Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear, Sarah Gadon, Molly Parker & Others Set For Santa Rita Film Co.’s Little League Baseball Movie ‘You Gotta Believe’

Matt Grobar
·4 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Luke Wilson (Horizon: An American Saga) and Greg Kinnear (The Present) are set to star in You Gotta Believe, a film based on the inspirational true story of Fort Worth, Texas’ 2002 Westside Little League team. Others on board for roles in the pic from Santa Rita Film Co. include Sarah Gadon (Ferrari), newcomer Michael Cash, Etienne Kellici (Horizon: An American Saga) and Molly Parker (Deadwood).

Directed by Ty Roberts, who previously worked with Wilson on the Great Depression football drama 12 Mighty Orphans, the film currently in production follows a team of Little Leaguers who dedicate their season to a player’s dying father and, in the process, defy all odds to make it to the Little League Baseball World Series championship in a game that became an ESPN classic. Wilson will play the role of the dying father, Bobby Ratliff, with Kinnear as Coach Jon Kelly.

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The film being produced and financed under the Texas-based Santa Rita Film Co. banner, led by producers Houston Hill and Roberts, is being made through an entertainment licensing deal with Little League Baseball and Softball. Additional producers include Matt Harvey, Pasha Patriki and Byron Campbell. Greg McCabe, Allen Gilmer and Wes Williams are exec producing for Santa Rita, alongside Doris Pfardrescher and Tony Vanderveerdonk for Well Go USA.

“We are excited to bring this touching story to life with our amazing cast. This tale of grit and determination will inspire audiences of all ages,” said Roberts in a statement to Deadline. “Some of the most compelling stories come from sports, no matter what age. We are honored to partner with Little League Baseball and Softball to bring Bobby and Jon’s story to the screen.”

Added Little League Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Liz DiLullo Brown, “For more than 80 years, Little League programs around the world have served as an inspiration to the communities they represent, and each year we see and hear about the hundreds of stories of Little League dreams and the spirit of community as the common thread throughout all of them. We are proud to support the production of You Gotta Believe and look forward to the inspirational message it can provide to fans as we remember that sport serves as a tremendous unifier to bring people together.”

Best known for roles in such films as The Royal Tenenbaums and Old School, and on series like Enlightened, Wilson portrayed football coach Rusty Russell in 12 Mighty Orphans, which was released nationwide by Sony Pictures Classics in 2021 after world premiering in Tribeca. He’ll next be seen in Kevin Costner’s multi-part Western epic Horizon for New Line and the Apple TV+ sci-fi romance Fingernails marking the English-language debut of Apples helmer Christos Nikou.

Most recently seen in a villainous role as part of You Season 4, Kinnear has also been seen starring of late on Apple TV+’s Black Bird and Starz’s Shining Vale. Up next on the film side for the Oscar and Emmy nominee, who is best known for titles like As Good As It Gets and Little Miss Sunshine, is the AGC Studios comedy The Present in which he stars opposite Isla Fisher.

Next to be seen in Michael Mann’s Ferrari and the darkly comic thriller Coup! with Peter Sarsgaard, Gadon has to date appeared in films like Black Bear, James Schamus’ Indignation, David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars, Amma Asante’s Belle and Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy, to name a few. Notable TV credits include Most Dangerous Game, Letterkenny, Alias Grace and 11.22.63.

Also part of the cast of Horizon: A New Saga, Kellici will be seen this fall in Showtime’s romantic miniseries Fellow Travelers with Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey.

An Emmy nominee recently seen in Disney+’s Peter Pan & Wendy, Parker counts among her other recent credits on the film side such acclaimed titles as Jockey, Pieces of a Woman and Madeline’s Madeline. Her TV credits include Lost in Space, Wormwood, Goliath, House of Cards, The Firm and Deadwood.

Roberts co-wrote, directd and produced 12 Mighty Orphans, which also stars Martin Sheen, Vinessa Shaw, Robert Duvall and others. The filmmaker and Santa Rita principal is otherwise best known for the 2017 historiccal drama The Iron Orchard starring Hassie Harrison, Austin Nichols and Lane Garrison.

Wilson is repped by WME; Kinnear by CAA, Anonymous Content and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Gadon by Entertainment 360, CAA, Creative Drive Artists in Canada and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Cash by CESD Talent Agency and Michael Abrams Group; Kellici by The Characters Talent Agency in Canada and Thruline Entertainment; Parker by Circle of Confusion and Gersh; and Roberts by Anonymous Content.

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