Quaker Media's first theatrical release, "The Mighty Macs," which opened on Oct. 21, 2011, is inspiring many moviegoers nationwide with its sports Cinderella story theme. Adapted from the true story of the basketball team from the all-girls Catholic school, Immaculata College, that won the US women's collegiate basketball championship in 1971, "The Mighty Macs" is written and directed by Tim Chambers. Businessman and former basketball star at Penn Vince Curran and former NBA's Philadelphia 76ers president Pat Croce are the film's executive producers.
Coming closely in the heels of quality family films like "Courageous," "The Way" and "Dolphin Tale," "The Mighty Macs" stars Carla Gugino, David Boreanaz and Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn. It showcases the faith and determination of coach Cathy Rush, who is considered even then as a woman ahead of her time, for taking on the challenge of transforming a ragtag group of girls into the country's women basketball champions. All of this despite a lot of obstacles and naysayers within the school and outside. A dreamer and visionary, Rush is an inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for her august achievements.
Audience response to the movie was such that from an initial 250 screen count, screenings swelled to over 1,000. The University of Arizona women's basketball team even committed to hosting a pre-show event with a 150-ticket purchase.
October being declared National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is also worth mentioning that Coach Cathy Rush and Katie Hayek, one of the actresses in the movie, are both cancer survivors. A former basketball player at the University of Miami, Hayek learned of her cancer diagnosis on the first day of "The Might Macs" shooting. With the great support of director Tim Chambers, Hayek was able to continue shooting the film throughout her chemotherapy treatments while turning in a very stirring performance as Trish Sharkey.
For more information about "The Mighty Macs," visit www.TheMightyMacs.com.
Comments