Actress Jessica Alba was originally set to shoot a new sports feature film called “Flash Before the Bang” about an all-deaf high school track team in Oregon in the 1980s in metro Atlanta.
But the production company shifted gears and will shoot it in a different state, in part due to the strike changing schedules, according to Delbert Whetter of the production company Exodus Film Group.
As of Feb. 16, productionlist.com, which posts updated info about new productions, still has the movie listed as Atlanta bound on March 4.
The “Sin City” actress, who is also an executive producer, will be joined by deaf actors Russell Harvard (”Fargo”) and Daniel Durant, who starred in the Oscar-winning film “CODA” and appeared at the Super Bowl this past Sunday as a sign language interpreter.
The movie had originally been scheduled to start last September but the actors and writers strikes caused the six-month delay.
Based on a true story, “Flash Before the Bang” will feature an ensemble cast in which more than half the characters will be deaf and are portrayed by deaf actors.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, featured in a goofy Dunkin Donuts ad during the Super Bowl, are also executive producers along with deaf brothers Jevon and Delbert Whetter.
The story centers on a bullied deaf track runner who goes to a high school for the deaf, but finds the team unmotivated and the coach distracted. The underfunded, overlooked team digs deep to overcome adversity at every turn in its attempt to seize an unprecedented victory at the 1986 Oregon State Track and Field Championship.
“I am convinced that the world is ready for an uplifting story that authentically depicts people with disabilities as they deserve to be portrayed — as multi-dimensional beings with hopes, flaws, and dreams who are capable of becoming fighters, heroes, and champions,” said Jevon Whetter in a statement provided to Deadline.com last year. The film is based on his own experiences.
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