In attendance was his only friend, Polano, a rare Bears fan living behind enemy lines, as well as Zagger's sister, Debbie, the smart one in the family. But most notably was his fiancé, Amy Etzman. Not her. Ah, there she is. When Zagger proposed to her eight years ago, he forever brought her into his world of super fan. [crowd chanting] - Go, Pack, go! - [Narrator] And she brought him into her world of the employed, obtaining him a job in the shipping department at the company where she worked. - Polano, post route. [Polano grunting] - I got it! [smooth electric guitar music] - Hi, welcome to Director's Cut . I'm Pete Schwaba, and we just saw a clip from The 60 Yard Line , a film about a man, Ben "Zagger" Zagowski, and his pursuit of his one true love, the Green Bay Packers. I'm joined today by the film's co-writer and star Ryan Churchill. Ryan, welcome to Director's Cut . - Hey, Pete. - Hey. So, alright so tell us about Zagger and his obsession with his team. What's goin' on there? How did it reach the level it did? 'Cause he's obviously-- [laughing] It's permeated his work, his friendships, and everything. - Yeah, no, I, when I wrote the character and created the character, I wanted him or I wanted to show how far, like too far, some Packer fans go where it just goes beyond the point of normal obsession. - Pete: Right, there's a few of those out there, yeah. [Pete laughing] - There's definitely-- We all know those guys and girls out there. And also mixed with I, myself, like, I wanted him to kind of fit me as a character that I could play on the kind of nerdy side, you know. I, myself, as you can see, I'm kind of a dork. [laughing] Yeah, why not? And I wanted, you know, to kind of blend the two. Like he's not your typical sports fan in the nerdy side, but he is the typical sports fan in, like, he's way too into it so that's kind of what I wanted to create with Zagger. - So, you've got Lambeau as a backdrop, Packer fans kind of as characters in the film. It's definitely Packer influenced, but how do you avoid branding your film a Packer film? You've got a lot of other things goin' on in the story. It's a story about people. How do you convince other people that there's more here than just Packers? - Yeah, by coming on TV shows[laughs] and telling people it's not. [Pete laughing] But no, you're right. It's been very, very difficult to avoid it. In fact, we really can't avoid it so it's both a blessing and a curse for a filmmaker because yes, the Packers fandom and core audience here in Wisconsin and Green Bay fans is good to have 'cause that's a lot of people. It's a lot of fans that are gonna gravitate towards the film, but I've literally had people say to me, "Well, I'm not a Packers fan so I can't see the film. " It's like, "Ah," you know? No, no, there's a story in there. - Yeah, how do you answer that? - Yeah, well, we use, I talked to you, we'll use the analogy of I could care less about the Cleveland Indians, but I love the movie Major League . Same thing, you know, it's just about people and relationships, and there is an actual story in here. - It's like a movie about knitting. You wouldn't not watch it. . . [laughing] - Right. - . . . if there's a great story there. - Exactly, you could swap out the Packers for knitting. - A lot of great action knitting films out there. - Yeah, totally. - Let's take another look at a clip from The 60 Yard Line . - Dude, when third string is running Gun Normal-Y-Flex-Tight on first down scenarios, they are confident. The depth chart is solid. I think they are big game capable this season. - Yeah, well, the conference championship is running right through Chicago, obviously. - No. No, no. I forecasted the Bears to finish sub 500 due to lack of run support. - So, what's the surprise for Amy tonight? - Oh, I'm gonna put a deposit down at that really nice bayfront resort for the reception. - Nice. - [Ben] Right? - Love the cheese curds there. - Whoop, sorry. Whoops, my bad. Mark Tauscher, right tackle. The 224th pick of the seventh round of the 2000 draft. Born June 17th, 1977 in Auburndale, Wisconsin. Wears a size 15 shoe. Favorite movie is Kindergarten Cop . Can you, uh, can you sign, can you sign, sign this for me? - 75 man roster, hand-written. Uh, yeah, sure. - Can you make it out to Miss Hot Back? - Miss Hot Back. - That's my wife. Fiancé. - I'm sure you'll figure it out. - Yeah. We are figuring it out, and-- - Yeah, Bears. Uh, does anyone ever call you The Tausch Mahal? - That's not funny. - Uh, no. - Yeah, he does open mics, stand-up, so down, uh. . . - Mm, yeah. - Yeah. - Good. - Good, all right, yes. So, uh, so yeah, keep