I saw the remake of Bad News Bears. The remake, like the original, makes extensive use of the music from Carmen. It’s true that Carmen is one of the most used operas in the movies anyway (I think THE most), but both movies really use it so much it makes me wonder…
Did Michael Ritchie just like the music, and Richard Linklater liked how well it fit and so he used it too?
Or is there some subtle link between the two? Something about the narrative arc or themes? It’s a bit of a reach to call Carmen about “sports,” (it just has bullfighters, no actual bullfights), but maybe there’s something I’m missing.
Or maybe not. Maybe they both just liked the music. Who doesn’t?