Bringing Boys in a boat to the big screen was a decade-long process — but worth the wait, says the book’s author, Daniel James Brown. “It’s been quite a journey,” he tells PEOPLE. “It was a lot of fun.”
Brown spent years researching and writing his 2013 account of the Depression-era University of Washington track team that transformed from amateur athletes to Olympic gold medalists. Director George Clooney, he says, paid tribute to his work.
“I left satisfied,” says Brown. “I think he captured the spirit of the story well.”
The movie is acting Fantastic beasts star Callum Turner as Joe Rantz, abandoned by his father and stepmother when he was a teenager.
Despite being so poor that he could barely afford food, Rantz, a resourceful young man, managed to attend the University of Washington, but struggled to pay his tuition.
George Clooney directs Boys in a boat on first look photos and behind the scenes video (exclusive)
George Clooney on the set of “The Boys in the Boat”.
Laurie Sparham/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.
At school he found himself in the same, well, boat the same number of working-class peers, who competed for only eight spots (plus the coxswain) in the JV crew.
What attracted them wasn’t athletic glory: Earning a spot came with a job on campus, which allowed them to stay in school and afford a cheap place to live.
Like the book, the film – starring Joel Edgerton as the team’s stoic coach Al Ulbrickson – follows their incredible story from humble beginnings to the 1936 Olympics held in Nazi-occupied Germany.
Clooney consulted with Brown from the start. “He actually called me when he first signed on to direct the film and had a long conversation,” Brown says.
Although the director invited Brown to the UK set during filming in 2022, the writer declined due to the rise of COVID-19 at the time. However, Brown got to spend time with Clooney when they watched the movie together.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2)/george-clooney-boys-in-the-boat-100323-2-77a027ab0fbf41d38e20b175837f73d0.jpg)
“Boys in a Boat” (2023).
Laurie Sparham
Joel Edgerton takes the college rowing team to the Olympics in George Clooney’s The Boys in a boat Trailer
“I saw the movie for the first time in August,” says Brown. “Clooney sent us to Burbank to watch a screening there, and it was nerve-wracking. He was there with [his wife] Amal. They were so cute. Very, very nice.”
“He’s very charismatic,” Brown continues. “Off camera and in private, he is exactly who he is in front of the camera. I got to know him a little.”
In addition to having high praise for Clooney, Brown also has kind words for Turner’s performance.
“Joe was kind of complex because he had a really awful childhood that hurt him and made him a bit of a loner,” says Brown. “Callum caught Joe really well. He had this kind of reticence in the beginning, like he didn’t know how to connect with other people, and then that evolved as the movie went on, which is what happened with Joe.”
Brown says he’s seen the film “several” times – and it gets better with each viewing. “The second time I saw it, I liked it even more because I was less nervous,” he says, “so I started to relax.”
Boys in a boat it’s in theaters now.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education