Warner Bros. Announces Plans to Make Movie on Marshall Plane Crash

Matthew McConaughey will star in the yet-to-be titled film.


Jan. 30, 2006

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The story of the 1970 Marshall University football team plane crash and the spirited recovery that followed not only at Marshall, but in the Huntington community, soon will be told worldwide.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that filmmaker McG will direct and Matthew McConaughey will star in the yet-to-be titled Marshall University Football Project. It will be produced by Basil Iwanyk and McG.

Through the combined efforts of the Governor's office, the West Virginia Film Office and Marshall University, a portion of the film will be shot in and around Huntington as well as on Marshall's campus. Warner Bros. said filming will begin this spring.

"This film is a great opportunity for West Virginia to receive international recognition for the tremendous community spirit and empathy that West Virginians show when faced with tragedy," Governor Joe Manchin said. "Beyond that, it shows our resilience and will to move forward with a courageous spirit."

McConaughey will star as Jack Lengyel, who coached the Young Thundering Herd football team for four years after the crash that killed 75 people, including 37 players, six coaches, two athletic department staff members, 25 supporters and five aircraft crew.

The Thunder Road/Wonderland Films production will be released worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is being co-financed by Legendary Pictures.

"We are very pleased that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are taking this legacy of Marshall University and treating it with the respect and honor that it deserves," Marshall President Stephen J. Kopp said. "Undoubtedly, this story will touch the lives of people across the nation. It is a story that many have thought needed to be told through a major film."

McG is considered one of Hollywood's most sought-after filmmakers, with "Charlie's Angels" and its sequel among his films. Iwanyk's most recent film is "Firewall," starring Harrison Ford, which is being released in February.


Where possible, Marshall faculty, staff and students will be used as extras in the film, and university theatre and broadcast students may be offered internships.

The executive producers of the Marshall University Football Project are Brent O'Connor, Thomas Tull, Jeanne Allgood and Scott Mednick. The screenplay is by Jamie Linden, based on a story by Cory Helms and Linden. Lynn Harris is the Warner Bros. Pictures executive overseeing the project for the studio. Dr. H. Keith Spears of Marshall University and Pam Haynes of the WV Film Office also have been involved with this project since its development.

cool.

any chance of you being in it, lefty?

isnt this the plane crash that resulted in madden always taking a bus everywhere?

i seem to recall that he gave up his seat on a flight for someone else to get there sooner...

"I used to get on the airplane, then I'd get off the airplane. I'd go to the hotel and the stadium, then back to the airplane. I traveled all over, but I didn't see anything. Now, I do," he says in that familiar, confiding voice.

It was back in 1979 that the poster child for the claustrophobic, fear-of-flying set had what he described as "a full-blown panic attack" when about to fly out of Tampa.

"It wasn't about flying, bad turbulence or anything. The flight attendant closed the door and before we'd even moved I knew I had to get off the plane, but I gutted it out. You think you're going to die. I was sweating, shaking, the whole thing.

"It was about being encased and not being able to get out."

Madden landed, turned in his frequent flier card, and grounded himself forever.

isnt this the plane crash that resulted in madden always taking a bus everywhere?

i seem to recall that he gave up his seat on a flight for someone else to get there sooner...

There was an assistant coach, Red Dawson, who decided not to fly back on the plane. He decided that he would get a car and drive somewhere for a recruiting visit. He became one of coaches who took on the task of completely rebuilding the program. I've been hearing Matt Dillon as a possiblity for his character.

HUNTINGTON -- A reverberating "We Are ... Marshall" said it all Wednesday night.

Thundering Herd spirit was on stellar display as Marshall fans greeted topflight Hollywood filmmakers with the game chant. Even news that heartthrob actor Matthew McConaughey is coming to town didn't elicit quite the noise level as the "We Are ... Marshall" that rang through the Cam Henderson Center.

A near-capacity crowd jammed the venue for the men's final home basketball game this season. It included hundreds who signed their names to be considered as cast extras in the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures' film about the 1970 Marshall plane crash.

"When I heard about this movie, I wanted to come down and support the Herd," said Brian Layton of Barboursville.
"When you hear they could use Atlanta folks as extras, it's kind of disheartening."

During a news conference prior to the game, the film's director McG and Warner Bros. producer Basil Iwanyk addressed many aspects of the movie, as associate producer Mary Viola and others involved gathered nearby.

Among some tidbits they dropped: McConaughey and fellow principal actors, including "Lost" star Matthew Fox and best actor Oscar nominee David Strathairn, will come to Huntington. Virtually all exterior scenes will be shot in Huntington, includin g at landmarks such as the Keith-Albee Theatre and Jim's Steak and Spaghetti House. Many local extras will be used, but will need to be prepared for day-long shoots. Filming is scheduled to begin sometime between March 20 and April 3, and Huntington will be treated like a character in the film. And while "We Are ... Marshall" could be the movie's title, that is not yet definite.

Wearing a white shirt and Marshall green tie, McG said he and fellow filmmakers have been humbled by the raw emotion and heart of the Marshall story, namely the phoenix-like resurrection of the football program after the tragedy.

"I responded to just the sheer emotion," McG said. "This is a snapshot of how if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other ... tomorrow it's going to coalesce, it's going to come together, and you're going to be thankful you kept moving forward into the light."

McG, whose entire name is Joseph McGinty Nichol, said the Marshall film will be "180 degrees removed" from "Charlie's Angels," a 2000 film he directed. It was based upon the hit 1970s television series.

"To me this is 'Ordinary People,' this is 'Terms of Endearment,'" he said, referring to the tearjerker films. "This is human drama of the highest order."

Plenty of people in the Henderson Center could attest to that, including Ed McComas of Charleston, W.Va., who was a Marshall student on the unforgettable Saturday night of Nov. 14, 1970.

"I was in my dorm during the plane crash," McComas said. "We started taking up blood donations, then we found out there were no survivors."

Days later from his Twin Towers East room, he said he watched parents walking to and from a temporary morgue.

Huntington resident Andy Finley, who also attended Marshall, was among nearly 350 people who had signed up to be extras (as of the game's halftime). More than 1,000 people already had expressed interest in becoming extras.

"Just to have a small part in it would be pretty special," Finley said, adding that his son, Greg, recently graduated from Marshall, and his daughter, Whitney is a Marshall sophomore.

McG and Iwanyk, who said the genuine nature and spirit of the Huntington community has touched them, reported they will push McConaughey to the fullest extent of his acting talent. The star will portray Jack Lengyel, who coached the Young Thundering Herd the year after the crash.

"I always knew about Marshall University; I always knew about the crash," Iwanyk said. "What I didn't know is what happened after the crash."

Here's a featurette for the movie. They've changed the release date a couple times, but it appears Warner Brothers are planning for it to be a big time release on Christmas week.

I thought it was Halloween weekend?

It was going to be, but it seems to have been moved back to Dec. 22nd.

Personally, I think that would be a better time of the year for it. Are they still talking premiere at the Keith Albee? I'd love to see just one more movie in that place, god I miss it.