Draft Day

Overview

Ivan Reitman's Draft Day stars Kevin Costner as Sonny Weaver Jr., the GM of the Cleveland Browns. With 13 hours until the beginning of the NFL draft, Sonny is informed by the team's owner (Frank Langella) that if Sonny doesn't make a splash and generate ticket sales, he's going to be fired. That prompts the GM to take a trade offer from another team that gives him the first pick in the draft, in exchange for three furure first-round picks. The move outrages the Browns' head coach, and forces all of the team's scouts to dig up what they can find about the pick everyone, including the owner, expects them to make -- a highly touted QB from Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Weaver is drawn to a talented linebacker who has family issues to deal with and is known for having a hot temper.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/02/2014
UPC:	0031398200574
Original Release:	2014
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	LIONS GATE
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:50:00

Special Features

Closed Caption; Audio Commentary with the writers; Deleted scenes; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kevin Costner	Sonny Weaver, Jr.
Jennifer Garner	Ali
Denis Leary	Coach Penn
Ellen Burstyn	Barb Weaver
Frank Langella	Anthony Molina
Chadwick Boseman	Vontae Mack
Terry Crews	Earl Jennings
Sean Combs	Chris Crawford
Josh Pence	Bo Callahan
Rosanna Arquette	Angie
Timothy Simons	Marx
David Ramsey	Thompson
Wade Williams	O'Reilly
Chi McBride	Walt Gordon
W. Earl Brown	Ralph Mowry,Himself,Herself
Griffin Newman	Rick
Kevin Dunn	Marvin,Vontae's Agent
Patrick St. Esprit	Tom Michaels
Arian Foster	Ray Jennings
Christopher Cousins	Max Stone
Laura Steinel	Heather
Wallace Langham	Pete Begler
Chris Berman	Himself
Dave Donaldson	Danny
Mel Kiper	Himself
Jon Gruden	Himself
Deion Sanders	Himself
Mike Mayock	Himself
Tony Rizzo	Himself
Aaron Goldhammer	Himself
Jordan Harris	Vontae's Nephew,War Room Intern
Richard Littlejohn	Vontae's Nephew
Enré Laney	Attractive Woman
Bernard Canepari	War Room Scout
Christopher Mele	War Room Scout
Leilani Barrett	War Room Scout
Michael Cipiti	War Room Scout
Justin Zabor	War Room Scout
Alex Mack	Himself
Tom Welling	Brian Drew
John Lee	Locker Room Player
Sam Elliott	Coach Moore
Russ Brandon	Himself
Marc Honan	Himself
Erin Drake	Seahawks Fan
Quincy Dunn-Baker	Seahawks Fan
Gregory D. Rush	Phil
Tom Headlee	Wyndham
Roger Goodell	Himself
Rich Eisen	Himself
Patrick Breen	Bill Zotti
John Heffernan	Himself
Rebecca Haarlow	Herself
Ray Lewis	Himself
Stephen Hill	Robert Starks,Andre Bello
James Brewer	Nate Davies,Nate Davies
Ramses Barden	Draft Day Player
Zoltan Mesko	Draft Day Player
Demario Davis	Draft Day Player
Margot Danis	Bo Callahan's Girlfriend
Emil Boccio	Agent
Leanora Haselrig	Vontae's Girlfriend
Jennifer McMahan	Brian Drew's Wife
Sophie Guest	Brian Drew's Daughter
Brenda Adrine	Vontae's Grandmother
Edwina Hadley	Vontae's Grandmother
Ken Fiore	Himself
Joel Bussert	Himself
Frank Supovitz	Himself
Sammy Choi	Himself
Jeff Darlington	Himself
Mike Florio	Himself
Alex Marvez	Himself
Seth Wickersham	Himself
Bernie Kosar	Himself
Phil Taylor	Himself
T.J. Ward	Himself
D'Qwell Jackson	Himself
Eric Steelberg	Actor
Ivan Reitman	Actor
John Debney	Actor,Composer
Ali Bell	Actor
Scott Rothman	Actor
Michael Beugg	Actor
Rajiv Joseph	Actor
Jason Blumenfeld	Actor
Joe Medjuck	Actor
Michael G. Nathanson	Actor
Alex Plapinger	Actor
Tom Pollock	Actor
Gigi Pritzker	Actor
Brad William Henke	Tony 'Bagel' Bagli
Michael Fisher	Football Coordinator

