Mark Bennett: New film will tell real story of when Larry Bird came to town

Aug. 24—The genuine story of Larry Bird's introduction to Terre Haute, Indiana State University and the Sycamore basketball program will be told in film.

Its cinematic depiction will happen in the upcoming movie "Legend '79."

Its delivery and substance will be more authentic, family oriented and Indiana-based than a separate television production — the HBO series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty." That small-screen drama, now in its second season, tells a R-rated Hollywood version of the Magic Johnson-led 1980s Los Angeles NBA teams. The series takes theatrical license with many elements of the Lakers' legacy and related situations. That was the case with its most recent episode, which ventures into the early years of Johnson's arch-nemesis — Larry Bird.

That "Winning Time" episode debuted Sunday. It centered on Bird's youth in French Lick and path from Springs Valley High School to his short stint at and departure from Indiana University in Bloomington, his return home and eventually landing in ISU's program, while also dramatizing the death of Bird's father.

Much of HBO's portrayal of Bird's teenage years veers from reality. And future audiences of "Legend '79" will see a stark storytelling contrast to that of Season 2, Episode 3 of "Winning Time," said Patrick Wood, writer and director of "Legend '79."

"I think [the 'Winning Time' episode] was really ham-fisted. It's not the type of story we're going to tell," Wood said by phone from California this week. "It's loaded with inaccuracies.

"I think they were careless and insensitive with certain aspects of Larry's story, and that's not the story we're telling," Wood added.

Wood and "Legend '79" producer Steve Zukerman, both Ball State University graduates and Indiana natives, have been working on the project for years. Wood began writing the script years ago, and then he and Zukerman intensified their efforts to complete it during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wood and Zukerman came to Terre Haute in May to talk with prospective financial backers of the film, which has unfortunately had its progress paused by the ongoing strikes by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Wood hopes the labor disputes get settled this year, so that filming of "Legend '79" can begin in Terre Haute and French Lick next March.

Unlike the "Winning Time" episode, "Legend '79" will tell the story of Larry Bird's recruitment to ISU in the spring of '75 through the eyes of then-ISU assistant coach Bill Hodges. It was, as longtime Hauteans know, Hodges who persuaded Bird to return to college basketball at the smaller ISU, months after the shy, lanky kid from French Lick quit Bob Knight's IU program in the fall of 1974. Hodges wound up ascending to ISU's head coaching position right before the 1978-79 season began, when his boss, Bob King, stepped down for health reasons.

"It's told through Bill's perspective," Wood said, "and he's the lead character."

One scene in Sunday's "Winning Time" episode captured a lot of attention, but was only partially accurate. It characterized Bird's first brush with Sycamore basketball. It properly showed that Bird came up from French Lick to the ISU Arena to scrimmage with the Sycamore varsity players, and did so wearing jeans. In the HBO scene, the other players in the scrimmage were shown wearing typical basketball practice attire — shorts, gym shoes and T-shirts.

But in reality, Bird came to the scrimmage with his older brother Mark and their French Lick friend Kevin Carnes — both talented basketball players in their own right. They also played in the scrimmage.

And like Larry, Mark Bird and Carnes also played in jeans, according to Wood's research and the recount in Bird's 1989 autobiography "Drive: The Story of My Life." The Bird brothers and Carnes turned down Hodges' offer to borrow gym shorts from the locker room, and played in their jeans, T-shirts and tennis shoes because that's how they played back home.

"We're fine. We'll play with what we've got," Bird said, according to his book.

Hodges paired that trio with two then-Sycamore players, including former Terre Haute South great Jimmy Smith. Their squad then beat the ISU varsity three games in a row. "We drilled them. No contest. Hodges couldn't believe it," Bird wrote in the book.

Wood said "Legend '79" will follow the more authentic scenario, as will its overall storyline.

Bird wound up accepting Hodges' offer for a scholarship to play at ISU, sat out games in the 1975-76 season under then-NCAA redshirt transfer rules, and then, well you know, took the Sycamore program to an unimaginable pinnacle as the NCAA runners-up in 1979.

Like Bird, former Marshall High School great Howie Johnson was a redshirt transfer that same year, moving to ISU from the University of Illinois. Johnson doesn't precisely recall Bird's initial jeans-clad scrimmage performance, "but I don't doubt that at all," he said Thursday from his Terre Haute business, the kids amusement center Bouncin' Barn.

The Sycamores played pickup games at the ISU Arena during that summer, shortly after Bird joined. "His teams won 100 percent of those games," Johnson confirmed. "That's how good he was."

"Legend '79" will follow Bird throughout that path with the Sycamores, right up to the 1979 NCAA Final game against Michigan State and its superstar guard, Magic Johnson.

Its script and sound score will be a cross between "American Graffiti" and "Breaking Away," Wood said. It will be a family film, too. And Bird will be played by skilled basketball player that is actually college-aged. By contrast, Sean Patrick Small, who played Bird in the "Winning Time" episode is 31 years old.

Wood and Zukerman aim to use Hoosiers and Midwesterners in the roles of regular Hoosiers portrayed in the film as much as possible. As for Hodges, as the central character, "We're hoping to have a name [actor] for that role."

Once the writers and actors strikes end, Wood and Zukerman will focus on securing financial backing for "Legend '79" and then begin casting.

"I'm hoping this all gets resolved by the end of the year. I'd love to be [in Terre Haute] and film this in March," Wood said, "just like it's written."

Mark Bennett can be reached at 812-231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.