Getting a good movie made is complicated.
That’s a lesson the partners in West Omaha Films have been learning for four years now as they push to tell the story of Marlin Briscoe, the first starting black quarterback in NFL history.
Briscoe’s football career began at Omaha South High School and Omaha University (now the University of Nebraska at Omaha).
As screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard hones the second draft of his script for the movie, tentatively titled “The Magician,” he reflected on what comes next: raising money and hiring a director, cast and crew, known in the business as “attaching elements.”
“Changing words is easy,” said Howard, a veteran of the movie business. He wrote “Remember the Titans,” starring Denzel Washington, and “Ali,” starring Will Smith. “Trying to attach elements is the single most maddening part of the movie process. It’s like laying carpet. As soon as you nail down one corner, the other part pops up.”
Still, West Omaha Films partners Dave Clark, Terry Hanna and John Beasley are excited to have Howard’s script, which Clark called the “best paced of any of them — and we’ve had three.”
Beasley played football with Briscoe at Omaha University before becoming a successful stage, film and television actor. He got the idea to make a movie after reading Briscoe’s autobiography, “The First Black Quarterback.”
Clark said Howard spent months researching Briscoe’s life, interviewing his mother and sister, former coaches, teammates and others before writing the movie script. The result, he said, is a script that starts well, is well-organized and ends well.
“There were just a few scenes, the gritty years, we wanted to see expanded on,” Clark said. “We had a great conference call on the first draft, we’re all on the same page, and we’re really excited to see a second draft in the next couple weeks.”
Those gritty years happened after Briscoe became starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos in 1968, then became an all-pro wide receiver. He was part of both Miami Dolphins Super Bowl champion teams, including the 1973 team that went 17-0.
After Briscoe retired, he lost his fortune and his home to a crack cocaine habit, ultimately doing jail time. He kicked drugs and began tutoring inner-city youths in Long Beach, Calif., work he continues today.
Briscoe’s story is not your normal sports story, Howard said, which is what attracted him to the project.
“He had such amazing early success (as a quarterback), then had to reinvent himself (as a receiver) to stay in the league. And then he gave it all away, through personal weakness. He had to come back from that.”
Howard said the key to writing a good sports movie is making sports the backdrop while you tell a human story. Sports movies fail, he said, when they don’t offer enough insight about the human beings in them.
“The whole movie is about trying to answer the question ‘Why?’” Howard said. “Why did he want to be a quarterback? Why did he make a comeback playing another position? Why did he give it all away and descend into hell? Why was he able to pull himself out of it? This is very much about second chances.”
Howard said talking to Briscoe and those who knew him best revealed a possible answer. Briscoe grew up without a father, he said, and his obsession with playing quarterback was to get the attention of a coach who would mentor him like a father.
“He had that in college, and he wanted to replicate it,” Howard said.
Clark said he and his partners warmed to that theme, which runs through the movie.
“Marlin relied on mentors who were not his father,” Clark said. “Now he’s mentoring kids a lot like him who don’t have a father figure.”
Key roles in the script include Briscoe’s cousin, Bob Rose, who was a mentor to many Omaha-area athletes, and Coach Al Caniglia at Omaha University.
Briscoe’s nickname at Omaha University was “Marlin the Magician,” and Beasley said he hopes the second draft of the script will include more about Rose, Caniglia and the influence Omaha had on his and Briscoe’s lives.
“The thing I’m stuck with is I know the story, probably better than some others, because I lived it with Marlin in various stages of his life,” Beasley said. “I’ve always thought Omaha was an important part of the story. Growing up here helped us develop character, and maybe that’s what gave Marlin the strength to persevere.”
Beasley said the film company’s partnership with Leigh Steinberg Sports and Entertainment in Los Angeles has helped the project. Former NFL quarterback Warren Moon, who works for Leigh, remains actively involved in financing for the film, Beasley said.
“Once the screenplay is done, I think we’ll be in very good shape,” Beasley said. “If it’s right, we’ll be able to finance this thing and maybe we can be in production by spring.”
Contact the writer:
444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com
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