When Rusty Russell took a position as a teacher and head football coach at a Texas orphanage, he likely didn’t think he would give hope to a nation in the midst of a Great Depression. Yet that’s what he accomplished as he took twelve scrawny high school-aged orphans and turned them into state champions.

12 Mighty Orphans is based on the book, "Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football" by Jim Dent. The film, which stars Luke Wilson as Russell and Martin Sheen, is directed by Ty Roberts and co-written by Roberts & Lane Garrison (who also has a role in the film) and Kevin Meyer, who had to find a way to tell the quintessential inspirational sports story in a unique way to stand out in an ocean of other sports film contenders. No easy feat, but Garrison and Roberts discussed how they pulled it off.

“I had heard of the book but never delved into it until my producing partner and friend, Houston Hill, brought it to me and asked me what I thought,” says Roberts. He knew the basis of the story, but initially wasn’t even that interested in it. It wasn’t until he started doing a little research and read the draft by Kevin Meyer that he pursued the project.

For Garrison's part, he says he never heard of the story, which sounds crazy considering he has a background playing football in Texas. “It wasn’t until Ty and Houston called me and I read the book. I absolutely broke down because I connected with it on so many different levels. It was fate’s therapy throwing me a bone.”

Roberts and Garrison had just completed work on The Iron Orchard where they'd developed a rapport.

Roberts adds, “If it wasn’t for our rewriting of scenes on The Iron Orchard, I probably wouldn’t have thought of Lane.” Knowing how he and Garrison worked previously, he knew Garrison would come in with a fresh set of eyes and with no ego. “It was a great collaboration.”

Finding story

Long before Roberts was eyeing the script, there were multiple people that had rights to the story and lots of drafts along the way. It seemed like people kept missing the mark though, Garrison suggests. “Maybe because the book is so dense and takes place over so many years with so many characters.” But Garrison and co. found the right through-line by diving into who Rusty Russell (Wilson) was as a man, where he came from, and what he had to overcome.

Both Roberts and Garrison felt this story about football players at an orphanage couldn’t be about football. “It doesn’t have to do with football—it’s just the backdrop,” Garrison says.

According to Roberts, the toughest hurdle was condensing the story from a 320-page book to a two-hour film while capturing its spirit and keeping it contained inside a three-act structure. The book spans multiple seasons and includes everything from Russell’s 16-year tenure at the orphanage, to the lead of the winning season, and introductions and backstories of the twelve orphans.

Adaptations are tough, Roberts admits. “You want to honor the book and the writer, but at the same time, you want to make a great movie. That’s why adaptations typically get slammed from book to film. Very few are praised. When they are, they typically catch the essence of the book in the best way and stay true to the form of filmmaking.”

The writing process took Roberts and Garrison to a guest house near Austin, Texas, which they ultimately filled with hundreds of sticky notes and lots of empty coffee cups.

“We were in that room batting around ideas, going through 15 different drafts in about three months and finally honing it down,” Roberts says, adding that this time didn’t include the cutting and rewriting they did until they were actually shooting the scenes.

Writing an ensemble

Sports movies need the players and, unless it’s a sport like golf or tennis, writers will need to introduce a dozen or so characters in a very small amount of time. How do you create a team full of memorable characters that the viewer can differentiate between?

According to Roberts, “You have to think that out. It was always tough between Rusty and the boys because we wanted to introduce them as quickly as we could, but also in a way that encapsulated who they were.”

He adds, “We kept going back to The Outsiders and other sports films where you do have other characters and wanting to give those great personas their due time.”

“We know Rusty was the central protagonist and we’re following his story first and foremost,” Garrison says, as to why they focused on one person and not the team. Yet, he concedes that you could pick any one of those 12 boys and follow their lives, and it could be a movie.

Not just another sports movie

“The sports genre is pretty jaded,” Roberts states. “Most sports films follow the same track: you win or you lose, you get fired up, you have a coach that comes in, a player that’s hard to crack.”

How do you write an original sports movie? How do you use the tropes of the genre without getting corny or going too deep into them?

The answer to all of those, ironically, is the sports film shouldn’t be about the sport.

“At the end of the day,” Garrison says, “It’s not about football. It’s about believing in yourself to accomplish the unbelievable, or to do the impossible when you come together as a group.”

It’s about engaging the audience with the protagonist and their quirks and telling the truth of what happens between the games. There are only so many ways to show a touchdown, or a home run, or a last-second three-point shot in a movie.

“It’s really the moments in between those moments,” explains Garrison. “Don’t focus on the sport. Focus on the man or woman and what drove them. The sport is not as interesting as why it was the sport they chose or what they were up against internally. We can turn on ESPN to watch the sport.”

Also, it’s important to figure out what’s unique about the story or the era.

“I always thought the historical aspect helped us set this apart with the Great Depression. These boys that had nothing inspired the nation, and I thought that was a fresh and unique perspective and truth to the story,” Roberts says.

For writers looking to dive into the sports genre, Garrison has a warning: “Know that if you’re going to write a sports movie, you’re going to get hammered by a lot of critics. There’s no way around the tropes: There’s a coach, player, winner, loser.

12 Mighty Orphans is now available on digital, Blu-ray and DVD.

For further reading, check out 5 Screenwriting Takeaways: How ‘12 Mighty Orphans’ tackles the sports drama in the Great Depression.