{"id":8138,"date":"2009-10-15T17:16:03","date_gmt":"2009-10-15T22:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=8138"},"modified":"2009-10-15T17:37:07","modified_gmt":"2009-10-15T22:37:07","slug":"matt-hamill-subject-of-independent-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/10\/15\/matt-hamill-subject-of-independent-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Hamill subject of independent movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matt Hamill subject of independent movie<\/strong><\/p>\n

By JOHN PITARRESI<\/p>\n

Observer-Dispatch<\/p>\n

Few athletes, no matter how successful, have movies made about them.<\/p>\n

Matt Hamill is one.<\/p>\n

An independent film company is wrapping up shooting for a film about the<\/p>\n

Schuyler resident, Ultimate Fighting Championship regular, and three-time<\/p>\n

NCAA Division III wrestling champion at Rochester Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n

Hamill earned a degree in electromechanical technology from the National<\/p>\n

Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college of RIT founded in 1968 to<\/p>\n

provide technical education for the deaf. He was in Rochester Monday to<\/p>\n

observe some of the filming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis movie is going to be awesome,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a great<\/p>\n

inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamill, 33, is a native of Loveland, Ohio. He graduated from RIT\/NTID in<\/p>\n

1999 having won national wrestling titles at 167, 190 and 197 pounds. The<\/p>\n

three-time All-American, who had an 89-3 collegiate record and was<\/p>\n

undefeated his senior year, moved to the Utica area in 2003. He began with<\/p>\n

UFC in 2006, when he was working as a bouncer at Tom Cavallo\u2019s Restaurant in<\/p>\n

New Hartford.<\/p>\n

\u201cHamill\u201d was written by and is being produced by Eben Kostbar and Joseph<\/p>\n

McKelheer of Film Harvest.<\/p>\n

In a news release, Kostbar said he was inspired by Hamill\u2019s story as a deaf<\/p>\n

wrestling champion and accomplished UFC fighter. He contacted him several<\/p>\n

years ago and arranged for an interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought this guy\u2019s got an absolutely amazing story as an underdog who<\/p>\n

became a champion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The production had a setback when members of the deaf community protested<\/p>\n

that the actor schedule to play Hamill was hearing, but that was quickly<\/p>\n

cleared up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thankful for the protest because hiring a deaf actor for the lead is<\/p>\n

the right decision, and gives the film more integrity,\u201d McKelheer said.<\/p>\n

Russell Harvard, a deaf actor from Austin, Texas, ended up with the title<\/p>\n

role. Harvard played H.W. Plainview in \u201cThere Will Be Blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah!\u201d the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Hamill said when asked if Harvard is<\/p>\n

handsome enough to play him. \u201cHe\u2019s a little taller than I am. I told him<\/p>\n

we\u2019ll have to cut his legs a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Spady, a 2006 RIT\/NTID graduate, has a leading role as Hamill\u2019s<\/p>\n

friend and roommate. \u201cMost people don\u2019t have exposure to the deaf community<\/p>\n

at all,\u201d McKelheer said. \u201cWe\u2019ve met a lot of wonderful people who were<\/p>\n

supportive and embraced us. The culture itself was eye-opening for us. We<\/p>\n

knew going in were going to be learning about the deaf community. There was<\/p>\n

a huge learning curve to get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susan Gibney, of the former television series \u201cCrossing Jordan,\u201d plays<\/p>\n

Hamill\u2019s mother, Janet. Raymond J. Barry, who had featured roles in several<\/p>\n

successful movies, including \u201cTraining Day, \u201cWalk Hard,\u201d and \u201cDead Man<\/p>\n

Walking,\u201d plays Hamill\u2019s grandfather, legendary Loveland High School<\/p>\n

football, basketball and track coach Stan McCoy.<\/p>\n

Kostbar and McKelheer said they have continually asked for advice from the<\/p>\n

deaf community. They said the movie won\u2019t be about whether a mainstreamed or<\/p>\n

residential school is better, or whether it is better to use sign language<\/p>\n

or be oral.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the story is really about is that Matt Hamill doesn\u2019t have any<\/p>\n

boundaries, whether it\u2019s wrestling or being hearing or deaf,\u201d McKelheer<\/p>\n

said. \u201cHe never wanted to be defined by a culture. It\u2019s about overcoming<\/p>\n

obstacles. His deafness wasn\u2019t a disability.\u201d<\/p>\n

The movie is expected to be completed by next spring. Kostbar and McKelheer<\/p>\n

hope to enter it in some film festivals. Then it might be bought for<\/p>\n

distribution, shown on television or sold as a DVD.<\/p>\n

Hamill, a member of RIT\u2019s Athletic Hall of Fame, is 8-2 in the UFC and is<\/p>\n

scheduled to fight 10-0 Jon Jones of Endicott Dec. 5 in Las Vegas. Jones is<\/p>\n

