Beto Gudiño
Two Boxing Gloves UP!
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We Sat with Pastor Rick Warren on the Preview Screening of ‘Big George Foreman’ Movie
We walked inside the theater room and found our seats. I noticed people behind me introducing themselves to others as ‘radio’ hosts and ‘media’ people of our area, Orange County. A few minutes later I noticed a small crowd showing excitement as Rick Warren’s entourage entered the room. This is going to be interesting – I thought to myself.
A couple months ago I got an e-mail invitation to a Preview screening of Big George Foreman by Affirm Films, a division of SONY Films. As I looked at the requisites to attend I found I could bring up to 4 guests. I thought this would be a great opportunity to bring the family along and get their ‘expert’ review of the film.
Out of our 3 kids, our 2 older boys are in the mostly-appropriate age to attend the screening (11 and 13). So out we go to the Outlets of Orange here in California to the AMC theaters. Upon arrival we were given a cool little swag bag that included all kinds of small boxing toys.
Not Completely Finalized
Before the screening of the film, a group of presenters from Sony Affirm Films advised us that the film was not ‘properly’ finalized, so we might be shown some not-yet-rendered scenes but we were guaranteed the final presentation on April 28 2023 was going to include all of the necessary elements for a powerful watching experience.
On that note, It actually felt very special to watch the film with some of those incomplete details (even though my wife Mili said she didn’t even notice any). It was a special treat, specially with my ‘communications eye’ to be able to watch some exciting boxing scenes without a crowd in the stadium at times but rather with a blue screen. The whole experience was basically like watching a ‘Behind the Scenes’ Featurette but at the same time you are watching the ‘real’ film. It was so fun.
Basically 2 stories told throughout the film. The first one is becoming a champion in your own strength. The second one is becoming a champion through a higher ‘power’
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Heart of The Movie – Trailer
More Than Just a Boxing Movie
Oh Boy! Neither MIli or I, and therefore neither our kids, are big fans of Boxing. We don’t dislike it, but being Mexican you know our real sport is Fútbol (Soccer). Nonetheless this movie takes the sport to an emotional level that anyone whose ever experienced feelings like anger or rage will resonate with.
I really believe this movie will be praised by both Boxing Fans and Story Aficionados in general. Needless to say, you don’t need to be a Christian to enjoy this film. The storytelling is quick and compelling, centering around some of the true events George Foreman grew up experiencing like poverty, a family that prays, and many other well told circumstances that eventually lead him to becoming a world Champion. But it doesn’t stop there! The whole tagline of the movie is ‘The Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World’. So what that looks like is basically 2 stories told throughout the film. The first one is becoming a champion in your own strength. The second one is becoming a champion through a higher ‘power’, which make no mistake, they don’t shy away from mentioning God, or including prayer in the film, however it never comes across as ‘cheesy’ or forced. And that’s where the real miracle happens.
Quick snapshot is… How a Boxing Legend became a Pastor.
Rick Warren’s takeaways
Well, in all honesty, even though we did get to take a few pictures with Rick. I’m typically the guy that feels a little awkward wanting to hang out with someone just because they are ‘somewhat’ famous. Because Rick is a pretty big deal. Am I right? Or when was the last time you prayed at the inauguration of a President of the United States? So no, we didn’t actually sit down ‘with him’ but He did sit right behind our row. So imagine watching one of those ‘Directors Commentary’ on a film you loved. It was something like that, but happening LIVE, right in our ears. We got to hear Pastor Rick shout out some strong ‘Amens’ and ‘Hallelujahs’ and If I’m not completely mistaken, I think I heard him (even though it could have been the guy he was sitting with) say something like: I’m not typically a fan of Christian Movies, but this one is actually really good.
I’m not spoiling anything because this is part of the trailer, so that scene when George gets baptized in the river was particularly powerful and Rick didn’t hesitate to whoop several times very motivated by the spiritual significance of that story.
My Kids did want me to invite him to sit down for a Podcast…. but… all we got was this picture taken =)
I said: Rick, can you believe I named both my kids Beto? – He looked at my youngest and said: Your name is Beto? As he replied yes, he continued: You know I have a granddaughter I would love for you to meet!
Two Boxing Gloves Up
Finally. A movie that appeals to broad audiences: Sport fans, going-the-extra-mile fans (hm hm, Roky fans?), Black Community, Successful Entrepreneurs, People who’ve lost it all, Christians and Non-Christians, Americans and Latinos como yo. If you are up for an inspiring story, this movie is more than worth watching; is worth inviting and paying for someone’s ticket to come along with you.
If an un-rendered version moved my family so much. Because our kids were amazed and loved it! I can only think the final version now in theaters packs a holy punch you need to be destroyed by (wrecked), in christianeeze that means to repent.
El Gran George Foreman – Nuestra Reseña en Español
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