The Blind Side 2: The search for more money

[txhorns 2,409]

43 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

If he was a 5 star left tackle, someone was going to get him in a college. He might have gotten to the NFL without them.

Or he might have gotten killed in the projects after failing out of high school.

[TwiceHorn 31,475]

22 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

I think their decision to take him in was at least partly driven by his football talent, which is a little scummy, at least from the standpoint of boosters going to great lengths to direct a high school player to their preferred school. I think that’s a fair criticism, although at least Oher got a home out of it, which is more than what many recruits get.

I’m not sure I agree with characterizing them as attention whores who were shouting their good deeds. Michael Lewis chose to write their story, which is kind of what he does, plus he was a close friend. Hollywood then took notice, and hardly anyone in their position would decline a movie that was going to portray their family in a positive light.

One of the ironies of the book, if you're actually paying attention, is that Lewis makes them look pretty vapid.

That example about Leigh Anne and Tiffany's being a case in point.  It's been a long time since I read the book, but I seem to recall quite a few of those. 

As I have said several times, I came away from the book thinking they were your sort of typical BMD/booster sorta-scuzzbags of the SEC SEC SEC variety, but there was a mixed blessing in it for Oher.  And I think that feeling was helped along by Lewis writing and not solely the product of my own cynicism.

[TwiceHorn 31,475]

1 hour ago, Jkwellborn said:

If he was a 5 star left tackle, someone was going to get him in a college. He might have gotten to the NFL without them.

And that, I thought at the time was a big part of the mixed blessing for Oher.  As a partial result of having a stable home and a decent high school educational environment, he got into college, apparently actually played school, too, stayed eligible and out of the draft, and actually graduated and got drafted.

Sure, without them he would have gotten signed somewhere, may have had some eligibility problems, probably wouldn't have graduated, and may or may not have stayed alive or out of the gutter long enough to get drafted.

[TwiceHorn 31,475]

2 hours ago, redswingline said:

 

Here is my guess about this lawsuit: Oher sees the movie making +$300 million and thinks he is getting screwed over because he is getting peanuts from it. Well, that may be the case but its not by the Tuoys doing it. It was the result of the negotiations for the book / movie rights. Just because the movie made a killing vs. a low budget, doesn't mean the studio then turns around and gives everyone involved bonuses or something. You get what you signed up for.

I suspect this wasn't something Oher cooked up by himself.  I have a distinct feeling that he was riled up by some trial lawyers who saw 40% of a pot of gold here.

I am not one who thinks every contingent personal injury litigator is a greedy scumbag who files frivolous lawsuits.  Far from it.  This one just has that certain stink on it.  And the whole fiduciary duty thing is a bit of a legal wildcard.

One of the reasons I think that is, Oher lives in Nashville.  One of the attorneys of record is from Nashville, the rest aren't, so I suspect him of being Oher's main lawyer here.  And he's a class-action type, mostly.  They can be a little sus. https://stranchlaw.com/our-attorneys/j-gerard-stranch-iv/

[Guest]

I always thought Oher was pretty poorly portrayed in the movie. I’d be miffed if I were him too. But I wouldn’t take it out on the family that did a lot for me. It’s sad this has become so public. Oher is wrong here. 

[tx 3 putt 76,958]

14 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

This is true. The facts:

1. Hugh Freeze submitted his school application and got him in the private school.

2. He was a star athlete and top recruit but had an unstable living condition, bouncing around the foster system. The Tuohys took him in after he was a star recruit. 
 

3. His GPA was awful, the Tuohys paid for a tutor and also for him to enroll in BYU online courses to get it up enough to sign an LOI. 
 

4. He and Coach Freeze ended up at Ole Miss at the same time and the NCAA immediately opened an investigation. 
 

I don’t see how you look at that and come away with an impression that these weren’t boosters helping Ole Miss. That doesn’t preclude a real relationship with Oher and doing nice things. 

Ole Miss worked out pretty damn good for him

 

[tx 3 putt 76,958]

1 hour ago, txhorns said:

Or he might have gotten killed in the projects after failing out of high school.

no might about it 

[Incredulity 11,674]

42 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

I suspect this wasn't something Oher cooked up by himself.  I have a distinct feeling that he was riled up by some trial lawyers who saw 40% of a pot of gold here.

This.

