From Homeless to the Oscars...Twice. An Interview with the Makers of The Blind Side

Thank you for all your wonderful and insightful comments on our Blind Side interview and DVD giveaway. Winners of the DVDs have been determined by a random number generator. They are Marion Kaminski of Lacoochee, Florida and Kimberly Love of Peabody, Massachusetts. Thanks for reading SixSeeds.tv, Marion and Kimberly!

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The Blind Side

It was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. Its lead, Sandra Bullock, won a statue for Best Actress. It's made $250 million at the box office....domestically. But, most importantly, it made serving others look possible and even enjoyable.

I'm talking about The Blind Side, the movie about a real life family, the Touheys, and their snap decision to take bring young man out of the cold. An initial act of compassion opened the door to their car and to their family. You probably already know the story by now - especially that that young man, Michael, is now a player for the Baltimore Ravens. But you may not know that the actor who played Michael was almost homeless before landing this life-changing role.

I had the chance to talk to Quenton Aaron (Oher)  and to director John Lee Hancock for a look at this remarkable movie which is released to DVD March 22. (Read our review of The Blind Side.) Enjoy!

Congratulations on the success of Blind Side. You must be thrilled.

Hancock: Beyond thrilled. It’s been a wild ride.

Congratulations on the Oscars. What was it like for you to be there?

Aaron: Oh, it was crazy. It was amazing. I still can’t explain being able to go. I know how big a deal it was and I was I was just honored to be there.

You got to see Sandra Bullock accept her award.

Aaron: Yeah that was cool because I knew she was going to win. I haven’t had a chance to tell her "I told you so."

Did she believe you when you told her before hand?

Aaron: She wouldn’t let me say it a lot because she didn’t want to jinx it.

(Watch Sandra Bullock receive the Oscar.)

Have you had any feedback from Michael Oher?

Aaron: No. Actually I haven’t met nor spoken with Michael yet.

Yeah. He seems to be interested in playing football and not really interested in being in Hollywood circles.

Aaron: Yeah. We’re the opposite in that area. His life is about football. My life is about entertainment.

Let me ask you about the role. I loved your character. I thought you played such a gentle young man. And not at all the cliché of what people think a young African-American from the projects is like. Where did that come from?

Aaron: I think a lot of it came from me. Because even though I grew up in rough neighborhoods, I never became a product of my environment. I pretty much kept to myself. I’ve always known there was something I wanted to do that hanging around my neighborhood and stuff wouldn’t get me. I focused on getting out of there.

How did you walk that line of race portrayal in a movie like this? 

Hancock: Well, I think you pretty much just tell the story. You know the Touheys came under fire for bringing an African American kid into their house saying that they had ulterior motives.

 Michael Lewis came under fire when he wrote the book. He told me, “The haters of this story are so rabid that it’s as if they wish it had never happened, this charitable thing had never happened.” He warned me. There are some that are just going to hate. It’s just what it’s going to be. They won’t allow themselves to watch the movie.

That said, to me this wasn’t really a movie about race. To me this was a movie about haves and have nots, and nature versus nurture and a kid who had been thrown on the waste heap of society, and how when place in a family where he’s nurtured and loved and a premium is placed on things like education, he succeeds. I think that is a strong vote for nurture. So I took that as the more important message of it.

As Leigh Anne Touhey told me, she was talking about people saying, "You just took in a black kid because you thought that made you look holier than thou, better than everybody." She said, "I didn’t stop and put him in a car because he was black, I put him in a car because he was cold." Yeah, that’s a pretty good answer, that’s kind of it.

Aaron: I think what people say about it being a typical movie about a white woman saving an African American, I don’t really believe that because it was a true story.  If you look at our life, a year ago today before the Blind Side, I was almost homeless. I was almost out on the street with my brother. My mom had passed away months before I got the role. It turned everything around for me in such a way that had it not shown up I don’t know where I’d be today.

The movie is not only an inspiring movie, inspired everyone across America, but was a blessing to my life personally. I’m thankful that movie came along and I thank the Touheys for putting the story out there, allowing me to portray the character because that’s such a blessing to me.

It’s a true story, both parties, Michael Oher as well as the family, allowed it to be told. I don’t see why people should have a problem just because it’s about a African American kid who’s taken in by a white family. If he doesn’t have a problem with it, why should anybody else? It’s not their problem or business to be upset about it unless it happens to them.

Obviously this movie made a ton of money and did well at the Oscars. What made it so popular?
 

Aaron: I think that it was such an inspiring movie. We don’t get a lot of those. Especially today’s day and age, people need to be inspired. They could relate as far as Michael having such a rough upbringing, and going from that to college and just where he’s at today in the NFL. Kids have dreams of going to the NFL and in their current predicament they think that will never happen. This movie gives them hope and inspires them that it can happen if they work hard at doing what they want to do.

Would you like a chance to win a free DVD of the Blindside?  Please leave us a message in the comments section telling us what you thought of the movie, the book, or the “nature versus nurture” debate.  (Or, even your Aunt Mary’s chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Just leave a comment.) Two lucky winners will win a Blind Side DVD just by commenting.  (Make sure you also enter your e-mail address.  This will both automatically sign you up for our free weekly e-zine, and allow us to contact you if you are the winner!)

On April 1 at noon (EST), we'll pick two names in a random drawing from all eligible entries received and send them email notification.

Limit one (1) entry per person; NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington D.C. who are 18 or older as of date of entry.

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