stepping in the bucket. Pullin', pullin' and crushin', active feet, elbows in. - Sure. Will do. Take care. - He's huge. - I don't know what his problem was. I thought Tausch Mahal was gold. - [laughing] You keep referring to yourself as a nerd. I don't think you are in real life, but you definitely nailed it there. [Ryan laughing] Great, great statistical pulls there. You have several ex-players in the film. How did you go about getting them in the film? Did you have to go through casting directors or personal relationships? What was your game plan there? - Yeah, it was somewhat difficult just due to scheduling, but yeah, we-- So Mark Tauscher, for instance, that's part of the true story. He really does hang out at the house that is The 60 Yard Line that we are set in in the film. And the owner of the 60 Yard Line is acquaintances and friends with Tauscher. And so I've become friends with him, and he was gracious enough to give us a day. - He did a pretty good job there, yeah. - He did great. Like, we always worry-- - Pleasant surprise, huh? - Yeah, filmmakers, it's like, the rule is what? "Never work with kids, pets, or athletes. " - [laughing] Right. - Literally, and we did that with athletes. And he was great-- No, he was fantastic. - So, you obviously had, okay, so you have that nice day, that nice fall day in Green Bay. You got winter shots. How, what was your shoot schedule like? Was it over different seasons or years? Or how did you do that? 'Cause it seems like to take a break and come back seems like quite a challenge. Talk about that a little bit. - Yeah, we split it up. And we thought it was very important, you know, if you're doing a film about Wisconsin at all or the Packers, you gotta show winter. So, we split it up. We did, we shot 18 days in September, October, and the beginning of November. We kind of split that up. And then we waited until it snowed in early 20-- I don't remember what year that was, early 2016, I believe. And it snowed like two feet, and so then we made arrangements for everybody to quickly crew up and get back there while the snow was there in February. And went back and shot four days in February when the snow was on the ground. - Wow, nice, and I live up in that area so I did recognize Tom Zalaski, the owner, the fictitious owner of the 60 Yard Line house. He did a good job, too. - He did great, no, he's the first big laugh of the film. So, Tom, again, he was great enough, gracious enough to come help us out for a day. - So, I made a film a few years ago called The Godfather of Green Bay . - Ryan: Yes, you did. - And we had to deal with [laughing] NFL Packer jerseys. We took extra precaution. We changed names, Driver was like Dliver. You know, like, we didn't wanna get in trouble with the NFL 'cause they are tough. What was your experience like dealing with them? Because you've got tons of references to the NFL, to the Packers. You have actual jerseys of players. Did you have to jump through a lot of hoops to do that? - Initially, we thought we were going to have to. And it is, it was a huge concern from the get-go, and initially we were gonna swap it all out. But we have a good legal team, and it's basically, since it's based on a true story, we are allowed to tell, we are allowed to accurately tell that as long as you don't misrepresent any trademarks. You know, like, a fan wearing a Packers jersey with a Packers logo on it, that is what happens in real life. You're not misrepresenting it in any way, shape, or form. And we had an insurance policy. You get, I'm so sorry, I forget the legal term of it. But it's just you send your script in to a big giant insurance company, and they say, "Oh, yeah, you're fine. " - And they were okay, Packer players partying, Ahman Green, Kuhn, and, you know, Tauscher, they were okay with all that? - Yeah, no, they were great so. - That's excellent. So, talk about as a filmmaker shooting on game days. That must have been tough 'cause you got tons of people. You can't tell them to be quiet. They're all drinking, and they're out partying. And how do you navigate that? - Yeah, we separated it. We did what's called kind of like B-roll days, where we would go out and get fans. And, you know, we stayed there in the yard 'cause where the house, our setting, is is literally right there next to Lambeau. So, we would just shoot, that's the B-roll real stuff, on separate days when we needed to get accurate sound. And then the other days, we faked it. We brought extras in, and so we had control of the set and the sound. - Ah, fooled me, it worked great. That was awesome, yeah. - Cool. - Let's take