“The Champ” A tear-jerking movie created by a parent-child drama and fierce boxing

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2020.03.24Atsunobu Ushizu

In order to guide the child actors' feelings...

Voight also frequently talked with the director about how to guide Schroeder in order to prepare him mentally. One of the famous scenes is the ``reunion with his father in detention'', and Voight reportedly set up a play to create the feeling of that moment.

Here's how it all turned out. One day, the two were having fun together at the hotel pool. This was a common sight during filming, but at this moment Voight suddenly became blunt and threw Schroeder into the pool, then walked away with a creepy smile and said, ``See you later.'' Apparently he hasn't been seen for three days.

Schroeder became scared and started crying, believing he had offended Voight by saying something offensive.

After a few days of feeling like this, we were finally able to see each other again in the "detention center" scene. Everything was done to prepare his ``feelings'' for this difficult scene. That's why the tears that overflowed from Schroeder's eyes, the relieved expression on his face to finally meet him, and even the faint feeling of worry that he might get scolded again were expressions of real emotion that transcended acting. is.

In this way, the boy, who was only 8 years old, overcame situations that at times could not be called acting or reality (of course, it goes without saying that behind the scenes there was the utmost care from his parents, staff, and co-stars). I poured my soul into it. As a result, he captured the hearts of audiences all over the world and achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Golden Globe Award for Best New Actor at this young age.

Did Voight get the role because of his kids?

By the way, when Jon Voight was approached for this role, he was reluctant at first to appear in the role, but the film company told him, ``There's a child actor we'd like you to see a test film for,'' and he asked his own child, who was still young, to play the role. Apparently, he took them with him to the screening room.

What was shown on the screen was an image of Schroeder playing with a horse. The children who saw this were immediately influenced and began to imitate the horse and the boy. Seeing this, Voight started thinking seriously, ``Maybe I should be in this.'' It seems that his request, ``Dad, please come on the show!'' turned out to be a no-no.

After all, Voight's children, a young Angelina Jolie and her older brother, contributed significantly to the film. It is said that filmmaking is the product of various fates and coincidences, and ``The Champ'' is also a work that was born out of unexpected influences.

Text: USHIZU ATSUNOBU

Born in Nagasaki in 1977. When he was 3 years old, he saw ``Superman II'' with his father and became fascinated with movies. After The Graduate from Meiji University, he worked for a movie broadcasting channel and then became a movie writer. Currently, in addition to writing for Eiga.com, EYESCREAM, Real Sound Movie Club, etc., he also contributes to media press and theater programs.

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"The Champ"

DVD ¥1,429 + tax

warner bros home entertainment

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