Interview:
Ric Roman Waugh,
director,
"National Champions"
Directed by Austin’s Ric Roman Waugh, the David-vs.-Goliath drama National Champions pits an elite quarterback against the NCAA on the eve of the college football championship game in New Orleans. Missouri Wolves quarterback LeMarcus James (If Beale Street Could Talk’s Stephan James) leverages his clout and popularity while placing his future on the line as an NFL superstar when he goes on strike to demand the NCAA share its billions in profits with student athletes across all collegial sports. With the championship game placed in jeopardy as a result of James’ action, everyone from NCAA officials and attorneys to James’ coaches to Missouri Wolves college boosters work in public and in private to persuade James to play in the game by hook or by crook. National Champions, which is now in theaters, also stars J.K. Simmons as Wolves head coach James Lazor, Jeffrey Donovan as NCAA official Mark Titus, Tim Blake Nelson as Wolves booster Rodger Cummings, Alexander Ludwig as James’ best friend and teammate Emmett Sunday, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson as himself (Wilson is also listed as an executive producer of National Champions). Austin-based director Ric Roman Waugh previously directed Greenland, Angel Has Fallen,Shot Caller, Snitch, Felon, In the Shadows, and the documentary That Which I Love Destroys Me. He will reunite with his Greenland and Angel Has Fallen star Gerard Butler in the action thriller Kandahar, which is currently shooting in Saudi Arabia, as well as Greenland 2 and Night Has Fallen, Butler’s fourth outing as U.S. Secret Service agent Mike Banning. National Champions, which opened Dec. 10 in theaters, will be available for digital and on demand viewing on Dec. 28. Aired: Dec. 16, 2021. Web sites: https://www.nationalchampions.movie https://www.facebook.com/NationalChampionsMovie/ |
|