another look at a clip from The 60 Yard Line . - Are you boys lost, dumb, or both? - This house for sale? - No, the house in China directly under us through the Earth. - As in somebody could buy it and live in it, right next to. . . - People don't give up these houses. I got a few questions for ya. First, what's your name, old-timer? - Rick Warner. - Okay, that was an easy one. - Second question, what is your deal? - I'm too old for this craziness. I'm movin' to Florida. You boys interested in the house or what? - Ah, hey, I'll ask the questions here, Rick. Final question, is it required for all old people to move to Florida? [men chanting "Zagger"] - Huddle. Think about it, no more parking lot living room. We could have an actual living room. It would be like the 40, the 50, the 60, The 60 Yard Line , that's what we'll call it. The 60 Yard Line. - Aren't your funds a little tied up at the moment? - No, yes, maybe. But this is perfect for Amy and I. - It's perfect for me. I can get divorce-drunk here. - Ben: I mean, Amy likes the Pack. - Yeah. - But she also really wants the wedding really bad. Yeah, okay, ready, break. Uh, I'm sorry, but I just, I can't do it. - Hey, Rick What's up, fellas? - Wait to become a homeowner. I'll take it. - Boy: Ahman, man. - Okay, just to help you further differentiate this as just a Packer film, tell us what else is goin' on there. The narrative part too is you have a fiance. - Yes. - [laughing] And you're using your wedding money to put a down payment on a house. Talk a little bit about that story with you and your fiance. - Yeah, so, basically, again going back to the, there is a core story of boy has girl, boy loses girl. And so, we have been engaged, we're one of those couples that have been engaged forever. I think eight years they'd been engaged and never, like, things kept coming up. - Pete: But she's still hangin' in there. [laughing] - She's still hangin' in there. Good old Zagger must be doin' something right somewhere. And they finally, that morning, they finally hit this threshold of having enough money to pull the trigger on starting to get a wedding or starting to be able to have a wedding. But, when you have a lot of cash for a down payment in your pocket, and suddenly a house next to Lambeau Field comes for sale, what do you do? - Money's burning a hole in your pocket. - Money, you just, yeah. - You gotta make a move. [laughing] You said before, after the last clip, this is based on a true story. Was it just in reference to the house? Or was this an actual-- Talk about that a little bit. Is it a true story or based on? - Yeah, it's the house that's real. So that scene that you saw there about how they bought the house, that's pretty much true. - Pete: No kidding. - That's basically exactly how it happened. The house really exists. They really do park cars in the yard for a living, or not for a living, but they pay the mortgage of the house by parking cars in the yard for the home games. The players really do hang out there. So that aspect of it, that house is there. It exists, and we show how, - Pete: And you know the owner? - Yeah, the owners are, there's a group of guys. Originally, there were two that walked up and saw the for sale sign, and then a couple other of their other family and friends were there. It's a group of, I think, six or eight guys and girls that own the house. - Pete: Oh, my gosh. - So, so is that what gave you the idea for this entire film? - Yes. - And then you built the rest of it, the narrative around that? - Yeah, I had, - Wow. - They bought the house, and then that next season I came to visit. I had just moved to Los Angeles. And as it is, actors making their own projects, actors writing and producing was kind of an up and coming thing. So, we were always looking for content, and I went to the house. And as I pull up to the house, they'd been telling me like, you know, "Churchie, this needs to be movie. " And as I drove up there, I was like, "Yeah. This is a good setting for a movie. " I don't know what it is, but so immediately-- - We'll figure it out. - My first time there was like, "This is a movie. " - That's excellent. So, you did not direct the film? - Ryan: Correct. - You co-produced and co-wrote the film with Polano, Greco? - Yep, Nick Greco. Yeah, he's my co-writer. - Okay, so, that's pretty cool. Why didn't you direct it? And was it tough? Like, especially with comedy, living in Los Angeles for years, I always heard, "Well, I don't think writers should direct because whatever. " And I'm like, "No, I disagree. " I think to protect the comedy, that's why you direct it. But you still