His football career is over and his peak earning days are likely over at a very young age.  Probably doesn’t take a whole lot of ear bending to get something started.

I very much hope Oher has managed his money prudently and this isn’t fueled by financial distress.

Maybe I’m off but I took his portrayal in the film to be more a gentle giant cliché rather than dumb.  
 

[rantanamo 143]

 

[Had Enough 2,081]

Pretty sure in the book the Tuohys claim that added Oher to their will and that he would be rich regardless of whether he ever made it to the pros.
They could be lying about that.  But I have a clear recollection of that being in the Lewis book.

The answer to this statement is the story. You don’t put someone in your will just because they went to your school of choice. You don’t siphon off thousands of dollars only to give back millions to that same person. You don’t give them millions without being “family” whether they were adopted or not.

No shit if my kid was a big recruit with the NFL in his future, Texas would be the hope. But it’s hard for me to cross that bridge of bringing that kid into my house without caring about him personally just to get him there.

I enjoyed the movie but I elect to see the positives in the outcome rather than picking apart that not all of it is 100% altruistic.

[redswingline 1,057]

12 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

I suspect this wasn't something Oher cooked up by himself.  I have a distinct feeling that he was riled up by some trial lawyers who saw 40% of a pot of gold here.

I am not one who thinks every contingent personal injury litigator is a greedy scumbag who files frivolous lawsuits.  Far from it.  This one just has that certain stink on it.  And the whole fiduciary duty thing is a bit of a legal wildcard.

Perhaps. Those types of details can only be known by oher and his attorney.  The only other possibility I see here is oher is aggravated the royalties split 5 ways. If each member gets between 7k-14k a year, that's 5x that amount (5 family members) per year, x 12-13 years, if those payments continued that whole time, that's not chump change. I question why anything from a book or movie about him would get split by the family in such a way. That is very odd.

[Gene Parmesan 4,007]

12 minutes ago, redswingline said:

Perhaps. Those types of details can only be known by oher and his attorney.  The only other possibility I see here is oher is aggravated the royalties split 5 ways. If each member gets between 7k-14k a year, that's 5x that amount (5 family members) per year, x 12-13 years, if those payments continued that whole time, that's not chump change. I question why anything from a book or movie about him would get split by the family in such a way. That is very odd.

Well because it's their story as well, but agree given what they are already worth they should just go to him, but then again at the time of the movie's release he was a first round pick, so it was pretty much chump change to everyone.

[WelfareBuysMyWeed 5,388]

I legitimately though Michael Oher was super special the first time I saw this movie. I thought the Blind Side was like a football version of the miracle worker or some shit.

[Texzilla58 4,736]

Nothing in the legal case should be based on what was shown in a movie. That wasn’t a Ken burns documentary but a fairy tale. Nothing more. All that matters from the movie is the business side of it.

If the family has put his share in trust for him and he’s not touched it that’s on him. It sounds like once Oher was in ole miss the relationship moved on. They had nothing to do with his nfl money.

They might not be your favorite people but it doesn’t mean they screwed this dude.

[redswingline 1,057]

13 hours ago, Incredulity said:

Maybe I’m off but I took his portrayal in the film to be more a gentle giant cliché rather than dumb.  

 

I don't think oher was portrayed to be dumb so much as the actor cast to play him was dumb.

To be fair, how many giant high school-age kids  (or early 20s) are you going to find for a role like this?

[redswingline 1,057]

1 hour ago, Gene Parmesan said:

Well because it's their story as well, but agree given what they are already worth they should just go to him, but then again at the time of the movie's release he was a first round pick, so it was pretty much chump change to everyone.

Yeah its all hard to figure out. My two guesses

1. For some reason he saw the gross earnings of the movie and figured he was getting screwed by someone

2. He got pissed about how the family 'cut' the proceeds from the movie. I have yet to see what the total is for that. If we say 9k per member per year on average, for 12 years, that is $540k.

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by redswingline

[Blotto 23,514]

3 minutes ago, redswingline said:

So if a book is written about your life and a movie is made (loosely) based off that book, everyone in your family should get a cut of that? If you have brothers / sisters - would they really expect a cut from you?

Mine wouldn't.

The family isn't some group of misc. randoms that had nothing to do with Oher's life. They are an integral part of the story. I could give a shit about either party to be honest, and will probably end up hating everyone involved the longer this meaningless story continues to occupy the news.

