University of North Carolina Athletics
Former Tar Heel In Upcoming Movie
September 17, 2007 | Football
Sept. 17, 2007
Former Tar Heel football player Oscar Sturgis (1991-94) is an actor in the upcoming Disney film "The Game Plan," which opens nationwide on Sept. 28. The movie was made by noted sports film makers Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, who were previously responsible for such sports films as "Invincible," "The Rookie" and "Miracle."
Sturgis, who played tight end and defensive end at UNC, portrays "Scheeler" of the fictional New York Dukes in the movie. A native of Hamlet, N.C., Sturgis was not drafted, but played two seasons in the NFL for Dallas, Green Bay and Miami. At Carolina his best season came as a senior with 39 tackles, nine tackles for losses and two sacks. He scored two touchdowns in his career, including a fumble recovery vs. Wake Forest in 1993 and an interception return for a touchdown vs. Tulane in 1994.
"The Game Plan" stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kyra Sedgwick. In the film, Johnson plays arrogant superstar pro quarterback Joe Kingman. At the height of Kingman's attempt to lead his team to the playoffs and a possible league championship, he finds out that he has a seven-year-old daughter that he never knew he had---the product of a last fling with his then-wife just prior to their divorce. Kingman must then deal with this situation during the most important time of his professional football career. Sedgwick portrays Kingman's tough agent. A large portion of the movie was filmed in and around Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots' practice facility.
The football scenes in "The Game Plan" were coordinated by Mark Ellis of ReelSports. For the film, all of the players in the movie attended a three-week pre-filming training camp run by Ellis. Similar to a real professional training camp, the players practiced offense, defense and special teams in preparation for filming.