turned this over. Do you have the same sensibility as the director? Was that hard to do? - Yeah, it was hard to do, yet not hard to do because since it is an independent film, and I was the writer, the executive producer. The lower the budget, the more hats you have to wear. So, I'm already wearing so many hats, you know, running the business of the film. Being the writer, I was-- In between takes, you know, I'm literally getting, talking to investors in between takes so it's that Indie of the Indie world. - Yeah. -And also to be able to direct-- When you're Ben Affleck and you're directing a film, you have the funding to be able to do a take, get up, watch playback, come back, make your adjustments, get up, watch playback, come back. - Pete: The money's in place already. - Money's in place already. - Assistance, yeah. - You have, you know, so many people wearing the correct amount of hats. - Yeah, great point. - I wanted to save my performance, and our director, Leif Gantvoort, was a good friend of ours. We had come up through the sketch comedy world as our-- he directed a lot of our sketch comedy. So, we trusted him, and he understood our eye and our comedy so it was a huge help. I don't think I could have done it. I think that it would have. . . These independent films can fall apart very quickly. - You put yourself in good hands. - Right, so I needed him to be there for us. - Let's take another look at a clip from The 60 Yard Line . - Look, I just keep quiet. I watch the games on my TV by myself. I am very superstitious so please leave. - Um, hold it, this is my house. I don't know who you are so just put down the "swore-ed" - You pronounce the 'W' in sword too? Have a seat, sit down. - No. [laughing] - Sit down, come on. My name's Dusty Watkins. I'm adopted. [sword clattering] But my friends call me Trapper on account of my hunting skills. I, uh, catch small upland game for meat. - I'm Ben Zagowski. - Adopted? - No, I don't think so. Zagger, people call me Zagger. - I know. You've become quite the legend this season, congrats. - Thanks? - Welcome to the club. - Dusty Watkins, I remember you. You're that kid from De Pere that went missing for a little while. You squatted in Lambeau for the entire '95 season. - And I remained unseen 'til the conference championship. - What? We lost to Dallas that game. - Yeah, because they caught me, and they kicked me out. That was a big mistake. They screwed that team over when they did that. - Oh, my God, you, man. That's when it all, like, fell apart for you. - Fell apart for me? [scoffs] What are you talking about? I'm livin' the dream. I got no ties. I got no significant other holdin' me back. I got no responsibilities, other than my daughter. She's a stick-figure. - Yeah. - I drew it. [laughing] Shut up! [clears throat] I mean, I am leading my life in the one direction that truly matters in this world, following the Green Bay-- Whoa! Hot squirrel. Wanna go halfsies on this? Yes. - I'll cut it with my "sa-ward. " - And not your ka-knife. - What's that mean? - Ka-knife, like the, 'cause we were doin' the sword thing so why not ka-knife? - Knife. - Yep. - Okay, so what I love about Indie films is that you don't have to follow like a Hollywood formula. And what I liked about that scene was that you think it's this cathartic moment where this is what's gonna inspire him to go get Amy back 'cause this guy's livin' in somebody else's house, and he's got nothin'. But it doesn't. You really-- Your character really does not lift a finger to get Amy back. - Yeah. - Yeah. [laughing] You still end up-- It's like a guy's Pretty Woman . It's like this fairy tale. Talk about that a little bit and that choice of not having to be, you know, in these parameters of a studio film. - Yeah, no-- I'm sure that character would have been cut, maybe cut out of many films, but it really was there to push along the conflict for my character Zagger. To show him, like: He acts as a tool to say, "Here's future you. " This is where you're gonna end up, in the back of a garage, crazy, while listening to the game on the radio, and thinking stick-figures are real. And eating squirrel. So. . . But, yet, it doesn't-- It starts the ebb of my character's, to hit home with him, to go like, "Are you doin' the right thing here?" - Pete: Right, right. - Ah, maybe I should not put the Packers in front of my girl. - But you still don't cue the sappy music and go stop the wedding. - No. - It's just sort of like, "Huh. " Like your character's pondering it. - Yeah. - But he still pretty much sticks to his guns. - Yeah, no, it's almost one of those things of, we played with