John McClain: NFL Beat Writer Goes Hollywood

John McClain has been covering sports for the Houston Chronicle for over 30 years. He has been their NFL beat reporter since 1977. In that time, he has covered two teams, established himself as a radio personality in two cities and has served as the president of the Pro Football Writers of America. He was in the house to see the Oilers blow a 32 point lead in the playoffs, Buddy Ryan take a swing at Kevin Gilbride and has more or less reported the misery of Houston football fans in all of its manifestations. He thinks that will end soon, but we’ll get to that.

As incredible of a career as he has had, the old-school newspaper man has always dreamed of breaking into film. He has actually managed to schmooze his way into several blink and you will miss them rolls as a sports writer in a handful of major releases. He still dreams about writing the perfect script. McClain recently landed his first substantial role as Uncle JD in the independent film “Cook County”, which chronicles three generations of crystal meth addicts in the backwoods of Texas. It is a pretty heavy film for a guy known for his cherubic countenance and outgoing nature.

“Cook County” premiered at the Austin South by Southwest Conference and Film Festival last March and made its rounds through the indie circuit winning audience awards at SXSW, the Nashville Film Festival, the Hollywood Film Festival, AFI Dallas International Film Festival and the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. It is a gritty look at addiction in the rural community by first time filmmaker David Pomes.

Check out the trailer:

McClain took some time to talk with TheFasterTimes.com about the film and what he is expecting in an NFL season fraught with more dangling story lines than the climax of a Scorsese classic:

TFT: How did you get involved with the project?

JM: David Pomes, the writer-director, e-mailed me. He said he’d been reading and listening to me for years and knew I was a film fan. Said he’d written a movie with a part for me if I had time to do it. He said if I had time and was interested, to e-mail or call and he’d e-mail the script. I was in Nashville when I got the e-mail. I got back to him immediately. I got the script around midnight, couldn’t put it down and e-mailed him back the next morning and told him I’d be honored. When I got back, we met for breakfast. When I listened to his enthusiasm for the project, I was hooked. I did tell him that one scene would have to be deleted for me to be in it — the scene where Uncle JD is at home in his pool with his niece. I told him I don’t take my shirt off for anybody! So he deleted it.

TFT: I know you have some previous film experience. What other films have you been in, and how is this different?

JM: The others ranged from a close-up of my fat face in “The Rookie” to eight scenes with one line in “The Longest Yard” remake. I had a full frontal and two shots of my bald spot at a news conference announcing Dick Vermeil as the Eagles’ coach in “Invincible.” I was cut from “The Game Plan” but added to the outtakes with two shots of me singing “Burning Love” with sportscaster Jim Gray and actor Dwayne Johnson. “Cook County” is my first legitimate acting role. It’s a small part, but I have several scenes with the other actors.

TFT: What do you play in the film?

JM: Uncle JD, the older brother of Anson Mount (who plays) Bump, a drug-making, drug-taking, drug-selling meth head and Xander Berkeley (who plays) Sonny, a former meth addict who just got out of the state pen in Huntsville but returns to cooking up some meth because he needs cash fast.

TFT: The film has already won several awards at important film festivals. It deals with gritty subject matter and takes a hard look at a side of addiction most people never even think about. That is, it focuses on a rural community whereas most similarly themed films are set in the city. On the other hand, you are an extremely friendly and outgoing individual. How does a guy like you prepare for a roll in a film like this?

JM: Because Bump and Sonny steal the picture along with Houston actor Ryan Donowho who plays Abe, Sonny’s son and can be seen in the current “Bandslam”, David Pomes asked me to play my part very low key. Before we shot my first scene, where my wife, Sally (Yankie Grant), and I are entertaining Abe, 16, and Deandra, six, at our home in a Houston suburb, Xander Berkeley, who is one of my all-time favorite character actors, took me outside and gave me some tips. He asked about my lines, then made some suggestions. I think he was trying to relax me. I owe him big time.

TFT: Have you always wanted to be in pictures?

