'American Underdog' filmmakers find 'home-field advantage' for Kurt Warner story in Oklahoma

When Jon and Andrew Erwin decided to tackle the inspirational true story of Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, the filmmakers were looking for a "home-field advantage."

Although the Erwin Brothers hail from Birmingham, Alabama, that meant returning to Oklahoma, where they made their breakout blockbuster "I Can Only Imagine."

"It was the No. 1 independent film of 2018, and it just blew away all our expectations to nearly $85 million in box office. So when it came time to do the Kurt Warner story and we were right in the middle of the pandemic, I just felt like, 'I need a home-field advantage. I would love to go back to Oklahoma,'" Jon Erwin told The Oklahoman in a recent Zoom interview.

"I love Oklahoma. I love working in Oklahoma. I love the people of Oklahoma. I love the spirit of Oklahoma; there's just a can-do middle-American grit to Oklahoma."

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Warner's remarkable real-life Cinderella story and the Sooner State's can-do spirit prove potent teammates in "American Underdog," the Erwin Brothers' new movie based on Warner's memoir “All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football and the First Miracle Season."

"I'm proud that it's a PG movie releasing Christmas Day that the family can watch together ... It's an inspirational love story, and the football is totally exciting. But it's a film for the entire family," Erwin said. "Ultimately, I think our lane is to just tell inspirational true stories — and we've fallen in love with that."

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"American Underdog" chronicles Warner's stunning career turnaround from stocking shelves at a supermarket to playing arena football to emerging as a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion and hall of fame quarterback who played for 12 seasons between the St. Louis Rams, New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.

"The tough thing about it is how do you cover this incredibly vast story: It spans multiple years. It spans college football, arena football, which is so exciting and so rarely seen ... and then, of course, the Rams, the NFL and the Super Bowl," said Erwin, recalling how he used to cover arena football games in Atlanta for NBC when he worked as a cameraman.

"That's one of the reasons why Oklahoma was so useful, just the scope that we were able to get. What we were able to get for the dollar was incredible ... and I think the movie you see on the screen was way bigger than the resources that we had."

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Likewise, Warner's story is much bigger than football, as "American Underdog" chronicles the quarterback's relationship with his wife, Brenda, a former Marine who had two children from a previous marriage when the couple started their courtship.

"The football is amazing, it's exciting, it's cinematic ... and it just deserves to be seen on a big screen. Yet the heart and soul of the movie is Kurt Warner's relationship with Brenda, that love story, and that story with her son Zack and his disabilities and how her son really inspired Kurt Warner. And he found the heart of a champion off the field and then brought it on the field."

"American Underdog" stars Zachary Levi ("Shazam!," TV's "Chuck") as Warner, Oscar winner Anna Paquin ("The Piano," "X-Men") as Brenda and newcomer Hayden Zaller as Brenda's son Zack, who suffered a traumatic brain injury as an infant that left him visually impaired and developmentally disabled. The Erwins also reunited with "I Can Only Imagine" star Dennis Quaid, who portrays Dick Vermeil, the legendary NFL coach who took a chance on Warner.

"It was just an incredible cast, but I would say that for both Zac and Anna, these are roles that they were both born to play. And they are so good in this movie," Erwin said. "Zac Levi has just an infuriating level of talent ... For years, my brother and I have been friends with him and never done a project together, and we just felt like this was right."

'The Unbreakable Boy' also filmed in Oklahoma

The Erwin Brothers actually ended up making not one but two fact-based movies with Levi, with both projects filming in Oklahoma. With COVID-19 pandemic protocols in place, filming started in autumn 2020 on "The Unbreakable Boy" in Oklahoma City, Norman, Midwest City, Okarche, Guthrie, El Reno and Bethany, with the Erwins producing and Jon Gunn writing and directing.

"American Underdog" then filmed earlier this year throughout central Oklahoma, with Jim Norick Arena at the OKC Fairgrounds and Chad Richison Stadium at the University of Central Oklahoma among the locations.

"The Kurt Warner (story) was greenlit, and we had this other film, this incredible, beautiful movie ... We thought Zac would be great in it, and we had this little window to do the movie before Kurt Warner. So, we had this crazy idea: Let's do two movies back to back and let's learn how to make films in a pandemic with a smaller movie before this big football movie," Erwin said, adding that the filmmakers spent five months in Oklahoma on the two projects.

"Zac is great in both of them ... and both went off without a hitch with no shutdowns due to COVID. And again, I credit the state of Oklahoma, the people of Oklahoma, the crews of Oklahoma for that outcome."

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Based on the book “The Unbreakable Boy: A Father’s Fear, a Son’s Courage, and a Story of Unconditional Love” by Scott M. LeRette and Susy Flory, the family drama centers on a boy named Austin (Jacob Laval, “John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch”), who was born with a rare brittle-bone disease as well as autism. With his joyous perspective and indestructible spirit, Austin transforms everyone around him, especially his dad (Levi), in the inspirational film, due out March 18.

"It was a really interesting journey ... These are both stories about real families, and I'm playing a real-life person, the father of this family, and both show the struggles of navigating all of that stuff in life," said Levi, who told The Oklahoman he enjoyed working in Oklahoma so much that he's moving to Tulsa to make more movies in the state.

"It felt very fated: the whole trip up to Oklahoma, both of the films."

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The Erwin Brothers' Kingdom Story Co. has a long-term partnership with Lionsgate to provide "event-level entertainment for audiences of faith." But the story of Kurt and Brenda Warner — a football player and a divorced mother of two who meet in a bar and kindle a romance over beer and line dancing — might not be what many people expect from a "faith-based film."

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"We love true stories where the story does the work. And I love what Brenda Warner said: 'I have a relationship with God ... I'm a work in progress, and I'm far from perfect,'" Jon Erwin said. "Of course, they made mistakes all along the way, but they found their way to each other, they found a way to God, they found their way to faith ... I relate to the story's imperfections and to the imperfections of the characters as they find their way because that says, 'OK, God can use me, too, and I can have a dream as well."

Part of that dream includes returning Oklahoma to make more inspirational films.

"Every state has a vibe and sort of an ethos and a soul, and the people in Oklahoma are just incredibly hospitable and friendly. ... We had great fun and we filmed all over the state — including right in the middle of a blizzard, which was great because we had a blizzard scene in the movie ('American Underdog')," Erwin said with a chuckle.

"The film community is just growing and growing, and the state has given such support to the incentive and to the film office. It's exciting to just see all of that work compound, and I'd love to bring many more films to Oklahoma."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'American Underdog' filmmakers find 'home-field advantage' for Kurt Warner story