The Boys in the Boat featurette and images showcase the George Clooney-directed underdog sports drama

Nothing inspires quite like a well-crafted underdog story, and George Clooney wants to motivate you to do great things with his upcoming sports drama, The Boys in the Boat. Based on the #1 New York Times bestselling non-fiction novel by Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat is about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. This inspirational true story follows a group of underdogs at the height of the Great Depression as they are thrust into the spotlight and take on elite rivals from around the globe. MGM debuted The Boys in the Boar featurette on Wednesday, which offers a behind-the-scenes look at Clooney’s latest passion project.

“Rowing, particularly in the 1920s, was one of the most-attended sports in the United States,” Clooney says in The Boys in the Boat featurette. “The Boys in the Boat is about strong, tough kids. But they were poor and hungry. They’re rowing because it’s the only way they could stay in college. The stakes were much higher for them, and it gave them an edge. These guys at the University of Washington taking on the seniors, then taking on the fraternity kids, and then taking on the Nazis. Every film we’ve ever seen that has an underdog in it, you’re always rooting for.”

Clooney directs from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith. Joel Edgerton (Boy Erased, The Great Gatsby), Callum Turner (Green Room, Queen & Country), and Courtney Henggler (Cobra Kai, Nobody’s Fool) lead the cast, with Hadley Robinson, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jack Mulhern, James Wolk, Alec Newman, Peter Guinness, Sam Strike, and Thomas Elms. Grant Heslov and George Clooney produce, with Kevin Ultich, Barbara A. Hall, Gary Barber, and Peter Oillataguerre executive producing.

With a spirited score arranged by Alexandre Desplat, The Boys in the Boat paddles its way into cinemas on Christmas Day, December 25, this holiday season.

What do you think about The Boys in the Boat featurette? What are some of your favorite underdog movies? Rocky Miracle, Legally Blonde, Rudy, Hidden Figures, Erin Brockovich? I’m an A League of Their Own diehard, and The Shawshank Redemption always gets me in the feels. In the comments section below, let us know your favorite underdog movies.