The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
International football drama "My All American" set to begin filming in Austin
05.08.2014 | Texas Athletics
Eckhart, Wittrock star in true story portraying the uplifting triumphs of UT gridiron star Freddie Steinmark
AUSTIN, Texas -- Golden Globe nominee (and Independent Spirit Award winner) Aaron Eckhart has just signed to star in "My All American," the heartwarming (and heartbreaking) true story of 1960s University of Texas football great Freddie Steinmark and his relationship with legendary Texas gridiron coach Darrell Royal, one of the giants of college football. Eckhart, as UT coach Royal, will be joined by upcoming young star Finn Wittrock (Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken," Darren Aronofsky's "Noah"), who's been drafted by the filmmakers to portray Steinmark. Filming will begin this month on location in Austin, Texas, under the direction of award-winning screenwriter Angelo Pizzo ("Hoosiers," "Rudy").
Eckhart ("Olympus Has Fallen," Thank You for Smoking," "The Dark Knight") will play one of the sport's most successful college coaches who won more games (167) in his twenty-year tenure at Texas than any other in the school's history. Royal guided The Longhorns to three national titles (1963, 1969, 1970), never had a losing season in those two decades of leadership (nor throughout his entire career), and also had the distinguished honor of having the university's football stadium named for him in 1996.
One of Royal's key players on his 1969 title team was a junior named Freddie Steinmark, a slight, scrappy safety whose faith, perseverance and courage was the heartbeat of the team's defensive squad. Coach and player developed a special, inseparable bond during Steinmark's career at Texas, which was tragically cut short when a cancerous tumor diagnosed in his left leg after the 1969 title game victory led to the amputation of his limb.
Eckhart, who will next be seen starring in the Jason Blum-produced thriller "Incarnate," won the Independent Spirit Award for his 1997 movie debut, Neil LaBute's "In the Company of Men," with two more nominations for his work in Jason Reitman's "Thank You for Smoking" (collecting a Golden Globe nod as well) and the Oscar®-nominated "Rabbit Hole." He reteamed with filmmaker LaBute on "You Friends and Neighbors," "The Wicker Man" and "Nurse Betty," and also counts among his credits Ron Howard's "The Missing," Sean Penn's "The Pledge," Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday," Steven Soderbergh's "Erin Brockovich" and the sci-fi blockbuster "Battle: Los Angeles."
Wittrock, a Massachusetts native and Juilliard graduate who debuted on the big screen in a small role in Joel Schumacher's drama, "Twelve," has also conquered the stage, with credits that include his Broadway debut alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield in Mike Nichols' 2012 revival of "Death of A Salesman," Tony Kushner's off-Broadway drama, "The Illusion," and the Berkshire Theatre Festival near his hometown of Lenox. He was also recently seen in Akiva Goldsman's romantic drama, "A Winter's Tale."
Steinmark's remarkable (and tragic) journey begins as a three-letter jock (baseball, basketball, football) at a Denver high school. His achievements there (which included the
Colorado Hall of Fame award as the state's outstanding high school athlete) led him to accept a football scholarship in 1967 to the University of Texas under the leadership of The Longhorn's great coach, Darrell Royal. The slight, 5'10" defensive back and punt return specialist excelled on the varsity team in just his second year, winning the All-Southwest Conference athlete-scholar honor.
On December 6, 1969, Steinmark played in the celebrated NCAA national championship game at Fayetteville, Arkansas, famously known as the "Big Shootout," in which the top-rated Longhorns defeated the country's #2 team team, The Arkansas Razorbacks. The game (the first of two consecutive national titles for Texas) was a milestone in sports annals because it not only determined the national champion on the 100th anniversary of college football, but was witnessed by one of the largest television audiences in history. President Richard M. Nixon attended what many have called "the game of the century" and personally congratulated the coach and his team after its landmark victory.
Six days later, Steinmark, who suffered leg pain through most of the 1969 season, was hospitalized in Houston for what was initially thought to be a sports injury, a deep bruise on his left leg. Doctors sadly discovered a tumor, a bone sarcoma, on his femur, which left them no choice but to amputate his limb to the hip. Twenty days thereafter, the indomitable Steinmark, on crutches, attended the Texas-Notre Dame face-off at The Cotton Bowl, gaining national recognition for his determination and stamina while also becoming an inspiration to thousands of cancer victims. Texas triumphed and dedicated the victory to the disabled hero, with Royal himself tearfully presenting the game ball to Steinmark. Before the cancer ultimately claimed his life, Steinmark won recognition from The White House, coached the 1970 Texas freshmen defense, and penned his 1971 autobiography, I Play to Win.
Pizzo's own triumphs in the motion picture arena include his heartfelt screenplays for such endearing and inspirational sports sagas as "Hoosiers" (the Oscar®-nominated 1986 small-town basketball drama based on the 1954 Milan High School state championship contest, for which he earned an Independent Spirit nomination) and "Rudy" (his 1993 story of a Notre Dame student, Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who, despite setbacks, harbored a desire to play football for the Fighting Irish).
Pizzo (whose writing credits also include another inspirational sports story, 2005's soccer drama, "The Game of Their Lives," and stints as second unit director on both "Hoosiers" and "Rudy") steps into the director's chair for the first time in collaborating on the project with veteran film producer Paul Schiff ("Rushmore," "My Cousin Vinny," "Mona Lisa Smile") and executive producer and longtime Jason Reitman colleague Michael Beugg ("Up in the Air," "Labor Day," "Thank You for Smoking").
Pizzo's key technical team includes cinematographer Frank DeMarco ("Margin Call," "All Is Lost," "Rabbit Hole"), production designer Bruce Curtis ("Bernie," "Parkland," "Fast Food Nation"), costume designer Kari Perkins ("Parkland," "Bernie," "Mud") and seasoned football coordinator Michael Fisher ("The Blind Side, "Remember the Titans") who will serve as the film's second unit director, staging the football action in the story.
