"School Situation", what happened to the teenagers who surprised you?

Eduardo 2022-02-17 08:01:57

In the fall of 1992, all teenagers in the United States seemed to be talking about a new movie "School ties." Whenever the weekend comes, they either go to the cinema in twos and threes to watch this new play, or they go to a rock and roll party, swaying their endless youthful vitality. Every leading actor in the film has become a hot topic of discussion-their handsome appearance far exceeds the serious theme of anti-racism in this film.

Brandon Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell and Ben Affleck, these future stars are just beginning their screen careers at this time. The producer of the film Stanley Jaffe (in 1982, he asked Sean Penn and Tom Cruise to open the stars with "Lights Out") gathered the next generation of popular Hollywood niches in the densely green campus of aristocratic schools , Made a film reflecting the social problems of anti-Semitism in the 1950s.

Nearly 30 years after the film was released, "School Situation" has become a valuable time capsule for the rising stars of Hollywood in the 1990s.

The fictional College of Saint Matthew in "School Situation"

1 Film preparation and audition

Producer Jaffe planned to shoot this film in the early 1980s, and it took nine years from preparation to filming. In 1991, he joined Paramount, and the film finally got the green light. The project invited Robert Mandel to direct, and almost all Hollywood newcomers flocked in.

The film crew received a total of more than 5,000 video tape auditions, and they spent a whole year and a half looking for the leading actors. Finally, they found Brandon Fraser in Seattle, who had not made a movie at the time. He was more like the actor "David" than everyone else.

The director believes, "He is taller and more'different', even though he is not a Jew himself. Other supporting actors wanted to play David, but when we teamed up Brandon with others, he was Rees O'Donnell and Matt Dimon seem to be even less gregarious"-and this is clearly what the film needs.

At that time, the director and the producer still had some differences, because the producer Jaffe wanted Matt Damon to play the leading role. "No, no, I still can't do this," the producer said with a smile many years later. Matt's appearance at the time seemed to be the ideal protagonist: a strong rugby quarterback and Jewish...a little bit away.

Matt Damon

Brandon recalled the final audition. He said that he was wearing a bad shirt and auditioned and read the script with Matt Damon. "I got this job because of Matt. He gave me a lot of interview advice, don't do this, don't do that-I feel great after trying to do what he says. I admire him very much."

Stills from "School Situation", Matt Damon and Brandon Fraser

The other starring Chris O'Donnell was studying at Boston College, and he went to audition in the crew's office in New York. He tried the part of Chris and the part of Charlie Dillon (later played by Matt Damon), and later he got his own role of the same name. "In hindsight, I thought Matt's role was actually more interesting, but I wanted to play a likable boy at the time."

"School Situation" stills, Chris O'Donnell

In 1991, the young protagonists were assembled to a high school in Concord, Massachusetts. Interestingly, the school that provided the venue for the film did not even know the plot of the film that was about to start.

Fragment of "School Situation"

The boys are arranged to train for the rugby team and even lift weights to exercise. In O'Donnell’s memories, Matt was always strong when he worked out. Under the leadership of their coach, they spend every morning on the football training ground. Later, the rugby game scenes they presented in the movie were carefully arranged.

"School Situation" filming highlights, Matt Damon plays a rugby team member

Unlike in the movie, Matt prefers sports in real life, while Brandon claims to be "not good at rugby sports like rugby. Most of the shots are performed. I don't like fighting or being beaten." , It hurts too much". And everyone discovered that Matt and Ben Affleck were very close friends before they joined the crew.

"School Situation" Matt and the same frame fragment

During the filming, all of them went to New York to participate in the audition for Al Pacino's "Scent of a Woman". Matt also read the script, but it was Chris O'Donnell that got the role in the end. After the release of "Scent of a Woman", O'Donnell was nominated for the Golden Globe Supporting Actor that year.

Stills of "School Situation", Matt Damon in a rugby game

There is also a small climax in the filming, where Brandon and Matt fight each other in the bathroom. This scene was filmed for five days, and the boys had to maintain such a state for a long time shooting until they ran out of hot water. In the end, most of their scenes were shot in cold water.

"School Situation" bathroom conflict fragment

2 Film release and influence

In 1992, "School Situation" was released, and the film did not achieve great success at the box office. Its box office revenue is about 14 million U.S. dollars, and after deducting inflation, it is less than 20 million U.S. dollars today after more than two decades. It has not received any major awards, and the Rotten Tomatoes score is not satisfactory.

The protagonists of "School Situation" took a group photo at the premiere

However, this film gave young boys a much more exposure overnight than in the past. They have appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, and television interviews, and the entire United States is fascinated by their youthful faces.

Patrick Whitesell, a very young agent at the time, watched "School Situation" and was attracted by Matt in the film. Then he inquired that Matt was still studying at Harvard, so he turned to Matt’s dormitory number from the Harvard phone book and called him to talk about signing the contract, and then quickly flew to Boston to sign the person. Patrick Whitesell is now the executive chairman of WME.

