Keanu Reeves revisits "The Replacements" | New Heights Film Club

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I think you were one of the most convincing film quarterbacks of all time.

One of my favorite movies to watch.

Is it true that the Ravens wanted to give you a tryout after this movie?

That's absolutely nonsense.

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Coming up, we got a little bit of that New Heights Film Club.

That's right.

And it's a special edition because today we are joined by Keanu Reeves to revisit his 2000 classic film, The Replacements.

Enjoy.

This is a sports podcast.

We do want to talk about one of your most iconic sports films as well.

I mean, obviously, Good Fortune.

Good Fortune, which is coming out October 17th for everybody watching.

Everybody go check it out, babe.

But we also want to transition.

We do this thing Film Club at New Heights.

Oh, cool.

We wanted to break down a little bit of the replacements, if you're comfortable with that.

Wow.

Does that sound good?

Yeah, yeah.

So for anybody who hasn't seen it, stop what you're doing.

Go watch it.

The Replacements is one of the best movies of all time.

Now, don't go crazy.

Well, here's why I love it.

I love any sports film that catches.

the underdog and the idea that they're going to climb the mountaintop and achieve their dreams.

And the replacements is that Phil, right?

The players have all gone on strike, and now they have to introduce these scab players into the NFL.

And the pros are fighting them, and

they're trying to bond and put together some type of product and team.

Yeah.

And Shane Falco leads the whole thing.

Lefty.

That's right.

Yeah.

First of all, I mean, the movie came out 25 years ago.

When's the last time you've seen it?

Gosh, probably

a long time ago.

At least 15, 20 years.

Yeah.

I feel like

it's on a cable channel near you every single week, man.

It's one of my favorites.

If I see it on the TV guy, I'm putting it on and watching it.

One of the craziest things about the movie is, yeah, the players go on strike, so we need to find replacement players.

But they loop in the fact that

there needs to be replacement cheerleaders, too.

And what better place to get dancers last minute than the strip club?

Like they're part of the same union.

We gotta,

that's good.

Putting their bodies on the line.

That's right.

That's right.

That's right.

You got to, man.

How do you think you did playing a quarterback?

How convincing do you think you were as a quarterback in that film?

Well, you know, I, my, my movie quarterback journey started with uh point break.

That's right.

Also, an Ohio State quarterback, if I'm not mistaken.

I was playing an Ohio State Buckeye both times.

Come on now, baby.

I had nothing to do with.

That's what's happening.

And so I worked with Rick Neuheisel

on Point Break.

So I got some fundamentals.

I got a lot of backyard street football experience, but never any organized football.

And then I worked with an ex-NFL quarterback, TJ Rugli,

who was quarterbacking in the 90s.

And he kind of, you know, Rick, I did some fundamental stuff.

And then with TJ,

doing a little more,

a lot more footwork.

And then we had a three-week camp.

So offense, defense.

No way.

You guys did a whole camp?

So we could run some plays.

Then they had some ex-NFL guys, college guys,

who were all playing football.

And I'd never been in a football camp or warm-up or, you know, long.

How was that experience?

It's fun.

It is fun.

And all the guys are fucking down in creative.

Can I swear?

Yeah,

you can.

Very well,

so they're fucking doing fucking scooping creatine.

You know it.

Protein shakes and creatine, baby.

I like that.

The pot still works.

Super clean.

And I'm like it.

It's a fucking 50.

And I'm like,

anyway.

And then just, you know, doing two a days.

It was in Baltimore.

It was hot.

And then just getting used to, you know, coming to the line.

And then, you know, what I didn't know about was the relationship between the quarterback and the center.

Oh, yeah, baby.

You know, that's a big one.

So I kind of started getting,

it was cool.

He was really supportive.

And he would call me, hey, Shane, a Falco.

Don't worry about it.

you know my first breaking huddles i was like and one

or one one

and like trying to like get my count you know like blew it

you know here we go here we go there it is electric and then uh so i love that walking up under center then down there um there's nothing like it baby but it was cool i mean one of the things that was

One of the coordinators, a guy named Mark Ellis, who had done some other football projects now Graff, they had run some

movie, TV movie stuff.

They've done, you know, they had done this before, taking actors, non-playing people, and integrating with, you know, pros, ex-pros.

And

so we're, you know, we're trying to get to a level where we can run plays and just so that they could fill me, like coming up to center, you know, do a call, cadence, whatever, break the, sorry, break the huddle, come up, you know, do it and run a play.

And

like week one, I had like a crossing route I had to hit because I also learned about the relationship with the tight end.

Come on, there we go, heck yeah,

David Dennis.

The safety blanket, baby, heck yeah.

So I had the center tight end thing, you know, like I didn't, so I had to hit him on a cross.

