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Deadline.com
May 27 2014
Shirley MacLaine Negotiating To Star In 'Men Of Granite'
By ANITA BUSCH | Tuesday May 27, 2014 @ 10:51am PDT
EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winning actress Shirley MacLaine is negotiating to
star in Men Of Granite. The project, based on the book of the same
name, is the true story of how a group of poor, immigrant high school
boys rose above bigotry in a small town in Illinois by proving
themselves on the basketball court to become the 1940 state champions.
MacLaine would play the role of Sophia Prather, a schoolteacher who
watches over her "boys of Lincoln Place" (the name of the poor area)
with a steely eye, takes no guff and prods the boys into getting out
of their broken-down neighborhood gymnasium and onto the high school
court. By mentoring, encouraging and helping to pave the way for these
downtrodden boys, she firmly believes that she is doing God's work.
Prather stands up for the boys against the bigotry of the time as most
of them were Slavic and Eastern European. She was a true champion in
making these kids rise above their circumstances.
In fact, in a town that was economically and racially divided, these
boys had had to suffer the indignity of being called "dirty" because
of the complexion of their skin and their obvious poverty. The
Armenian boys were even dubbed "The Terrible Turks" before Sophia
Prather set the coach and the media straight. (The Turks, as everyone
knows but some fail to recognize, committed genocide against the
Armenian people).
There is now a school named after Prather in Granite City, IL where
the story is set. (Incidentally, Granite City is where I was born and
raised.) The story of these kids who became basketball champions -- one
went onto play for the Boston Celtics -- is well-known to the area.
William Hurt has also expressed interest in playing the high school
coach suffering a string of losses and resigned that his team will
never win a game ... until this band of Armenian-speaking kids take to
the court. Only then does his passion for the game reignites. There is
no deal with Hurt and both his involvement and MacLaine's is
contingent upon financing. The project and its financing is currently
being culled together by casting agent-turned-producer Valerie
McAffrey. Dwayne Johnson-Cochran is attached to direct. The
screenwriter is Armand Kachigian, who is from Granite City.
Granite City, a steel town in Southern Illinois, is right across the
Mississippi River from St. Louis. The surnames of the boys portrayed
in the film -- Markarian, Hagopian, Parsaghian, Eftimoff -- are
well-known names in the city. The story of the 1940s state champion
basketball team began with a bunch of immigrant kids who played in
socks, some so poor they didn't own tennis shoes -- all from
hardworking families from Eastern Europe and Slavic countries who
moved to the U.S. in hopes of a better life.
One of the basketball boys -- a Hungarian kid born Andras Fulop -- ended
up playing 11 years in the NBA as Andy Phillip (most notably for the
Boston Celtics). The other boys were Armenian, Yugoslavian and
Macedonian. Not only did they elevate the game of basketball in the
state, but they earned respect and changed the bigoted attitudes in
the city.
Both MacLaine and Hurt are Oscar winners. MacLaine, whose body of work
is very well known, won for her turn as the unforgettable Aurora
Greenway in Terms Of Endearment and Hurt won for his portrayal in The
Kiss Of The Spider Woman. They won their awards only one year apart.
The book on which the script was based was written by Dan Manoyan, a
sportswriter from the Milwaukee Sentinel. The project was formerly
known under the title The Boys Of Lincoln Place. MacLaine is repped by
ICM Partners.
http://www.deadline.com/2014/05/shirley-maclaine-negotiating-to-star-in-men-of-granite/
May 27 2014
Shirley MacLaine Negotiating To Star In 'Men Of Granite'
By ANITA BUSCH | Tuesday May 27, 2014 @ 10:51am PDT
EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winning actress Shirley MacLaine is negotiating to
star in Men Of Granite. The project, based on the book of the same
name, is the true story of how a group of poor, immigrant high school
boys rose above bigotry in a small town in Illinois by proving
themselves on the basketball court to become the 1940 state champions.
MacLaine would play the role of Sophia Prather, a schoolteacher who
watches over her "boys of Lincoln Place" (the name of the poor area)
with a steely eye, takes no guff and prods the boys into getting out
of their broken-down neighborhood gymnasium and onto the high school
court. By mentoring, encouraging and helping to pave the way for these
downtrodden boys, she firmly believes that she is doing God's work.
Prather stands up for the boys against the bigotry of the time as most
of them were Slavic and Eastern European. She was a true champion in
making these kids rise above their circumstances.
In fact, in a town that was economically and racially divided, these
boys had had to suffer the indignity of being called "dirty" because
of the complexion of their skin and their obvious poverty. The
Armenian boys were even dubbed "The Terrible Turks" before Sophia
Prather set the coach and the media straight. (The Turks, as everyone
knows but some fail to recognize, committed genocide against the
Armenian people).
There is now a school named after Prather in Granite City, IL where
the story is set. (Incidentally, Granite City is where I was born and
raised.) The story of these kids who became basketball champions -- one
went onto play for the Boston Celtics -- is well-known to the area.
William Hurt has also expressed interest in playing the high school
coach suffering a string of losses and resigned that his team will
never win a game ... until this band of Armenian-speaking kids take to
the court. Only then does his passion for the game reignites. There is
no deal with Hurt and both his involvement and MacLaine's is
contingent upon financing. The project and its financing is currently
being culled together by casting agent-turned-producer Valerie
McAffrey. Dwayne Johnson-Cochran is attached to direct. The
screenwriter is Armand Kachigian, who is from Granite City.
Granite City, a steel town in Southern Illinois, is right across the
Mississippi River from St. Louis. The surnames of the boys portrayed
in the film -- Markarian, Hagopian, Parsaghian, Eftimoff -- are
well-known names in the city. The story of the 1940s state champion
basketball team began with a bunch of immigrant kids who played in
socks, some so poor they didn't own tennis shoes -- all from
hardworking families from Eastern Europe and Slavic countries who
moved to the U.S. in hopes of a better life.
One of the basketball boys -- a Hungarian kid born Andras Fulop -- ended
up playing 11 years in the NBA as Andy Phillip (most notably for the
Boston Celtics). The other boys were Armenian, Yugoslavian and
Macedonian. Not only did they elevate the game of basketball in the
state, but they earned respect and changed the bigoted attitudes in
the city.
Both MacLaine and Hurt are Oscar winners. MacLaine, whose body of work
is very well known, won for her turn as the unforgettable Aurora
Greenway in Terms Of Endearment and Hurt won for his portrayal in The
Kiss Of The Spider Woman. They won their awards only one year apart.
The book on which the script was based was written by Dan Manoyan, a
sportswriter from the Milwaukee Sentinel. The project was formerly
known under the title The Boys Of Lincoln Place. MacLaine is repped by
ICM Partners.
http://www.deadline.com/2014/05/shirley-maclaine-negotiating-to-star-in-men-of-granite/