Football Drama THE LAST WHISTLE to Debut June 28, 2019
Football drama The Last Whistle will debut June 28th in a day-and-date release in select theaters and across all forms of video-on-demand.
The film follows a high school football team, shaken by their star player collapsing during a drill. All eyes turn to the veteran head coach (Friday Night Lights' Brad Leland) who, instead of pausing to handle the situation, plays on to maintain the team's winning streak. The town turns against him, leading to a lawsuit from the player's mother accusing the coach of negligence, and putting his career at a crossroads.
The film opened the Lone Star Film Festival in Fort Worth, Texas (where it was filmed), and has since won Best Picture at two additional film festivals. Writer/Director Rob Smat penned the script for Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without a Crew series, and made the film independently when the show did not select the project. This is his debut feature.
The events of the film seem ripped from the headlines, especially the conflict last year at the University of Maryland; however, the film was shot prior to the Jordan McNair tragedy. Whistle has a relationship with the American Heart Association, and will use that connection to bring awareness to the heart condition dealt with in the film, called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. HC is a condition that affects young athletes across all sports, and conditions like it result in the death of a young person every three days in the United States alone.
The film stars a diverse cast of notable film and TV faces in addition to Leland, including Emmy winners Jim O'Heir (Parks and Rec), Eric Nelsen (Erase, The Affair), Sainty Nelsen (Netflix’s Trolls, Boss Baby Back in Business), and Kristos Andrews (The Bay), as well as Fred Tolliver Jr. (She’s Gotta Have It), Tyler Perez (Code Black), and a standout debut performance from Deanne Lauvin (awarded Best Actress at the Deep in the Heart Film Festival).
The film also features BCS Championship winning coach Les Miles as the town’s principal critic of the beleaguered coach. This is Miles's second major role in a feature film, and his last before he starts his new coaching position with the Kansas Jayhawks. Miles also served as an advisor to Leland, who had never before played a football coach.
The film is produced by newcomers Michael Orion Downing, Thomas Kutzler, and H. Max Gonzalez. They are joined by veterans Eric Nelsen, Sainty Nelsen, Gregori J. Martin, and Kody Klement.
The distribution deal was negotiated by Circus Road on behalf of the filmmakers.
