Except Spielberg is a million times better as a director.

Yep. Spielberg and Howards' names shouldn't be uttered in the same sentence.
Spielberg's best work blows away anything Howard has ever done......my miles.

I'm glad you wrote "best work."

I have to totally disagree with you. First of all, Spielberg and Howard shouldn't be compared since they don't even make similiar types of movies. They really appeal to a different type of audience. I enjoy both of their movies and have to say they are both amazing directors!

The other thing I have noticed about Speilberg movies is they have the potential to be huge before his name is even attached to the project. They are usually big budget movies with a big actor that shouldn't fail to begin with. Howard on the other hand can take a movie that isn't huge to begin with and turn it into something amazing.

I agree that Spielberg and Howard are two very different directors that shouldn't be compared. However, I don't think Howard has ever made anything I would consider "amazing"

Definitely will see this movie.

I have tickets to an advance screening this Sunday...definitely looking forward to seeing it.

It may seem early to be talking about Oscars and Golden Globes, but after seeing the Russell Crowe boxing movie "Cinderella Man" it's clear that one of this year's five best picture slots is already spoken for.

The drama, which boasts strong performances by both Crowe as Depression-era heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and Renee Zellweger as his wife, and a memorable supporting performance by Paul Giamatti as his manager, is a safe bet to impact across the board in this year's awards races.

At its premiere Monday night at the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal City, the Universal/Miramax co-production played to extended applause and prompted favorable comments at the after-party from insiders who typically aren't very generous with their praise in off-the-record conversations.

Not surprisingly with a strong word-of-mouth picture like this, Universal will sneak-preview "Cinderella." This Sunday evening -- which is the equivalent of a Saturday night because Monday is Memorial Day -- the studio will hold about 760 showings of the film in about 165 markets. It opens June 3 at about 2,800 theaters.

Directed by Ron Howard from a screenplay by rookie scribe Cliff Hollingsworth and Oscar-winner Akiva Goldsman ("Beautiful Mind"), it was produced by Howard, his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer and Penny Marshall.

Besides being an awards contender, "Cinderella" should also benefit at the box office as Universal's "Seabiscuit" did two years ago from being an intelligent film for adult audiences playing in a sea of summer popcorn pictures. Over the years, well-made movies targeted to adults have shown that there is an audience available in the summertime that wants something more than just sci-fi action adventures with comic book roots.

Among the summer successes aimed at adults are "Seabiscuit," which grossed over $120 million domestically after opening in late July 2003; "Forrest Gump," which grossed nearly $330 million after opening in July 1994; "The Road to Perdition," which grossed over $104 million after opening in July 2002; and "The Notebook," which grossed $81 million domestically after opening late last June.

Thanks to its summer theatrical launch, "Cinderella" will also have the big advantage of being ready for DVD release just as the awards season is heating up in December. This was part of the strategy that worked so well both for "Seabiscuit" and for Universal's 2004 Oscar-winner "Ray."

"Cinderella" boasts one of the strongest possible arrays of Hollywood talent across the board, including Oscar-winners Howard, Grazer, Crowe, and Zellweger. Giamatti, who got the cold shoulder last year from Oscar voters who otherwise embraced "Sideways" and its stars, should expect some redress this time. In "Cinderella," he delivers a performance that covers a much wider emotional range of both drama and comedy.

Crowe nabbed an Oscar in 2001 for "Gladiator," but was left out the following year when "Beautiful Mind" won for best picture (Howard and Grazer), director (Howard), adapted screenplay (Goldsman) and supporting actress (Connelly). It's a safe bet that Crowe will nail down one of the five best actor slots in awards races across the board.

Zellweger, too, is a likely candidate for best actress nominations in key races. Although she won best supporting actress in 2004 for "Cold Mountain," she lost in the actress race twice -- in 2003 for "Chicago" and in 2002 for "Bridget Jones's Diary." Zellweger's performance provides some emotional glue, making "Cinderella" more than just a film about boxing.

Yahoo News

Ron Howard will never make anything amazing.

I disagree.

