Going deep; 'Lost' star Matthew Fox immerses in new drama with 'We are Marshall' |
An entire football team, its coaches and most devoted fans wiped out in an instant. In one plane crash, Marshall University and the town of Huntington, W.V., suffered a terrible loss. Though more than 36 years have passed, the loss still affects the town, the school and its people. Outside the town, few know of the crash, the devastation or the heartache it left - until today when the story hits movie theaters. "We are Marshall" stars Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox, playing two coaches who rebuild the team and help the town and school heal. Fox, who plays hunky castaway doctor Jack on the hit television show, "Lost," signed onto the film after reading the script. "The script was the first thing," said the 40-year-old Fox in a phone interview. "Then I met with McG (the director), and I was really impressed with him as a person and his emotional commitment to telling the story. ... I committed to the film almost immediately." Fox plays Red Dawson, the assistant coach who survived. In a twist of fate, Dawson didn't take the plane. To prepare for the role, Fox met with the real-life Dawson, and actually got him to board a plane and head to Hawaii, where "Lost" is filmed. "(Dawson) hadn't done a lot of flying since 1970," Fox said. "He met my family, my kids; my wife cooked lasagna. We spent time on the set. We managed to find a lot of time to talk. I felt it was important. I earned his trust and asked about that time. I needed to hear what his recollections were, images and emotions and memories." Dawson warned Fox that he might get emotional reliving the events. "He was really amazing," Fox said. "He is not the kind of guy that talks about his feelings. He has carried this burden for 35 years." As some pundits talk about an Oscar nomination for Fox, the actor said Dawson's approval is probably the highest praise he's received about the movie. Best-known for his stint on "Party of Five" before "Lost," Fox said he could have made almost any film during the "Lost" hiatus. While he had never heard the Marshall University story before he was approached for the role, it struck him from the outset. "I don't really know why certain things sort of get into your blood ... no matter how difficult the process might me. I just felt compelled," Fox said. "This was not an easy movie to make. There are certain projects that stick with you. That is the way I felt about 'We are Marshall.'" The film was also a great way for Fox, who played football at Deerfield Academy here in Massachusetts and also for Columbia University in New York, to come back to a game he loved. "It was really great to get back on the football field as a coach," said Fox, who was raised in Wyoming. "The challenge of telling the story was the human drama. I don't look at 'We are Marshall' as a sports film. It's a human drama set around a sports theme." "We are Marshall" was filmed in Huntington, where many friends and relatives of those who died in the crash still live. "It was amazing," Fox said. "This community is already defined by the event, connected to this story in a very deep way. When they first found out we were making this feature film, they were concerned that it wouldn't be done right and it would be exploitive in some way, because they hold this story so close to their hearts." But Fox said the locals willingly offered their support. "I can't tell you how many people came up to me and said, 'We are really behind you 100 percent. Do it the best you can,'" he said. "Everybody involved in the movie felt a tremendous responsibility to bring their 'A' game and leave it on the field." In addition to "We are Marshall," Fox has filmed "Vantage Point" with Dennis Quaid. The film tells the story of a kidnapping attempt on a U.S. citizen, as seen through the eyes of seven different people. "It's a really cool script," he said. Fox, who will return to the "Lost" set after the holidays, is staying mum about his character's future on the show. "I am really excited," he said of the return of new episodes of "Lost" to TV. "I think the audience is going to be blown away. I think the year has already had some amazing stories, and when we come back in February, the audience is really going to have their socks knocked off." |
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(V.aries, 27. 6. 2007 10:10)