Burlsworth movie a 12-year passion

Former Harrison football coach Tommy Tice (center) speaks Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016, with producer Brian Reindl during a red carpet event ahead of the premiere of the movie "Greater" at the Malco Razorback Cinema 16 in Fayetteville. The movie, which opens Friday, tells the story of Brandon Burlsworth of Harrison who went from walk-on to All-American for the Razorback football team.

FAYETTEVILLE -- It took a couple of Arkansas guys to bring the life of Brandon Burlsworth to the big screen.

Brian Reindl and David Hunt -- UA graduates who live in Fayetteville -- co-wrote the script for Greater, the movie about Burlsworth that opens Friday in about 400 theaters in 20 states.

Reindl also produced Greater. Hunt directed it.

"We had a lot of people telling us we'd never be able to make this movie," Hunt said. "Just like Brandon, we ignored all the naysayers and forged ahead and made something that hopefully people will be touched by when they see it.

"It's not just a sports story. It also asks some very big questions about life in an honest way. Overall, it's a very joyous, hopeful film."

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The movie is based on Burlsworth's rise from walk-on to All-American guard at Arkansas before he died in a car wreck April 28, 1999 -- 11 days after being picked in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.

"Brandon's accident of course is a major part of the movie, but they don't just crush you with it," said Marty Burlsworth, Brandon's older brother. "They do it in a way that allows you to go back and start living the story.

"I thought that was handled really well. People are going to leave the theater feeling inspired by how Brandon lived his life."

Reindl, 52, said he was inspired by Brandon Burlsworth.

"I tell everybody this was just a calling," Reindl said of making Greater. "It was something I couldn't get out of my head.

"As soon as Brandon died, I said, 'Somebody's got to make a movie about that guy.' Then it never happened, so I said, 'Maybe it's going to have to be me.' "

Reindl, a real estate developer, had no previous experience producing or writing a movie.

"I just said, 'I'm going to figure it out,' and put one foot in front of the other," he said.

Reindl and his wife, Missy, first met with Marty Burlsworth and his wife, Vicky, and Barbara Burlsworth, Brandon's mother, in the family's hometown of Harrison in January 2005 to seek their blessing to make the movie.

"Brian sat down with us and explained what they were wanting to do," Marty Burlsworth said. "I think as much as anybody, his wife sold me on it.

"She said, 'I know this guy, and anything he sets his mind to do, he gets done.' That really resonated with me knowing everything Brandon had to overcome."

Reindl wrote a rough draft of a script and hired a producer and screenwriter from Hollywood with the idea they would put Greater together. But the work of the Hollywood professionals wasn't acceptable to Reindl or the Burlsworth family.

"Brian sent me the script and said, 'Tell me what you think,' and it was just bad," Marty Burlsworth said. "It seemed like they borrowed pieces of other movies and copied and pasted them.

"The script seemed very superficial. It was like, 'Here's part of Rudy. Here's part of Hoosiers. Here's part of Remember the Titans.' "

Reindl rewrote the script himself and in 2012 brought in Hunt, 39, who had directed independent movies. They continued working on the script together.

"It went through a major rewrite with David," Reindl said. "We worked on it day and night for six months until we finally got it the way we wanted it."

Tommy Tice, who coached Brandon Burlsworth at Harrison High School, applauded the job done by Reindl and Hunt.

"I'll tell you, they got Brandon's story right," Tice said. "I think it was personal to them. It meant a lot more to them than just trying to make money."

Reindl said he spent "several million dollars" financing the movie.

"I borrowed a lot of that money," he said. "I've had people say I bet the farm on this, but I'm confident in the film. I feel like it's really going to resonate with people."

Hunt didn't know Brandon Burlsworth, but they attended Arkansas at the same time.

"Who's worth having a movie made about them more than Brandon Burlsworth?" Hunt said. "At a time when theaters are filled with movies about comic book heroes, we get to tell the story of a real-life hero.

"It was such a breath of fresh air to work on Greater and get to portray things from a time and a place I know very, very well."

The film, shot in Fayetteville, Little Rock and Harrison in the summer of 2013, had a crew of more than 160 people.

"Any time there was a question of affecting the quality of the movie or spending more money, Brian would always spend more money," Hunt said. "Although we had a very small budget compared to a lot of movies, he was adamant about not sacrificing the quality.

"That's one reason it took the time that it did, because there was no compromising in getting it right."

Reindl said having the movie released to a wide audience this weekend -- nearly 12 years after he first talked to the Burlsworth family -- is a dream come true.

"It's my baby, and I'm ready for everybody to see it and feel all the things I know they're going to feel," he said. "They're going to laugh and cry and learn something about life. I think they'll really enjoy it."

Hunt called the movie a labor of love.

"We worked extremely hard to give Brandon and his family the best movie we could possibly make," Hunt said. "They deserve it."

Sports on 08/25/2016