The Ole Miss spirit is strong and present in the film, of course. After all, Collins and Leigh Anne Tuohy, as well as Michael Oher all attended the school. Any family that’s a big fan of football would take pride on such a lineage.
But, this is not actually the first time that Sandra played an Ole Miss alumni. In 1996, she played in the drama A Time to Kill. Her character, Ellen Roark, an eager law student, attended Ole Miss for her undergraduate degree.
Reality
Sports fans who saw the movie noticed some familiar faces, especially in the coaches. The reason for this is that many of the coaches in the film are current or retired football coaches. For example, Houston Nutt plays the coach for the University of Mississippi in the movie. In reality, Nutt was really the coach for the University of Mississippi from 2008-2011 and prior to that, he was the coach of the University of Arkansas from 1998 to 2007.
Other portrayals include Ed Orgeron, who is now a coach at the Louisiana State University team after being the coach at Ole Miss for 2 years. Another coach in the film was Phillip Fulmer, who was once the football coach for the University of Tennessee for just over 15 years.
Picture Perfect
One of the most momentous moments of the film is at the Thanksgiving scene. The Tuohy family are crowded around the table in the cozy home, sharing a warm Thanksgiving meal together. Everything seems pretty much perfect, even the golden-colored turkey. But, If you look closer, you might notice something.
Well, at least if you're an art enthusiast you would pick up on this detail. When Leigh Anne placed the turkey on the table, the scene quickly transforms into a copy of the famous painting by Norman Rockwell called “Freedom from Want.” While it’s not clear whether this was intentional, it was a nice addition to the film that captured the unmistakable bond of family over the holidays. This scene is also meaningful because it shows the Tuohy family seated together around the table, something that they did not just do because it was Thanksgiving. Michael Oher often convinced his new family to sit with him at the dinner table. In real life, it happened most nights because it felt special to him to have that. Sean Tuohy later joked in an interview: “He made us sit around the dinner table. If we were going to spend time with him, we’d come eat at the table. We haven’t eaten at the table since he left."
The Book
While Quinton Aaron gave an excellence performance of “Big Mike,” it’s hard to know what was real and what wasn’t. A lot of the film got its inspiration from the New York Times best-selling book written by Michael Lewis, called The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. Lewis is also the author of Moneyball and Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life.
Michael’s part was actually one of two stories in the book. The written version of The Blind Side included the story of the life and career of someone other than Michael Oher. It also told the story of Lawrence Taylor, who was a player for the New York Giants from 1981 to 1993.
Memphis
As fans of the movie may know, the film takes place in Memphis, Tennessee. This is also where the story of Michael Oher took place. In the film, Leigh Anne says , “I have been in Memphis my whole life.” But those with a good eye may have noticed something in the film that told otherwise.
In one of the scenes, Leigh Anne and Michael walk past a sign that says “Georgia Lottery PLAY HERE” while at the Big and Tall store. Weird… people in Memphis are definitely not playing the Georgia lottery. That’s because the movie was really filmed in Atlanta Georgia.