CLEMSON – The featured actors in the movie “Safety” – the film currently being shot on the Clemson University campus – aren’t big-name stars, but they may be after the film is released late next year.
Jay Reeves, who is best known for his role as Shawn Scott in the CW TV series “All American,” will star as former Clemson football player Ray Ray McElrathbey, who while a student at Clemson in 2006 was granted custody of his younger brother, Fahmarr.
Fahmarr, who was 11 at the time, will be played by Thaddeus J. Mixson, while Corinne Foxx will play Kaycee, McElrathbey’s love interest.
Mixson played in “The Grind,” a short drama, in 2014. Foxx, the daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx, played the role of Sasha in “47 Meters Down: Uncaged,” an adventure-drama released last month.
Safety director Reginald Hudlin, center, is flanked by Ray Ray McElrathbey, left, and actor Jay Reeves. (Photo: PROVIDED)
“The great thing about this film is it’s all young actors,” said the film’s producer, Mark Ciardi. “We didn’t have to get big stars. I think what the movie about is really the star.”
The film will focus on McElrathbey balancing his life as a student and athlete while caring for his younger brother.
Filming began on Clemson’s campus on Sunday and will continue through Saturday, when scenes will be shot during halftime of the Clemson vs. Charlotte football game at Memorial Stadium. Fans are being urged to remain in their seats at halftime.
McElrathbey, who is serving as a consultant for the film, said Tuesday that he has developed quite the rapport with Reeves.
“We’re taking in each other’s mannerisms,” McElrathbey said. “You know how they say sometimes with married couples if you spend a lot of time together, you start to look alike? I guess it’s one of those things because we spend a great amount of time together these days, so I guess you start to favor one another in a sense.
“He’s a great actor. He’s learning my dialect and speech patterns and all that and it’s weird to have somebody study you to portray, but also humbling.”
Mark Ciardi, producer for the film ‘Safety’ being filmed at Clemson, watches a scene from the movie Monday. (Photo: SCOTT KEEPFER/Staff)
Ciardi said competition for the film’s three major roles was intense.
“Just in Atlanta casting we had over 5,000 people, so it’s like winning the lottery,” Ciardi said. “You look for that chemistry.”
Ciardi said that someone has been cast to play the role of then-coach Tommy Bowden, but the remaining coaches will be “composite characters.”
After filming wraps in Clemson this weekend, the remaining scenes will be shot in Atlanta, which is McElrathbey’s hometown. Filming is expected to conclude in mid-November and the movie will debut on the soon-to-launch Disney+ service late next year.
Disney also has the option of releasing the film theatrically, and Ciardi is confident that there will be “a huge screening” for the film at Clemson.
5 THINGS ABOUT THE MOVIE: Why Disney is making a movie about Clemson’s Ray Ray McElrathbey
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY ON SCREEN: Disney movie about a former Clemson player will film on campus, at Memorial Stadium
CAST MEMBER: So you want to be in a movie about Clemson football? This may be your chance
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I don’t have problems. I have friends.
Clarence Avant, The Black Godfather
My mom used to watch the OLYMPICS religiously. It wasn’t the YANKEES. Or the LAKERS. Or the NY GIANTS. Many of the sports were ones I was unfamiliar with. Mom too. Track. Gymnastics. Fencing. We didn’t really know the athletes. I asked her why she was drawn to it. “It’s not about sports. It’s about the stories. The sacrifice. The commitment. The ups and downs that got them there. The journey.” That’s what she was watching. And as I grew up, I was less interested in watching sports in general, but I gravitated to the stories on HBO’s REAL SPORTS, SHOWTIME’s 60 MINUTES SPORTS and ESPN’s 30 FOR 30. I’m a rabid music fan. And while it was about the music to me, when I loved an artist or wanted to get to know one, the stories meant a lot to me. I watch a ton of music documentaries on NETFLIX, PRIME, HBO, SHOWTIME, and STINGRAY QELLO. Some really stood out during my time off. NETFLIX’s “THE BLACK GODFATHER,” tells the story of legendary executive and entrepreneur CLARENCE AVANT. He may not be widely known in popular culture but his influence is felt all through music, movies, good works, and politics. There are a few people in any industry that are a thread of relationships. You hear their name everywhere. That’s Clarence. Born in humble beginnings in CLIMAX, NORTH CAROLINA. He found his way into the music business when he moved North. His mentor was LOUIS ARMSTRONG’s manager JOE GLASER (look for a great story on the call Clarence gets after Glaser dies from “fixer” SIDNEY KORSHAK). Glaser was a legendary agent that was, as many were at the time, “connected.” But not a mobster. Glaser saw something in him. And thought a black man should manage black artists. Geniuses like LITTLE WILLIE JOHN and great jazz organist JIMMY SMITH. When QUINCY JONES wanted JIMMY to record, they became fast friends even though Quincy didn’t get the deal. Right away, AVANT had a talent for deals and great taste. At Glaser’s directive, he moved out to LOS ANGELES and that’s where his ascent to mogul began as he continued to build the network that would thread itself through many industries. He found and signed BILL WITHERS. Helped LALO SCHIFRIN transition to film scores. He made the first major endorsement deal for a black athlete with HANK AARON. Signed RODRIGUEZ who later became famous in “SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN.” He introduced producers JIMMY JAM and TERRY LEWIS to JANET JACKSON. MICHAEL JACKSON asked him to run the BAD tour. BILL CLINTON and BARAK OBAMA sought his help. Called the king of HOLLYWOOD and friend, LEW WASSERMAN, a “mofo.” When artists were in trouble, they called him. He’s “The Black Godfather” because he was fiercely loyal and a hard negotiator. “If you don’t ask you don’t get. Life is about numbers” he used to say. “He has no B.S. in him,” said Quincy. When in LA, he started record labels (SUSSEX, TABU), bought radio stations, and found himself in financial trouble. And in a town that is cut-throat, even with those problems, he had friends. And they helped him. Because for all the gangster, for all the hard-nosed negotiating. Clarence is something he would never admit. A softie. Hard shell, soft inside. Heart of gold. I mean that in the best sense. Director REGINALD HUDLIN does a great job weaving dozens of interviews together with Clarence, friends, family, and associates to present a great retrospective of his achievements, but more importantly what kind of person he is. It’s Clarence’s network of relationships that tell the story. Very fitting. Just a few names like HANK AARON, IRVING AZOFF, JIM BROWN, CHERRELLE, BILL CLINTON, SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS (“he kept my ass out of jail one or two times”), CLIVE DAVIS, SUZANNE DE PASSE, KENNETH ‘BABYFACE’ EDMONDS, HAROLD FORD, JAMIE FOXX, DAVID GEFFEN, NELSON GEORGE, BERRY GORDY, LUCIAN GRAINGE, ANDRE HARRELL, KAMALA HARRIS, ZACH HOROWITZ, JESSE JACKSON, JIMMY JAM, QUINCY JONES, TERRY LEWIS, LUDACRIS, BENNY MEDINA, ELVIS MITCHELL, JERRY MOSS, BARACK OBAMA, JON PLATT, L.A. REID, LIONEL RICHIE, TED SARANDOS (his son-in-law), LALO SCHIFRIN, AL SHARPTON, SID SHEINBERG, SNOOP DOGG, CICELY TYSON, BILL WITHERS and more. I knew about Avant. But I didn’t know the stories. I love stories, it’s about the stories and now I want to know all of them. And the relationships he built is something very familiar to me. That’s a guy I want to meet. Loved it. Go watch…
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