The Great White Hype

The Great White Hype
Theatrical release poster
Directed byReginald Hudlin
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRonald Víctor García
Edited byEarl Watson
Music byMarcus Miller
Production
companies
Fred Berner Films
Altman Entertainment
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • May 3, 1996 (1996-05-03)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$8 million

The Great White Hype is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Reginald Hudlin. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Berg, Damon Wayans, Jeff Goldblum, Jon Lovitz, Cheech Marin, John Rhys-Davies, Salli Richardson and Jamie Foxx.

The film satirizes racial preferences in boxing, and was inspired by Larry Holmes's 1982 fight with Gerry Cooney (who was known as "The Great White Hope") and Mike Tyson's 1995 return fight vs. Peter McNeeley.[citation needed] Entertainment Weekly called Rev. Fred Sultan (Samuel L. Jackson) a "Don King-clone."[1]

The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox and was released on May 3, 1996.

  1. ^ Tucker, Ken. "The Great White Hype". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 November 2023.