Mike Leach's Story May Show Up In Friday Night Lights Movie

by Brian Floyd on Feb 15, 2012 8:27 AM PST in 2011 WSU Football News

Are you a huge fan of Friday Night Lights, the TV show, like I am? Are you also a fan of Mike Leach? Well good news! These two excellent stories may combine, if everything falls into place soon.

In fact, the script is basically done and Peter Berg, whose camera crews have been following Leach around for another project, is ready to do this thing. Take it away, MTV.

"Jason Katims, who was our super talented show-runner, is about done with the script," Berg said. "You never know. So much of these things become scheduling. Kyle [Chandler] is busy, Adrianne [Palicki] is busy, Taylor is busy, Connie Britton is busy, but if we can get everyone in the same room at the same time, we all want to do it. We're not done with 'Friday Night Lights.' "

[breathes into paper bag]

"[Katims] has come up with a really great storyline that parallels what happened to Mike Leach, one of my heroes, a coach at Texas Tech who was unjustly fired and unjustly accused of mistreating a player with a concussion, which was proven to not have been the case. He's now at Washington State getting ready for what I think will be a great redemption story," Berg explained. "It would be critical that we get Kyle and Connie [onboard for the film] - we anchored the show around them - and then bring in Riggins, Tyra, Lyla and all other characters as we could get them. But the idea is to really revolve it around the coach."

[backflips naked off a high dive]

There's a difference between this and the Mike Leach story in a documentary form -- the latter is what the cameras are for and the plan is to run that show on HBO. Instead, Berg is looking to continue the Friday Night Lights TV storyline, with all the major cast members in tact, by drawing upon Leach's story as a major part of the script.

We once again remind you Coach Taylor and Leach collided in an episode of Friday Night Lights, and it was amazing. Now imagine Coach Taylor becoming Leach. With Timmy Riggins, Lyla and the rest of the crew.

This is like all of my dreams rolled into one tidy movie. Texas Forever, y'all.

H/T Grantland

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Holy Crap! I can hardly contain myself.

Gotta love Riggins.

“Hey, how about Matt Saracen sleeping with Coach’s daughter!” -Tim Riggins

Lyla: You feel closer to God when you’re with me? Did you think that line was gonna work?
Tim: It’s not a line.
Lyla: Get out!

CougCenter OG since 9/2/2008 | @TheSoCalCoug

by SoCalCoug on Feb 15, 2012 8:40 AM PST reply actions

I was already a fan before

since Odessa Permian was our big rival and my high school beat them in the original movie but this would be so delicious if it comes to pass. Anything to contrast Coach Leach and the scumbag (and I say that with all due respect) current administration at Texas Tech, all would be fun for me to see on the big screen.,

by bilesteve on Feb 15, 2012 9:23 AM PST reply actions

I'm having a hard time waiting for the documentary at WSU .... now, THIS!

Vanity and ‘small minds’ ran off a Nationally recognized Football Program - and - Globally recognized Chess Team …………… ……… http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/crosswords/chess/chess-coach-to-leave-texas-tech-with-teams-best-in-tow.html?_r=1………. …… Ya’ll know how much we respect and love Coach Leach. Here’s respect and love to AD Moos and WAZZU! Go Cougs!!!!!!!

by rose7 on Feb 15, 2012 9:25 AM PST reply actions 2 recs

They're making a Friday Night Lights movie based on a Friday Night Lights TV Show based on a Friday Night Lights Movie based on a Friday Night Lights book based on a Friday Night Lights True Story

Witches of Eastman

by BigWood! on Feb 15, 2012 9:45 AM PST reply actions 7 recs

Apropos?

#CougHarmonyOnTwitter #teamnopants

by TiltingRight on Feb 15, 2012 10:13 AM PST up reply actions 4 recs

All were great, except for the first movie

It departed tremendously from the book, particularly in how the team’s season ended. I’ll never tire of seeing Ms. Connie Britton, however.

I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of bubble gum.

by SpectreFCO on Feb 15, 2012 12:36 PM PST up reply actions

Peter Berg:

GQ: Did you originally thinking about making this a film, or was it always a short series?
Peter Berg: No, my vision for the whole “On Freddie” is actually to create a series for HBO called the “On” series, and we’ve started filming Mike Leach, who’s a college football coach—do you know who Mike Leach is?

GQ: I do, yeah.
Peter Berg: So Mike Leach is hopefully going to be our next subject, it looks like he is.

GQ: He just got a new head coaching job, right?
Peter Berg: He had a very controversial firing from Texas Tech, and it’s a fascinating story. And you know, 60 Minutes profiled him as the greatest offensive mind in football, and the New York Times profiled him, and he was sort of put in coach jail for three years, and he’s just come back big time at Washington St. where they want to revamp the program. The goal is to do profiles, not just sport profiles, but six-episode vérité profiles of people who are just kind of fully engaged in their lives, and to take a very candid look at what life is like for someone who’s firing on all cylinders.

Link

by spencer peaty on Feb 15, 2012 10:53 AM PST reply actions

GQ: Are you already started on Mike Leach, then?

Peter Berg: Well, we went up and filmed him for four days, and what we did with Freddie was we filmed Freddie for a week, and we took a good look at the footage to gut check ourselves that we thought it was a good idea, and that Freddie’s life could hold six episodes. The thing about Leach is that, the thing that’s similar is he’s got a cast of characters he’s put together, a lot of his old coaches from Texas Tech who’ve all been spread out since he lost his job. It’s kind of like Butch Cassidy putting the gang back together, you know what I mean? And they’re all like a bunch of wild outlaws up there in Washington St., making some noise, and once football training starts, it should be quite confined. But we’ll take that footage, edit, and sit down and make sure we all feel like this is the right guy, and this is the right story, and I think it is, so my plan is that’s what we’re going to do.

by spencer peaty on Feb 15, 2012 10:56 AM PST up reply actions

Judging by the Afterward in Leach's book, Leach is one of Berg's favorite human beings...ever

This is all too surreal. Friday Night Lights was the best drama on TV, and I never missed it. It would be incredible to see how they weave a Leach-type story into the narrative. After all, Coach Taylor already got railroaded once on the show, by a stage dad no less.

I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of bubble gum.

by SpectreFCO on Feb 15, 2012 12:35 PM PST reply actions