Writer/Director Glen Owen explores the explosive popularity of College Football Signing Day

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES, December 14, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On the heels of an industry-wide pause for the WGA and actors strike, a groundbreaking new film highlighting the popularity of college football and the recruiting efforts teams utilize to sign star recruits, started filming in and around Covington, Georgia on December 4th.

‘Signing Day,’ written and directed by Glen Owen, is a dramatic comedy based on the sensational fictional story about one of the most important days for high school football players seeking football scholarships. The story follows an ambitious football coach, Walt McFadden, who is eager to sign the nation’s top defensive end, Tony Raymond. He travels to a small town in Alabama, determined to make his mark as a rising coach in a place swarming with rival recruiters. In the process, McFadden gets caught up with Tony’s dysfunctional family and is forced to navigate a series of comical misadventures.

This film is full of humor, heart and grit and highlights the NIL (name, image, likeness) deals turning teens into instant celebrity millionaires and how college sports fanatics hope young recruits will take their team to a national championship game.

National Signing Day has become a mainstream sporting event:

- 165M people in the US report being college football fans
- The revenues from the Power Five college football conferences reached $3.3B in 2022 (more than college basketball and baseball combined)
- The SEC leads all major conferences in football fan numbers, with 54M identifying as avid fans

‘Signing Day’ will be produced by Glen Owen from State Line Films, Don Mandrik from Georgia Production Finance, as well as John Thomas and Kristy Clabaugh from SB Pictures. The production team is proud to point out that the film is completely homegrown in Georgia. It was not only written, developed and produced in the state, but was also fully financed by a small group of Georgia-based investors with NFL Hall of Famer and UGA legend Champ Bailey serving as one of the executive producers alongside Tiffany FitzHenry for FitzHenry Films.

Georgia production and entertainment finance veteran Don Mandrik explains how this film is different from so many of the other projects that have been produced in the state: “Having worked on dozens of films over the years that were produced in Georgia, but written and developed elsewhere, I am excited to be part of a project where the entire creative process took place here in the state. Georgia has so many incredibly talented, native filmmakers and my hope is that this film will be but one of many to highlight Georgia’s creative population of writers, directors and producers.”

The film’s cast includes a talented roster of actors: Michael Mosley (‘The Sinner,’ ‘Ozark,’ and ‘The Girl From Plainville’), Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino (‘Shining Vale' and 'Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'), and Rob Morgan (‘Don't Look Up,’ ‘Winning Time,' 'Mudbound' and ‘Just Mercy’).

Writer and Director Owen describes the process of recruiting and signing aspiring college football players as a system that has ‘spun out of control:’ “I didn’t set out to write an expose. I simply wanted to create a film that takes a humorous, but clear-eyed look at what’s happening today on the college football recruiting trail. The coach in ‘Signing Day’ is prepared to do whatever it takes to sign the star player but starts to realize that the “big-time” isn’t necessarily what it’s cracked up to be.”

After graduating from the University of Georgia (where he played on the Bulldogs SEC championship basketball team) with a degree in film, Owen moved to Atlanta to pursue his dreams of becoming a filmmaker. He went on to serve as Associate Creative Director at TNT, where he turned out work for the NFL and NBA. While at Turner, Owen coined “Win. Or Go Home” for the NBA Playoffs. In 2004, Owen formed State Line Films where he directs national commercials and narrative branded content projects for brands like Mercedes Benz, Delta Airlines, Geico, Dodge and numerous others.

Most recently, Owen co-wrote and directed the thriller STALKED WITHIN for Paramount/BET. He also served as Co-Producer on the hit comedy, GOLDEN ARM, which aired on HBO.

Film Synopsis:
Walt McFadden is a talented football coach, but he’s no good at the politics that rule today’s game. Buried at the bottom of the Louisiana University staff and almost fired for failing to sign one of last year's top prospects, he gets a second chance when he is sent to rural Alabama with a bag full of cash and instructions to do whatever it takes to sign the nation’s top defensive end, Tony Raymond. Promised a promotion if he succeeds, Walt hits the road and soon finds himself having to outflank rival recruiters, grifting townsfolk, and Tony’s own dysfunctional family.

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