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.
Devoted to Good
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.
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.
Pay Day
As mentioned, Sandra Bullock was reluctant to accept the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy due to religious reasons. However, once she met the real Leigh Anne Tuohy, she actually wanted to play the role so badly, that she even agreed to a pay cut.
Like most Hollywood actors, Sandra Bullock reportedly asked for a set fee to star in the film. This film wasn’t able to offer her what she requested. The other option was to accept a percentage of the film’s profits. Bullock agreed to do this, which turned out to be an excellent financial move considering the film’s profits of $309.2 million in theaters.
Football Fans
There are several iconic cameos made in The Blind Side. One very special cameo was made by Michael Oher’s real-life high school football coach from Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Hugh Freeze. Where can you see him in the film?
Hugh Freeze’s time on the big screen occurs when he plays a University of Arkansas assistant, standing behind the real-life Arkansas Razorbacks coach, Houston Nutt. At the time, Freeze no longer worked as the Briarcrest coach but had moved on to Tennessee’s Lambuth University, where he was the head coach of the football team until switching to Arkansas State in 2010.