Synopsis:
Britain's Peter Colt (PAUL BETTANY) has never quite lived up to his dreams of tennis stardom. Once ranked as high as number 11 in the world, the journeyman veteran has watched his number slip to...
Britain's Peter Colt (PAUL BETTANY) has never quite lived up to his dreams of tennis stardom. Once ranked as high as number 11 in the world, the journeyman veteran has watched his number slip to 119 as his confidence on the court slowly ebbs away. Now, on the eve of his leaving the world of professional tennis, he's granted a wild card, allowing him to play his final Wimbledon tournament…make that his final tournament ever. At one time having faced some of the best players in the world, Peter Colt is now about to face voluntary retirement, a job at a club and a bevy of aging women awaiting tennis instruction in between facials and afternoon drinks.
American Lizzie Bradbury (KIRSTEN DUNST), the rising star/bad girl of the international tennis set, is the promising new hotshot playing at her first Wimbledon. Focused, driven and pushed to a level of superlative playing by her equally driven, overprotective coach and father, Dennis (SAM NEILL), Lizzie lets nothing get in her way of the win—not a bad call, not an unexpected return and certainly not a short-lived romance with fellow rising American champ Jake Hammond (AUSTIN NICHOLS). Lizzie's career trajectory is set to be the best female tennis player in the world, a Grand Slam champ. No other dream will do…and the Wimbledon trophy would be a great place to start.
Peter's plans of quiet retirement are put on hold after he arrives at the hallowed courts of The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club's Wimbledon Championships. There, after a chance meeting with Lizzie that sparks into an affair, he achieves the unthinkable and wins his first match. Fueled by a mixture of his newfound luck, love and on-court prowess, Peter continues his winning streak, gradually working his way up the ranks while the sport and its fans re-embrace this faded and now refurbished star.
The not-so-young Brit finds that the world indeed loves a winner—and none more so than his usually absent agent, Ron Roth (JON FAVREAU)—and he begins to appreciate the long-forgotten taste of victory. For herself, Lizzie soon finds that her penchant for tournament flings may be at an end when she does the unthinkable and begins to fall for this British used-to-be loser with the heart of a winner.
Now if Peter's (and Lizzie's) luck can just hold out…
In the tradition of their hit romantic comedies Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's Diary, Working Title Films' Wimbledon is a sweet and funny tale of romance across the net of one of the world's most prestigious sporting events. Directed by RICHARD LONCRAINE (Richard III, television's Emmy-winning My House in Umbria and The Gathering Storm) and produced by Working Titles' TIM BEVAN, ERIC FELLNER and LIZA CHASIN, and MARY RICHARDS (television's Band of Brothers), Wimbledon is written by ADAM BROOKS (French Kiss) and JENNIFER FLACKETT & MARK LEVIN (upcoming Little Manhattan). It stars Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man 2), Paul Bettany (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park III) and Jon Favreau (Swingers). Joining them are a group of accomplished actors from both sides of the Atlantic that also includes Austin Nichols (The Day After Tomorrow), NICOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU (Black Hawk Down), BERNARD HILL (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), ELEANOR BRON (Iris) and JAMES McAVOY (Bright Young Things).
Wimbledon champions JOHN McENROE and CHRIS EVERT and commentator MARY CARILLO appear as themselves, providing color commentary on the tournament play. With Australian PAT CASH, 1987 Wimbledon champ, also serving as tennis consultant on the film, Wimbledon was granted unprecedented access by The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTCC) to film during the 2003 championships, one of the most watched sporting events in the world.
Joining director Loncraine behind the camera are filmmaking champions in their own right, including director of photography DARIUS KHONDJI (Oscar®-nominated for Evita), production designer BRIAN MORRIS (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), editor HUMPHREY DIXON (My House in Umbria), costumer LOUISE STJERNSWARD (Sexy Beast) and composer EDWARD SHEARMUR (Laws of Attraction). The film is executive-produced by DEBRA HAYWARD (Love Actually) and DAVID LIVINGSTONE. -- © Universal Pictures
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