UNDERDOGS hits theaters on November 1st! Official press release below and the trailer is now also available here!
Freestyle Digital Media (FDM) and Freestyle Releasing announce today that they have acquired all domestic rights to director Doug Dearth's High School football drama UNDERDOGS, which was written by Dave Latham and stars D.B. Sweeney (TAKEN 2). The film also stars Natalie Imbruglia ("Neighbors"), Logan Huffman ("V"), William Mapother (ANOTHER EARTH, "Lost"), Maddie Hasson (GOD BLESS AMERICA, "Twisted"), Charlie Carver ("Desperate Housewives," "Teen Wolf"), Jay Thomas (THE SANTA CLAUSE 2) and football Hall of Famer Joe Namath and was produced by Dearth, Bill Fishman and Tom Rooker. UNDERDOGS is slated for a theatrical release on November 1st, with a VOD release following on November 5th.
In the vein of Friday Night Lights and The Blind Side, UNDERDOGS is based on inspirational true events of a
High School football team no one expected to succeed. Filmed in Canton, Ohio, the Knights are a lousy team who've become a target for jokes. When down on his luck Coach DeAntonio (D.B. Sweeney) arrives, he pushes the boys to see their potential, while a hometown bartender (Natalie Imbruglia) tries to reopen his guarded heart. When quarterback Bobby Burkett (Logan Huffman) falls in love with a cheerleader (Maddie Hasson) from a rival team, it enrages their star John Handon (Charlie Carver). Meanwhile, Bobby's father (William Mapother) is battling Handon's dad (Richard Portnow), whose crooked corporation is suing him over his own invention.
The deal was negotiated by Jonathan Sachar, Doug Dearth and Brett Kerr and Susan Jackson, CEO of Freestyle Digital Media.
"Underdogs tells the tale of a son who is a talented quarterback that must lead a seemingly hopeless team to succeed with the inspiration of a great but flawed coach and his inventor father who chooses to take on the company he works for when they try to steal his invention. These true story inspired parallel tales have tremendous heart and should have the audience cheering," said Jackson.
Recent Freestyle Digital Media titles include TIGER EYES, the first big screen adaptation of a Judy Blume novel starring Willa Holland, the critically-acclaimed documentary
Samsara from filmmakers Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, and the SXSW festival favorite FUNERAL KINGS from the McManus Brothers .
About Freestyle Digital Media
Freestyle Digital Media, LLC was founded in November 2011 by its CEO Susan Jackson who is Co-President and founder of independent theatrical distributor Freestyle Releasing, LLC and North American sales company Turtles Crossing, LLC. Freestyle Digital Media supplies quality commercial film and TV content directly to all US VOD/SVOD rental DVD/Kiosks, Television and theaters using the latest cloud-based technologies to automate digital workflow. Freestyle's goal is to provide fresh, well-marketed product and stay on the cutting edge of the ever-compressing windows to ensure that their partners benefit from a platform that delivers an anytime-anywhere capability in the medium of their choice and a positive digital viewing experience on any device in any location.
