http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/30/opinion/nocera-the-coach-who-fought-back.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/1/31/3934886/ncaa-lawsuit-ed-obannon

Finally one afternoon one of the many numbers I had been calling appeared and a very soft and extremely polite voice said “Hey…It’s Ivory, what’s up?” Somewhat confused I had to ask a few softballs to make sure I was speaking to the correct Elvin and after his identity confirmation and a few laughs we were off and running.

Myself and camera man john arrived at the airport to pick up Elvin on a Friday afternoon and as the passengers began coming down the escalator John asked “so whats this guy look like?” My response was “I dunno, never met em, but trust me I don’t envision too many 6’8″ sixty-six year olds walking off this plane.”  What I didn’t expect was it being so easy to pick him out due to the fact Elvin looks EXACTLY like he did in his college photos, the man is still at his playing weight. Not only that, he still averages 38 points a game, still dunks all over chumps and still has more swagger than Ike Taylor can find on Ebay.  While the beard has grayed and he sports sleek black fashion frames not a whole lot has changed.

After a little Cajun hospitality we eased into what would become a full eight-hour interview. Elvin’s story, much like Marvin Winkler’s, makes for very easy story telling. Growing up in 60′s Birmingham, Elvin was well aware of his surroundings and as he puts it “the hand I was dealt as a human being.”

Growing up the son of a single mother and Eastern Star instilled Elvin with a desire to change the system surrounding him from an early age.  As the tape ran Elvin quietly talked about numerous events that shaped his outlook, most importantly was the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, his church. Sunday September 15, 1963 was the turning point, he wasn’t just playing basketball anymore, he was using his gift on the court to prove to white America that separate was in fact not equal.

The only thing I knew about Elvin going in was he possessed a nearly “Ali” like awareness of his talents, there is nothing you can say about Elvin Ivory he hasn’t already said about himself. After speaking with him for several hours I understand why this is and I’m okay with it.  He spent his entire life growing up with three goals in mind: escape his environment, change the system and leave the door open for the next person to walk through. Basketball was his ticket , he punched it and I think Lafayette is a better place for it.

Sometime in the early spring of 2012 I received a call to attend a meeting on campus without really knowing what the purpose was. As we all got settled in I learned that the topic of a bronze bust was not only an idea but a 100% funded reality and had  the full support of University administration…say what? Close friends of Coach Shipley along with members of the local community hit the ground running and within weeks a sculptor had been lined up and the Shipley family would begin the process of something many thought could never happen. The university would unveil a life sized bronze bust of Beryl Shipley inside the Cajun Dome on November 11, 2012.

Among the excitement of the upcoming unveiling ceremony one thing stuck out like a sore thumb-November 2012.  After much back and forth on what now seems like a no brainer, we decided to forgo our  2012 deadline for festival submission to accommodate the unveiling ceremony into the doc. The only problem was the bust was to remain top secret so we couldn’t tell anyone what the reasoning was for us delaying the release until 2013.

We arrived with cameras ready to shoot the private unveiling which was attended by close friends, family, University officials and the good people of Slemco who made the whole project a reality. Guests were treated to a short list of speakers including university president Dr. Savoie, the Shipley family, former players Dean Church and Jimmy Dykes along with Former coach Tom Cox as well as current coach Bob Marlin as they gave personal accounts of why this day was something to be cherished in the history of Cajuns basketball and how it was not only a day of tribute but also a day of relief for some. As the speeches drew to a close the moment we had all been waiting for happened. Delores Shipley stepped up to the veiled statue and slowly drew back  the red cloth. In that moment the thin line that had separated Coach Shipley from the university he poured his life into was gone.

Coach Bob Marlin added a nice touch by hanging a banner to honor Coach Shipley inside the Cajun Dome. So much has happened this past year that is hard to wrap our heads around but this very predicament is a welcomed adversity. While some say “it’s about time” I say thank you and I will assume the Shipley family shares my thoughts. Now that the cat is out of the bag check out a few pics from the event as well as a couple of write ups about something most people thought would never happen.

http://www.athleticnetwork.net/site.php?pageID=3398

http://www.theind.com/news/sports/11964-shipley-bust-unveiled

After experiencing a handful of grammar induced cringes my soon to be editor contacted me and volunteered her services. After overcoming the initial shame I agreed to send her all posts before hand, which led to a somewhat get to it tomorrow attitude among the myriad of duties that accompany making a feature length product.

So in summary I am not firing my beloved editor for this blog, rather I am going to use the one two excuse combo of  ”it’s the internet” followed by “I’m a film maker, not a journalist”  methodology when dealing with the frequency of posting on our neglected blog.

In fact I will propose a challenge to all readers. When a grammar error is spotted, and trust me it will be,  it is your duty to report it to us. The preferred method of delivery shall be the simple PayPal form on the right hand of each page. What’s the catch? Reports only cost 1 dollar per error and you can smile knowing not only are you helping with Continuing my education but also supporting a great film in the process!

Dean Church and Dr. Savoie

Dean Church has simply been a pleasure to know in the last eighteen months. It’s refreshing in the age of super star athletes to meet someone who has accomplished so much and yet remains pretty modest about it all. Ironically that same modesty is the one thing that has delayed something most people can only dream of. Last fall a few of the Shipley Classic committee members were discussing the All time Cajun greats who have had their jersey numbers retired and the discussion made it’s way to “and of course Dean too, wait… is it retired?” Only after checking with Coach Marlin that it wasn’t! Dean being the modest fellow he is assumed “well, it’s kind of one of those things that if you have to ask you don’t deserve it.”

