Madison at the Heartland
Parts of this story and some of these photos previously appeared in The Madison Courier, which owns the copyright to the original story and the photos. However, the story has been rewritten and updated for this site multiple times by the author.
"Madison" Still Waiting for Release Date
By RONALD HAWKINS
It started as a great dream for two brothers and a small, Ohio River community.
In the fall of 2001, film buffs, unlimited hydroplane enthusiasts, Madison residents and college students gathered at a 2001 Heartland Film Festival event at Franklin College to hear the story of how Bill and Scott Bindley's "Madison" script finally became a real movie.
The next day, the film was shown at the Heartland Film Festival. Now in the spring of 2005, the film is finally being released.
An August 2002 release had been scheduled but at the Indianapolis 500 of May 26, 2002, star Jim Caviezel said the movie probably would be released the third week of the October 2002. That date is now long past and now Caviezel wasin the lead role of Mel Gibson's controversial "The Passion" before the 2005 release.
Scott Bindley said in 2002 that MGM had become involved in the project and the release would be delayed from the previously announced August 2002. Premiere Market and Distribution, the company that was going to market the movie ran into financial problems and that sent the producers looking for a new a deal. Bill Bindley said in March 2003 the producers were on the verge of obtaining a new deal, but said then that he had been asked not to discuss it.
The Bindleys and Caviezel have said there will be a special premiere in Madison. Since I first wrote this story, I have moved away from Madison. We will fill in our readers about that event in the future.
Back in October 2001, the Bindley brothers, who grew up in Terre Haute, said they began working in the 1980s on a script about the 1971 Gold Cup upset win by Miss Madison.
At the Franklin College forum, the Bindleys were interviewed by screenwriter Angelo Pizzo, author of "Hoosiers," then questioned by members of the audience.
The Bindleys appearance at Franklin was an opening day activity of the 10th Anniversary Heartland Film Festival. The movie, which hadn't received its finishing touches, was shown as the festival's opening film.
Bill Bindley, who directed the film, said he was "troubled by the lure of a dying town," the perception many had of Madison in the 1970s, he said. It was a situation common to cities along the Ohio River and down the Mississippi as people began to turn away from rivers as a primary shipping method.
"What do you do and how do you explain that to a 10-year-old child?" were questions the Bindleys wanted to address in their script.
"I was a senior at Northwestern University when Bill said he wanted me to write a script," Scott Bindley said.
One of Scott Bindley's professors let him add writing the script as part of his work for a course, he said.
"`Madison' started as a screen writing exercise in college," Scott Bindley said. "Bill was in Los Angeles and it was my job to drive to Madison and meet with the real crew members of 1971."
Scott Bindley took his tape recorder to Madison. He had four hours of interviews with the original participants, including Jim McCormack, the driver who scored the upset. Those interviews proved sufficient to jump-start the script writing process.
But that process was not a swift one. The writing was off and on for 11 years, the brothers said.
The earlier drafts were written by Scott Bindley and followed a true path of what happened, Bill Bindley said.
At first, the Bindleys just wanted to sell the script and were not concerned about who would direct it.
By 1993, the brothers realized they had a good scripts, but ran into an obstacle: "Days of Thunder," an auto racing film starring Tom Cruise, proved to be a major box office and critical flop. Another racing film would have to wait a while to get the nod from the Hollywood financial community.
But the Bindleys were being told they had a big movie. What they did with it, couldn't be "lame" because people were watching, Bill Bindley said.
Around 1995-1996, someone who wanted to provide funding to make the movie contacted the Bindleys. From that time on, the Bindleys had a meeting every March to get ready to make the movie.
"But it didn't happen," Bill Bindley said, until one year the backer said he "really, really" wanted to make the movie.
The Bindleys were able to land Jake Lloyd for the part of son of driver Jim McCormick. Lloyd had just appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine for his part in "Star Wars 1."
"We knew if we got him, we were for real," Bill Bindley said.
For the role of McCormack, the Bindleys initially considered a variety of actors, including Kurt Russell, the-then relatively unknown Russell Crowe, Dennis Quaid and Bill Pullman. Although Pullman, star of "Twister," wasn't available, his agent mentioned Jim Caviezel.
Caviezel had been in "The Thin Red Line," but Bill Bindley couldn't recall which of the many superior performances in that movie Caviezel turned in, he said.
Bill Bindley said Caviezel is a "throwback, like Montgomery Cleft. He has real substance and great eyes."
Caviezel made a commitment to appear "Madison," but then thought he had a lead role in Robert Redford's "Bagger Vance." He said he'd waive his $1-million fee, if the Bindley's agreed to delay the filming for six months.
After the Bindleys were preparing to delay making the film, Caviezel informed them that the role had been awarded to Matt Damon instead.
With that information, the Bindleys moved to take three weeks to get ready to cast and scout locations before starting filming. Caviezel said he's still work for free.
The Bindleys praised the involvement by Madison public officials and residents.
Filming in Madison was like filming on studio back lot, Bill Bindley said.
"You just walk to the set," Bindley said. "The town was amazing…Betsey Vonderheide and the mayor of Madison were very helpful."
In some ways, the town was easier to shoot in than filming in a big city where closing a street could requires weeks of advance notice. In Madison, Main Street could be closed during rush hour after a request on the same day, Bill Bindley said.
" Bill as director dealt with the people of Madison," said Scott Bindley. "They were helping us and helping. Madison was hearing year after year" that the brothers were going to make the movie.
"One of the few downsides in all the delays was that the man (McCormack) the story was based on died," Scott Bindley said. "Year after year, we'd say to Bill we'll get it done."
McCormack died in 1996. However, his wife and son were able to see the story filmed.
Challenges in the making of the movie were finding the boats from the early 1970s, keeping them operating and then filming those boats being driven. While actors can generally drive cars, they don't drive hydroplane boats, Bill Bindley said.
But even with those challenges, the Bindleys were finally able to complete filming. The version that eventually will be released will be at least slightly different from the one shown at the Sundance Film Festival and the Heartland Film Festival in 2001.
Some scenes could still be deleted from the 96-minute film up until the last minute before the wide release, Bindley said. The soundtrack was being tweaked with Seymour native John Mellencamp, who provides the movie's narration, possibly composing a song for the movie, Scott Bindley said.