[Gene Parmesan 4,007]

5 minutes ago, redswingline said:

So if a book is written about your life and a movie is made (loosely) based off that book, everyone in your family should get a cut of that? If you have brothers / sisters - would they really expect a cut from you?

Mine wouldn't.

Depends on how integral your family is to your story.  I don't know about the book because I haven't read, but the movie which made all the money featured the mom as the star of the movie, and Sandra Bullock won an academy award, so she was the most prominent figure in that story.

[Texas Wahoo 3,397]

4 minutes ago, Gene Parmesan said:

Depends on how integral your family is to your story.  I don't know about the book because I haven't read, but the movie which made all the money featured the mom as the star of the movie, and Sandra Bullock won an academy award, so she was the most prominent figure in that story.

I could see an argument for splitting it 50-50 between the family and Oher, but there is no way it makes sense for SJ and Collins to get equal shares.

[Gene Parmesan 4,007]

Just now, Texas Wahoo said:

I could see an argument for splitting it 50-50 between the family and Oher, but there is no way it makes sense for SJ and Collins to get equal shares.

That's fine I don't disagree, my main point that this isn't 100% Ohers story.  It's not a biography of his life.  It's about the circumstances of a specific period in time, and he wasn't even the prominent character in the movie. 

[TwiceHorn 31,475]

1 hour ago, Texas Wahoo said:

I could see an argument for splitting it 50-50 between the family and Oher, but there is no way it makes sense for SJ and Collins to get equal shares.

Well, remember, the rights to the "story" such as it is belong to Lewis, not the family.  The kids are minor players in the story, the parents less so, and Oher the complete star of the show.

When the movie company is buying the right to characterize living humans, it's a bit separate from the story and the value doesn't necessarily derive from their part in the story.  The one place it does, though, is, if the movie company can't successfully buy off the "NIL" rights, then they have to write out that character or at least base it on someone else entirely.  That of course could be done easily with the kids, a whole lot less so with Oher.

On the other hand, if the person characterized will benefit from the publicity, then their rights should be acquired more cheaply.  

So Oher would say "I'm the star of the show, you can't make this movie without me, show me the money."  Fox says "We're going to make you famous, dude, not some obscure LT, you'll make so much money from endorsements after this, what we can offer is chump change."

One other thing that puzzles me a bit:  People keep saying "we never made much money off the movie."  Well if each Tuohy got $225k up front, that ain't chump change, even if the royalty/residual was.

Edited August 18, 2023 by TwiceHorn

[Had Enough 2,081]

If you had $220 million, then $225k could be considered chump change.

[Jkwellborn 6,702]

I legitimately though Michael Oher was super special the first time I saw this movie. I thought the Blind Side was like a football version of the miracle worker or some shit.

I’m pretty sure I’d never heard of him until the movie. I won’t lie, I figured he was Corky from Life Goes On levels of special from the movie.

I mean, Forrest fucking Gump would be pissed if he were depicted like that in the movie.

I legitimately though Michael Oher was super special the first time I saw this movie. I thought the Blind Side was like a football version of the miracle worker or some shit.

I’m pretty sure I’d never heard of him until the movie. I won’t lie, I figured he was Corky from Life Goes On levels of special from the movie.

I mean, Forrest fucking Gump would be pissed if he were depicted like that in the movie.

[WelfareBuysMyWeed 5,388]

They had a scene where they showed him how to use a bed. I'm surprised they didn't feel the need to show them paper training him as well.

[Beau Vine 54,230]

17 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

I am not one who thinks every contingent personal injury litigator is a greedy scumbag who files frivolous lawsuits.

[ztejas 43,452]

40 minutes ago, WelfareBuysMyWeed said:

They had a scene where they showed him how to use a bed. I'm surprised they didn't feel the need to show them paper training him as well.

Hey WelfareBuysMyWeed I think you're missing the point of this thread. Unless you think this story is about the movie version of Michael Oehr suing Sandra Bullock's dead boyfriend. 

[Catdaddyhorn 3,444]

18 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

I suspect this wasn't something Oher cooked up by himself.  I have a distinct feeling that he was riled up by some trial lawyers who saw 40% of a pot of gold here.

