Ali (film)

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Ali is a 2001 biographical film which tells the story of boxer Muhammad Ali. It stars Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nona Gaye (in her film debut), Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Giancarlo Esposito and LeVar Burton.

The movie was written by Gregory Allen Howard, Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Eric Roth and Michael Mann. It was directed by Mann.

It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Will Smith) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jon Voight).

The original script by Howard and also Rivele was too long and unwieldy, and was significantly modified by Roth and Mann. Howard was originally commissioned to write an Ali script by producer Jon Peters in 1994, but it was never produced. Mann's focuses on ten turbulent years of the boxer’s life, from 1964 to 1974. It was during this period that Ali became the World Boxing Champion after beating Sonny Liston, then, lost it when he refused to serve as a foot soldier in the Vietnam War, and finally reclaimed the Championship Title after beating the odds-on favourite, George Foreman in Zaire. It was also a time of great social and political upheaval in the United States with the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. The film also shows the man’s private side: his numerous wives and failed marriages, and his friendships with Malcolm X and Howard Cosell.

The film had mixed reviews with the acting being well received by critics in general. Director Spike Lee said during an interview for ESPN that he could not understand how a boring movie could be made about one of the most exciting figures of the 20th century. Lee had been in the running to direct the film but Sony and Will Smith opted to go with Mann instead.

After the theatrical version was released on DVD, Mann revisited his film again with a new cut. He took out approximately 20 minutes of footage and put 30 minutes of previously unseen footage back in. The director claimed that the politics of the times are more the focus.

Trivia

Will Smith spent approximately one year learning all aspects of Ali's life. These included boxing training, islamic studies and dialect training (to help him speak like Ali).

One of the selling points of the film is the realism of the fight scenes. All of the boxers in the film are in fact former or current world heavyweight champions. It was quickly decided that 'Hollywood fighting' - passing the fist (or foot) between the camera and the face to create the illusion of a hit - would not be used in favour of actual boxing. The only limitation placed upon the fighters was for Charles Shufford (who plays George Foreman). He was permitted to hit Will Smith as hard as he could, so long as he didn't actually knock the actor out.

Academy Awards

Award	Person
Nominated:
Best Actor	Will Smith
Best Supporting Actor	Jon Voight

External links

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