Try again. Arrested Development. And the performance he got from every cast member of A Beautiful Mind. And it only won the OSCAR.

Anyway, he'll never be a titan, but he's a very good filmmaker.

Saw this last night....

Good movie. Especially since I had no idea what the story was going into it. It will probably be up for some academy awards just because it's Ron Howard and Russel Crowe.

If winning an Oscar defines "amazing" - then you're correct.

I don't put much stock into an Oscar.

I find Ron Howard to be one of the safest directors around. He's mediocre at best, and is basically making films with the sole intention of boxoffice, Oscars or both.

I saw it last night--it was extremely well directed and performed. I can't shake the fact that this story is almost an exact replica of ROCKY, minus a few decades, so an original piece of work I can't make the case for, but a solid piece of professionally crafted cinema it is, and well worth your time.

Is it just me or am I starting to sound like Yoda?

You mean, you haven't seen any of the gazillion advertisements for this?

No, I had seen the advertisements....but not knowing the ending allowed it to still play out rather well for me. It is fairly obvious what is going to take place throughout the movie, but the ending was still a mystery to me....it's one of those movies that if you know the outcome of the movie, it's not going to be entertaining for you.

BTW, i don't think Ron Howard had any creative input into the show. He's one of the many executive producers and does the narration - but I see no mention of him directing or writing.

I can't wait to see this movie. I love sports movies and I'm sure that this one won't disappoint.

I too saw this film and loved it. I was worried that I couldn't get past Russell Crowe on the screen, but he was terrific in the role. The boxing scenes were very well done and I thought captured the brutality and skill of boxing.

Ron

Hilarious, but from the IMDB, so take it with a grain of salt...


Crowe Hits Back at Co-Star Bierko


Russell Crowe has slammed his Cinderella Man co-star Craig Bierko for claiming he deliberately blanked him on the Canadian set of the boxing movie. Bierko, who plays German fighter Max Baer in the new film, recently voiced his surprise that he hardly knows Crowe, despite working alongside him for a month. He said, "I don't know him from Adam. There was literally not a single moment where I felt like we were actually bonding, or having a conversation." But Crowe blames the distance between them on the quality of Bierko's acting. He says, "Craig Bierko has an imagination. His recollection of the experience is significantly different from anyone else's. I spent my 40th birthday party on a satellite connection with my wife and child in Australia. Sorry I didn't invite Craig. I didn't think it was relevant. The fact is, he hadn't done enough work and he had to be drilled and drilled, and brought up to where we needed him to be - because if Max Baer isn't frightening and isn't capable, then we don't have much of a movie. Craig has never been in this kind of situation before. It has never been required of him to put this much work and this much of himself into a role. He didn't realize what he was getting into... He realized afterwards."

I saw a pre-screening of this last night in NYC.

Although it was a good movie, I didn't consider it a great movie. Part of the reason is the amazing hype that it's been receiving as the greatest boxing movie ever.

Firstly, since this is based on a true story, you know what's gonna happen.

It was definitely a feel good movie with good acting by Crowe (he had some wierd accent...it definitely wasn't a Jersey accent...maybe a Jersey accent in the 1920s? ) The sets were great and the fights were entertaining.

As a boxing fan, there were a lot of things that disappointed me.
1) They never mentioned Braddock's record. They kept saying that he had over 80 pro fights and 50 amateur fights while never getting knocked out but they never said that he had 24 losses at the time of his comeback. A fact like that would make his story even more remarkable to the viewer.
2) They never stated the records of any of his opponents (some would have elevated the quality of the opponent whereas others would've diminished them).
3) They made fighters look ten times bigger than Braddock when in real life they were often the same size or only slightly bigger...Braddock was 6' 2.5" and weighed between 180-190 in most of his fights


Jim Braddock's Career Record

Overall, I thought this movie wasn't as good as Million Dollar Baby but I still give it 3.25 stars out of 4.

Well, Geena Davis and Roberto Benigni both having Oscars proves that Oscar doesn't equal amazing.

I don't like boxing at all, but I want to see this movie! It looks very good!

This was a really good movie. Solid directing and preformances. Cant wait for the dvd.