Foxcatcher

In 1987 Olympic wrestling champion Mark Schultz speaks at an elementary school in place of his older brother Dave. Both won gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics, but Mark feels overshadowed by Dave. Mark is contacted by philanthropist and wrestling enthusiast John E. du Pont, an heir to the du Pont family fortune, who arranges to fly Mark to his estate in Pennsylvania where du Pont has built a private wrestling training facility. Du Pont invites Mark to join his wrestling team, Foxcatcher, to be paid to train for the World Championship. Mark accepts the offer, with du Pont urging him to enlist Dave as well. Dave declines, to avoid uprooting his wife and two children, so Mark moves to Pennsylvania alone. Mark stays in a homey guest house and is greeted there by du Pont. Through training with his new teammates and du Pont's financial support, Mark excels with Foxcatcher, winning gold at the 1987 World Wrestling Championships. Du Pont praises him, and they develop a friendship. Du Pont introduces Mark to cocaine, which he starts to use regularly. He confides in Mark, whom he now calls a true friend, telling him how his mother Jean du Pont paid a boy to act as his friend. Du Pont organizes an over-50 masters wrestling tournament, which he wins after his opponent is paid to lose the final. Jean tells her son that wrestling is a "low sport" and that she does not like seeing him "being low". One day Mark and his teammates take the morning off from training to watch mixed martial arts on television. Angered by this (as well as Mark's bitter refusal to be in his brother's presence in Foxcatcher), du Pont slaps Mark and berates him, saying that he will enlist Dave by any means necessary while also demanding that Mark work out his differences with his brother as soon as possible. Dave decides to move with his family to Pennsylvania so he can join Foxcatcher. His self-esteem damaged by du Pont, Mark decides to work and train alone, pushing away both du Pont and Dave. As Foxcatcher prepares to enter the preliminaries for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, du Pont's mother is escorted into his gym to watch him coach his team. He awkwardly demonstrates basic maneuvers for her and the other wrestlers. Jean leaves in disgust after seeing him give his back to his student. At the 1988 Olympic Trials in Pensacola, Florida, Mark performs poorly, losing his first match against Rico Chiapparelli. Enraged, Mark destroys his room and goes on an eating binge, before Dave manages to break into his room, shocked to discover Mark's condition. They work feverishly so Mark can make his weight class. As Mark trains, du Pont arrives and attempts to speak with him, but Dave turns him away. Mark competes well enough to win his match and make the Olympic team. Dave notices that du Pont is absent, who left for Pennsylvania as his mother died. After returning to the estate, Mark tells Dave that he needs to leave Foxcatcher to get away from du Pont, having accepted a coaching role at Brigham Young University, and unsuccessfully asks Dave to leave with him. For a documentary funded by du Pont about his exploits with Foxcatcher, Dave reluctantly praises him as coach and mentor. Mark loses his matches in Seoul on purpose, after which he leaves Foxcatcher. While Dave continues to live on du Pont's estate and train with Foxcatcher, as a condition for his remaining, he gets du Pont to continue to support Mark financially. Later, du Pont is sitting alone in his mansion's trophy room watching the documentary about Foxcatcher, which ends with Mark complimenting him at a ceremony depicted earlier. Du Pont calls his bodyguard and drives to Dave's home, where he finds him in the driveway working on his car radio. Dave approaches the car to greet du Pont, who threatens him at gunpoint before shooting him three times and driving away. Dave's wife Nancy rushes out to him, and he dies in her arms. Setting a trap for du Pont at his home, the police ambush and arrest him. The film ends with Mark competing in a cage fighting match with the crowd's cheers ringing in his head. ==Cast==

• Steve Carell as John Eleuthère du Pont, American multimillionaire, philanthropist, and wrestling enthusiast • Channing Tatum as Mark Schultz, an Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler • Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz, an Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler, Mark's older brother • Sienna Miller as Nancy Schultz, Dave's wife • Vanessa Redgrave as Jean du Pont, John's mother • Anthony Michael Hall as Jack • David Zabriskie as Dan Bane • Guy Boyd as Henry Beck • Brett Rice as Fred Cole • Bruce Baumgartner as USA wrestling rep #3 • Samara Lee as Danielle Schultz • Jackson Frazer as Alexander Schultz • Jane Mowder as Rosie • Daniel Hilt as Robert Garcia • Lee Perkins as Corporal Daly • David "Doc" Bennett as Documentary Director • Jazz Securo as MMA Announcer • Brock Lesnar as Wrestler ==Production==

Development Bennett Miller began developing the project in 2010 after acquiring the rights to the story from Michael Coleman and Tom Heller. Megan Ellison financed the film through her Annapurna Pictures, also producing alongside Miller, Jon Kilik, and Anthony Bregman. Sony Pictures Classics became the distributor, taking over from Sony's Columbia Pictures, which had co-financed the film. Miller said "it's always been my hope and expectation that they (SPC) would distribute the film." Filming , Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum, director Bennett Miller, and Steve Carell at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival Shooting began in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area on October 15, 2012, in and near the suburbs of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Sewickley Heights, and Edgeworth. With du Pont's mansion, Liseter Hall, having been demolished in January 2013, the filmmakers used Morven Park, a historic estate in Leesburg, Virginia, with a similar facade, for exterior filming. An 1899 mansion, Wilpen Hall, in the wealthy Pittsburgh suburb of Sewickley Heights, Pennsylvania, served as Foxcatcher's stand-in for the interior filming location for du Pont's Philadelphia-area estate. Filming also took place in the Pittsburgh area communities of Rector (Ligonier Township), McKeesport, White Oak, Connoquenessing, and Wilkins The production sought permission to film in West Mifflin Middle School in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. In December 2012, filming took place in Washington High School, Trinity High School, the Petersen Events Center in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Oakland, and the California University of Pennsylvania Convocation Center. Filming was scheduled to last through January 2013. Music Foxcatcher features a musical score composed by Rob Simonsen, who recorded most of the music at AIR Studios in London. He said the film has a sensibility of sparseness as "the notes or colors that do show up have a greater impact". After he listened to Jacob Cohen's cello performance at a subway stop platform, Simonsen eventually brought him to record the cello solos. According to Thordson, there was a "similar intimacy to the melodic voices all three of us [composers] gravitate towards". While Danna and Simonsen evoked a sophisticated quality, Thordson incorporated a rough and handmade sound, reminiscent of "the world of a slightly out-of-tune farmhouse piano". ==Release==

A release date for Foxcatcher was originally set for December 20, 2013. The date was postponed to allow for more time to complete the film, according to Sony Pictures Classics. The film debuted at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival in May 2014, in competition for the Palme d'Or, the festival's highest prize, where director Bennett Miller won the Award for Best Director. The film made its way through the late-2014 festival circuit, appearing at the Telluride, Toronto, New York, Vancouver and London film festivals. Foxcatcher received a limited release on November 14, 2014. The film opened across U.S. theaters through December 2014 and January 2015. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD March 3, 2015. ==Reception==

Box office The film was given a limited release in North America on November 14, 2014, grossing $270,877 from 6 theaters, an average of $45,146 per theater. The film had its wide release on January 16, 2015, opening in 759 theaters and grossing $980,000 finishing 20th at the box office. Overall, Foxcatcher grossed $12.1 million in North America and $7.1 million in other territories for a total gross of $19.2 million, against its $24 million budget. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 251 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus states, "A chilling true crime drama, Foxcatcher offers Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum a chance to shine—and all three rise to the challenge." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Justin Chang of Variety praised the film, writing: "Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum give superb performances in Bennett Miller's powerfully disturbing true-crime saga."