Ben, Matt and their agent Patrick

In 2019, Christian Bale, who collaborated with Matt Damon on "Speed ​​Car King", mentioned in an interview, "I remember that before Matt became very famous, I saw him in "School Storm" in 1992. , Although I didn't know him. I thought,'No matter what his name is-he is amazing.'"

This film caused a lot of ripples among the teenagers at the time. Chris O'Donnell became a popular niche. After being nominated for a Golden Globe supporting actor with "Scent of a Woman", he won The role of "Robin" in the 1995 Batman movie. Years later, Matt mentioned that he also auditioned for this role, but once again lost to O'Donnell.

With the passage of time, this film that truly reproduces the social reality of the United States in the 1950s, together with this group of lovely male students, has become another niche classic with coexistence of beauty and depth in the minds of movie fans.

3 Contrast between the present and the past of the protagonists

However, what happened to those beautiful teenagers who amazed time?

Let's first look at a recent photo of the starring Brandon Frazier.

In December 2019, Brandon Fraser appeared at the closing ceremony of the Hainan International Film Festival

Brendan Fraser as David Greene

The movies "Tarzan in the Forest" and "The Mummy" became turning points and milestones in his acting career. The 2007 hit movie "The Mummy 3" brought it back to the attention of global audiences. But after that, there were no masterpieces, and gradually became a frequent visitor to small and medium cost movies.

Matt Damon, as Charlie Dillon Matt was still a student at Harvard University when filming this film. Although he failed to make a big hit with "School Storm", when "Mind Catcher" burst and won the Oscar trophy, Matt embarked on the smooth path of the first-line celebrities. "Genius Ripley", "The Bourne Flyer", "The Martian"... countless masterpieces and trophies are still the top first-line celebrities in Hollywood.

Randall Batinkoff, as Rip van Kelt

Batinkov studied at Brown University and obtained a Master of Philosophy in International Relations. (It is worth mentioning that most of the starring actors in "School Storm" were students who were studying or just graduated, and many of them had good academic qualifications, which is very consistent with the film.) He was starring in "Vampire Hunter" "Buffy" also called Ueben Affleck to come together as a guest. Later, he mostly worked in American drama circles and small and medium cost movies, and recently starred in "Black Widow".

Chris O'Donnell, as Chris Reece

O'Donnell studied at the University of California and Boston College, and obtained a master's degree in marketing from Boston College in 1995. In 1992, "Scent of a Woman" in collaboration with Al Pacino (Al Pacino) began to let people know Chris O'Donnell. "Batman Forever" (Batman Forever) plays Batman's assistant Robin (Robin).

It can be said that in the 1990s, O'Donnell was once popular for a while, but after the millennium, he rarely launched any masterpieces. In 2005, he made a guest appearance in the popular ABC TV series "Grey's Anatomy" (Grey's Anatomy), in which he played the heroine's veterinary boyfriend Finn. In 2009, he joined the CBS TV station "Navy Crime Investigation Service" spin-off drama "Navy Crime Investigation Service: Los Angeles", playing one of the leading male protagonists code-named G. Callen (Callen) agent. The number of viewers for this drama continues the brilliance of CBS crime drama series, staying between 17 million and 20 million.

Cole Hauser, as Jack Connors

Cole Hauser, who was born in 1975, was only 16 years old when he starred in "School Storm", but was joked by his crewmates as "We thought he was older than us." He later starred in the "Mind Catcher" quartet with Matt, Ben and Cassie, but he did not become as famous as the other three (in fact, Cassie didn't become familiar with it until "The Death of the Sharpshooter"). Later, he played roles in "Paparazzi", "Die Hard 5" and "Transcendental Hacker" one after another.

Ben Affleck, as Chesty Smith

At that time, Ben Affleck, who played only a small supporting role in "School Situation", later became a Hollywood A-list with his friend Matt Damon. From the actor's cross-border director, he has harvested another Oscar statuette, and there are still continuous film appointments. "The Last Duel", which I recently collaborated with Matt, is currently being filmed.

Anthony Rapp, as Richard "McGoo" Collins

In 1993, Rapp continued to collaborate with Ben Affleck in "Young and Frolic", and later he performed more on Broadway.

Amy Locane, as Sally Wheeler

Regrettably, Amy, the sweet girl who played the heroine of the year, has gradually disappeared after appearing in many youth romance movies. However, in 2010, Amy drunk and collided with another car, killing a 60-year-old woman and injuring her husband. She was sentenced to three years in prison for this crime. (The recent photo should be the photo of the police station without makeup...a ​​sigh)

View more about School Ties reviews

Extended Reading
  • Axel 2022-02-17 08:01:57

    Right and wrong,,,,,,,,,,

  • Marcellus 2022-02-17 08:01:57

    It's so ugly and so boring, it's only interesting at the end. (I wanted to see this motor, but I saw it.. I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s a pair that can be used as well)

School Ties quotes

  • Dr. Bartram: You people are very... determined, aren't you?

    David Green: Sometimes we have to be, sir.

  • [first lines]

    Joyce: Davey! Davey you're here.

    [big hug]

    Jack Connors: He's not going off to war, only Massachusetts, huh?