'Blind Side' Producers Release Statement on Earnings, Ravens' Michael Oher Claims

The aftershocks of Michael Oher's lawsuit involving the film that told his story are rumbling once again.

Alcon Entertainment, which produced the 2009 film, "The Blind Side," has released a statement about the claims of the Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman. A first-round pick of the Ravens in 2009, Oher gained a good amount of international fame from the film, which depicts his alleged adoption to the wealthy Tuohy family.

But Oher, who has been critical of his depiction of the film in the past, has filed a lawsuit against the Tuohys, with one of his claims being that the family made millions off the film while he himself saw nothing.

"We feel it is now important for us to respond to some recent media reports, which include many mischaracterizations and uninformed opinions," the Alcon statement, penned by co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andre Kosove, reads. "The impetus for these stories has been a lawsuit by Michael Oher, which seems to have given critics and journalists alike a justification to unfairly pick apart the movie fourteen years later, some going so far as to call it "fake" or a "lie.'"

Claims from Alcon will nonetheless come under scrutiny. Alcon was financed by FedEx founder Frederick Smith, a neighbor of the Tuohys whose son Cannon, a former Memphis University football player and current stuntman, is married to Collins Tuohy, the Tuohy family's oldest child.

Nonetheless, Johnson and Kosove stood by their decision to make "The Blind Side," calling it a story that featured "the better angels of human nature."

"We saw it in the Tuohy's wonderful acts of kindness toward Michael Oher," the statement reads. "However, more importantly, we saw it in the extraordinary courage that Michael Oher demonstrated in accepting the Tuohys' generosity not as a handout, or as his saviors, but as a way through which he could improve his own life. Michael's academic accomplishments and athletic achievements demonstrate this.

"His raising of his own children now, who shall know a life of possibility the likes of which Michael never knew as a child, is the ultimate testament to Michael's own strength and courage."

The Alcon statement also addressed the "business side of the equation," which has fueled several of Oher's claims. Alcon claimed the 2006 rights negotiations for the Michael Lewis book that first introduced "The Blinde Side" story, held when Oher was still a college student, were staged at a time when "limitations of what college athletes were able to do and maintain eligibility, were very different than they are today."

The Tuohys previously claimed that the controversial conservatorship, another point of contention of Oher's accusations, was done in the name of appeasing the NCAA, as well as the closest move they could make to a legal adoption after the blocker's 18th birthday.

While supportive of Oher's journey, the statement denied the idea that the Tuohys unfairly struck it rich at his expense.

"The notion that the Tuohys were paid millions of dollars by Alcon to the detriment of Michael Oher is false," Johnson and Kosove wrote. "In fact, Alcon has paid approximately $767,000 to the talent agency that represents the Tuohy family and Michael Oher (who, presumably, took commission before passing it through). We anticipate that the Tuohy family and Michael Oher will receive additional profits as audiences continue to enjoy this true story in the years to come."

Alcon said that they made a charitable donation to the Tuohy's family foundation in addition to the aforementioned six figures. The statement claims a similar offer was made to Oher for a charity of his choosing but he declined.

Johnson and Kosove's most well-known shared production efforts include "Dude, Where's My Car?," and "Blade Runner 2049." Even those have failed to stay in the public lexicon as long as "The Blind Side," which has earned its share of praisers and detractors. In addition to introducing the story of Oher to a wider audience, the film became well-known for the Academy Award-winning performance of Sandra Bullock as Tuohy matriarch Leigh Anne.

As "The Blind Side" reaches the 14th anniversary of its theatrical premiere in November, Johnson and Kosove hope that the film will continue to endure the test of time, albeit in the positive, uplifting way they said they intended.

"Goodness knows, the two of us are hardly correct all the time, but we sure were right about our decision to make this film," they said. "The best human characteristics displayed in "The Blind Side" might be easy to dismiss in the bizarro world of elitist film critique and social media cynicism. However, in the real world, they form the basis of a healthy society and they ought to be celebrated."

"We are as proud of the film today as we were when our amazing collaborators made the movie 14 years ago."

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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