bob_barron Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 She did it behind the ref's back Ebert explains it as well: Q. Left completely unresolved in "Million Dollar Baby" was what happened to Maggie's opponent after delivering the illegal sucker punch. It is vaguely suggested that the opponent was allowed to retain the contested title. This is ludicrous. After such conduct, no legitimate sanctioning body would simply award a championship to the offending fighter. And even though the conduct occurred in a boxing ring, there would probably be some public outcry for criminal charges. I'm not objecting to the presentation of Maggie's story, but I feel there should have been some resolution to the boxing-related issues. Alan C. Douglas, Chicago A. Tom Rosenberg of Chicago's Lakeshore Entertainment, one of the film's producers, replies: "The referee did not see the late punches in either bout. Often fighters are hit after the bell without disqualification. This ties into Frankie's constant advice to Maggie: 'Protect yourself at all times.' Maggie did not win the fight but her mother is incorrect, highlighting her meanness, when she tells aggie 'you lost'."
Ravenbomb Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 Was anybody else hoping that wirey cowboy hat wearing fuck would piss Eastwood off? I was BEGGING for him to say one more thing so Eastwood would knock him the fuck out. Although they already did that with Morgan Freeman and that one boxer dude, but still...
Guest Vitamin X Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 Yet in the film the bitch never gets a comeuppance, never is shown being drug away in chains, never shown on ESPN being stripped of the title, and so on. It really pissed me off and combine this with the last half hour being excruciating with Hilary dying in a rehab center, it made me simply detest the film by the time it was over, when at the 90m mark it was headed towards easy ***1/2 to **** territory. Comments? Well duh, Oscar contenders ALWAYS have to have someone central to the storyline die. It's like an unwritten rule or something.
cabbageboy Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 I don't really object to Swank dying here exactly. Hell that's a staple of boxing movies going back to Kirk Douglas in Champion. What I would have liked instead of 30 mins of dreary crap in a nursing home would be for Maggie to go down in a blaze of glory, winning the title but then ultimately dying afterwards in the lockerroom from the cheap shots. That whole "ref didn't see it" thing is such bullshit. This isn't wrestling for fuck's sake....she did this BLATANTLY, how the fuck could the ref not see it? I know punches are thrown in boxing at times after the bell but those are heat of the moment things immediately after the bell that are quickly stopped. This was a very deliberate act a good 10 seconds AFTER the fighters were going to the corner. The producer in reality is trying to justify something that isn't justifiable...it's just bullshit. The basic script here was so badly thought out here that it can't be defended. In reality there is no way a ref could miss such a blatant cheap shot (hell she crashed into the stool for fuck's sake...did the ref not see that either?). Christ even if he DID somehow miss it, the crowd's uproar and everyone screaming about it would have cleared it up soon enough. I'm not objecting to Maggie dying...I just thought it was all wrong the way it went down and the long, drawn out tedium in which it occurred. And I really, really had a problem with the champion getting no comeuppance here, no mention of a punishment, no stripping of the title, etc. Maggie didn't lose the fight, in reality she won on a DQ and would have possibly been awarded the title (albeit it would just be held up afterwards since she couldn't defend). A film with something this fundamentally fucked up in its storyline should not have won best picture. Hell, Aviator, Finding Neverland, and Sideways were all better films than this.
Guest Vitamin X Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 I don't really object to Swank dying here exactly. Hell that's a staple of boxing movies going back to Kirk Douglas in Champion. What I would have liked instead of 30 mins of dreary crap in a nursing home would be for Maggie to go down in a blaze of glory, winning the title but then ultimately dying afterwards in the lockerroom from the cheap shots. Um, Rocky? That also won Best Picture. And it's been a while since I saw the movie, but I don't remember anyone dying. A film with something this fundamentally fucked up in its storyline should not have won best picture. Hell, Aviator, Finding Neverland, and Sideways were all better films than this. As much as I agree with you on the second part (minus Finding Neverland which I found to be tremendously boring and sappy), to be fair you are kind of nitpicking one flaw in the movie and exploding it as if to make the entire film terrible. That doesn't negate the tremendous job Eastwood did directing (although Scorsese did a better job in the Aviator, given the material he had to work with, and made it original and an interesting biopic) nor does that negate any of the actors' (and actress') fine performances. I don't have a problem with it being nominated, but in my opinion it certainly wasn't the Best Picture of the Year. I suppose however, getting the award will help its credibility out as the Aviator and Sideways both have already gotten the recognition they deserve from other sources, as well as in theatres. Quite an accomplishment for a movie which made me think that it was the second coming of Girlfight.
