protective vest that most Professional Bull Riders wear, after seeing the death of his friend, Lane Frost at the Cheyenne...
(Red Mitchell). He meets and falls in love with a young barrel racer, Kellie Kyle, and eventually they marry in 1984.
As Lane's legend and fame increase, so does the amount of pressure he puts on himself, to be what everyone wants him to be, and he wants to show that he is a good as they say he is. His ascent to the world championship is marred by a cheating incident, questions about his wife's devotion and a near broken neck. The film also follows him through the true life series between himself and Red Rock, a bull that no cowboy had ever been able to stay on for 8 seconds. It cuts the series down to three rides, when in reality it was seven (Lane was able to get the best of him, going 4-3 in the series). It culminates at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo; Lane is the second-to-last rider that day, riding on the bull known as "Takin' Care Of Business". As he dismounts after his 8 second ride the bull turns back and hits him in the side with his horn, breaking some ribs and severing a main artery. As a result of excessive internal bleeding, he dies on the arena floor before he can be transported to the hospital.
The final scene shows Hedeman later that same year at the National Finals Rodeo
National Finals Rodeo
The National Finals Rodeo, organized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, is the premier championship rodeo event in the United States. Wrangler Jeans is the title sponsor for the 10-day event, commonly just called the National Finals or NFR, which is also sometimes referred to as the...
riding for the world championship. After the 8 second bell sounds, he continues to ride and stays on an additional 8 seconds as a tribute to his fallen best friend.
Cast
- Luke PerryLuke PerryLuke Perry is an American actor. Perry starred as Dylan McKay on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990–95, and then from 1998–2000. Much publicity was garnered over the fact that even though he was playing a sixteen-year-old when 90210 began, Perry was actually in his...
(Cameron FinleyCameron FinleyJoseph Cameron Finley is an American former child actor.Finley was born in Garland, Texas, the son of Lexa Iann , a spiritual healer, and Charles David "Chuck" Finley, a software developer. He has two siblings, Taz and Stopher. When he was three, he was taken by his parents to an acting seminar...
, young) as Lane FrostLane FrostLane Clyde Frost was a professional bull rider and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association member, who died in the arena at the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo as a result of injuries sustained riding the bull "Takin' Care of Business".-Early life:Lane was born on October 12, 1963. At that time,... - Stephen BaldwinStephen BaldwinStephen Andrew Baldwin is an American actor, director, producer and author. One of the Baldwin brothers, he is known for his roles as William F. Cody in the western show The Young Riders and as Stuart in the movie Threesome...
as Tuff HedemanTuff HedemanRichard Neale "Tuff" Hedeman is a retired 3 time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Champion bull rider, as well as the 1995 Professional Bull Riders World Champion, and is the current president of Championship Bull Riding... - Red Mitchell as Cody LambertCody LambertCody Lambert is a former professional saddle bronc & bull rider. He was a Champion Bull Riding Cowboy and Vice President of the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. He created the protective vest that most Professional Bull Riders wear, after seeing the death of his friend, Lane Frost at the Cheyenne...
- Cynthia GearyCynthia GearyCynthia Geary is an American actress best known for her role as Shelly Tambo in the television series Northern Exposure. In her Emmy-nominated role, she played a former Miss Northwest Passage beauty queen living with a decades-older lover, Holling Vincoeur...
as Kellie Frost - James RebhornJames RebhornJames Robert Rebhorn is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 television shows, feature films and plays.-Personal life:...
as Clyde Frost - Carrie SnodgressCarrie SnodgressCaroline "Carrie" Snodgress was an American actress.-Biography:Snodgress was born in Park Ridge, Illinois. She attended Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge then Northern Illinois University before leaving to pursue acting. Snodgress trained for the stage at the Goodman Theatre, in Chicago...
as Elsie Frost - Renée ZellwegerRenée ZellwegerRenée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
as Buckle Bunny - George MichaelGeorge Michael (sportscaster)George Michael was an American sportscaster best known nationally for The George Michael Sports Machine, his long-running sports highlights television program. Originally named George Michael's Sports Final when it began as a local show in Washington, D.C...
as Himself - Brooks & DunnBrooks & DunnBrooks & Dunn was an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, who were both vocalists and songwriters. They were paired by record producer Tim DuBois in 1990. Before the duo's foundation, both members of the duo were solo recording artists...
as Themselves