![]() ![]() “You know there’s not tons of that in Hollywood so I was all over it.” ![]() “I just fell in love with the characters and the story, it was something that was purposeful, life’s giving, role,” Castille said. He had been cast to play the part Castille coveted. It was also supposed to star up-and-coming British actor Osy Ikhile, whose film credits include Victim, School Without Walls and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Thomas Howell, Sherri Shepherd and Nicholas Bishop. “Bear” Bryant, Sean Austin (who starred in the football classic Rudy), C. The cast includes Jon Voight playing Paul W. It’s about racial tensions, faith and perhaps most importantly, hope. "Bear" Bryant in the movie "Woodlawn." Chris Pizzello/Associated Press They wanted me to grow (some) for my part and I said ‘I don’t think I can do the sideburn thing.’ And I think my coaching hat was too big, a little trucker for me.Jon Voight plays Paul W. Mullins says that the Erwins “did a great job” of not only convincingly portraying the football games and the tensions of the era, but even its fashions, “down to the size of the equipment and the size of the shoulder pads,” although “I think the sideburns may have been a little long on some of the guys. “We would pray with our football team before and after the game as well.” “Woodlawn” emphasizes the role of faith and Christian values in keeping the peace at the school, another point that Mullins, “being a coach who was a strong person of faith as well,” said he identified with. I think he did an excellent job of keeping the tone positive in the school, and building unity.” And there were real challenges that we faced. Our school and the schools (in the movie) faced the same sort of challenges. ![]() “It might sound selfish, but we knew that if the school was shut down for any reason, we wouldn’t play on Friday night. We would have white players team up with black players to go patrol the bathrooms, to be there to keep everything in balance,” Mullins says. “We were there to instill the core values of unity and building trust for each other. Although Mullins never coached in Birmingham, a city with a particularly embattled civil rights history, he says that Gardens High had its own tensions. It was a lot of fun.”Ĭoach Mullins, however, knows that the time depicted in “Woodlawn” was not a lot of fun in American high schools. I think they did a great job of choreographing the games. Most of the extras were former collegiate players, which brought real life to it. It was filmed in a stadium in Birmingham. He’d found out I’d been coaching in that same era and asked me to consult,” says Mullins, widely addressed by his Christ Fellowship parishioners as “Coach.” “Then he later called me and asked me to consider doing a little cameo spot. “I got to know Jon Irwin at a conference, and he was telling me about the movie project. I remember those days well,” says Mullins, who was recruited first as a consultant, and then as an actor in the wordless but notable part of the coach of real-life Huffman High School, which played Nathan’s Woodlawn High School in a pivotal game. “I was there when kids were bussed in from Riveria Beach. Tom Mullins, founding senior pastor at Palm Beach Gardens-headquartered church Christ Fellowship, as well as a football coach at Palm Beach Gardens High School when it was desegregated in the early 1970s. ![]() “I think part of it was understanding the dynamics of working with teams through turbulent times,” recalls Rev. schools focusing on high school standout and eventual Miami Dolphin Tony Nathan, viewers might not immediately notice the first-time performer playing the coach of an opposing team.īut he brings a bit of authenticity, knowledge and even some period-specific hair to the proceedings. In the current faith-based movie “Woodlawn,” the real-life story of the desegregation of Birmingham, Al. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |