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Sweetwater (2023 film)

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Sweetwater
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMartin Guigui
Written byMartin Guigui
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMassimo Zeri
Edited byEric Potter
Music by
Production
companies
  • Sunset Pictures
  • Reserve Entertainment
Distributed byBriarcliff Entertainment
Release date
  • April 14, 2023 (2023-04-14)
Running time
119 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8 million[2]
Box office$541,633[3][4]

Sweetwater is a 2023 American biographical sports film about Nat Clifton, the first African-American to sign a contract with the National Basketball Association (NBA). Written and directed by Martin Guigui, it stars Everett Osborne as Clifton, with Cary Elwes, Jeremy Piven, Richard Dreyfuss, and Kevin Pollak in supporting roles.

The film was released on April 14, 2023, by Briarcliff Entertainment. At the 55th NAACP Image Awards the film was nominated for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture.

Premise

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Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton is the main attraction of the Harlem Globetrotters team, under the guidance of their owner and coach, Abe Saperstein. As Ned Irish, a New York Knicks executive, and their coach, Joe Lapchick, take the initiative to integrate the team with support of NBA President, Maurice Podoloff. They soon join hands with the other owners of the league and create a historic moment.[5]

Cast

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Production

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In December 2006, it was reported that Martin Guigui had been working on a biopic project about the career of Nat Clifton for the last ten years.[8] The project by Sunset Pictures was reported by Variety to begin production in April 2007 with Guigui directing from a screenplay he wrote.[9] Henry Simmons was attached to play Nat Clifton and Richard Dreyfuss to portray Abe Saperstein, the owner and founder of the Harlem Globetrotters. Romeo Miller had also signed on to play a younger Clifton. Principal photography was set take place in the San Francisco Bay area and New York City that summer.[9] The Great Recession caused a delay production and by April 2009 filming was expected to start in Winnipeg.[10] Two Lagoons and Astra Blue Media were then attached to co-produce, along with additional cast members of Mira Sorvino, Kevin Pollak, James Caan and Smokey Robinson.[10]

By July 2014, some cast members had been replaced.[11] Wood Harris replaced Simmons as Nat Clifton, Nathan Lane would play Saperstein and James Caan as Ned Irish.[12] Brian Dennehy, Patrick Warburton and Ludacris were all attached to star in undisclosed roles. The production budget was reported to be $10 million and filming was expected to begin in New York in late 2014.[11]

Production was subsequently completed by October 2022, with Pollak as Saperstein, Dreyfuss as Maurice Podoloff, Cary Elwes as Irish, Jeremy Piven as Joe Lapchick. Gary Clark Jr and Bobby Portis make cameos.[5] Guigui and Jeff Cardoni composed the film's score.[13]

Release

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Sweetwater was released by Briarcliff Entertainment on April 14, 2023.[5] The soundtrack album was released by Candid Records on the film's opening day.[14]

Reception

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Box office

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Released alongside Renfield, Mafia Mamma, The Pope's Exorcist and Suzume, the film earned $125,000 in its first day and went to debut on $351,010 from 1,204 theatres, finishing 13th at the box office.[15]

Critical reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 26% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.8/10.[16] Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film a 62% positive score, with 46% saying that they would recommend it.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Sweetwater". British Columbia Film Classification Office. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "28 years in the making, 'Sweetwater' premieres in theaters". NBA.com. April 14, 2023. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  3. ^ "Sweetwater (2023)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "Sweetwater (2023)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Lang, Brent (October 11, 2022). "Briarcliff Entertainment Buys Sweetwater, Drama About Pioneering African American NBA Player (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e Gleiberman, Owen (April 13, 2023). "Sweetwater Review: An Intriguing But Sketchy Biopic of Nat Clifton, the Harlem Globetrotter Who Broke the Color Barrier of the NBA". Variety. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  7. ^ Booth, Ned (February 17, 2023). "Sweetwater: Trailer: The Story About Trailblazing Basketball Player Nat Clifton Hits Theaters On April 14". theplaylist.net. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  8. ^ Feinberg, Lexi (December 9, 2006). "Martin Guigui Dives Into Sweetwater". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  9. ^ a b McNary, Dave (April 13, 2007). "Duo dives into Sweetwater". Variety. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  10. ^ a b King, Randall (February 19, 2009). "Feb 2009: Basketball biopic may bring Caan, Pollack and Sorvino to town". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Knauss, Tim (July 30, 2014). "Wood Harris, James Caan to star in new movie filmed in Central New York and Albany". The Post-Standard. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  12. ^ Demirel, Demirel (November 10, 2015). "Nathaniel Clifton: The Sweetest Thing". Slam. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  13. ^ "Sweetwater (2023)". Soundtrack.net. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "Sweetwater Soundtrack Album Details". Film Music Reporter. March 31, 2023. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  15. ^ "Weekend Domestic Chart for April 14, 2023". The Numbers. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "Sweetwater". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  17. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 15, 2023). "Super Mario Bros Now At $87M: Best Second Weekend Ever For Animated Movie & Illumination – Saturday PM Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
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