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Taking Chance

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Not to be confused with Taking Chances.
Taking Chance
Official film poster
GenreHistorical drama
Written by
Directed byRoss Katz
StarringKevin Bacon
ComposerMarcelo Zarvos
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
ProducerLori Keith Douglas
CinematographyAlar Kivilo
Editors
Running time77 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHBO
ReleaseJanuary 16, 2009 (2009-01-16)

Taking Chance is a 2009 American historical drama television film directed by Ross Katz, from a screenplay by Michael Strobl and Katz, based on the journal of the same name by Strobl, who also serves as military consultant. Kevin Bacon's portrayal of Strobl in the film won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, among other accolades.

Taking Chance premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2009, and aired on HBO in the United States on February 21, 2009. The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. At the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, it earned ten nominations, including Outstanding Made for Television Movie and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Bacon, and won one for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie.

Plot

The movie is based on the recollections of U.S. Marine Lt. Col Michael Strobl, a real person, who accompanied the remains of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, a Marine fatally wounded by gunfire near Baghdad during the Iraq War, from Dover Air Force Base to Dubois, Wyoming in April 2004. He attended both Phelps's funeral and his memorial service, and wrote an essay about the entire experience, the emotions he felt and the people he met. It was published in the blog Blackfive on 23 April 2004 and was circulated widely on the Internet.[1]

Cast

Family members of Chance Phelps attend the Virginia premiere in February 2009.
Kevin Bacon speaking before the premiere

Critical reception

Taking Chance received generally favorable reviews. It holds a 76 out of 100 rating on Metacritic.[2] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 57% rating based on reviews from 7 critics.[3]

One review from The Baltimore Sun, said that it "... is one of the most eloquent and socially conscious films the premium cable channel has ever presented," [4] and USA Today, said "A small, almost perfectly realized gem of a movie, Taking Chance is also precisely the kind of movie that TV should be making."[citation needed] On the other end is Slant Magazine, saying "Instead of well-drawn characters or real human drama, we are presented with a military procedural on burial traditions. The film desperately wants the viewer to shed tears for its fallen hero without giving a single dramatic reason to do so."[5]

The film was the most-watched HBO original in five years, with over two million viewers on the opening night, and more than 5.5 million on re-airings. Critics often attribute this success to its apolitical nature, not directly depicting nor offering an opinion of the Iraq War.[6]

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wrote in his 2014 memoir Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War that the film had an "important impact" on his decision to allow the media access to the transfer of fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base in February 2009.[7] During a White House press conference in 2017, former White House Chief of Staff and Retired Marine Corps General John F. Kelly, who was next to Chance when he was killed and is the father of First Lieutenant Robert Kelly who was killed in action in Afghanistan, recommended that the Washington press corps watch the film in order to understand the solemnity and dignity of the process of returning fallen military service members to their families.[8]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2009
 Humanitas Prize 90 Minute or Longer Network or Syndicated Television Michael Strobl and Ross Katz Won [9]
Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Motion Picture Nominated [10]
Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries Kevin Bacon Nominated
Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries Ross Katz Nominated
Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Miniseries Michael Strobl and Ross Katz Nominated
Best Editing in a Motion Picture or Miniseries Nominated
Best New Titles Sequence in a Series, Motion Picture or Miniseries Nominated
Best Production Design in a Motion Picture or Miniseries Nominated
Best Sound in a Motion Picture or Miniseries Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Made for Television Movie Brad Krevoy, Cathy Wischner-Sola, Ross Katz, William Teitler, and Lori Keith Douglas Nominated [11]
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Kevin Bacon Nominated
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special Ross Katz Nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special Michael Strobl and Ross Katz Nominated
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie Dan Leigh, James Donahue, and Ron Von Blomberg Nominated
Outstanding Main Title Design Michael Riley, Dru Nget, Dan Meehan, and Bob Swensen Nominated
Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) Marcelo Zarvos Nominated
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or Movie Lee Percy and Brian A. Kates Won
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special Rickley Dumm, Frank Gaeta, David Grant, Tim Boggs, Catherine Harper, Chris Moriana, and Johnny Caruso Nominated
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie T.J. O'Mara and Rick Ash Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Motion Picture Made for Television Nominated [12]
Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television Kevin Bacon Nominated
Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Ross Katz Nominated [13]
Television Critics Association Awards Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials Nominated [14]
2010
 American Cinema Editors Awards Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television Lee Percy and Brian A. Kates Nominated [15]
American Society of Cinematographers Awards Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture/Miniseries Television Alar Kivilo Won [16]
Cinema Audio Society Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Miniseries T.J. O'Mara and Rick Ash Nominated [17]
Critics' Choice Awards Best Picture Made for Television Won [18]
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television or Miniseries Ross Katz Won [19]
Golden Globe Awards Best Miniseries or Television Film Nominated [20]
Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Kevin Bacon Won
Producers Guild of America Awards David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television Lori Keith Douglas, Ross Katz, Brad Krevoy, and Cathy Wischner-Sola Nominated [21]
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Kevin Bacon Won [22]
Writers Guild of America Awards Long Form – Adaptation Michael Strobl and Ross Katz Won [23]

References

  1. ^ Strobl, Michael R. "Taking Chance Home". Blackfive. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  2. ^ Taking Chance reviews[dead link‍] at Metacritic
  3. ^ Taking Chance. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  4. ^ Zurawik, David (Feb 21, 2009). "Don't miss HBO's Taking Chance with Kevin Bacon".. The Baltimore Sun
  5. ^ Holcomb, Brian (15 February 2009). "Review: Taking Chance". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  6. ^ "Taking Chance". Wall Street Journal. News Corporation. March 14, 2009. p. 8. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  7. ^ Gates, Robert. Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014). In Chapter 9: New Team, New Agenda, Old Secretary.
  8. ^ Shear, Michael D. (2017-10-20). "Kelly Delivers Fervent Defense of Trump Call to Soldier's Widow". The New York Times. p. A1.
  9. ^ "Past Winners & Nominees". Humanitas Prize. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  10. ^ "13th Annual TV Awards (2008-09)". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  11. ^ "Taking Chance". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  12. ^ "2009 Satellite Awards". Satellite Awards. International Press Academy. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  13. ^ 2009 Sundance Film Festival Archived 2014-04-14 at the Wayback Machine sundance.org
  14. ^ "Television Critics Association Awards Celebrate 25th Anniversary". Television Critics Association. August 1, 2009. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  15. ^ Finke, Nikki (12 January 2010). "Nominees For Editors' ACE Eddie Awards". Deadline. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  16. ^ "Past Nominees & Winners". American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  17. ^ "THE WINNERS AND NOMINEES FOR THE CINEMA AUDIO SOCIETY AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING FOR 2009". www.cinemaaudiosociety.org. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01.
  18. ^ Borys Kit; Gregg Kilday (January 15, 2010). "'Hurt Locker' tops Critics' Choice Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
  19. ^ "62nd DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  20. ^ "Taking Chance – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  21. ^ McNary, Dave (January 5, 2010). "PGA unveils nominations". Variety. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  22. ^ "The 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  23. ^ "Previous Nominees & Winners: 2009 Awards Winners". Writers Guild Awards. Archived from the original on 2015-05-12. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
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