Day 19

Winnipeg, Manitoba - Day Nineteen. And just like that we are one day away from the completion of principal photography.

We've been visited on the set by numerous reporters, publicists, sports columnists and TV critics. Without exception, they all ask me, "So, how's the movie going?" For the first time that I can remember, I have to answer "I really don't know..."

Normally, by the second week of shooting a film I can tell if my portrayal of the character is effective and if the story is taking shape in the way we had hoped. I can almost always tell if the director is realizing his vision. I usually know if we've got a good movie or not.

Not this time.

I've been wondering why it is that I haven't been able to get some perspective and get a feel for how we are doing. It's probably because of the complex nature of this movie and this character. While we are making ESPN's first original movie, this is decidedly not a sports movie. Despite everything you might think, Bobby Knight is far from a stereotype or caricature. This is a multi-layered look at a complicated guy. He's a success in a competitive field, on a national stage. He is revered by some, hated by others. He does endless amounts of charity work and he is, seemingly, a good father to his sons. And yet, he has allegedly verbally abused players, choked an athlete and thrown a potted plant at a secretary.

It's easier to play a real person when they are more two-dimensional (like when I portrayed serial killer John Wayne Gacy, for example). Knight is a conundrum. I won't know until I see the film if I've captured all of his sides - if I've been as effective in showing Dr. Jekyll as I have with Mr. Hyde.

Today's work was a microcosm of this character puzzle. On the call sheet (the document the entire cast and crew receive the night before each day of work which lists the where/when/what that's planned for the following day) for Thursday were all of the scenes that take place in Bobby Knight's office on the IU campus. There are scenes with Andre Harris, Steve Alford and with the Hoosier assistant coaches.

With each of these more intimate moments we see all sides of The General. With Harris, we see Knight the Motivator. He has been visited by Andre's mother and, to Harris' surprise, decides to reinstate him on the team and help him with his schoolwork. With Alford, we see Knight the Father Figure. It is the end of the season and he tells Alford, probably for the first time, how proud he is of this young man.

But it's a different Bobby that meets with the assistant coaches. This is the surly Knight, the win-at-all-costs Knight and the depressed Knight. We played a number of scenes with coaches Dan Dakich, Joby Wright, Ron Felling and Kohn Smith. Each of them with their own relationship with Knight, showing his different sides. Joby is more confrontational, Smith more agreeable and Felling the most fraternal.

All of the assistant coaches were played by talented actors. Wright was portrayed by Benz Antoine, Smith by Duane Murray, Felling by Gary Hudson and Dakich by Dan Becker. They were all great.

A special thanks to Becker, who made his acting debut in this film and did double duty as the basketball consultant, choreographing the games, scrimmages and locker room speeches. Having played Division One basketball in 1985-86 against Knight's Hoosiers and for one of Knight's former assistant coaches, he also made sure everything we did was accurate. He was a tremendous asset to the production.

And tomorrow we finish...

Page 2's Interview with Brian Dennehy

Past Diaries

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17
Day 18