So, What Is The Latest?

Arthur Calcaterra, a 1996 graduate of the Masonic Home and School, wonders what is the latest news about the story as he heads to the Masonic Home reunion in Fort Worth. The annual reunion takes place this weekend on the old Home campus (see Reunions Maintain Family Ties for Masonic Home Children).

Calcaterra has an added personal reason to be interested in the 12 Mighty Orphans story, as Hardy Brown is his first cousin twice removed -- his grandfather and Hardy Brown were cousins. Not only are his generational ties to the story strong, but Calcaterrra has stayed in Fort Worth and is a practicing architect. As an architect, he would also understand how well-built the remaining buildings are on the campus, having been built by Masons.

Calcaterra is not the only one who keeps asking for the lastest news. So, direct from the partners, here's what can be announced so far:

The four partners of 12 Productions have had a five-step goal of 1) partnering with a major production company; 2) finding a director who understands the genre; 3) finding a screenplay writer; 4) attaching a major actor to play the lead role; and 5) taking the project then to a major studio.

They have spent the last several months working on each of these steps and their initial meetings had such successful receptions that the project has generated passionate responses with experts who have quickly understood the story and requested repeated meetings wanting to be part of this project. The partners have been extremely pleased with the substantial progress they have made on their plan and the talented people they are partnering with and hopefully will have more specific information regarding the project in the very near future.

Breaking news will be posted here, so stay tuned!

Pictured above is Coach Rusty Russell with members of the 1940 team.

Partners See High Interest, Passion as Meetings Kick Off in L.A.

Ryan Ross is taking a production role with 12 Productions in moving the 12 Mighty Orphans project to film. Ryan's film production experience and background and his passion for the Mighty Orphans story makes him a key principal with feet on the ground in Los Angeles and he is excited about the reception that the project and partners are receiving as they meet with industry executives.

A resident of Beverly Hills, Ryan is right in the heart of the film industry in Los Angeles and he has been spending the last month setting up meetings and getting the story into the hands of film industry executives interested in being part of the production team. All four partners of 12 Productions have just returned from a round of meetings in L.A. and are amazed at the level of intense interest and passion they have encountered.

"We knew this would make a great film but it is awesome to see that others in the film industry get the story and see the potential, too," Ryan says, adding that all partners were astounded at the reception they received, especially as first-time producers. The 12 Production partners hope to have an announcement very soon regarding a joint production arrangement with a major company.

Ross receieved his undergraduate degree in film from the University of Texas and he brings not only his acting experience and passion for film to the project, but he has most recently worked at Imagine Entertainment prior to taking the production role with 12 Productions for this project. Ross' film experience brings a skill set unique to the partnership. Ross is wanting to produce the best film possible that will not only satisfy the people who lived this story, but will inspire a nation at a time when they need it most...just like the Mighty Mites. He will continue to oversee the development for the film.

More: The Advocate magazine in Dallas, Texas, writes a feature on Ryan

Matt Barr Brings Acting Experience to 12 Mighty Orphans Project...

From the perspective of translating characters from print into film, Matt Barr, an acclaimed actor, has delved into the realm of the main characters featured in Jim Dent's book Twelve Mighty Orphans. As one of the four partners of 12 Productions, he has studied the characters not only as they have been portrayed in print and captured in film interviews, but he has also met with them personally, filming and interviewing the characters as well as those related to them. He has spent a year trying to understand each of the main characters in terms of nuance, motivation, physical demeanor, speech, personality and experience.

Matt has had a lifelong passion for films and has been acting since elementary school. His first film role was in Levelland, which began filming in Austin the second semester of his senior year in high school and in which he played the lead role.

Currently Matt is playing a lead role in the CBS 13-episode mini-series Harper's Island airing Saturday nights at 9:00 pm ET. He plays the best man in the murder mystery drama about friends and family who literally begin to die on an island where they've come for a destination wedding. He will also have a lead role in the upcoming spin-off of Gossip Girl which will be shot in Los Angeles.

Matt and the three other partners of 12 Productions, Ryan Ross, Mike Barr and Russell Morton, each bring a unique set of skills, experience and goals to the partnership. They have just finished a round of meetings in L.A. with film industry executives interested in taking the 12 Mighty Orphans story to film. Matt and Ryan were raised in the Dallas metro area and now live in Los Angeles where they work in the film industry.

Related info on Matt:
Matt Barr OK! Harper's Island (pdf)
Informal interview on video about his role in the Harper's Island series.
Matt Barr cover story in Allen (TX) Magazine (pdf)

Reunions Maintain Family Ties for Masonic Home Children

Reunions are important to the children who lived at The Masonic Home and the 2009 reunion of the ex-student association will take place on The Masonic Home Campus in Fort Worth. Home kids still refer to themselves as "family" and stay together with annual reunions, newsletters.

Last year the annual reunion was held in Galveston, Texas, and author Jim Dent was a guest and announced that Mike Barr had obtained the movie rights and Barr was in the process of putting a team together.

"If anyone can make that movie a reality, Mike Barr is the man," Dent said to the group in Galveston.

The gathering on the campus featured in the photo above was not a regular reunion. 12 Productions team members Mike Barr, Matt Barr and Ryan Ross (Matt and Ryan are at the far right in the above photo) worked on production aspects of developing the 12 Mighty Orphans story when they brought Home Kids back to the Masonic Home in mid-2008. They brought in two experienced film guys including Michael Piccola to photograph and video the day (see earlier blog post, Home Kids Return) as they worked to collect material and background needed to take the story from book to movie.

Characters in the story, posed in front of The Masonic Home & School sign at the entry of the campus, are, left to right: Miller Moseley, his sister Dorothy "Dot" Moseley, Doug Lord and his wife (who was also a Home Kid) Opal Lord, C.D. Sealey and Norman Strange.

The Masonic Home closed in 2005 and by 2007 the buildings were boarded up and abandoned, but it still remains a central place to those who experienced life there. All Church Home is the new owner of the core Masonic Home property. Mike Barr and Russ Morton, grandson of H.N. "Rusty" Russell and a partner in 12 productions, met with the All Church Home officials this month.

Paul Underwood, President of Ex-Masonic Home Student Association said in the most recent Ex-Student Association newsletter that the students "still mourn the loss of our Home" but most were pleased to see the core campus is being renovated and will be used for helping needy kids.

The ex-student association is holding the 2009 business meeting in the Dining Hall and the students will tour the campus that Sat. a.m. before the meeting.

Welcome to 12 MIGHTY ORPHANS BLOG...

The purpose of this 12 Mighty Orphans Blog is to provide updated information and further background on the story about 12 Mighty Orphans, soon to be made into a movie. On February 11, 2009, 12 Productions, LLC acquired the movie option rights to the book Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football, written by New York Times Bestselling Author Jim Dent. For the past year members of 12 Productions have been working tirelessly researching this story, interviewing characters, visiting locations and putting together the best development package possible.

The 12 Mighty Orphans website gives the basic information about the project and story but this blog will provide ongoing articles, like providing this photo which shows Physics, Math and Science Teacher H.N. "Rusty" Russell" with some of the students at The Masonic Home where he served as a mentor to the orphans. Russell is a main character in the 12 Mighty Orphan story.

For more information on the 12 Mighty Orphan project, please visit: the 12 Mighty Orphans website homepage which provides links to: The Story, The Movie, Contact Information, News, Book, Photos and this Blog.

The articles here will be categorized for ease of access and will also be archived and all will continue to available through links on the front page.

Check in regularly and please feel free to leave comments - we want to hear your feedback!