The boys are back together!James Van Der Beek met up with his "Varsity Blues" costars Eliel Swinton (Wendell Brown) and Ron Lester (Billy Bob) on Thursday -- and took to Twitter to share of photo from the mini reunion."Mini Varsity Blues reunion for NFL.com... w/ @coacheswinton & about 1/4 of the @RonLesterRadio I remember," the "Dawson's Creek" alum wrote along with the snapshot.Lester certainly looks different now -- he lost around 350 pounds in 2001 after undergoing gastric bypass surgery!So, what have these guys been doing since their glory days on the football field?After playing Mox in the high school sports flick, Van Der Beek continued to play Dawson on "Dawson's Creek," and he later starred in a series of television shows, including "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23," "How I Met Your Mother" and the just-canceled "Friends with Better Lives."Ron would later star on "Freaks and Geeks...
- 6/13/2014
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
Real quick: let's talk about the fact that boys in our high school never looked like Paul Walker (may he rest in peace), James Van Der Beek, Scott Caan or Eliel Swinton. Do boys look like that nowadays? Teenagers: please confirm or deny. Anyway, today is the 15th anniversary of the great football movie Varsity Blues, which debuted in theaters on this day in 1999. Feel old? Good. Us, too. It was not just a movie about football, though. Yes, there is a lot of football in it, but it was also about friendship, growing up, figuring out your future and how your relationship with your parents can change everything. And also it was about life in Texas, which has since been done to perfection in the form of an NBC show...
- 1/15/2014
- E! Online
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It’s hard to believe that 15 years ago today, Varsity Blues, a teen high school drama starring James Van Der Beek debuted in theaters. The first of a string of a 1999 MTV Films releases, the movie told the story of a small football town in Texas where losing wasn’t an option. Van Der Beek portrayed Jonathan Moxon, the intelligent yet rebellious second-string quarterback who had to step up when Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) was injured. His team included Billy Bob (Ron Lester), the sensitive offensive guard, Charlie Tweeder (Scott Caan), the rightfully-cocky wide receiver and Wendell Brown (Eliel Swinton), the talented running back. As we look back on the life we always wanted, Lester shares things you may have not known about the film, such as who was up for the Van Der Beek’s role.
1) Chris Klein was up for the main role, Jonathan “Mox...
It’s hard to believe that 15 years ago today, Varsity Blues, a teen high school drama starring James Van Der Beek debuted in theaters. The first of a string of a 1999 MTV Films releases, the movie told the story of a small football town in Texas where losing wasn’t an option. Van Der Beek portrayed Jonathan Moxon, the intelligent yet rebellious second-string quarterback who had to step up when Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) was injured. His team included Billy Bob (Ron Lester), the sensitive offensive guard, Charlie Tweeder (Scott Caan), the rightfully-cocky wide receiver and Wendell Brown (Eliel Swinton), the talented running back. As we look back on the life we always wanted, Lester shares things you may have not known about the film, such as who was up for the Van Der Beek’s role.
1) Chris Klein was up for the main role, Jonathan “Mox...
- 1/15/2014
- by Stacy Lambe
- TheFabLife - Movies
Before he starred in the "Fast and the Furious" franchise, Paul Walker was a bona fide teen heartthrob in the classic '90s flick "Varsity Blues."While costars James Van Der Beek and Ali Larter posted their condolences on Twitter after Walker's death on Saturday, we reached out to some of the other actors in the film and asked them to share their own memories."With a very heavy heart, I tried to reach out to Paul Walker's family, to let them know how fond I was of their son and what an awesome father he was," Ron Lester (Aka Billy Bob) tells toofab. "One of the greatest moments in my acting career was being in a little movie called 'Varsity Blues' with Paul ... and from day one, he became a true friend!"Eliel Swinton, who played Wendell Brown (left), echoed Lester's sentiments."It was an honor...
- 12/3/2013
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
Call it "Dawson's Cleats".
WB resident James Van Der Beek tries the big screen on for size with "Varsity Blues", an all-too-familiar portrait of a group of small town high school footballers who ultimately make All The Right Moves after seeing their way through a barrage of physical and psychological obstacles.
While Van Der Beek manages to make the transition with most of that "Dawson's Creek" sweetness intact, the tired, corn-fed storyline and generic, plug-and-play direction quickly give rise to the question, "Where's Adam Sandler when you need him?"
Given its pre-Super Bowl positioning and potential built-in "Dawson's Creek" demo, the MTV Films production probably won't have Paramount crying the blues, but neither will it be a boxoffice overachiever.
Van Der Beek plays second-string West Canaan Coyotes quarterback Jonathan Moxon, a good student with aspirations beyond the gridiron (he spends his time on the sidelines reading Kurt Vonnegut) which automatically puts him at odds with bullying head coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight) who's hell-bent on leading his team to their 23rd division title.
Of course, nobody likes a smart boy, especially in a town that has at least one very obese character called Billy Bob (Ron Lester) and a distinct fondness for the phrase, "sumabitch."
But Jonathan ends up going head-to-head with Kilmer when star quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) suffers an injury that will put him out of commission for two seasons, thrusting Moxon into the limelight.
As it turns out, keeping his team's spirits up and winning the division aren't the only items on Mox's full plate. There are also the matters of living out his father's own failed high school football dreams, handling the transferred affections of Harbor's cheerleader girlfriend (Ali Larter), while trying to hold onto his relationship with Harbor's unimpressed sister (Amy Smart), not to mention how he's going to deal with Kilmer's less-than-ethical ways of treating player injuries.
