One Cleburne resident has found his chance to be a part of an inspirational movie and give himself the inspiration he’s been seeking at the same time.

Anthony Embry, a 2006 Cleburne High School graduate and standout athlete, will play a high school football player in “One Heart,” a film in production that depicts the true story of a 2008 football game between Grapevine Faith High School and Gainesville State School, a maximum security juvenile facility that hosts the most violent teen offenders in Texas.

Embry had to survive through four cuts last week before learning he had a part in the movie, he said. It started when the crew checked to see if the players had the young high school look, and the second cut came on a different day after doing running drills. Embry was told to come back the next day to show his skills with a football and survived some morning cuts. After some passing drills that afternoon, the final cut was made.

Out of the 400 who auditioned, about 70 players made the cut, co-producer Russell Lake said. Lake and two other production team members had children enrolled in Grapevine Faith in 2008.



Movie in the making

The Grapevine Faith head coach asked the three to help the school’s community reach out to the players from Gainesville the night of the game depicted in the movie. Lake took his video camera, not knowing what to expect, he said.

Lake said the Grapevine Faith cheerleaders formed a spirit line for the opposing Gainesville team, cheered for them and even filled their side of the stands. Grapevine Faith parents of the players sat on Gainesville’s side and rooted against their own children.

“The parents in the stands were booing the refs when they’d make a call in Grapevine’s favor,” Lake said. “They were booing against their own kids.”

The night left the Gainesville players with priceless reactions and hope, which Lake said made him think it would make a good story or film.

“[Producer] Steve Riach and I had worked on another film. The game happened in November, and by Christmas we decided there was enough here to make a movie,” Lake said. “We did background interviews on inmates who played in the game just to learn what that night did for them. How impactful really was it? We asked the same questions to the guys from Grapevine Faith and discovered it was a really meaningful night for the guys from both sides.”



Playing football

The actors will learn football choreography to be the players who come out in the game scenes, and a portion of those 70 will play the high school athletes in non-game scenes, meaning they’ll have to memorize lines and be a character. Embry read lines for one of those roles last week.

“It’s going to be hard because you can’t really fake football,” Embry said. “You may have to be a step late, catch it here and let the guy make it, he has to be tackled on the 30-yard line and no later than that. I’m ready to see how that plays out. There’s going to be plays you have to memorize, and if they want you to catch it on the 30-yard line, you need to make that catch on the 30. It’s angled to get the film right there. We need smart players who can fulfill the play.”

The players will work with Mark Ellis, who has been a sports coordinator on films like “The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “We Are Marshall,” according to the Internet Movie Database website.

Lake said principal photography begins Oct. 5 and the movie will wrap around Nov. 9. It’s scheduled to be a 26-day shoot. Training camp begins next week, where the players will start learning their plays and conditioning. Filming locations are Grapevine Faith High School, Dragon Stadium in Southlake and a closed juvenile facility in Crockett. The movie is expected to come out in October 2013.

Embry, who was first team all-district cornerback, second team all-district receiver, second team all-district punter and also played varsity basketball and baseball for the Cleburne Yellow Jackets, said the movie helped with his regrets of not playing college football.

“I feel complete now. I wanted to play college ball, but I was little coming out of high school. I didn’t think I could make it. I grew that summer,” he said. “I said this is my chance to see if I’ve still got it. It’s an actual combine where they’re judging on skills and a lot of people are out there. For me, to make all of those cuts from more than 400 people ... that made me feel like I’m complete. I’ve done what I was missing out on and regretting not doing, and I feel good about it. I feel really good about it.”

Some of the athletes he met while trying out were from all over the country, Embry said.

“There were guys from New York, Florida, California, all different colleges and semi-pros, international league football, too,” Embry said. “Some played in Canada, one guy played on a Chinese team, and they’re all talking about themselves and I’m just from Cleburne High School, sitting there all quiet.”



Make or break

Embry decided to show his skills on the field instead of feeling intimidated while hearing everyone else’s stories.

“I was waiting in line. They were seeing who they wanted to cut and I got called out there. I said, ‘This is my time, everyone’s watching me, this could make or break me.’ The director called me out to see what I could do. I got out there, ran a play, me and this other guy end up in the middle of the field both diving for the ball, and I catch it over him and land on top of him. I roll up and everybody just goes crazy,” Embry said.

Once that was over, Embry was pulled aside to ask if he could read lines because he had the look for one of the actual characters they were casting for.

“You’re in a room and you have a guy with a laptop and camera, a lady beside him reading lines and other players coming in who had to read, and they’re standing on both sides watching you,” Embry said. “But I wasn’t nervous for some reason.”

Embry said after reading lines, he was sorted into a group of bigger players and wasn’t sure what to think. The players were all big defensive players and tight ends, and he was the only receiver. The whole group was then told they had all made the cut.

“I made that hour and a half drive home and was so excited to tell everyone,” Embry said.

Embry, who has worked at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center for six years, has received plenty of support from his family, he said.

“They’re excited. They say they’re proud of me, call me everyday until we’re getting ready to film saying they’re so proud, congratulations, people are telling me ‘good job’ on Facebook, at work and around the community and that they can’t wait to see it,” Embry said. “I feel like I’ve done something big for little Cleburne to talk about for a bit because we’ve been needing something.”

To learn more about the film and the One Heart Project that rippled from the memorable 2008 football game, visit www.oneheartmovie.com or www.oneheart.com.