Powerful cast of sports drama Patriots

Dimension Films recently announced the cast of Patriots, the inspirational sports drama that began production on location in New Orleans this week. Joining the previously announced Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker (The Great Debaters, The Last King of Scotland) are Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Talk to Me), Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy, Bionic Woman), Robbie Jones (One Tree Hill), Jackie Long (Soul Men, The Comebacks, Idlewild), Eric Hill (Law and Order), Bow Wow (Like Mike, Johnson Family Vacation, Roll Bounce), Lil’ Wayne (The Boondocks, The Roaches), Irma Hall (The Ladykillers, Collateral, Soul Food), Jared Einsohn (Law and Order), J.B. Smoove (Everyone Hates Chris, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Chyna McClain (Daddy’s Little Girls). The film is directed by Tim Story (Fantastic Four) from a script by Robert Eisele (The Great Debaters) and Greg Howard (Remember the Titans).

Patriots, based on a true story, is an inspirational sports film set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, where Al Collins, a high school basketball coach in Marrero, Louisiana, assembles a team of players who had previously attended five different schools and leads them on the path to the state championships. Production started last week on location in New Orleans. The film reunites Forest Whitaker and Robert Eisele — their most recent collaboration was The Great Debaters, which in 2007 was nominated for Golden Globe’s Best Picture and won four NAACP Image Awards including Outstanding Motion Picture.

Patriots joins Dimension’s diverse upcoming slate which features cutting-edge comedies like Soul Men directed by award-winning filmmaker Malcolm Lee (The Best Man, Undercover Brother, Roll Bounce) and starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac; groundbreaking adaptations like Youth in Revolt starring Michael Cera; horror films like the spine-tingling thriller Clive Barker Presents: Hellraiser, a remake of Barker’s most celebrated and terrifying story; and a variety of family friendly movies with Ice Cube’s production company Cube Vision including the Fred Durst-helmed The Longshots about a poor Illinois town that comes together behind the local Pop Warner football team.