the tool of 'what you think the right thing to do is' and 'what the right thing to do is. ' I think a lot of us in life-- I don't know, I can speak for myself, but maybe especially men. We get these ideas in our head, and our cave man instincts are like, "This is the right thing to do. I'm gonna do what I think is right. " Then, it's like, you need to literally hit rock bottom sometimes to go like, "Don't act this way. " You need to set priorities and balance in your life. And that's one, kind of, theme of the film is finding balance and not living in the back of a garage, eating squirrel that you shot in the back yard. - Well, to each his own. [Ryan laughing] So, okay, so, you've got another interesting format. You've got kind of a documentary style 'cause you're talkin' to Packer fans interspersed with this narrative. Talk about that choice. - Yeah, so, originally, you know, Nick and I, when we wrote the film, there are at the act breaks and at some of the beat breaks we introduce these interviews with actual fans. Again, going back to the true story thing and talking about the fandom and the lifestyle to help bolster the backdrop and the setting of my character. And that was our cherry on top. You could take all that stuff out, and the script is still there. - Right. - After we were done with the script, him and I, Nick and I, we were watching NFL Films. You know, the old. . . [in a deep voice] the "Jim Plunkett threw for 400 yards that day. " And we love those. So, we thought, "Well, what if we have a narrator?" which is a tool that's either: people love it or hate it. But make that the cherry on top, as well as the actual interstitial interviews with the fans. So, for us, that was the cherry on top of the film that separates us from every other film that's just a narrative. - Nice. So how'd you find the narrator? 'Cause he does sound an awful lot-- Those films used to be on all the time, by the way! Leading up to Super Bowl week, and I don't know what they-- You have to go to a library at Canton or somethin' to see them now. But where did you find that narrator? 'Cause he sounds exactly like that guy. - He is, he is. - Pete: Well, there you go. - So, the original, I believe, and I could be getting this wrong for everybody that's true, true, hardcore fan out there. There was originally John Facenda, the gentleman who was the narrator for NFL Films. But, I guess there are a bunch. They had a kind of a bunch of 'em. John wasn't available. Ours is a guy by the name of Earl Mann. He was an actual NFL Films narrator. He may even still do it once in a while. He also narrated the film Idiocracy . - Pete: Oh, sure, okay. - Yeah. So, Nick Greco found him. If you Google "Earl Mann," he comes up. He used to do stuff with Letterman all the time. Like Letterman used to make him just say stupid stuff in the voice of the narrator back in the '80s and '90s. - [laughing] Right, okay. - And as soon as I remember, "Oh, yeah, the Idiocracy narrator. " So, that was done through agents. We found his agent and contacted him. And we had him for a day, and he was in Toronto. And me, the director, and Nick Greco, we literally sat in my living room at our coffee table on the phone with him. And he would do the lines, and we would, "Okay, now do it quicker. " And he was amazing. We were really geekin' out on that. - That's a nice touch. - Yeah. - Let's take another look at a clip from The 60 Yard Line . I never heard you complain. Maybe that's because I brought the party here. I made this place. - We made this place. - I made this place. Me. I did. - You're the kid with the pool. This place is the pool, but people don't actually like you. And you know what else? I don't actually like you either. - You made this place? -Don't start with me, all right? This whole time you've been pushing me to do all this and lead the single life along with you, and the whole time you were banging my little sister. That's fantastic. You know, I'm tired of your little ironic handlebar mustache and your little "Oh, I'm always on" face, "I'm so funny" face. Well, you know what? You're not funny. Even Tauscher says that your jokes, they suck. - Taush Mahal wouldn't say that. - That's a terrible nickname. Just why don't you get out, okay? And just take your stupid Bears stuff and get out of here. You live in Green Bay, dumb ass. How many championships have the Bears won again? Huh? - Take it easy, Zagger. - No, I'm not, "Taking it easy, Zagger. " That's what, "Take it easy, Zagger. " Get out. Go on, go. Come on, get out of my house. Get out of my house. - I'm not-- - What, you wanna go? You wanna go? Huh? - I