Technical Credits

Scott Rothman

Rajiv Joseph

Ivan Reitman	Director,Producer
Scott Rothman	Screenwriter
Rajiv Joseph	Screenwriter
Joe Medjuck	Producer
Ali Bell	Producer
Gigi Pritzker	Producer,Executive Producer
Michael Beugg	Executive Producer,Producer
Michael Nathanson	Executive Producer
Bill Lischak	Executive Producer
John Papsidera	Casting
Richard Fike	Stunts
Adam Kopald	Sound Effects
Jack Whittaker	Sound Effects
Ben Wilkins	Sound Effects
Steven A. Morrow	Sound Mixer
Tom Pollock	Producer,Executive Producer
Kathy Chasen-Hay	Special Effects
James Baker	Sound Effects
Anna Behlmer	Sound Effects
Michael J. Benavente	Sound Effects
Gary C. Bourgeois	Sound Effects
Scott Curtis	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

Ivan Reitman's Draft Day is a diluted mix of Jerry Maguire and Moneyball that lacks the emotional pull of the former and the intelligence of the latter. While it may not measure up to its two most obvious influences, it goes down smooth, even though it ends up feeling like little more than a feature-length advertisement for the NFL. The movie stars Kevin Costner as Sonny Weaver Jr., the general manager of the struggling Cleveland Browns. With half a day to go until the beginning of the draft, he gets a trade offer from the Seattle Seahawks. The Browns can have the first pick this time around in exchange for multiple first-round picks in subsequent drafts. Sonny doesn't want to mortgage the future of his franchise and refuses, but when Browns owner Anthony Molina (Frank Langella) tells him that he needs to make a big splash that will help sell tickets or he'll be fired, Sonny accepts the Seahawks' offer. Sonny and his scouts now have about 12 hours to determine if they should take the consensus, no-brainer top pick, the seemingly flawless Wisconsin quarterback Bo Callahan (Josh Pence); their decision is complicated by the fact that they already have a solid, if injury-prone, QB named Brian Drew (Tom Welling). Sonny is more interested in defensive prospect Vontae Mack (Chadwick Boseman), a beast of a linebacker whom the press believes lacks discipline. Meanwhile, the Browns' head coach (Denis Leary) is touting a superstar running-back prospect whose father once played for the Browns. In addition to all of the work drama, Sonny finds out that his girlfriend Ali (Jennifer Garner) is pregnant, and she's not thrilled that their relationship must remain a secret since she's an executive with the team whose responsibilities include making sure they stay under the salary cap. Also, Sonny's father, the Browns' previous coach, passed away the week before. It should be clear by now that there's a heaping pile of plot in Draft Day, and while Reitman does a decent job of keeping up the narrative pace and juggling all of these story lines, screenwriters Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph make some serious logical errors that keep the film from developing any depth. Their most egregious mistake occurs when Sonny shares a piece of information with his underlings that explains Vontae's most infamous public display of irresponsibility: Even viewers who don't know a touchdown from a touchback will recognize that this explanation would have been public knowledge immediately after the incident occurred. It's such a ludicrous plot development that it undermines the audience's suspension of disbelief. The performers keep everything enjoyable and light. Costner doesn't do much here, but he doesn't have to; Garner is warm and unflappable, though not quite plausible as a football insider; and Langella playfully chews the scenery as the powerful team owner. Two actors do stand out. Denis Leary looks and sounds like a football lifer; you can imagine his character having his own film. And Chadwick Boseman, who was very good as Jackie Robinson in 42, makes a big impact. He's totally believable as an athlete, but he also makes Vontae the most richly realized character in the whole movie with only four or five scenes. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Draft Day is that the NFL blessed the entire production, and obviously hopes to use it as a marketing tool. Not only do a number of real-life pro-football figures appear as themselves, but the NFL symbol, as well as the actual teams' logos and names, are on display throughout the movie. Seeing as how current league commissioner Roger Goodell has garnered a reputation as a law-and-order type -- frequently fining players and coaches for a myriad of on- and off-field actions -- it makes sense that he would throw the wealthy and powerful organization's full weight behind a film in which the subtext is that teams need to focus on picking players without character faults. Draft Day seems promising, but it doesn't develop into anything particularly memorable or special -- kind of like the majority of college players taken in the final round of the NFL draft.