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a s t i n g Johnny Pigskin is an ensemble film featuring the following characters: Coach Kennedy: mid 30s, white. Winningest football coach in the history of the University of Kansas. Fired in an administrative power play because he was not officially a member of the KU faculty (he was a dentist by trade), Kennedy went across town to Haskell to “coach up the poor Indian boys.” Is confrontational with the Haskell administration who feels that he’s allowing his football players extra privileges and allowing them to “be Indians” just for the sake of winning. Initially motivated to win at Haskell with smaller “inferior players” against major college teams to prove he was a great coach but comes to realize, perhaps, there’s more to coaching than wins and losses. Coach LeClair: mid 30s. Native American from the Iroquois tribe. Educated back east, one of the first Native Americans to get a college degree. Decided he’d rather “help out young Indian kids” instead of working in a profession…or could he perhaps be unable to secure a professional job because “he’s just an Indian?” Note: It is our intention to cast established, well-known actors with box office appeal to play Coach Kennedy and Coach LeClair to assure broad distribution. Johnny Wind/Johnny Pigskin: 18-25 years old, Native American of the Kiowa tribe in Oklahoma. Has long flowing hair while on the reservation which is forcibly cut when he arrives at Haskell. He speaks not only his tribal language but English as well, having been taught by missionaries on his reservation. He has never previously been off his reservation. Although he’s never played organized sports, he’s an unusually gifted natural athlete. Johnny is defiant to the point of breaking rules: trying to escape from school and unwilling to give up his Native ways, even if it means severe punishment. Maggie: late teens, Native American from the Osage tribe. Maggie is an intelligent and appealing young woman. She’s basically lived her whole life at Haskell, having arrived there when she was an infant. Although she “dates” Bird, the football team captain, she’s intrigued by the arrival of Johnny who from her perspective is “wild and untamed” because he’s just off the reservation. Bird: late teens, Native American from the Kickapoo tribe. Captain of the football team. Maggie is his girlfriend. He’s Indian but basically wants to be white. After all “they won.” He wants desperately to win to prove he’s just as good as the opposing white players. Arthur/Big Butt: early 30s. Native American from the Apache tribe. Physically enormous and intimidating. Once a student at Haskell, he’s now the institution’s Disciplinarian and he certainly dishes out the discipline when a student breaks the rules. Runs Haskell’s own jail. Takes perverse pleasure in cutting the hair of newly arriving Indian kids. The kids call him Big Butt but never to his face. |