JM: Do I look like it? Actually, yes, if the fat guy always gets the girl, which never happens, of course. (Editor’s note: Come on, McClain, get with the times. The fat guy always gets the hottie these days. Have you seen “The King of Queens” or “According to Jim?” And if we are going to be fair, Marge is way too hot for Homer.) If I had my career to do over again, I’d love to be a producer. I’d still love to write screenplays. I’m 57 and still livin’ my dream. I haven’t worked a day since I started at the Chronicle in 1976. I’m three-quarters through one script about college football and half-through with another about a baseball fantasy. If I finish them, I can die happy. I have other movie roles in the works, but I can only film in May, June and July. Unfortunately, directors won’t wait for me. The timing was perfect for Cook County, in May, after the draft and minicamp.

TFT: Is this the kind of film you would normally see?

JM: I love almost every kind of film. I’m not wild about musicals, but I’ll see them. My wife, Carol, and I will see indie films if we’ve heard about them or have seen the trailer. We don’t have kids, and we’re fortunate that the cats don’t mind if we go out on the town. Sometimes in the offseason, we’ll see five to seven movies a weekend.

TFT: From what I have read, this film does not fit into the standard conflict/climax/resolution/good guy wins, everybody goes home happy typical Hollywood film formula. Why do you think the producers took that route even though it makes it that much harder to get a distribution deal?

JM: David Pomes wanted to make a realistic film based on his research about a family of crystal meth addicts deep in the Piney Woods. Families like that, in which everyone from Grandpa to the youngest child can be addicted, are more common than many of us want to admit. David read a cover story about it in Texas Monthly. I read that story, too. And it’s not just the Piney Woods. It’s all over Texas, all over the country, actually. Those stories typically don’t have a happy ending because the drug is so insidious and is so cheap and easy to make. Meth labs can be found in apartments. It’s amazing. I’m just glad I play one of the few good guys in the film. Truthfully, I wanted to play a meth head, but I would have had to lose about 150 pounds.

TFT: Drugs in sports are a bigger story than they have ever been. Obviously, there is the whole steroids issue in baseball. We still see plenty of suspensions in football, and even Rashard Lewis got suspended recently in the NBA for a banned substance violation. The the athletes involved are on the opposite end of the economic spectrum from the character in”Cook County”, but do you think the drug problems in sports in any way mirror the drug problems in our society as a whole, and to take it a step further, are they a sign of changing values?

JM: I don’t have proof, but when I see a great accomplishment in sports, my eyebrow goes up. I hate feeling this way, too. It’s a sign of our times. If an athlete were addicted to crystal meth, based on what I now know about the drug, everybody would know it. I’m sure there are drugs in sports, but mostly pot and performance enhancers. When I started covering the Oilers, coke was the popular drug at every level of society, including sports. I saw it ruin some careers.

TFT: The Texans have finished 8-8 the last two seasons. A lot of people are picking them as a break-out team this year. A lot of others predict more of the same. At this point, what does your gut tell you to expect from the Texans this year?

JM: I’ve never said this, but I am now: I think this team is going to be damn good. And it’s about time. It’s no secret that the biggest key is keeping Matt Schaub on the field. Titans coach Jeff Fisher told me last month that a lot of people don’t realize how many good players the Texans have, and he listed a lot of them. I think I’m going to pick them 10-6 in our football section. If Schaub stays healthy, and the schedule is set up as favorable as most of us believe it is, they could be better. The key is winning in the division and winning on the road.

TFT: Around the country, a lot of people know the Texans more for what they did not do than anything they have done. And what they did not do was draft Vince Young or Reggie Bush. With the emergence of Mario Williams as a force to be reckoned with, is there a kind of “I told you so” feeling within the organization. Or more likely, is it just business as usual while they try to build a winner?

JM: The people in the Texans’ front office, starting with Bob McNair on down, aren’t the I-told-you-so-types. They know. We all know. As of now, they’ve come out waaaaaaaay on top in that decision.

TFT:Who is your Super Bowl pick this year?

JM: Brady vs. Vick.

He obviously likes surprise endings.

Here is a list of upcoming screenings of “Cook County”:

August 20th (Thur) -- Houston
River Oaks Theatre 7:30pm
August 22nd (Sat) -- Dallas
Lakewood Theater 8:00pm
August 25th (Tues) -- Houston
River Oaks Theatre 7:30pm
August 27th (Thur)-Austin

Dobie Theatre 7:00 pm

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