Smells Like Team Spirit

This December’s McG-directed We Are Marshall tells the true story of a small town steeped in the rich tradition of college football – and the plane crash that would forever change it.

For decades, Huntington, W.Va., came together to cheer on Marshall University's Thundering Herd. But on a fateful 1970 night, while traveling back home after a game in North Carolina, 75 members of Marshall's football team and coaching staff were killed in a plane crash.

As those left behind struggled to cope with the devastating loss of their loved ones, one man have them hope and strength. Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey), a young coach who was determined to rebuild Marshall's football program, rose as a leader – and helped heal a community in the process.

The movies co-stars Lost’s Matthew Fox, David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck), Deadwood’s Ian McShane, and Anthony Mackie. It also marks McG’s first attempt at “serious” filmmaking after the Charlie’s Angels movies, which, granted, were pretty serious (and fun) business all on their own, no?

Check out the trailer for We Are Marshall here.

Photo: Warner Bros.