Resurrecting the Champ

Resurrecting the Champ summary of box office results, charts and release information and related links.

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A floundering sports writer stumbles upon a homeless guy who claims to be a former heavyweight boxer. The story is a career-maker. If it's true.

An hour and a half long movie trapped in a two hour running time, Resurrecting the Champâ??s key problem is that it tries too hard to pack in too much. The film (which is loosely based on a true story) sometimes feels like the writers had a wheel-oâ??-plot-points which they spun at the beginning of each new scene to decide which of many struggles their protagonist was going to have to deal with next. And yet over-burdened as it may be, itâ??s still a good film, even if it isn't much of a boxing flick.

f Bob Satterfield Packed One of the Greatest Punches of All Time, How Did He End Up on the Streets of Santa Ana? Retracing the Boxer's Path Leads One Man to Confront Many Demons--Including a Few of His Own.

Critics Consensus: While sluggish in spots, Resurrecting the Champ is a sports/newsroom drama elevated by high-caliber performances by Samuel Jackson, Josh Hartnet, and Alan Alda.

Theatrical Trailer for Resurrecting the Champ. Struggling sports reporter Erik Kernan(Josh Hartnett) encounters a homeless man who calls himself "Champ"(Samuel L. Jackson) only to determine that he is the one-time boxing champion Battling Bob Satterfield. What begins as a story aboutresurrecting a once-great man becomes Erik's title shot. In his journey to uncover the truth, Erik has to reexamine his own life and his relationship with his young son.

One night after leaving the paper, sports reporter Erik Kernan sees a gang of thugs beating up a homeless man. He notices how well the grizzly old fellow can take a punch. He bobs, he weaves, he lands a few good ones himself until Erik chases the thugs away, who leave jeers of how they beat "The Champ" in their wake. Erik realizes he has just rescued the legendary "Battling Bob Satterfield" and stumbled on the story of a lifetime. Rumor had it that Satterfield was dead...and yet here he was. An article about the rise, fall, and resurrection of a former heavyweight contender could get Erik's career off the ropes and breathe life into his confidence. A story like this could be the title shot he has been waiting for; a chance to change his life forever.

In the news business, there is an intoxication in making a big story your own. In "Zodiac," a cartoonist strays off his beat and tries to solve a string of serial killings. In Rod Lurie's "Resurrecting the Champ," a sportswriter stumbles on the story of a Skid Row drunk who used to be a contender. Erik (Josh Hartnett) has been told by his editor he is sloppy and lazy, and when he comes upon Champ, it's like a gift from heaven. The former heavyweight boxer (Samuel L. Jackson) has just been beaten up by some young punks, but harbors little resentment against them. He's talkative and tells Erik his story.

Resurrecting the Champ is a 2007 American drama sports film directed by Rod Lurie. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Michael Bortman and Allison Burnett, based on a Los Angeles Times Magazine article entitled Resurrecting the Champ, by author J.R. Moehringer. The film centers on a fictionalized former athlete portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, living on the streets of Denver, who attempts to impersonate the life and career of former professional heavyweight boxer Bob Satterfield. The ensemble cast also features Josh Hartnett, Alan Alda, David Paymer, and Teri Hatcher.

Resurrecting the Champ (2007) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.

Directed by Rod Lurie. With Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Kathryn Morris, Dakota Goyo. Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.