And I remember one of the things was like the first week, I'm just missing.

I'm just fucking off.

And they're all like, all the players, like, don't worry about it.

Don't worry.

It's cool, man.

Let's

week two week three i remember we ran the same play i was late missed it no one said a word

we're coming back to the huddle like go do it again no one said nobody was happy no one was funny

that's so funny

no one said

you could up once if you do it twice

and then he's like what's up he's like they're treating you like a player now.

And I'm like, what do you mean?

He's like, don't fuck up.

They're hot.

They don't want to fucking do this anymore.

You fucked up.

You don't get anymore.

You got the full feel of it.

I love it.

He didn't say a fucking word.

That's stupid, buddy.

Ice cold after incompletion is the worst.

Got the full quarterback treatment right there, man.

Yeah.

But then I hit some stuff.

And then we got to play at the

Ravens Stadium before, you know, I said it was kind of coming together.

And we got to play during halftime.

But we filmed in the stadium, which was cool, and then we filmed at halftime, so we got a feel of that.

And the guy who was doubling me in quarterback, who could actually play football, uh, Christopher Robbins, he had to, uh, he had a, he had to fucking do you remember the scene where he has to like hike it.

Oh, yeah, yes,

oh, yeah, do that live, man.

He made the throw.

That was cool.

That's so dope.

I know, I also learned how to like catch for the for the field goal.

Oh, now that's that's a that's a fucking talent right there.

Holding the snap, dude.

I'll just say I loved it.

I loved it.

Awesome.

That's awesome.

Awesome.

I love it.

Did you take any actual hits or was this mostly like body doubles and things?

No.

They were like, well, a couple, like when we would run plays at full speed,

you know, they would come in and basically they were all like, don't hit the guy for the reason that we're all have a job.

Yeah, exactly.

It's a good reason.

I mean,

that's very much like the NFL.

It's very much like if you touch it.

That's exactly what it is in practice.

Don't hit the guy who's helping us get paid.

That's right.

That's how it works.

Golden rule, baby.

And then, uh, and so I once ran into somebody.

I have a two-level fusion in my neck.

And I ran into somebody and got a stinger.

That's scary.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, man.

Nice, man.

You got the full football.

Nothing worse, man.

The stingers are the worst.

You got a stinger.

Oh, man.

And then I was like, oh, shit, because I have a plate in my neck.

You thought it was like really messed up.

I was like, oh, shit.

Yeah, that's not funny.

Yeah.

And it was okay.

And then I did that dumb thing where you like, they're always saying, like, when you fall with the football, don't put it on your chest.

Oh, yeah.

Knock the wind out of yourself.

Yeah.

Gasping for air.

I think you were one of the most convincing film quarterbacks of all time.

It's one of my favorite movies to watch.

Is it true that the Ravens wanted to give you a tryout after this game?

That's absolutely nonsense.

My release would have obviously been lefty.

I don't know why, but we tend to have a lower release.

Getting that ball was a little slow, but I can hit like,

I mean, it wasn't on a rope, but like, yeah, I could do like 50-yard corner, or I could, you know, I could hit like

a hell of a throw right now.

Don't start believing you can really do it.

Well, listen, I don't know if you saw those 2,000 Ravens, but you didn't need to be that good.

I mean, I think the opposing teams averaged like 11 points a game or something like that.

It was nine.

Yeah.

We all needed defense.

What was it like working with Gene Hackman?

Man.

He's like one of the, I mean, obviously Hoosier, he just plays a great coach.

The temperament of him, like, comes off as this wise, sage person.

Loved his and your relationship in the film.

What was it like working with him?

Uh, such a gentleman and you know, hero of mind.

When you look at his career, the breadth of roles, like comedy, drama, the filmmakers, um,

it's just so special.

And he was really

nice to me.

He was generous, and he was like, We had a good chemistry.

And basically, he was like, no nonsense, no bullshit.

came to work ready to go knew the lines knew what was going on and didn't really suffer

people who weren't doing that

he had a look he had a look and he was kind of facious but he would just be like

sounds like a real coach man sounds like andy reed right

my coach gives you one look you already know you better tighten it up man get this thing rocking and rolling.

I remember he had some, Howard Deutsch was the director.

And,

you know, there was, you know,

Gene Ackman had a hat, you know, kind of doing that Landry thing.

Yeah, the Landry doing.

And he was like, do you want the hat or not the hat?

Do you want the hat?

And how he's like, and he was just like,

Dave, say it.

Anyway, but he was.

Yeah, total pro, total pro and a gentleman and sweet.

And, you know, another legend who I got to meet there was Jack Warden, who played an owner of the team.

Yeah, absolutely.

Just a legend as well.

