Dallas had its Hollywood moment last year with The Iron Claw's star-studded Texas Theatre premiere, so it's only fair that Fort Worth gets its moment to shine.
And what a moment it was. The entire cast, including Wilson, Greg Kinnear and a baseball team's worth of talented young actors, were in attendance at the premiere. The sidewalk surrounding the theater was barricaded, and police were on duty to make sure onlookers did little more than gawk at the event.
Wilson says a number of factors attracted him to this project.
“I wanted to work with [director] Ty Roberts again,” Wilson, who previously worked with Roberts on 12 Mighty Orphans, told the Observer. “I really enjoyed and appreciated getting the chance to work with him on that because I love sports movies. They’re difficult to do, and he did a really great job on that one. And I just like the idea of doing a Texas movie."
Kinnear has starred in sports films Bad News Bears and Invincible, but he thinks his You Gotta Believe character, Jon Kelly, is a type of onscreen coach audiences don't see very often.
“I’ve never played a coach that didn’t want to be there,” he said. “Jon is really an interesting character in the sense that he doesn’t really want to be in that position, and he’s kind of forced by circumstances.”
Wilson is a huge fan of sports films but finds it challenging to craft a story that’s strong enough to reel in non-fans. He says You Gotta Believe rises to the challenge with its universal themes.
“It’s a movie about a family overcoming adversity and a team trying to do their best,” he said.
Much of that family was in attendance at the premiere. Robert Ratliff, a member of the real-life Little League team and the son of Bobby Ratliff, attended the premiere with his wife and young children. He held his young son while discussing the surreal series of events following his father’s death from cancer in 2003.
This premiere has brought up strong emotions and nostalgia for the real Robert Ratliff.
Carly May Gravley
While the majority of You Gotta Believe was filmed in Canada, some scenes were shot on location in Fort Worth. Much of the young cast had never been to Texas before.
“I actually just got my first pair of boots the other day,” said an enthusiastic Michael Cash, who plays Robert Ratliff.
He was wearing a fringe jacket, really leaning into the Western aesthetic.
“I love Texas. First of all, Fort Worth," Cash said. "I haven’t really been anywhere else, but from what I’ve seen, it’s super nice and fun.”
Jacob Mazeral also went all out with his outfit, a custom purple suit with a baseball print in the lining.
“This was all my dad’s idea,” he said. “We turned to my cousin, who’s a tailor.”
Not all of the kids in the film had prior baseball experience and had to go through a boot camp to become a real team.
“Like, I played catch, but never actually played organized baseball on a team,” said Gavin Maclver-Wright. “There was a bit of preparation before, and we actually had someone from the MLB training us.”
“Some of us were really good and some of us weren’t really good,” said Cash, pointing to himself during that last bit. “But we learned together and did really good.”
