Walden Media to Produce Story of "World's Greatest Athlete" Jim Thorpe
Carlisle School Brings Together John Sayles with Producing Team of Mark Ciardi & Gordon Gray (Miracle), John Fusco and Jim CrabbeApril 28, 2004
LOS ANGELES - Olympic gold medal winner Jim Thorpe, hailed during his time as the world's greatest athlete, will be the subject of a new motion picture produced by Walden Media. Carlisle School chronicles the early years of Thorpe's collegiate sports career close to a century after he began his education at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. The film will be written by two-time Oscar® nominee John Sayles and produced by Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, the duo behind Miracle and The Rookie, as well as John Fusco (Young Guns, Hidalgo) and Jim Crabbe.
Nominated for Best Original Screenplay Academy Awards® for Lone Star and Passion Fish, Sayles has written and directed such critically acclaimed films as Eight Men Out, City of Hope, The Secret of Roan Inish, Sunshine State, and his most recent work Casa de los Babys. He recently completed Silver City, which stars Danny Huston, Chris Cooper and Kris Kristofferson and will be released in theaters this September.
"We are all thrilled to be working with this 'dream team', who between them have been involved with some of the most inspiring sports films in recent memory," said Walden Media Executive Vice President of Production Alex Schwartz. "The passion they bring to the material is truly extraordinary."
An incredible story showcasing the strength of the human spirit, The Carlisle School follows a rag-tag group of young Native Americans who, against a backdrop of social injustice and adversity, achieve prolific victories on the football field that lead them to national prominence. The players, among them future sports legend Jim Thorpe, attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, a boarding school in Pennsylvania that, from 1879 to 1918, housed Native Americans from childhood through college. Under the direction of legendary Coach "Pop" Warner, Thorpe and other Carlisle alumni banded together both on the field (against such powerhouses as Harvard and Army) and off to reclaim their pride as men and as Native Americans.
"Carlisle School is a project that embodies Walden Media's mission to illuminate history," added Walden Media President and Co-Founder Micheal Flaherty. "Not only is it a great sports story with tremendous heart, but it also sheds light on a forgotten chapter of our past. We look forward to developing a comprehensive educational program to complement this fantastic story."
Jim Thorpe led Carlisle's football teams in 1911 and 1912 to stirring victories against some of the greatest college teams of the day. He went on to win both the pentathlon and decathlon events in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, after which Sweden's King Gustav V shook his hand and said, "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world!" (Thorpe's reported response: "Thanks, king.") This honor was more recently verified when ABC's Wide World of Sports named him Athlete of the Century. Two years before his death in 1953, Warner Bros. made his story into a motion picture, Jim Thorpe: All American, starring Burt Lancaster as Thorpe and Charles Bickford as Coach Warner.
Vice President of Production and Development Joe del Hierro and Production Executive Evan Turner will oversee the project for the company, reporting to Schwartz.
Sayles is represented by Paradigm, who negotiated the deal on his behalf.
About Walden Media
Walden Media, in association with the Walt Disney Company, will release Around the World in 80 Days starring Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Jim Broadbent, Cecile De France and a star-studded cast of cameo appearances in June 2004. Also with Disney, the company is producing the first live-action feature film adaptations of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, beginning with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to be directed by Andrew Adamson (Shrek). Continuing to focus on award winning children's properties, Walden is currently developing the Newbery Award winning books Bridge to Terabithia and The Giver. I Am David, based on the internationally acclaimed novel by Anne Holm and starring James Caviezel, Joan Plowright and Ben Tibber, will be released by Lions Gate in October 2004. Walden's team of education professionals will leverage their extensive relationships with the educational community to develop broad-based support campaigns for Walden's upcoming films.
In partnership with Disney, the company released Holes, the adaptation of Louis Sachar's Newbery Award-winning novel in 2003 to critical and box office success, and Ghosts of the Abyss, a 3-D large format James Cameron film. Louis Sachar and Holes cast members also participated in Walden Media's first "Reel Thinking" event, which gathered thousands of students across the country together for a satellite linked discussion about writing.
Walden Media is a part of the Anschutz Film Group (AFG). AFG is the parent company to Walden Media, which concentrates on entertainment that sparks the imagination and curiosity of kids, and Bristol Bay Productions, which focuses on projects that offer compelling and positive messages that the entire family can enjoy. AFG is a subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, a privately owned investment and holding company with investments primarily in the areas of entertainment, media, telecommunications, natural resources, transportation, and real estate.
