Producers of the Oscar-winning 2009 movie The Blind Side maintain that the onscreen depiction is neither a lie nor fake.
Who would have thought 2009’s The Blind Side would be tied to one of the strangest entertainment stories of 2023? Earlier this month, former pro football player Michel Oher launched a lawsuit that claims Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy exploited the story to profit millions of dollars without cutting Oher himself in. Now, producers on the Oscar-winning movie have chimed in, saying that it remains “authentic” despite what has and will come out during the legal battle.
In a statement shared with Entertainment Weekly, Broderick Johnson and Andrew A. Kosove – who earned Oscar nominations for producing The Blind Side – said, “The Blind Side is verifiably authentic and will never be a lie or fake, regardless of the familial ups and downs that have occurred subsequent to the film,” adding that the acts of the Tuohy parents and the spirit of the teenage Oher remain at the forefront. “We saw it in Tuohy’s wonderful acts of kindness toward Michael Oher…However, more importantly, we saw it in the extraordinary courage that Michael Oher demonstrated in accepting the Tuohys’ generosity not as a handout, or as his saviors, but as a way through which he could improve his own life.”
As for financial gains by the concerned parties, The Blind Side producers – whose working relationship goes back to the 1990s – added, “The notion that the Tuohys were paid millions of dollars by Alcon to the detriment of Michael Oher is false. In fact, [production company] Alcon has paid approximately $767,000 to the talent agency that represents the Tuohy family and Michael Oher (who, presumably, took commission before passing it through). We anticipate that the Tuohy family and Michael Oher will receive additional profits as audiences continue to enjoy this true story in the years to come.” Yeah, tell that to SAG-AFTRA…
In addition to its Best Picture nomination, which it most likely earned due to the Academy switching over to 10 nominees that year, The Blind Side earned Sandra Bullock the Best Actress statue – but don’t expect her to return it anytime soon.
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