12 MIGHTY ORPHANS • SEPTEMBER 11
From Texas director Ty Roberts and based upon a true story comes the 2021 film “12 Mighty Orphans,” a football flick with screenplay by Roberts, Lane Garrison and Kevin Meyer based upon the nonfiction book “Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football” by Texas sportswriter Jim Dent.
The movie stars Luke Wilson, Vinessa Shaw, Wayne Knight, Jake Austin Walker, Jacob Lofland, Levi Dylan, Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen and was filmed mostly in and around Fort Worth, and provided a jumpstart to Fort Worth’s burgeoning film production industry.
Released on June 11, 2021 by Sony Pictures Classics, the movie tells the story of an inspiring football team created by a bespectacled coach at the Masonic School for Orphans in Fort Worth. “In the 1930s and 1940s, there was nothing bigger in Texas high school football than the Masonic Home Mighty Mites,” reads the promotional copy, “—a group of orphans bound together by hardship and death.”
Director Roberts was born in Midland in 1974. “12 Mighty Orphans” is his fourth film. His previous movies include “The Iron Orchard” (2018), about the Permian Basin oilfields, and “The Falcon Thief” and “Last Tango in Patagonia,” which are awaiting release dates. Admission to “12 Mighty Or
Admission to “12 Mighty Orphans” will be free for all area high school athletes, cheerleaders, band and coaches.
SPECIAL SPUR HOMECOMING EVENT • OCTOBER 2
At one point the “Top Gun” sequel “Maverick” was under consideration as the movie for Homecoming, but the studio’s release date keeps getting pushed back.
But now that the renovations of The Palace Theater have improved the acoustics, the Dickens County Historical Commission is considering the possibilities of a live entertainment performance for Homecoming.
Details to be announced soon.
DESTINATION MARFA • OCTOBER 23
The 2021 independent film “Destination Marfa” has played at the Los Angeles SciFi & Horror Film Festival, the Montreal Independent Film Festival, the Manhattan Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival.
Written, directed and produced by Lockney native Andy Stapp, the film premiered in Texas last month in Lubbock, and Stapp hit the red carpet at Premiere Cinemas to talk with fans ahead of the screening, along with the film’s stars Stelio Savante and Tony Todd. The science fiction film was
The science fiction film was shot on location in Marfa, in addition to Plainview, Snyder, Valentine and Lockney. The movie follows four friends who come to West Texas to see the mysterious Marfa Lights, and once they arrive, they sense something is very off about the small town and the residents who are not what they seem.
Stapp isn’t new to the Hollywood scene. The custom-car restorer, artist and part-time writer has been a part of some reality TV projects including “Car Warriors,” “Overhaulin’,” and “Search and Restore.” Those experiences, and the connections Stapp has made, have helped him in figuring out what steps he needed to take to breathe life into his project.
The film’s creator will be on hand to give a behind-the-scenes talk about the film before the showing.had already sold out in the 806 area code region, so Stapp fans will have a unique opportunity to see the movie on the big screen in Spur October 23.
A sci-fi/horror flick should be just the programming to usher in the Halloween season.
PAW PATROL: THE MOVIE • OCTOBER 30 (MATINEE)
Fans of Rocky, Chase, Marshall, Skye and Zuma will be able to see the pups’ bigscreen debut on Saturday, Oct. 30, and all children attending in their Halloween costumes get into the movie for free.
The movie will show at a special matinee time of 3 p.m., and families will be able to leave the movie and go to the Third Annual Downtown Halloween Trunk or Treat adjacent to the Lawrence Brothers parking lot and across the street from the First Baptist Church of Spur.
The beloved Disney TV show “Paw Patrol,” featuring animated puppies serving their hometown Adventure Bay, has now been made into a full-length movie designed to entertain toddlers to second graders.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK • LATE NOVEMBER/EARLY DECEMBER
The sequel to “Top Gun,” the blockbuster action movie about aircraft carrier pilots, was originally to release in 2020, then summer 2021. The latest date from the studio is November 19. So when the new movie is available The Palace plans to show it — as part of a double feature with the original 1986 Tom Cruise/Kelly McGillis actionromance favorite.
PHOTOS WITH SANTA • DECEMBER
It’s an annual tradition — Santa Claus arrives in Spur and brings his bag of treats to The Palace for photos and wish lists! We’ll keep you posted on the 2021 date and time, coordinated with a downtown shopping event.
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