I am not one who thinks every contingent personal injury litigator is a greedy scumbag who files frivolous lawsuits.  Far from it.  This one just has that certain stink on it.  And the whole fiduciary duty thing is a bit of a legal wildcard.

One of the reasons I think that is, Oher lives in Nashville.  One of the attorneys of record is from Nashville, the rest aren't, so I suspect him of being Oher's main lawyer here.  And he's a class-action type, mostly.  They can be a little sus. https://stranchlaw.com/our-attorneys/j-gerard-stranch-iv/

😁

[ztejas 43,452]

2 minutes ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

😁

Oh man. You're going to make the identity politics warriors in here head's explode.

[redswingline 1,057]

3 hours ago, Texas Wahoo said:

I could see an argument for splitting it 50-50 between the family and Oher, but there is no way it makes sense for SJ and Collins to get equal shares.

Absolutely. It makes zero sense for them to equal shares.

It's all conjecture though, we really don't know what the motivation(s) are behind this lawsuit.

I won't be thinking about it again until the lawsuit is resolved and that resolution hits the media.

[CycleTex87 2,970]

Sorry for helping. 

[Brothahorn 10,087]

3 hours ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

😁

Wow, ok.

 

I heard that they had been together since Ole Miss, so I stupidly assumed they were married. Not just 'dating' for all these years.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

Nothing in the legal case should be based on what was shown in a movie. That wasn’t a Ken burns documentary but a fairy tale. Nothing more. All that matters from the movie is the business side of it.

If the family has put his share in trust for him and he’s not touched it that’s on him. It sounds like once Oher was in ole miss the relationship moved on. They had nothing to do with his nfl money.

They might not be your favorite people but it doesn’t mean they screwed this dude.

I can’t see not being at least neutral toward the Tuoys and only because one doesn’t know them. They are independently wealthy. They didn’t need Blind Side money. If they attempted to control his money until he was in his mid 20s or whatever, I strongly suspect they were fearful of what any responsible parent would be - that he’d blow through it like most other young rich athletes. 

Something is going on with Oher, and/or he’s getting really bad counsel. This is a money grab, and if I were Sean Tuoy, I’d probably play it like he is but I’d think long and hard about counter-suing and writing him out of my will. You don’t do this to people publicly, particularly ones that literally saved you. 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, redswingline said:

Yeah its all hard to figure out. My two guesses

1. For some reason he saw the gross earnings of the movie and figured he was getting screwed by someone

2. He got pissed about how the family 'cut' the proceeds from the movie. I have yet to see what the total is for that. If we say 9k per member per year on average, for 12 years, that is $540k.

 

1. Investigate it privately. 
2. That is nothing for them and frankly deserved for the attention it has brought them. They don’t seem like the types that are craving attention, and for a family like that, it’s probably not wanted except it brings visibility to Leigh Anne’s causes. 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Texas Wahoo said:

I could see an argument for splitting it 50-50 between the family and Oher, but there is no way it makes sense for SJ and Collins to get equal shares.

They’re goddamned family members. The family can split it however they want. Your perception of “fairness” is inconsequential. 

[txhorns 2,409]

I would happily give the actress who played Collins 50% of everything I own but only after a couple of years of marriage.

Edited August 19, 2023 by txhorns

[Guest]

On 8/14/2023 at 7:16 PM, Captainant said:

Slorch being an apologist for a vampire family leeching off an athletic poor black kid (shocker!)

Captain Dipshit wading into a thread and promptly stepping on his dick without knowing the facts is the real shocker. 

[Captainant 27,671]

Portahouse, don't you have O&G firms to carry water for? Go sniff a well head

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Captainant said:

Portahouse, don't you have O&G firms to carry water for? Go sniff a well head

You did overreact like a motherfucker with outrageous accusations.

I never saw a post with you owning it though.  Thread kept going to almost 400 posts though, because there was absolutely more info to be had.

Weird.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Captainant said:

Portahouse, don't you have O&G firms to carry water for? Go sniff a well head

You’re one of the dumbest motherfuckers on this site. Congratulations you dumb motherfucker. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, slorch said:

You did overreact like a motherfucker with outrageous accusations.

I never saw a post with you owning it though.  Thread kept going to almost 400 posts though, because there was absolutely more info to be had.

Weird.

