Spring Break
'Road' educates and entertains
By: Katrina Mitchell
Issue date: 1/13/06 Section: Entertainment
Originally published: 1/13/06 at 12:52 PM EST
Last update: 1/13/06 at 12:50 PM EST
Originally published: 1/13/06 at 12:52 PM EST
Last update: 1/13/06 at 12:50 PM EST
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The 1966 NCAA Championship was a historic moment that helped diversify college basketball. The film Glory Road gives a view of what the Texas Western Miners had to endure on their path to victory. The story begins with their coach Don Haskins, whose goal was to win. He built his team with players he knew were strong and would be able to handle the pressure. But no one knew how much they would have to bear.
Haskins and his team faced plenty of opposition and racism. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who also produced films like Remember the Titans and Pirates of the Caribbean, said, "This team and this coach had an enormous impact." Haskins had been receiving death threats; his players were being beaten, harassed and mistreated everywhere they went. Haskins had a hard time keeping the team unified. When Haskins made the choice to play only the black players during the championship, it was to prove that they were as competent as their white counterparts in the sport.
Josh Lucas, who plays Haskins in the film, felt the pressure to portray this story as accurately as possible. Lucas was told, "This is our story, and you better not screw it up." He continued, "Haskins had an intensity that made you hate him." The intensity of the story and of portraying a larger-than-life character overwhelmed Lucas. He felt like there was nothing harder than playing a true-to-life character, but he hopes that people will feel like he was accurate. Bruckheimer echoed his concerns, "It's harder [with a fact-based story] … you owe them to tell the story accurately."
Lucas and the other cast members went through a lot in preparation for their roles. Lucas had to observe Haskins coaching the other players and then emulate it himself. Much of the coaching seen in the film isn't scripted. Lucas described Haskins as constantly coaching and teaching.
"A lot of the players had to be taught the fundamentals of basketball," Bruckheimer laughed, "Actors think they can do anything." They held casting calls for actors who could play basketball, but a lot of them couldn't play at all. There were a few exceptions, like Damaine Radcliff (Willie "Scoops" Cager), who proved himself immediately to casting directors, and Schin A.S. Kerr, who played professionally overseas. They all had to endure a brutal training camp in New Orleans, where much of the movie was filmed.
The issues this film deals with also hit close to home with the cast. Lucas described a time when he and some of the other cast-mates went out to a bar and were harassed by other customers. In a way, this bonded their group. "This stuff is still going on," Lucas said. "Many things have not changed this way."
The overall goal, Bruckheimer explained, is to entertain. "The best way to educate is to entertain," he said.
Bruckheimer has a lot of entertaining projects lined up. Currently he is filming the next to sequels to The Pirates of the Caribbean and a new film with Denzel Washington, Deja Vú, is in the works.
Glory Road opens January 13, 2006 nationwide. It stars Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Mehcad Brooks and Austin Nichols.
--
Film
4/5 Triangles
Glory Road
Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Mehcad Brooks, Austin Nichols
Directed by James Gartner
Buena Vista Pictures
Haskins and his team faced plenty of opposition and racism. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who also produced films like Remember the Titans and Pirates of the Caribbean, said, "This team and this coach had an enormous impact." Haskins had been receiving death threats; his players were being beaten, harassed and mistreated everywhere they went. Haskins had a hard time keeping the team unified. When Haskins made the choice to play only the black players during the championship, it was to prove that they were as competent as their white counterparts in the sport.
Josh Lucas, who plays Haskins in the film, felt the pressure to portray this story as accurately as possible. Lucas was told, "This is our story, and you better not screw it up." He continued, "Haskins had an intensity that made you hate him." The intensity of the story and of portraying a larger-than-life character overwhelmed Lucas. He felt like there was nothing harder than playing a true-to-life character, but he hopes that people will feel like he was accurate. Bruckheimer echoed his concerns, "It's harder [with a fact-based story] … you owe them to tell the story accurately."
Lucas and the other cast members went through a lot in preparation for their roles. Lucas had to observe Haskins coaching the other players and then emulate it himself. Much of the coaching seen in the film isn't scripted. Lucas described Haskins as constantly coaching and teaching.
"A lot of the players had to be taught the fundamentals of basketball," Bruckheimer laughed, "Actors think they can do anything." They held casting calls for actors who could play basketball, but a lot of them couldn't play at all. There were a few exceptions, like Damaine Radcliff (Willie "Scoops" Cager), who proved himself immediately to casting directors, and Schin A.S. Kerr, who played professionally overseas. They all had to endure a brutal training camp in New Orleans, where much of the movie was filmed.
The issues this film deals with also hit close to home with the cast. Lucas described a time when he and some of the other cast-mates went out to a bar and were harassed by other customers. In a way, this bonded their group. "This stuff is still going on," Lucas said. "Many things have not changed this way."
The overall goal, Bruckheimer explained, is to entertain. "The best way to educate is to entertain," he said.
Bruckheimer has a lot of entertaining projects lined up. Currently he is filming the next to sequels to The Pirates of the Caribbean and a new film with Denzel Washington, Deja Vú, is in the works.
Glory Road opens January 13, 2006 nationwide. It stars Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Mehcad Brooks and Austin Nichols.
--
Film
4/5 Triangles
Glory Road
Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Mehcad Brooks, Austin Nichols
Directed by James Gartner
Buena Vista Pictures
