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with
NIKI CARO
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they go to school and they run. It’s
amazing.
What was it like for JimWhite to
come to McFarland?
It’s both a fish out of water story
and an underdog story. JimWhite is
both, certainly, when he arrives in the
town of McFarland. It’s fairly ironic that
his name is White because they’re the
only white family there. The culture shock
is immense but the community is very
generous to the White family and takes
them in. In many ways it’s about the
transformation of this man and his family
in this place. We see JimWhite become a
better coach, a better father and a better
human being over the course of the story.
What’s the catalyst that makes Jim
White want to put this team together?
The catalyst for Jim is his need to
find a role for himself because he gets
fired in the first week from his assistant
football coaching job, which is pretty
much the final straw in a string of firings.
Recognizing that the boys are fast, he
creates a position for himself as their
coach.
Why was it important for you to have
Kevin Costner a part of this film?
Kevin Costner’s obviously a sports guy
and has made some of the most iconic
sports movies ever. But then when I met
him and I saw the gentle, tender way
he dealt with these kids, how he was
extremely fatherly to them, and protective
of them, I was so impressed. Even
more so by the effect the boys had
on him because what they bring out
in him is real humanity and humility.
This has made his performance in
this movie very, very special.
What was it like for you to work with
such an iconic Hollywood star?
It was great working with Kevin.
Obviously, he’s incredibly skilled. He’s
very smart and very experienced but also
extremely collaborative and respectful. We
had a great working relationship. I would
do it a thousand times over. I’m very
instinctive and so is Kevin. We had very
similar ideas about the way to approach
Jim and pretty much everything Kevin was
doing was by instinct, which I was very
much on board with. In the rare event that
we weren’t in concert, we discussed it.
Let’s talk about the casting process in
general; how did it advance?
The way I work is to bring a great deal