FORT WORTH, Texas — Hollywood stars Luke Wilson and Greg Kinnear graced Sundance Square in Fort Worth Thursday night for the premiere of their new film 'You Gotta Believe."
They were accompanied by the 2002 Fort Worth Little League World Series team, who are now all adults, which the film is based on. Wilson is a Dallas native and told WFAA that he was looking forward to the premiere of the film and that he was able to film most of it in Fort Worth.
"To make this in Fort Worth, right down the street where I'm from in Dallas--I feel really lucky! It's just a really good uplifting baseball movie, and I have a good feeling that people will like it."
This movie is based on the true story of the 2002 Westside Little League team from Fort Worth, Texas, and their inspiring run in the Little League World Series.
According to the film's webpage, the underdog team was able to rally behind a teammate's dying father and assistant coach, Bobby Ratliff, who Wilson plays, and put together an ESPN "Instant Classic" performance in the national tournament.
Ratliff's son, Robert Ratliff, played first base during the team's run and was at the red carpet premiere with his former teammates to honor his father, who ultimately died of melanoma in 2003.
"For my father--he got out of bed every day wanting to watch us play baseball. For us--we wanted to give my Dad joy as he was going through those cancer treatments," Ratliff told WFAA.
The team captured the hearts of America when they played Louisville in the longest game ever recorded in LLWS history. The game went 11 innings, and both teams set a combined record for strikeouts. This game also led to pitch count rules to prevent another one from happening like that again.
Louisville was picked to pummel the Fort Worth team, but they barely edged out a win after those grueling 11 innings with a score of 2-1.
Greg Kinnear plays head coach Jon Kelly, who also attended the premiere.
"I just thought this was a hell of a story. I always think of Texas as a football town. Sorry, Rangers fans. But this one really deals with fatherhood and people sticking together through adversity in a difficult moment."
Patrick Renna, who famously played the comic relief character Hamilton Porter in 'The Sandlot,' is also in this film.
It was a heartwarming return to the baseball field for him.
"I hadn't been on a baseball field with nine other 13-year-olds in 30 years. It was very reminiscent of my time on that movie set, and it was great to see them have a fun time on a movie set."
The LLWS lauded the film earlier this month.
"There are millions of unique stories of Little League dreams, and the spirit of community is the common thread throughout all of them,” Little League Executive Vice President Liz DiLullo Brown said in a press release. “We are proud to see 'You Gotta Believe' hit theaters this August as an inspirational reminder of the power of sport to bring people together.”
You Gotta Believe is being released by Well Go USA, a Plano-based film distributor. It will hit theaters on Friday, Aug. 30. You can watch the full-length trailer here.
This isn't the first film based on a true story out of Fort Worth in which Wilson has played a role.
In 2021, Wilson starred in "12 Mighty Orphans," which followed the story of Rusty Russell, who coached football at an orphanage in Fort Worth and ultimately led the unlikely team to the 1938 Football State Championship.
Also on WFAA.com: