But I think they weren't ready for the adventure to be done. I think at some level they were chasing a rush.". Many of them talk in the documentary about how much they lost and how they've tried to rebuild their lives. A private screening of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary “What Carter Lost” was held at the Texas Theatre on Wednesday night. ", In the film, Hootnick interviews Texas high school football stars who went on to play professionally. “The movie Friday Night Lights showed the world a skewed and fictionalized version of one of the best high school football teams in Texas history, the 1988 Dallas Carter Cowboys, but very few of the players, coaches, parents, and teachers involved in that controversial season ever had a chance to speak for themselves,” said director Adam Hootnick. The story of the 1988 Carter High School … So the level of attention and adoration and intensity around that experience — for a lot of people, that's the top. This documentary/comedy about Texas high school football is not just for football fans. "The number of scholarships they got, the number of guys who went on to play some form of professional football — by every measure this was one of the greats," Hootnick says of the school's reputation. And so to fall from grace like that, that's a long way down.". Carter served a black, middle-class neighborhood in Dallas. But the following summer, several of the players are exposed … In the film, Thornton tells his team that to win state, they'll have to beat "a team of monsters" from Carter High School in Dallas (which they fail to do). The film featured Dallas’ 1988 Carter High … I am white and as a Carter High school graduate of 1972, I witnessed the closing of J. Ervay (an all black school) in an attempt to integrate Carter, and the ensuing white flight. Filmmaker Adam Hootnick says, "For a lot of people, that's the top.". You know, they were middle-class kids, they had cars, they had all the clothes they want. ET on ESPN. “In ‘What Carter Lost,’ I was honored to help bring the Carter saga to life in the words of the people who lived it, even as I struggled to make sense of everything that had happened. hide caption, The 1988 Carter High School football team won that year's Texas state championship. Oddly enough though, one of the greatest teams in state history has been lost to time—and fate. So the way that those parents were undercut after everything they did to keep that team on the field and to try to put forward their version of who they were — to have that all undone, you know, I think that's the story that's never been told.". A lot of people already know the story of Friday Night Lights, in which a West Texas high school fights for the state football title. There’s high school football, and then there’s Texas high school football. ESPN Films has been an industry leader in documentary filmmaking since its inception in March 2008, producing more than 100 documentaries that have showcased some of the most compelling stories in sports. In the documentary, LaDainian Tomlinson, the Hall of Fame running back who grew up in Rosebud, Texas, describes Carter as “the greatest high school football team ever assembled.” What … Trailer: http://es.pn/2uR88YA. In the end, five Carter players served time in prison. "I think that fight for them was not just about wanting to see their football team win, but about resisting being caricatured in a way, and saying, 'We're not cheaters. A few years after the lockout made the national media in 1999, Carter left Richmond High School and started a foundation supporting education and athletics in the area. Additional information, including film clips and director statements and bios, will be available on the 30 for 30 website espn.com/30for30. In the fall of 1988 a Texas high school fielded the football team that many consider the greatest ever, yet chances are good you have never heard their story. In a previous photo caption, filmmaker Adam Hootnick's last name was misspelled as Hootnik. Follow 30 for 30 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and join the conversation with hashtag #WhatCarterLost. According to Hootnick, it was "mostly two-parent families, mostly professionals. "After the roller coaster of this season and postseason," Hootnick explains, "you had a few guys on that team really, to my mind, inexplicably going and joining an armed robbery ring for pretty much no reason. Yet not too long after, the legacy they worked so hard for was thrown away after a group of players made a terrible decision. Upcoming Live Events and Commentators (by sport), James Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content. Oddly enough though, one of the greatest teams in state history has been lost to time... and fate. What Carter Lost is not about … 2017: Former Carter High football player Gary Edwards (center) joined Jessie Armstead (left), Derric Evans (second from left) for a discussion of What Carter Lost, an ESPN documentary … “What Carter Lost,” directed by Adam Hootnick, will air at 9:30 p.m. Film Summary There's high school football, and then there's Texas high school football. Carter won the state title — but the story doesn't end there. This movie actually downplayed the racism that was at the center of the attempt to keep Carter … It started as a nonfiction book, then it became a movie (with Billy Bob Thornton as the coach) and finally a TV series. DALLAS (CBS11) – A private screening of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary “What Carter Lost,” was held at the Texas Theatre on Wednesday night. “What Carter Lost” will immediately follow a Little League World Series game on ESPN. With ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary What Carter Lost, audiences are primed to remember the glory and scandal that surrounded Dallas Carter High School’s football team nearly 30 years ago. Two Years After It Got The Feature Film Treatment, ESPN’s 30 for 30 Series Is About To Release A Documentary On The 1988 Carter High Football Team.. Her projects include the critically-acclaimed 30 for 30 documentary series, ESPN The Magazine and The ESPYS, among others. The other, mostly white schools fought a legal battle to kick Carter out of the playoffs. In fact, five players served time and one got probation. "There is