|
Documentary to highlight Tigers/Rebels rivalry
By Michael Butler
Emmy award-winning producer Myron Williams could have spent a weekend in Chicago covering the NBA All-Star Game. Instead, he chose to come back home to Tallassee and put his efforts into another project.
"I originally took the weekend off for the NBA All-Star Weekend. I've attended the event for the past five years," Williams said. "When I was made aware of the Tallassee/Reeltown rivalry being played this year, I had no choice but to take that time and make it bigger than myself and come home and talk to people here."
Williams was honored for his work in Miami on former NBA star Dwyane Wade. Williams, who played basketball himself in high school, is a 2001 Tallassee graduate.
"The outpouring of love and support from the community has been tremendous. Once I received that, I felt it was only right for me to come back and pump that same energy and passion into a project for Tallassee and Reeltown."
The rivalry has recently been renewed between the two schools in other sports but will be played for the first time on the football field since 2003 come this Aug. 20. Since the first game in 1984, twice it has been halted with controversy.
"As a producer and director your duty is to make sure you don't do anything that could spark back up those emotions and feelings," Williams noted. "It is a part of the timeline and history. This feature is going to outlast all of us."
The finished product is scheduled to be put on the screen for people to see the day after the game is played. Williams would like to show it at the Mount Vernon Theatre in Tallassee.
"My thought is we would have a red carpet event. Everybody has a chance to dress up, look nice and take photos. I would like to have merchandise. I would like to incorporate pep bands. The documentary will be an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. It's going to be a full-fledged movie documentary. At the end I would like to have interviews of Coach Woody Weaver and Coach Jackie O'Neal on the stage. I think that would be such a healing moment for everybody in this rivarly."
Williams added that a follow-up documentary after the game is a definite possibility. Williams' production company, Football Film Fanatics, is producing the piece.
"The sky is the limit. We don't know where this is going to go. I've done so many big projects in my life. I've been waiting for this. I did a Dwyane Wade documentary, but this is from my heart."
|
