In times of uncertainty, the world of sport tends to unite us all and George Clooney's The Boys In The Boat is a great reminder of that.
The Boys In The Boat starring Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton, and Jack Mulhern, inspires its audience to never lose hope and push forward with your dreams even if the world is burning around you. Based on the true story of the USA 1936 Olympic rowing team, The Boys In The Boat will make you believe that your Olympic dream is never too far out of reach.
George Clooney, now a seasoned director, sat down with rowing frontman Callum Turner and shared with us the importance of this, soon to be, feel-good classic:
I'm a big fan of feel-good sports films so I loved this heartwarming story. As someone who lacks self-awareness, I believe that I too can wake up and decide to win an Olympic medal, so I wanted to ask: which sport do you think you could medal in?
George: Curling.
Callum: Haha
G: You know with the broom.
C: Yeah, I like to keep things clean and I'm good with the hoover but I reckon darts. I know it's not an Olympic sport.
G: Oh really, because I've never watched the Olympic DART game haha.
C: I'm petitioning for that to be included but you know what I like to play, Tennis.
You think you could be an Olympic tennis player?
C: Well I can't be an Olympic anything, but maybe I could be a judge.
I have a little experience rowing from one class and gave up because it was a lot harder than I anticipated. Callum, was the preparation for the film what you expected? And George, did you ever attempt to train with the boys?
George: Am I stupid?! Ha, no I did not train with those guys!
Callum: George was on the speedboat alongside us.
G: In a parka with a beer! By the way, if that was an Olympic sport, I would win.
C: You would be a gold medalist. It was excruciating actually. It's an arduous process, and we'd improve at different rates when the whole thing is about being in complete unison together. It took us about six weeks to work out how to do it. After about four, George came down with Grant and we were –
G: Shocking, just shocking.
C: It was awful.
G: Ray Charles could've done it better. We were like "Oh my God, we're never gonna get this thing done."
C: George gave me a big smile with a thumbs up and I could see the pain, I could see the concern.
This film was a great reminder that sports can bring people together in bleak times. The backdrop to the 1936 Olympics is Nazi Germany, but you're still rallying the country together to support the boys and the team. Do you think sport is still playing that massive part in unifying people together when the world is burning around us?
Callum: Absolutely. You know when I was a kid I would play football and I could go to different neighbourhoods and different youth clubs, and meet all of these people just from playing football. Some of my best friends are still from that football team. It's about community and you learn about responsibility, you learn about being part of a team. I think it's the most wonderful thing in the world.
George: I believe that too. I'm raising two kids and already getting them into sport is a very big deal for us. I grew up playing baseball, basketball, and all those sports in school and it teaches you not just discipline, but it teaches you respect and teamwork.
On what you were saying, which I think is interesting, is that sport really does bring people together. There's probably no country more divided right now than the United States, but right around the Olympics we tend to all get together and root for our teams, so yes it can unify.
I know that a lot of the filming took place in the UK, especially around Swindon. George, what was your experience living in the UK for a couple of months, and what's the weirdest thing you learned about us Brits?
George: Well, first of all, you guys have a problem. You don't understand good weather at all! It could be six degrees and raining, and everyone's standing outside the pub at 4pm with a beer and a cigarette going "Pretty nice day right?" and "I'm like a nice day?! This is literally the worst day I've ever seen in my life!" but you Brits are like "it's pretty nice."
You need it to be cold to appreciate the alcohol
Callum: Yeah that's why we have pubs.
G: Come to LA, we can have a nice warm and sunny day!