the brother of Syracuse University star defensive lineman Arthur Jones.<\/p>\n

Jones is looking forward to the fight, but even more so to the film.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis movie is great,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait for it to come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.uticaod.com\/news\/x1992016454\/Matt-Hamill-subject-of-independent-movie <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matt Hamill subject of independent movie By JOHN PITARRESI Observer-Dispatch Few athletes, no matter how successful, have movies made about them. Matt Hamill is one. An independent film company is wrapping up shooting for a film about the Schuyler resident,…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[544,21,35,745,637,190,1585,1591,1583,1586,1587,1578,1582,1592,291,1519,1590,1589,1588,415,1580,940,1581,17,1584,1579,1593],"class_list":["post-8138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-actor","tag-austin","tag-community","tag-deafness","tag-disability","tag-dvd","tag-eben-kostbar","tag-fighter","tag-h-w-plainview","tag-joseph-mckelheer","tag-loveland","tag-matt-hammill","tag-michael-spady","tag-mma","tag-movie","tag-national-technical-institute-for-the-deaf","tag-national-wrestling-titles","tag-ncaa-division-iii-wrestling-champion","tag-ohio","tag-rit","tag-rits-athletic-hall-of-fame","tag-russell-harvard","tag-susan-gibney","tag-texas","tag-there-will-be-blood","tag-ufc","tag-ultimate-fighting-champions"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-27g","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16375,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/10\/25\/the-hammer-open-captioned-film-starring-deaf-actors-opens-in-texas\/","url_meta":{"origin":8138,"position":0},"title":"THE HAMMER – Open Captioned Film – Starring Deaf Actors Opens in Texas","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"October 25, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"THE HAMMER - Open Captioned Film - Starring Deaf Actors Opens in Texas on October 27, 2011 My name is Tal Levitas and I am part of the team working on the new open-captioned film called THE HAMMER that will be in theaters in Texas on Thursday, October 27, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/TheHammer_Poster-Small.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16482,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/11\/02\/reminder-the-hammer-open-captioned-film-starring-deaf-actors-opens-in-texas\/","url_meta":{"origin":8138,"position":1},"title":"REMINDER: THE HAMMER – Open Captioned Film – Starring Deaf Actors Opens in Texas","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"THE HAMMER - Open Captioned Film - Starring Deaf Actors Opens in Texas on October 27, 2011 My name is Tal Levitas and I am part of the team working on the new open-captioned film called THE HAMMER that will be in theaters in Texas on Thursday, October 27, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/TheHammer_Poster-Small.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18669,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/05\/09\/z-5k-run-updates-and-matt-hamill-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":8138,"position":2},"title":"Z 5K Run Updates and Matt Hamill – Austin","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Z 5K Run Updates with Matt Hamill Video link: http:\/\/youtu.be\/xbZzOfNsPWE A Fundraiser for the Texas School for the Deaf Foundation and PE Program When: Saturday, May 12, 2012 Time: 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM * 5k run\/walk \u2013 $20- timed, $15- untimed * 5k run or walk will be a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Matt-Hamill.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18242,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/04\/06\/watch-the-hammer-movie-at-lbdcc-houston\/","url_meta":{"origin":8138,"position":3},"title":"Watch The Hammer Movie at LBDCC – Houston","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Watch The Hammer Movie at LBDCC - Houston Join Purple for a viewing party! FREE! THE HAMMER Based on the Life of Matt Hamill WHERE: Lillian Beard Deaf Connection Center 9920 Long Point Rd Houston, Texas 77055 DATE: April 13, 2012 TIME: 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. RSVP: geoffrey.moore@purple.us kelly.reagan@lillianbearddeafcenter.org\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Hammer-Film_Flyer_Houston.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21600,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/01\/28\/tsd-deaf-wrestling-tournament-2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":8138,"position":4},"title":"TSD Deaf Wrestling Tournament 2013","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF PRESS RELEASE Contact: Keena Miller Phone: 512-462-5328, cell: 512-658-4444 Email: Keena.miller@tsd.state.tx.us FOR RELEASE JANUARY 25, 2013 TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF HOSTS DEAF WRESTLING TOURNAMENT January 25-26, 2013 Austin, Texas \u2013 January 25, 2013 Bringing the excitement to Austin, the Texas School for the Deaf\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13801,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/04\/06\/michael-hubbs-deaf-speed-skater-at-dhh-fort-worth-4911\/","url_meta":{"origin":8138,"position":5},"title":"Michael Hubbs – Deaf Speed Skater at DHH Fort Worth 4\/9\/11","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 Michael Hubbs - Deaf Speed Skater at DHH Fort Worth 4\/9\/11 Michael Hubbs-Short Track Speed Skater is pursuing his dream to make the 2014 Winter Olympics Team. -He currently trains at Olympic Training Site in Salt Lake City, Utah. -He won multiple USA National Championships and won silver\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/michael_hubbs-1024x654.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8138"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8143,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8138\/revisions\/8143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}