LuxFX / They Think They’re Newsworthy

I’m having a bit more free time than normal lately, and have started to get caught up on my movie watching some. Erin and I just got back from the second-run theater to see Day After Tomorrow — which we enjoyed quite a bit. I’m glad I saw it on the big screen though — it probably won’t be nearly so much fun without all the amazing detail. As you can imagine, the special effects were top-notch. I like all the people too — it was a huge cast. But all in all, lots of fun. It’s no Shakespeare, obviously, but a good time nonetheless.

I’m also watching the Kill Bill movies. I saw Vol. I last night, and will be watching Vol. II in just a few moments. Really enjoyed the first one, although it was too violent and bloody for Jen so she’s going to skip on the second one.

Erin has been bringing a lot of movies back from the library with her, too. I don’t have time for everything, so I have to pick and choose. But Jen and Erin have been enjoying a lot of movies lately, too. I did catch the last half of Seabiscuit with them today though, and enjoyed that. If you’ve ever seen the movie, you’ll remember the other jockey (”George” in the movie) that rode Seabiscuit after Toby Maguire was injured. I don’t recall ever respecting a movie character as much as this guy. He was just an amazingly nice guy — his only response to the press after a win was how much he wished his friend (Toby Maguire) could have been the one. In the end, circumstances have it that the two of them race against each other. And there is this wonderful moment where they are alongside each other, and have a nice friendly chat in the middle of the race. The Seabiscuit pulls ahead, and George sends him off with encouragement and cheer. It was just amazing. That kind of friendly competition is what I really respect.

Funny thing is, I looked the actor up on IMDB and he’s a real jockey — not only that, but a damn good one, too! He’s won eight individual triple crown races (although never the whole thing), and has won around 4,700 races total. 28 of them for $1,000,000+ purses! In fact, in 1993 he became the youngest jockey ever to have won more than $100 million, and has more than doubled his winnings since then. He’s won tons of ‘best jockey’ awards, including being the second youngest jockey ever admitted into the jockey hall of fame.

I hope he’s as nice in real life as he is in the movie.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 21st, 2004 at 11:25 pm and is filed under Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.