no question that if Carter had been one of the predominantly white schools that was always there, everything would have been handled differently," Hootnick says. Jennifer Cingari Christie July 31, 2017 ESPN Films continues a busy summer of sports documentaries on Thursday, August 24, with a 30 for 30 documentary about the highs and lows of the 1988 Dallas Carter High … Filmmaker Adam Hootnick says, "For a lot of people, that's the top." "I don't think you can fall much further," Hootnick says, "and I say that in part because of the level of the pedestal that, as a Texas high school football star, that's almost as big as it gets. But there was trouble during that season's playoffs when questions arose about a Carter player's algebra grade. Carter High hits theaters here Oct. 30. He says, "These guys talk about the fact that no matter how far they went after playing big time Texas high school football, there was no crowd that felt more intense, there was no game that felt bigger than their biggest games in their Texas high school careers. The players were arrested, tried and convicted. “What Carter Lost” is the saga of that team, the 1988 Dallas Carter Cowboys. Courtesy of ESPN Films Former Dallas Cowboy Greg Ellis worked as executive producer, and former Carter High football player Arthur … But if you look at the real team's journey to the 1988 state title, you'll find a story about race and the pressures young athletes face — a story Adam Hootnick explores in his documentary What Carter Lost. ... From the writer and director of Carter High comes an explosive Docu-Webseries A man survives a lynching and lives to tell the story. Based in New York City, Jennifer Cingari Christie is a Communications Manager for ESPN Films and Original Content. Nearly three decades on, there still aren’t any simple answers, but I hope everyone who encounters these unforgettable people and events will walk away asking hard questions about what it means to be a teammate or a leader.”. Carter High School is really an afterthought in Friday Night Lights -- the evil, thug-like team that stole a championship. ESPN will premiere ‘What Carter Lost’ on Thursday night, a ‘30 for 30’ documentary on the tale of the 1988 Carter Cowboys football team that won a state championship. Carter High In this fact-based drama set in 1988 Dallas, Carter High School’s football team will let nothing stand in the way of a state title. Additionally, the audio story, as did a previous Web version, state that six Carter High School football players served time in prison. The high quality of storytelling, highlighted by the Peabody and Emmy-Award winning 30 for 30 series and the Academy-Award winning documentary “O.J. This is just part of the story of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary What Carter Lost, which premiered Aug. 24. There are at least two stories … To Hootnick, some of the story's unsung heroes are the parents who fought to keep the team in the playoffs. Advance press screeners will be available upon request. : Made in America,” has led to record viewership as well as multiple honors and critical acclaim. With personal interviews with players, coaches and family members, as well as glimpses of their lives today, “What Carter Lost” is ultimately about what Carter found. That team, with 21 … Somehow, the team won the championship that year. We're not thugs.' Carter High School is really an afterthought in Friday Night Lights -- the evil, thug-like team that stole a championship. (ThyBlackMan.com) Last night, I had watched a very powerful and impactful documentary that portrayed The 1988 Carter High School Football Team in a more sympathetic light … The movie has several Dallas ties. The suspense in the documentary was so genuine that I was happy that while I had a vague recollection of the Carter High story from 29 years ago, I honestly could not remember how it … The 1988 Carter High School football team won that year's Texas state championship. Additional projects from ESPN Films over the years have included 30 for 30 Shorts, Nine for IX and the SEC Storied series. That title, until it was forfeited, belonged to Dallas Carter High School. Parents, teachers and school officials fought back, and in the end Carter was allowed to play. Carter High… A behind the scene and exclusive interview with Coach Ken Carter and The members of the Richmond Oilers Arguably the greatest high school football team in Texas state history, Carter’s story is also seemingly made for … The Real Story of The 1988 Carter High Football Team A new film, written and directed by a former player for Carter High, details their triumphant road to the 1988 State Championship and … The documentary focuses on the 1988 State Championship team from Dallas Independent School District’s Carter High School. Carter was ultimately stripped of its 1988 state title, and there's no doubt that the Carter community's fight to defend its reputation got a lot harder because of what those young men did. ESPN Films continues a busy summer of sports documentaries on Thursday, August 24, with a 30 for 30  documentary about the highs and lows of the 1988 Dallas Carter High School football team. The documentary highlighted texts Carter sent to friends telling different stories about her physical relationship with Roy. The joke was the student parking lot was a heck of a lot nicer than the teacher parking lot.". Emily Ochsenschlager and Jessica Smith produced and edited this interview for broadcast, and Nicole Cohen adapted it for the Web. Part of his beat was covering the Dallas Carter Cowboys, who are the subject of an ESPN documentary set to air this week (What Carter Lost, Thursday 9:30 p.m. EST). With 21 players who were offered college scholarships and several who went on to the NFL, Carter took on the best that Texas had to offer, including the Odessa Permian team that inspired Friday Night Lights, as well as the worst: in a racially charged state-wide dispute over one player’s algebra grade and Carter’s legitimacy. Reflecting On Football And Addiction As 'Friday Night Lights' Turns 25, Why The Race Of The New Football Coach At University Of Texas Matters. What Carter Lost, the new ESPN 30 for 30 film about the beleaguered 1988 Carter High School football team that airs Thursday, faces a different challenge.