Series 7: The Contenders

2001
R
1h 26m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A TV program selects people at random to kill one another for fame and their freedom.A TV program selects people at random to kill one another for fame and their freedom.A TV program selects people at random to kill one another for fame and their freedom.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

6.7K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins & 4 nominations

Videos1

Trailer 1:35

Series 7: The Contenders

Photos8

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Writer/Director Daniel Minahan's childhood friend, Dawn Lagarto, is given a "Special Thanks" credit. He originally wrote the story using her name for the main character. When it came time to start filming the producers had legal concerns regarding the use of a real person's name, but actress Brooke Smith felt an affinity for the name and wanted to retain it for her character. Minahan called the real Dawn Lagarto and got her blessing to use the name. The real Dawn Lagarto is not an unwed mother, has never participated in a reality TV series, and has never killed anyone.

Goofs
The truck Tony drives off with the baby in is a Ford Ranger (a mid-size truck). The stock footage of a chase from a helicopter shows a truck that is supposed to be Tony's, but is now a full-sized Chevy. Back in the close-ups, it's a Ford Ranger again.

Quotes
[After taking a movie audience hostage]
Dawn Lagarto: Bring my baby here or else innocent people are gonna die!
[Audience members applaud and cheer.]
Dawn Lagarto: That means YOU, ASSHOLES!
[Audience shuts up.]

Crazy credits
After the title credits, a warning appears "Due to the graphic nature of this program, viewer discretion is advised."

Alternate versions
The DVD version includes deleted scenes that are viewed seperately. They include:
The reunion with Dawn's family is extended.
A scene of Franklin refusing the radio/GPS rig and explaining why he lives in a lead-lined shack.
A scene where Franklin is looking in the mirror and mentally preparing himself before he receives the note.
Franklin's speech in the mall is extended.
A scene with Connie's priest, where he explains in an interview that he's a fan of the show, that he recognized Connie's voice in the confessional, and that he hopes that she confesses for the two murders before she herself dies.
'Man-on-the-street' interviews.
The 'real' ending, which we are told in the film that the footage was destroyed and then are presented a dramatization of the events. The 'real' ending is, when presented with the choice of killing one another, Jeff and Dawn put the guns down, run out of the theatre, were they meet a crowd of disgruntled fans. The fans give chase after them and, after catching them entering their SUV, begin beating them, presumably to death. This explains why, at the end of the film, Doria is proclaiming that she's been framed and why Jeff survived.
An interview with Laura with Dawn's baby, where she renames the baby Dawn and says she's proud of her sister.
A PSA from Doria about checking for testicular cancer.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Million Dollar Hotel/The Invisible Circus/Head Over Heels (2001)

Soundtracks
Meet The Contenders
Written and Performed by Girls Against Boys
Published by Action Collar Music/EMI/Blackwood Music/BMI
Copyright 2000 Geffen Records;
Girls Against Boys appears courtesy of Geffen Records

User reviews136

Review

Featured review

8/10

How Reality TV shows really should be...

This film is many things - an insight into the future of Reality TV - a very funny black comedy - and a touching story of people forced beyond the edge of reason.

Recommended if you love or hate Reality TV shows, the film is set as back to back episodes of series 7 of The Contenders, an American show where the current champion and five randomly selected challengers have to kill or be killed - and the winner gets to appear in the next series.

Proof, if proof were needed, that a good film with a good script does not need well-known actors to be a success.