Since this is a story with zero semblance of originality or unpredictability, all will be tied up with a cute little bow at the end, with Mox providing a closing voice-over assuring us that he'll never forget that championship season.
Whatever cliches may have been inadvertently left out of W. Peter Iliff's derivative script, have thoughtfully been visually incorporated thanks to Brian Robbins' ("Good Burger") no-brainer directing style. The modus operandi here appears to be, when in doubt, go for the slo-mo.
Although Van Der Beek doesn't exactly register strongly here, he remains likable enough despite the uninspiring material. As his chief nemesis, Voight adds yet another heavy to his ever-growing roster of arched-eyebrowed adversaries. He's certainly up to more challenging stuff.
As the chronic party animal, Scott Caan displays some of dad James' early Young Buck bravado; while Ali Larter shows some spark as the town tramp who's afraid she'll never leave home despite her way with a can of whipped cream.
Production values are certainly more than serviceable, with solid work from cinematographer Charles Cohen, whose affinity for shooting athletics was previously demonstrated with "The Waterboy", "Little Giants", and, particularly, "Without Limits", a sports picture that refreshingly broke the generic mold at every turn with nary a Billy Bob in sight.
VARSITY BLUES
Paramount
In association with MTV Films
A Marquee Tollin/Robbins prod. in association with Tova Laiter Prods.
Director: Brian Robbins
Producers: Tova Laiter, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins
Screenwriter: W. Peter Iliff
Executive producers: David Gale and Van Toffler
Director of photography: Charles Cohen
Production designer: Jaymes Hinkle
Editor: Ned Bastille
Costume designer: Wendy Chuck
Music supervisor: G. Marq Roswell
Music: Mark Isham
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jonathan Moxon: James Van Der Beek
Coach Bud Kilmer: Jon Voight
Lance Harbor: Paul Walker
Billy Bob: Ron Lester
Tweeder: Scott Caan
Jules Harbor: Amy Smart
Darcy: Ali Larter
Wendell: Eliel Swinton
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: R...
WB resident James Van Der Beek tries the big screen on for size with "Varsity Blues", an all-too-familiar portrait of a group of small town high school footballers who ultimately make All The Right Moves after seeing their way through a barrage of physical and psychological obstacles.
While Van Der Beek manages to make the transition with most of that "Dawson's Creek" sweetness intact, the tired, corn-fed storyline and generic, plug-and-play direction quickly give rise to the question, "Where's Adam Sandler when you need him?"
Given its pre-Super Bowl positioning and potential built-in "Dawson's Creek" demo, the MTV Films production probably won't have Paramount crying the blues, but neither will it be a boxoffice overachiever.
Van Der Beek plays second-string West Canaan Coyotes quarterback Jonathan Moxon, a good student with aspirations beyond the gridiron (he spends his time on the sidelines reading Kurt Vonnegut) which automatically puts him at odds with bullying head coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight) who's hell-bent on leading his team to their 23rd division title.
Of course, nobody likes a smart boy, especially in a town that has at least one very obese character called Billy Bob (Ron Lester) and a distinct fondness for the phrase, "sumabitch."
But Jonathan ends up going head-to-head with Kilmer when star quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) suffers an injury that will put him out of commission for two seasons, thrusting Moxon into the limelight.
As it turns out, keeping his team's spirits up and winning the division aren't the only items on Mox's full plate. There are also the matters of living out his father's own failed high school football dreams, handling the transferred affections of Harbor's cheerleader girlfriend (Ali Larter), while trying to hold onto his relationship with Harbor's unimpressed sister (Amy Smart), not to mention how he's going to deal with Kilmer's less-than-ethical ways of treating player injuries.
Since this is a story with zero semblance of originality or unpredictability, all will be tied up with a cute little bow at the end, with Mox providing a closing voice-over assuring us that he'll never forget that championship season.
Whatever cliches may have been inadvertently left out of W. Peter Iliff's derivative script, have thoughtfully been visually incorporated thanks to Brian Robbins' ("Good Burger") no-brainer directing style. The modus operandi here appears to be, when in doubt, go for the slo-mo.
Although Van Der Beek doesn't exactly register strongly here, he remains likable enough despite the uninspiring material. As his chief nemesis, Voight adds yet another heavy to his ever-growing roster of arched-eyebrowed adversaries. He's certainly up to more challenging stuff.
As the chronic party animal, Scott Caan displays some of dad James' early Young Buck bravado; while Ali Larter shows some spark as the town tramp who's afraid she'll never leave home despite her way with a can of whipped cream.
Production values are certainly more than serviceable, with solid work from cinematographer Charles Cohen, whose affinity for shooting athletics was previously demonstrated with "The Waterboy", "Little Giants", and, particularly, "Without Limits", a sports picture that refreshingly broke the generic mold at every turn with nary a Billy Bob in sight.
VARSITY BLUES
Paramount
In association with MTV Films
A Marquee Tollin/Robbins prod. in association with Tova Laiter Prods.
Director: Brian Robbins
Producers: Tova Laiter, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins
Screenwriter: W. Peter Iliff
Executive producers: David Gale and Van Toffler
Director of photography: Charles Cohen
Production designer: Jaymes Hinkle
Editor: Ned Bastille
Costume designer: Wendy Chuck
Music supervisor: G. Marq Roswell
Music: Mark Isham
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jonathan Moxon: James Van Der Beek
Coach Bud Kilmer: Jon Voight
Lance Harbor: Paul Walker
Billy Bob: Ron Lester
Tweeder: Scott Caan
Jules Harbor: Amy Smart
Darcy: Ali Larter
Wendell: Eliel Swinton
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: R...
- 1/11/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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