Robby Benson’s Warner Bros. basketball classic ONE ON ONE (1977) is finally available on DVD. Benson wrote the screenplay for ONE ON ONE (with Jerry Segal) at age 17, not only to expose the issues surrounding the inequities in ‘amateur’ college athletics, he wrote One on One because HE LOVED TO PLAY THE GAME. Benson’s basketball skills at the time were lauded by everyone from John Wooden to Red Auerbach (Robby was offered a spot personally by Auerbach for Celtics rookie camp) to Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Bradley, Reggie Miller, and scores of other top college and NBA and players and coaches through the years.
Cast in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Robby bought out his contract when Warner’s gave One on One the green light. As an actor/athlete Robby Benson was the real thing. (Billy Mills — the only USA 10,000 meter Olympic Gold Medal winner, personally chose Robby to portray him in Running Brave). Plus, any guy from 8 to 80 who saw One on One fell in love with Benson’s love interest, the gorgeous red-headed tutor played by Annette O’Toole.
Click here to go to Warner Bros. Archive online and find out how to get One On One on DVD.
Peter Travers tweets his lesson from Reggie Miller: ONE ON ONE with Robby Benson
REGGIE MILLER NBA legend and star of the new documentary WINNING TIME just screened at Sundance, gives film critic Peter Travers the definitive answer to the question — what hoops film Hollywood got right? One on One with Robby Benson.
Scott Neustadter chose Robby and Karla’s song “We Are Not Alone” from “The Breakfast Club” as #4
Karla DeVito says:
“Our son Zephyr Benson is 17 and going to NYU/Tisch for filmmaking next fall, and has seen your 500 DAYS a zillion times already — it was the first film our son ever said we NEEDED to see. So thanks for putting us on your list — it gives us a moment of relevance at home!”
About We Are Not Alone from The Breakfast Club:
John Hughes and Keith Forsey invited me and the love of my life and writing partner Robby Benson into the editing room to watch an early Breakfast Club cut, focusing on the dance montage in the library.
We conceived and wrote WE ARE NOT ALONE to Keith’s drum track, which the cast had danced to the beat of during shooting. Robby had just had open heart surgery for a congenital valve defect, yet he could not sleep until he had written almost every word and the entire melody.
Mr. Hughes loved it, my producers Steve Goldstein and David Anderle recorded it, I had a blast blasting it out vocally, and Robby and I will always be grateful to Keith Forsey for bringing us into the amazing iconic John Hughes film music universe.