don't want to go. - You wanna go? - No. - You wanna go? - I don't. - Ben: Then let's go. - I don't want to g-- - I don't want to go. - You wanna go? - You toothed my nipple! (pained groaning) Ow! (dramatic music) You wanted me to leave! Let me go! Get off me! Zagger, stop. Hold on, hold on. [out of breath panting] - Shooting a fight scene like that can be so dangerous. Were those stunt doubles or did you have a choreographer? [laughing] - Yeah, we met with a choreographer in L. A. first. And then the director, Leif Gantvoort, he has also done tons of stunt work in his life. And then, also, like, I just like, I like to roll and jiu-jitsu and stuff once in a while so we just said, "Alright, let's just fight like brothers, but at like 10%. " - Pete: 'Cause we don't wanna hurt each other. - Yeah, we can get in close with film tricks and make it look violent, so yeah. - Okay, so Ryan, your background is sketch comedy. You were Second City in Chicago, ACME Theater in L. A. , very respected. Talk about the difference writing sketches and doing improv and then trying to take on this massive undertaking of writing a feature film. - Yeah, it's so odd to me how different, yet the same it is. So, you're a comedy guy. That we-- Basically, writing sketch, you break it-- The sketch, is basically three minutes, three pages. You break it up into three beats. A feature film script is pretty much the same thing: three acts. You break it up into three acts. And so, we kind of, if you really are a writery, in a writery nerd, you look like each scene is almost a sketch. - About three minutes, yeah. - And it's so, you know, one person wants something, and the other person's getting in your way. And the comedy comes from one winning over the other. - Pete: Right. - So, the hardest part is stringing all those scenes together because it's like a puzzle or like Jenga. If you change one scene at the beginning, then, oh, that makes that not make sense in Act Three. So, then you gotta go, "Well, how?" Then you change it in Act Three, and then that makes something not make sense in Act Two. So, it was tough in doing, arranging the sketches. - That's a great analogy. I always equate it to a math problem like you do something here, and this doesn't work. You do something here, and this doesn't work. But, you're right, and even I think in Syd Field's book, every scene should be about three minutes long, or thereabouts, so that's really a great answer. Is it possible to make a film about Packer fans and not have it be a comedy? This isn't Buffalo '66 , which you said was sort of an inspiration. - Yeah. - But Packer fans just are funny, aren't they? I mean, how do you avoid that? - That's a good question. I mean, unless it's, I don't even know how to answer, that's hard. Only from the simple fact that I don't equate anything I've ever done having to do with the Packers or going to a Packer game or being a Packer fan as negative or dramatic. Nothing bad has ever happened to where you have to solve a bad problem, which I would say is the theme of a drama is a bad problem, either it gets solved or it doesn't get solved. I have to think about that. - That's actually the question I hoped would make you cry, and I failed. - Oh, wait, hold on, I got it. [Pete laughing] - So, let me ask you this, how does it take a, given the name Lambeau, and the love we have in this state for beer, how did it take a comedy writer from L. A. to come up with the name "Lambrew" for a beer? How does that not exist? Or does it? - I have that same question. It does now, and we own it. - Pete: Oh, very nice. - Yes. So, we're working on that. We had Titletown Brewing Company out of Green Bay was one of our supporters and sponsors in product placement. So, we're workin' on it with Titletown in Green Bay, but it's a bigger process than I knew. - So, producer, writer, beer founder. You're gonna wear another hat. - Brewer. - Brewer? - Yeah. - That's the clinical term? - Sure. - That's awesome. Well, hey, I appreciate you bein' on the show today. Great job, and your film is just great. Thanks for bein' here. - Thank you. I'm honored to be here. - Alright, my pleasure. Hey, and thank you for watching Director's Cut . For more information on The 60 Yard Line please go to WPT dot org and click on Director's Cut . While you're there, send us an email or find out how to submit a film. I'm Pete Schwaba, and let's be honest, no true male Packer fan would ever choose a girl-- regardless of how gorgeous-- over the Green Bay Packers. Now, sit back because The 60 Yard Line on Director's Cut Presents starts right now. [smooth electric guitar music]