Draft Day (2014)
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A Cleveland Browns general manager must navigate complex personal and professional hurdles while making a high-stakes decision during the NFL draft.
The story
On the morning of the 2014 NFL draft, Cleveland Browns general manager Sonny Weaver Jr. must decide how to use the seventh overall pick to improve the team, but he has other problems on his mind. His semi-secret girlfriend Ali Parker, the team's salary cap analyst, is pregnant, and the recent death of Sonny's father causes tension with his mother. The plot follows Sonny as he navigates a high-pressure trade for a highly-rated quarterback, while dealing with internal friction from his coaching staff and the public scrutiny that follows the deal as the draft begins.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
On the morning of the 2014 NFL draft, Cleveland Browns general manager Sonny Weaver Jr. faces a dilemma regarding the seventh overall pick. While dealing with his pregnant girlfriend Ali Parker and a strained relationship with his mother following his father's death, he is offered a trade from the Seattle Seahawks for the highly-rated Bo Callahan. Despite internal opposition from coach Vince Penn and quarterback Brian Drew, Sonny accepts the trade. The deal goes public via a tweet from linebacker Vontae Mack, who becomes Sonny's primary target. As the draft begins, Sonny faces pressure from owner Anthony Molina and the coaching staff. After a series of tense negotiations and a strategic move involving the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sonny ultimately drafts Mack at number one. He then navigates a complex trade with the Seahawks to secure the remaining picks, eventually selecting running back Ray Jennings. The film concludes with the team celebrating a successful draft, Sonny reconciling with his mother, and the team making its season debut with Mack and Jennings in the lineup.
- First release year
- 2014
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ivan Reitman
- Writers
- Rajiv Joseph · writer; Scott Rothman · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kevin Costner · Sonny Weaver Jr.; Jennifer Garner · Ali Parker; Denis Leary; Frank Langella; Sam Elliott; Ellen Burstyn; Chadwick Boseman
- Genres
- sports drama
- Themes
- sports management; family dynamics
- Tone and mood
- sentimental; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- sports; drama; football
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 54 · scale: 100 · review count: 33; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was Ivan Reitman's final directorial effort.; The film was Jim Brown's final acting role.; The script was the number one script on the 2012 Black List survey of unproduced screenplays.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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