Questions
When did Dodgeball come out and who directed it?
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story was released on June 18, 2004, and it was the directorial debut of Rawson Marshall Thurber, who also wrote it.
Who stars in the movie?
It stars Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller, along with Christine Taylor and Rip Torn.
What is the movie actually about?
A band of misfits enters a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament to win $50,000 and save their gym, Average Joe’s, from a corporate takeover.
What are the two gyms called?
The heroes run the small, dilapidated Average Joe’s, while the high-end rival corporation is Globo Gym, whose team is the Globo Gym Purple Cobras.
Who plays the coach Patches O’Houlihan?
Rip Torn plays Patches O’Houlihan, a retired seven-time ADAA dodgeball All-Star who coaches from a wheelchair, with Hank Azaria appearing as the young Patches.
Is that really Lance Armstrong in the movie?
Yes, Lance Armstrong appears in a cameo giving Peter a motivational pep talk.
Are there other big celebrity cameos?
Chuck Norris shows up as a judiciary board member, and David Hasselhoff coaches the Blitzkrieg team.
Who are the TV announcers calling the tournament?
The broadcast commentators on the fictional ESPN8: The Ocho are Cotton McKnight, played by Gary Cole, and Pepper Brooks, played by Jason Bateman.
Who plays Steve the Pirate?
Alan Tudyk plays Steve the Pirate, a regular customer who dresses, talks, and acts like a pirate.
Did the movie almost have a different ending?
Reportedly the original test-screened ending had Average Joe’s losing, but audiences disliked it, so the filmmakers added the sudden-death match and White Goodman’s weight-gain resolution.
Did Ben Stiller reuse an old character?
Reportedly Stiller’s White Goodman intentionally recycled his Tony Perkis Jr. role from Heavyweights, which he thought few people had seen, though it had actually built a cult following.
How much money did Dodgeball make?
Made on a budget of about $20 million, it earned $114.3 million domestically and $168.4 million worldwide, opening to over $29 million in its first week.
Did the movie win any awards?
Ben Stiller won the 2005 MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, though he was also nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actor.
Was there a lawsuit over the movie?
In 2005 two New York City screenwriters sued claiming the screenplay infringed their unproduced Dodgeball: The Movie, and the case was settled out of court.
Did the movie leave a mark on real sports TV?
Yes, ESPN created "ESPN8: The Ocho" in 2017, inspired by the film’s fictional sports channel.
