Not sure how this one passed me by.
As luck would have it it ties with the many-themed 2007 posts we’ve been running.
Back in February, the 13th to be precise, the movie Resurrecting The Champ was released on DVD here in Great Britain. If IMDb is to be believed (and I’ve no reason not to) then this is the first official release of RTC in the UK. Quite why it has taken 5 years is unknown. And why did Momentum Pictures choose now to release it?
Anyway, what we have is the most basic of DVDs. It’s just the film. No extras. At least they haven’t claimed “interactive menus” (what else could a menu be?) as a feature! There is no accompanying Blu-ray version either. Reflecting the limited nature of the package is the low cost, it’s a cheap £6.49 (~US$10).
For those that don’t know RTC tells the tale of Erik (Josh Hartnet) a struggling newspaper sports reporter who comes across a now homeless ex-champion boxer (Samuel L Jackson). Erik seizes the opportunity to pen a potentially career-making article. Hilarity ensues. OK, it’s not so much with the hilarity.
Kathryn plays Joyce, Erik’s estranged wife and mother of their son (Dakota Goyo). She is a little older than Erik, works for the same newspaper and, significantly, is a much more successful writer. You know how fragile the male ego can be. Kathryn’s role is not particularly big (somewhere between Minority Report and Cougars, Inc.) but her character is key. She sets the yardstick by which Erik measures his own success, is the prize Erik is really after (he wants to prove himself and become a proper father/husband) and is the moral centre of the movie.
This is another Rod Lurie directed film, one of several that has Kathryn had roles in. Alan Alda (M*A*S*H), Terri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) and Rachel Nichols (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) also star.
You can buy Resurrecting The Champ on UK DVD from Amazon.co.uk and find newly added copies of the DVD cover and a poster in the Gallery.
Can’t believe it took this long to be released in the UK. I actually caught this one on HBO about a year ago! Now u have me thinking just how long Kathryn appeared in this one! lol
I did like the storyline even tho I’m not a big Josh H. fan or for that matter a fan of Kyle’s(Cougar Inc.) RTC is worth the watch! Having listened to some of Kathryn’s interviews,it seems as tho her & Rod Lurie have a connection when it comes to the screenplays he writes.
I don’t think RTC ever got a UK cinema release and it was clearly never thought to be worth the effort by the company to put it out DVD. Or maybe it got lost in the issues the Yari Group were having. Momentum must have picked up the film recently and released it.
Screentime-wise Kathryn is probably in RTC about the same as Cougars, Inc. but her role in this more peripheral to the main story. Try as Cougars might it was really about the Alison/Sam/Courtney triangle. RTC is about Eric and his “journey”.
I think that Kathryn auditioned for an earlier Rod Lurie film (Deterrence perhaps) and he decided he wanted to work with her as much as possible. I think (and this is my opinion) he is somewhat smitten with her (and why not!).
RichE,
If,I’m not mistaken Kathryn mentioned in the IndependentFilm(John Mazlish Photoshoot)video u posted, in the interview that Rod Lurie & her hooked up when he saw a video of her and decided to contact her about doing his first screenplay that never made it to the screen. I may be wrong but,I thought that is where Kathryn said the relationship began & that they sorta grew up together in the industry about the same time!
It may be just your opinion but,I’m not that sure,that your that far off base about him being smitten by Kathryn! Aren’t we all?
You’re right, that is what Kathryn said in the interview. I had forgotten the specifics.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m sure everyone would be if they knew her.
Agreed,even tho I’ve never met Kathryn I’m sure that they would like her, she doesn’t come across as being self-serving & bitchy instead she seems more down to earth & easy going.