Wake Forest Athletics
The Fifth Quarter to Film at Saturday's Football Game
10/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 29, 2008
At every Wake Forest football game, there are always plenty of cameras in the stadium. Whether they represent ESPN, Raycom, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, the Winston-Salem Journal or the Salisbury Post, photographers and videographers are anxious to capture the action on the field.
There will be a few extra cameras on the sideline when Wake Forest hosts Duke on Saturday, Nov. 1. Those cameras won't be shooting still photographs or video tape but film.
Real Hollywood film.
The Wake-Duke game at BB&T Field will serve as a location setting for the filming of The Fifth Quarter. The Fifth Quarter, written by Rick Bieber, tells the story of Jon Abbate and his family during Wake Forest's 2006 run to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and ensuing trip to the FedEx Orange Bowl.
As most Deacon fans remember, Abbate was Wake Forest's starting middle linebacker in 2005. In February, 2006, Jon's younger brother, Luke, was severely injured in an auto accident. His family made the gut-wrenching decision to donate his organs. Five strangers benefited from Luke's donation.
Going into the 2006 season, Jon Abbate changed his jersey number from 40 to 5 in honor of Luke.
As the Deacons headed into the fourth quarter of the season opener against Syracuse that fall, Jon sought out his parents, Steven and Maryanne, sitting in Section 5 of BB&T Field. They all held up five fingers as a tribute to Luke. Soon, Deacon fans throughout the stadium followed suit. By the time the Deacons reached the ACC Championship game in Jacksonville in December, even Georgia Tech fans were taking part.
Bieber acquired the rights to the Abbates' story and has spent most of the last 18 months working on the script and coordinating the film's production. Bieber, who will also direct the film, is producing the project through his Angel City Pictures. Former Wake Forest football letterman Bob McCreary is serving as executive producer along with Alan Cohen.
Aidan Quinn (Law & Order SVU, Third Watch) will portray Steven Abbate while Andie MacDowell (Groundhog Day, Multiplicity) will play Maryanne Abbate. The role of Jon Abbate will be played by Ryan Merriman (The Client, The Pretender).
The production crew has set up shop in Winston-Salem and will be filming around the city, at BB&T Field and on the Wake Forest campus for the first two weeks of November. The actors and crew will be seated in the stands at BB&T Field for the Duke game and several scenes will be shot before, during and after the game.
Immediately following the Duke game, the crew will re-create several Deacon football games from the 2006 season and Wake fans are encouraged to remain in the stadium to help add to the authenticity of the film. Filming is expected to continue until 9 p.m. on Nov. 1 at BB&T Field.
The crew will also be filming inside the locker rooms and in the Snead Room in Bridger Field House and on campus at the Doc Martin Football Practice Complex and in the Bob McCreary Strength and Conditioning Center inside Manchester Center.
Filming of the Winston-Salem portion of the film will wrap by mid-November. A good portion of the film will also be shot near the Abbate's hometown of Powder Springs, Ga.
The film is tentatively scheduled for a May, 2009 release.