Lil' Bitch Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 I'm glad Jamie Foxx and Eternal Sunshine won an Oscar.
bob_barron Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 That whole "ref didn't see it" thing is such bullshit. This isn't wrestling for fuck's sake....she did this BLATANTLY, how the fuck could the ref not see it? I know punches are thrown in boxing at times after the bell but those are heat of the moment things immediately after the bell that are quickly stopped. This was a very deliberate act a good 10 seconds AFTER the fighters were going to the corner. The ref can't call what he doesn't see. I remember his head was turned and he was occupied somewhere else The producer in reality is trying to justify something that isn't justifiable...it's just bullshit. The basic script here was so badly thought out here that it can't be defended. In reality there is no way a ref could miss such a blatant cheap shot (hell she crashed into the stool for fuck's sake...did the ref not see that either?). Christ even if he DID somehow miss it, the crowd's uproar and everyone screaming about it would have cleared it up soon enough. No it's not- the ref didn't see it! It's as simple as that. In any fight you can't call what you don't see. I'm not objecting to Maggie dying...I just thought it was all wrong the way it went down and the long, drawn out tedium in which it occurred. And I really, really had a problem with the champion getting no comeuppance here, no mention of a punishment, no stripping of the title, etc. Maggie didn't lose the fight, in reality she won on a DQ and would have possibly been awarded the title (albeit it would just be held up afterwards since she couldn't defend). Because no one was really concerned with that. Considering Maggie was paralyzed, I don't think anyone's concern was the status of the title. The ref didn't see the punch so Maggie lost the fight since she couldn't continue. A film with something this fundamentally fucked up in its storyline should not have won best picture. Hell, Aviator, Finding Neverland, and Sideways were all better films than this. Finding Neverland was much more ridiciously flawed then Million Dollar Baby. Look at the way they dealt with the pedophile stuff.
Jingus Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 The ref can't call what he doesn't see. I remember his head was turned and he was occupied somewhere else No it's not- the ref didn't see it! It's as simple as that. In any fight you can't call what you don't see. Boxing doesn't work like wrestling, bob. It doesn't matter whether the referee saw the punch or not. The entire crowd, the judges, and the cameras sure did. Any real boxing commission would've certainly punished that girl severely.
Downhome Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 Any real boxing commission would've certainly punished that girl severely. We don't know if they punished her or not, and if they did...in what way. That wasn't important enough to dwell on to me, it wasn't the plot point that was to be focused on. All we know is that Maggie got beat down, and she didn't defeat her opponent to win the title from her. With Maggie being totally out, they couldn't just give it to her either could they? I just don't see what the big deal is here.
Jingus Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 It's not a big deal, just a minor plot hole, and one that was badly mis-explained by the producer in Roger Ebert's column since it showed that person clearly knows nothing about boxing.
bob_barron Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 It's not a big deal, just a minor plot hole, and one that was badly mis-explained by the producer in Roger Ebert's column since it showed that person clearly knows nothing about boxing. It's not a plot hole- it's just something they didn't mention again. I didn't really think of it while watching the movie since I was too busy worrying about Maggie's fate and all of that. It just wasn't important to mention.
AndrewTS Posted March 1, 2005 Report Posted March 1, 2005 I don't think Scorcese will ever get an Oscar--and there's a reason why. Saw this posted on another board: Mr. (Robert) Wise is a two time Oscars director known for "West Side Story" (1961) and "The Sound of Music"(1965), who came forward and denouced Martin Scorsese for putting his name on a article that praises Marty. Mr.Scorsese is offically out with the director guild of Hollywood. The Academy didn't screw Marty; Marty screwed Marty.
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