The story depicts the Mustang Miracle, the state championship in golf in 1958 against all the odds that were against people of color in Del Río at the time of segregation in our nation.
The members of the San Felipe Mustangs Golf Team at that time were not allowed to play at the country club there and were only allowed to caddy for the upper echelon of citizens who WERE allowed to do so.
So these five kids picked up broken clubs, dove into the water of the course to pick up golf balls and proceeded to become beast golfers in every sense of the word.
They constructed one green in the middle of “El monte” and attacked it from nine different places to become the best golfers in this gigantic state and proved it by beating every team that year by THIRTY strokes!
The Eagle Pass News Gram caught up with one of Eagle Pass’ most creative citizens a couple of days before the red carpet screening happening today at The Paramount Theatre and he weighed in on a battery of questions by THIS writer.
All our work is exciting to us as writers, heck I run to the store twice a week to pick up a copy of the paper, but this film, this idea must feel a lot different with the story being so close to home.
It does. It's probably one of the reasons I was hired to write it because I grew up in the area and was familiar with the history. As a writer, you're always attached to your work but I think I felt a greater responsibility to the material, the characters and the story because it was so close to home.
How special is this cast?
The cast is pretty incredible: Jay Hernandez, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Cheech Marin, Dennis Quaid. The kids, Julian Works, Gregory Diaz and Paulina Chavez (who is from San Antonio) and the rest all did really great work. It was especially meaningful to have Mr. Marin in the cast. He was such a pioneer for Latinos in film and paved the way for so many. I watched all his movies growing up, so it felt like things had come full circle.
How was it working with Julio Quintana? Any special requests, additions or changes?
You know, I never actually worked with Julio. My job was pretty much finished by the time the script went to him prior to production. Julio did do a director's pass on the script and changes were made to help him achieve his vision which is pretty much par for the course. Pun intended. I did, however, have the opportunity to visit the set in Bastrop and watch Julio work with the actors which was pretty amazing.
What other films can we compare The Long Game to?
It's an underdog kids sports movie, so you can take your pick. I watched Hoosiers a lot while we were writing it. So tonally, it feels a lot like that because it's set in the 1950s. But it's also a little like McFarland, USA in that you have underprivileged Latino kids competing in a sport which was typically associated with the upper class.
Have you gotten a chance to view the film yet?
I saw an early cut in November and was very pleased, but that was without all the final elements, special effects, sound mixing, color, etc.
Are there still tickets left to the premier?
How do Eagle Passians and our brothers and sisters in The Queen City (Del Rio) go about purchasing tickets?
Yes, I think there are still tickets left to the premiere. The Sunday screening is at 11:45 am at the Paramount, which seats about 1200. They let people with festival passes go in first and then they open general admission tickets to the public around 11:30 am. This is my first time attending SXSW, so I'm not sure how many people will be there but I think there's a likely chance of being able to buy a ticket. There's also a second screening on March 15 at the Rollins Theater at 5:45 pm. Same situation.
How can fans go about getting tickets to this event today or on Wednesday?
If you can't attend SXSW, there's a strong sense that the film will have distribution after the festival, ideally a streamer like Netflix, Amazon Prime or Apple+. So you'll be able to see it in the comfort of your home if you feel inclined.