Fever Pitch (1997 film)
Encyclopedia
- For other uses see Fever Pitch (disambiguation)Fever Pitch (disambiguation)Fever Pitch is the title of a 1992 autobiographical book by British author Nick Hornby.Fever Pitch may also refer to:* Fever Pitch , a film about gambling directed by Richard Brooks and starring Ryan O'Neal...
Fever Pitch is a 1997
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
film starring Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
based loosely on the book of the same name
Fever Pitch
Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life is the title of a 1992 autobiographical book by British author Nick Hornby. The book is the basis for two films: Fever Pitch was released in 1997, and Fever Pitch in 2005...
by Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
.
Synopsis
Hornby adapted the book for the screen and fictionalized the story, concentrating on Arsenal'sArsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
championship-winning season in 1988-89
1988-89 in English football
The 1988–89 season was the 109th season of competitive football in England.-Hillsborough disaster:On 15 April, a crowd crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough killed 94 people and injured more than 300. A 95th Liverpool supporter died in hospital...
and its effect on the protagonist's romantic relationship. Firth plays "Paul Ashworth", the character based on Hornby, a teacher at a school in North London, and his burgeoning romance with Sarah Hughes (Ruth Gemmell
Ruth Gemmell
-Early life:Ruth Gemmell was born in Darlington, Durham, England. She has three brothers. She attended an all girls school in Darlington called Polam Hall.Her parents divorced when she was a child and she moved with her mother to Darlington from Barnard Castle....
), a new teacher who joins Ashworth's school. The film culminates with the real life events of Arsenal's match against title rivals Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
in the final game of the season
Liverpool 0–2 Arsenal (26 May 1989)
The final match of the 1988–89 English Football League season was contested on 26 May 1989, between Liverpool and Arsenal, at Liverpool's Anfield ground. By sheer coincidence, it was the match between the top two teams in the First Division and the teams were close enough on points for the match to...
on May 26, 1989, a Michael Thomas last-minute goal
Last-minute goal
The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game. It may not necessarily refer to a goal scored in the actual final minute...
giving Arsenal the 2–0 win they needed to win the title.
Production
The film also starred Neil PearsonNeil Pearson
Neil Joshua Pearson is a British actor best known for his work on television.-Biography:Pearson grew up in Battersea, London, the son of a panel beater, who left home when he was five, and a legal secretary, and was educated at Woolverstone Hall School, Suffolk, a boarding school, where he first...
as Paul's father, and Mark Strong
Mark Strong
Mark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
as Steve, Paul's best friend. Nick Hornby himself has a cameo role as a beaten opposition manager in a School football match in one scene. Parts of the film were shot on location in the surroundings of Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
in Highbury
Highbury
- Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...
; however as the terracing
Terrace (stadium)
A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the traditional standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
at Highbury had since been replaced, the scenes of fans on the terraces were instead filmed at Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
's Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage is the name of a football stadium in the Hammersmith and Fulham area that has been the home ground of the association football team Fulham F.C. since 1896....
stadium.
Cast
- Colin FirthColin FirthSirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
as Paul Ashworth - Ruth GemmellRuth Gemmell-Early life:Ruth Gemmell was born in Darlington, Durham, England. She has three brothers. She attended an all girls school in Darlington called Polam Hall.Her parents divorced when she was a child and she moved with her mother to Darlington from Barnard Castle....
as Sarah Hughes - Mark StrongMark StrongMark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
as Steve - Neil PearsonNeil PearsonNeil Joshua Pearson is a British actor best known for his work on television.-Biography:Pearson grew up in Battersea, London, the son of a panel beater, who left home when he was five, and a legal secretary, and was educated at Woolverstone Hall School, Suffolk, a boarding school, where he first...
as Mr. Ashworth - Lorraine AshbourneLorraine AshbourneLorraine Ashbourne is an English stage, film and television actress.-Career:She has appeared on British television series and television movies, including: The Street,True Dare Kiss, Thin Ice, In a Land of Plenty,...
as Mrs. Ashworth - Holly Aird as Jo
- Stephen ReaStephen ReaStephen Rea is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in high profile films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on Pluto...
as Ray, the governor - Emily Conway as Sasha
Remake
In 2005, the film was remade in an American version also entitled Fever PitchFever Pitch (2005 film)
Fever Pitch, which was released as The Perfect Catch outside of the United States and Canada, is a 2005 Farrelly brothers romantic comedy film. It is a remake of a 1997 British film of the same name. Both films are loosely based on the Nick Hornby book of the same name, a best-selling memoir in...
starring Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC...
and Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
, with the World-Series-winning 2004
2004 World Series
The 2004 World Series was the Major League Baseball championship series for the 2004 season. It was the 100th World Series and featured the American League champions, the Boston Red Sox, against the National League champions, the St. Louis Cardinals...
Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
replacing Arsenal.
To avoid confusion, this film is known as The Perfect Catch in the U.K.