Sport and Cinema.com

Sean Faris (“Reunion”, “Life as We Know It”) stars as Rick Penning, a talented-but-troubled rugby player who must play against the team his stern father (Neal McDonough) coaches at the national championship.

Based on actual events connected to the dominant Highland Rugby program, Rick’s road to turning his life around begins at the juvenile detention center he has been sent to. It is there that a counselor (Sean Astin – “Rudy”) gets the confused teen heading in a new direction. When well-respected coach Larry Gelwix (Gary Cole) recruits Rick for his storied rugby squad, training for sports success takes on a deeper meaning.

The SandC Interview: David Pliler
Writer- “Forever Strong”

-Why did you decide to become a screenwriter? What’s the attraction?
I’ve been drawn to creative writing for a long time and the idea of creating something from nothing and hopefully moving people and make them laugh along the way. So I decided to enroll in the UCLA film school.  

-How has your acting background helped your writing?

For me it is all about character. It helps me see what makes people tick. The study of acting is motivation and understanding character. In writing classes they suggest you also take acting classes. There is an absolute direct tie.

-How did this project come about for you? Had you been a sports fan in general?

Yes I grew up playing the major sports. As far as this project, my producing partner, Brad Pelo, had shot a film down in New Zealand and gravitated to the Polynesian culture and the sport of rugby. We are both now in Utah and were told about the Highland Rugby program.

In doing basic research within five minutes of being online I found this story all laid out with a beginning, middle and end of a young man that would form the pattern of my lead character to some degree.

This led to meeting with Highland Coach Larry Gelwix where an appointment scheduled for 20 minutes turned into three hours. Then the story really came together after interviewing past and present players. These guys would just light up as we recorded them telling their stories, some hadn’t played in 20 years but talked about the impact the experience had on their lives.

We had over a dozen hours of material and all the characters became composites springing from some of these stories. The hard part was having to leave stuff out due to time constraints. I’d love to take more credit, but so much of the story was from these guys experiences.

-How do you approach a given scene in terms of dialogue and character development? And do you look at it the same whether it’s a sports scene or off the field in building the story?

There is a pacing issue in storytelling where you don’t want 45 minutes of game action. To me writing the on field action is very different. That was harder as it will change as you are shooting. That involves the director more and choreography. I’d be fairly specific in matters regarding plot. Unless it was really important to the story I would write’ this guy jumps over that guy and then.”

One of the fun things about writing is that once you know these people, I actually just sort of listen and just write down what they say. Of course they need to be written from time to time but is interesting. A lot of times though it is like listening to a conversation and I’ll just type out what they say. It is magical and something a lot of writers will admit to.

-When writing the script how do you approach cliches? Do you incorporate them because it makes the audience better relate to your story or is it important to keep it fresh by avoiding them as much as possible or a balance?

It is always good to avoid clichés. Unless it is meant as fodder for humor, clichés are never good.

Some of the sportscasting call of the game action was thinly written since it was done in post by seasoned pros based on what ended up being shot.

-Did you study any films in prepping your story?

Certainly. Part of my process is to view similar films in the genre. I kind of beat sheet those movies to dig into their structure and extrapolate into a story. Some of those include: “Remember the Titans”, “The Rookie”, “Friday Night Lights” among others. I would also listen to podcasts of rugby matches. I even bought an X-Box game on rugby. They helped me get into the world better.

-What makes sport in general such a compelling backdrop for storytelling in movies?

I think it is the passion. They have been done so much that it has become a cliché. We took a lot of critical hits for falling into that even though if I was put on the stand I would defend it. We didn’t focus on the coach who would mold a bunch of rag tag players into a successful team, but rather plugged a player already into a championship program.

Though ours wasn’t about the underdog, that is a popular sports backdrop but more than that I think it is the human passion to strive and excel. So even though people say sports movies are cliché, we still get caught up in it.

If the filmmakers create a compelling story inhabited by interesting characters then the audience is generally wiling to go on the ride with them even if it is predictable.

-You are also listed as co executive producer, what were the biggest challenges to completing this picture?

We screened for all the major studios and cast out of LA, but they couldn’t get their mind completely around how to market it. That could be a disadvantage of not having a Denzel Washington or Bruce Willis as a lead coach. We couldn’t attract them because the story was not about them.

At the end of the day, most of the majors wanted to take it direct to DVD. We felt it deserved some sort of theatrical. 

-What do you consider to be the main themes and what do you hope audiences come away with from seeing “Forever Strong”?

As the film’s title indicates, one theme is how to be internally strong. We were pretty on-the-nose about being the best Rick you can be. Often times we get caught up comparing ourselves to other people. That can be destructive.

Tied to that is following your conscious and being real and open to love and friendships.

That is something I learned is such a core part of the Polynesian cultures. The colorblind brotherhood established on Coach Gelwix’ teams and that selfessness that makes them champions. In our society there is so much me, me me. One of the keys to their success is that synergy of effort.

-What are your five favorite sports movies of all time?

Hoosiers

The Rookie

Remember the Titans

Rocky

Field of Dreams