He never owns baseless, emotional, political claims he makes. He is the classic poster emboldened by CR circle jerk rep going to other threads thinking his schtick will be celebrated by all, and then belittles those who challenge his bullshit with labels of racism, etc.

[MAUFRAIS 6,629]

I’d say he owes the mom money since she’s the one who taught him how to play o line with her family analogy.

[Herpa Derpa 6,126]

Never read the book so I don't know how the story is told in that medium, but I have to laugh at folks treating the movie like a Gibney documentary.  The Blind Side movie did not make $300 million because it was the true and accurate feel-good story of Micheal Oher and the Tuoy family. It made $300 million because it was a Sandra Bullock vehicle with all of the obvious trappings of a vanity project. Pure Hollywood schlock with the stock dumbed-down athlete, the suspiciously glamorous white savior protagonist, the precocious kid with the timing of a 1950's borscht comic, and a plot that views reality as a vague suggestion. As others have shown on this thread, Oher knew from the beginning it was all a big fraudulent show. This baseless money grab would seem to suggest he's finally come to the realization he was just a minor player in the whole thing and there was no pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow.

[oSuJeff97 3,435]

13 minutes ago, Herpa Derpa said:

Never read the book so I don't know how the story is told in that medium, but I have to laugh at folks treating the movie like a Gibney documentary.  The Blind Side movie did not make $300 million because it was the true and accurate feel-good story of Micheal Oher and the Tuoy family. It made $300 million because it was a Sandra Bullock vehicle with all of the obvious trappings of a vanity project. Pure Hollywood schlock with the stock dumbed-down athlete, the suspiciously glamorous white savior protagonist, the precocious kid with the timing of a 1950's borscht comic, and a plot that views reality as a vague suggestion. As others have shown on this thread, Oher knew from the beginning it was all a big fraudulent show. This baseless money grab would seem to suggest he's finally come to the realization he was just a minor player in the whole thing and there was no pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow.

Agree with all of that… the part that I find curious is the idea that there would *ever* be a “pot o gold” at the end considering how Hollywood is notoriaously stingy about those types of things…. And also just the fact that Oher made FAR more money during his NFL career (estimated at ~$34mm) than he would ever get for any kind of rights payment or royalties from a movie studio. We’re talking maybe a couple hundred thousand at best vs his nearly $35 million in career earnings….  

I’m not excusing the Tuoys at all because they do seem like they generally shady and full of shit, but the whole story, from what went down to the timing of Oher realizing it/making a big deal about it just seems… odd.

[Guest]

I question what exactly they’ve done that indicates any shadiness. Truth is, we don’t know this family, and we don’t know Oher. 

[Boss Hogg 808]

Movie poster is out 
 

 

[n64ra 1,083]

Slightly less than millions, if my math is correct.

"Since the film’s 2009 release, Kosove and Johnson say that Alcon Entertainment has paid approximately $767,000 to the talent agency that represents the Tuohys and Oher."

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/blind-side-producers-detail-payouts-that-michael-oher-tuohy-family-received-053807875.html

[ImissWallyPryor 9,046]

34 minutes ago, n64ra said:

Slightly less than millions, if my math is correct.

"Since the film’s 2009 release, Kosove and Johnson say that Alcon Entertainment has paid approximately $767,000 to the talent agency that represents the Tuohys and Oher."

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/blind-side-producers-detail-payouts-that-michael-oher-tuohy-family-received-053807875.html

Team Tuohy here, but did they receive any upfront money?

[hpslugga 4,059]

 

[Texas Wahoo 3,397]

The Judge is ending the conservatorship agreement and the rest of the case will move forward.  Nothing surprising, except for perhaps this statement from the Judge:

Quote

Gomes said she was disturbed that such an agreement was ever reached. She said she had never seen in her 43-year career a conservatorship agreement reached with someone who was not disabled and that the conservatorship should have ended long ago.

"I cannot believe it got done," she said.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38520300/judge-ending-michael-oher-conservatorship-tuohy-family

[Frank Drebin 5,638]

On 8/19/2023 at 11:22 AM, slorch said:

You did overreact like a motherfucker with outrageous accusations.

I never saw a post with you owning it though.  Thread kept going to almost 400 posts though, because there was absolutely more info to be had.

Weird.

You are responding to someone who is a fucking idiot.  Put that regard and his fellow travelers on ignore and your website experience will be much better.