One of IU’s greatest traditions is in full swing this weekend: Little 500. The beloved bike race has inspired not only Hoosiers, but also Hollywood—including films like Breaking Away.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Breaking Away. The film came out in 1979 and quickly won the hearts of movie-goers. What started out as a small-budget film became a surprise success, winning the Oscar for best original screen play and a nomination for best picture at the 1980 Academy Awards.
The film tells the story of four friends in their post-high school days overcoming teenage hardships as they fight for first place in the IU Little 500 race.
The movie’s popularity put Bloomington on the map. Parts of the movie were filmed right on IU’s campus. The iconic race scenes were filmed in what is now the IU Arboretum. The space originally served as the old 10th Street Stadium from 1925 until its demolition in 1982.
The old Memorial Stadium on 10th street - courtesy of IU Archives
Breaking Away even inspired other beloved Indiana-based films. Hollywood screenwriter Angelo Pizzo says Breaking Away motivated him to write based on his own personal experiences as a Bloomington native and perfect a strong sense of place in his iconic films—Hoosiers and Rudy.
“I actually credit Breaking Away for me ending up writing Hoosiers…and the one thing that was important to me because of Breaking Away was I wanted the filmmakers to know Indiana inside and out,” explains Pizzo.
Pizzo, who has “mixed feelings” about Breaking Away, says knowing Indiana inside and out is where the filmmakers of Breaking Away fell short.
(If area under this caption is blank , just click on blank area for interview with Pizzo)
Angelo Pizzo on Breaking Away and Hoosiers
“I admire [the Breaking Away] screenplay tremendously. It won the academy award as it should have,” says Pizzo. “But I didn’t really recognize anything about my own experience in Bloomington. I didn’t recognize any of the characters. They were alien.”
Pizzo believes it was an issue of casting. None of the characters in Breaking Away embodied and “authentic southern Indiana native.”
However, despite his critiques, Pizzo also believes the Breaking Away filmmakers “got it right” geographically and proved Bloomington—and Indiana as a whole—is a culturally rich place worth sharing.