And I got to say hi to Pat Sommerall and Madden.

Nice.

John Madden?

Yeah, they do some good commentators in them film.

So I went to go see them filming one day.

And it's cool to meet.

Oh, dude, what was that like?

John Madden?

I mean, that's my like hero, man.

That guy, listening to him call football games my entire childhood.

What was that like?

He's a sweetie body, too.

Just, hey, how's it going?

Huge head, hands.

I was just a big old dude, man.

Fucking thing.

And like,

he was kind of quiet and low-key, you know, but then he was there.

And, you know, it was just, like you say, when you meet those guys who you've grown up with and who did such amazing, you know, so cool.

You know, our connection to watching them work, you know.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

It was cool.

one of my favorite quotes from this movie probably one of the all-time quotes in sports movies history pain heals chicks dig scars glory lasts forever boys let's say

i will say though sometimes pain doesn't heal i'm still dealing with these back issues i'm still struggling with it but yeah that stinger ever catch you when you yawn you like roll over and yawn it just kind of fizzles a little bit i i just i do find i protect my head all the time.

But how many years in do you?

Yeah, I'm 13.

Jason played 13.

Yeah, but we're

feeling like we're 25 right now.

Speaking of me, you guys are winning.

All things considered, we've done pretty good

from the health.

I mean, Trav is still going, so I don't knock on wood a little bit.

How was it going from the...

Because I was looking up kind of like your history a bit, and I saw the early Eagles stuff.

you centered with uh vic right yeah michael vic that was the first quarterback i ever played with which is oh yeah crazy so i mean that's he puts you in put the whole team put like that's a modern quarterbacking that's a whole other thing right he's a side he's a south paw too now he was like he could his he could sling it and you would hear that thing whiz

like you could feel the spin on it coming past your head yes that was crazy how much mike just like flicking his wrist would put some spin on it but and that's the thing.

He did it so effortless.

It was like he had a whip on his arm.

It was crazy how he could just sling the ball out there and he could throw it a mile and a half.

Yeah, we had this question in here to ask you.

It was something about the scab players.

You were going to ask me, Trav, if I was going to be,

oh, gosh, what was it?

You guys had a strike 2 and 11 or something.

Yes.

So we had a strike in 2011, that same year.

Yeah.

And Trav was, you know, would we be tipping the scab cars if, but I'm like, dude, I would have been one of the scabs.

I would have been one of the scabs.

are you kidding i would i was a rookie i had student loans i'm trying to pay off i would have been playing i'm not struggling on strike i hadn't played realized my dream yet i was about to say i i'm uh i'm still living my dream i'm not holding out yeah the players union would have hated me the movie is so wonderful because it captures a lot of guys it's so relatable because so many people have tried to make it in sports and when it came out i was still at that stage and like it's interesting now re-watching it as i'm an older player having already played in the nfl and looking at it from maybe that lens.

But growing up and watching it, I mean, this was like

just beyond cool to showcase that kind of mentality and like perseverance in particular with Shane Falco's character.

And like, listen, he had a very traumatic experience playing it in college and he gets another opportunity.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

I don't know.

I mean, I think the film actually, I mean, I'm never playing a game, so I can't say, but it seems like from the outside, like

maybe the cliches, but also clichés are kind of created out of what actually happens often yeah they're clichés for a reason yeah

crazy kicker the linebacker who's this fucking crazy yeah and the tight end and the lineman so it i felt like it got some things in a i'll say hollywood kind of way but it oh yeah but that's what makes the movie fun is that if they're all just exaggerated just a little bit to make the the characters that more appealing yeah

the replacements 2025 years ago don't how crazy was that?

Still going strong too, baby.

And that was the first film that did it after the Matrix.

That was really the first film.

Talk about a switch-up.

That's a switch-up of Xopris and Feels for sure.

The rage is crazy, dude.

God damn it.

We forgot to get to that.

Fuck.

All right, we're going to do it right now.

Travis, count of three.

We're just going to name who we think is the best cop for Shane Felton.

There's only one.

I'd be shocked if we don't say the same person.

One, two,

three.

Guardians.

Dude, this is the best.

Garden is one of my favorite teammates, man.

Minshew Mania, baby.

You're talking about

that like ecos, like just like chill, laid-back.

Yes.

Vibes are always high,

like good vibes at that.

Yes.

Falco was living in a boat.

Minshew freaking like redid like a bus, and he was living on a bus bus for a whole off season one time the hair the hair it feels like it's like reincarnation yeah they're the same person yeah it's it's perfect

shout out to my guy guard man let's go baby that wraps up another edition of new heights film club brought to you by reese's pumpkins Thank you to Kiana Reese for joining us.

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So much.

We'll see you guys next Wednesday.