A small group sprung into action behind the scenes, without Dean’s knowledge, that’s when we got the call to roll cameras for the whole thing! Dean was on cloud nine once he was made aware of the University’s plans to finally have #12 hanging from the rafters of the Cajun Dome . He joins the elite company of former players Marvin Winkler, Bo Lamar and Andrew Toney as the fourth member to have his number retired in the entire 101 year span of men’s basketball and UL. As the first All American player, two time All  American if your counting,  at the university Dean racked up numerous records on the court and is a fan favorite of the Shipley Era to this day. So the lesson of the day is modesty is great but when it comes to matters of Hall of Fame status let it all hang out baby! Below you can check out a recap of  the half time festivities and few snap shots of the evening.

After another day spent chatting with Coach, he relaxed in his easy chair. Watching us tear down our gear and roll up tons of extension cords. He quipped, “man…you four, this is a team if I ever seen one!” My reply was as always, a thank you veiled in humor; “oh no…does that mean you’re gunna make us run stadiums? ” But in that one statement lay , a small exchange of respect and admiration from both sides. It has stuck with me to this day and it keeps us rolling.

As a kid shooting hoops on the driveway I heard a mention or two of the high flying Cajuns from my dad but it wasn’t until twenty years later that we came up with the idea of turning this story into a full length film. We began this project without an idea of where it would go and even less of an idea of how we would get there. Twenty years after the dramatic fade away jumpers on the driveway, we started like anything else, with a simple communication to the Shipley camp to see if he would even be interested. We  had no idea the lightning we were about to let out of the bottle. Not only was he interested but hewanted to meet the following day and begin shooting ASAP, and we did just that.

We were able to witness first hand something that many thought would never happen. We witnessed the president of the university, in his home, to present him with a symbol of recognition for all he had done, for the first time in forty years, it was something I will never forget. After he received his award for being the winningest coach in school history, he looked at me and I gave him a thumbs up as he relaxed back with a laugh and a smile

. After wrapping up our first session, he excitedly asked “So when can i see this thing?”

We shared a silent exchange that communicated he wouldn’t, and his reply was “Well if I don’t get to see it then you make sure EVERYONE  does.” At that moment, I knew our task had grown.  We slowly got acquainted with each other at a time in one’s life where new friendships are rarely made. We often spent more time chatting after wrapping for the day than we spent shooting. The time came that I made a decision, out of respect, to still uphold our bi-weekly meetings but without cameras. We would simply visit, watch basketball together, and listen to what he had to say about his life.

On April 15th, 2011,  we were able to go over and show Beryl our first example of something concrete, a small sign that we were in it for long haul; a simple 11×17 movie poster  that had “go get em!” scrawled at the top.  This was a  line that had changed his life in many ways some forty years ago. He held it in his hands and said one line, “this is…beautiful.” My dad was also there at Coach’s request so he could say thank you, for what Beryl considered “keeping the story alive”. That was Beryl’s style. We would then leave him to spend time with his family and rest for the evening.

Twelve months ago, we were loading in our gear after a fantastic interview on a sunny Saturday afternoon. We were all elated by how things were going and the momentum we had already gained. The murky waters we hadn’t yet known existed ahead where far off in the distance. Ever since my first communication with the Shipley camp,  I knew time was a finite resource that would soon be in short supply. As we walked in the door and sat down, the phone rang and we received the news of Coach’s passing. My perspective quickly shifted to that of simply being a cog in a wheel of something much larger and more important than myself. The relevance of our efforts seemed trivial at best. A community lost a leader, passionate onlookers lost a hero, his players parted with a general. Most important of all, a family said good bye to a father. We sat down and re evaluated our role in the grand scheme of things and  once again I thought about the commendation we received from the general himself. We were a team, we had a goal and it was time to follow Coach’s advice, “ tough it up and get after it.”

From that point on, we went into overdrive and we haven’t stopped since. We have shot interview after interview,  scoured the nation for needles in haystacks, searching for any glimpse of footage from the team. We have spent hours on end explaining our requests to any archivist and sports information department that would listen, all while slowly shaping our film along the way. The time came for us to reach out to the community and line up what we thought of as the most important job interview any of us had ever had; a full scale tribute to Beryl to let Lafayette know we were serious. I was blown away by the dedication the city of Lafayette has towards continuing what Beryl started here ; a winning a philosophy both on and off the court. For the first time, we didn’t lead the charge but walked side by side with a community of people dedicated to one common goal.

I only knew Beryl for a very short ninety-seven days in comparison with many others. For most people, ninety-seven days isn’t enough to forge a bond that will last a lifetime, but then again Beryl Shipley doesn’t fall into the realm of “most people” . Our ninety-seven days is simply another milestone, because he lives on to this day in the hearts, minds, eyes and smiles of all of those we encounter. Beryl lives on today in every student that is given a helping hand from his scholarship, every child that attended his basketball camps and has gone on the share the game with others. He lives in every fan that can’t hold back the smile when they speak of the excitement of the Shipley era at USL, even every opposing player and coach who got their butt handed to them by the “red man” as they shout ”they were too good! There was nothing we could do!”.  To quote Coach Tom Cox, “Beryl left different sized hand prints on all of us” and for that we say thank you for helping our team take part in something greater than all of us.

We had a lot of fun talking with Steve, and he enjoyed being back in cajun country for a few days. We spent time covering the usual items for the flick, but as each session has it’s own character we drifted into a few off shoots such as his pure amazement of the south Louisiana scenery as he kept repeating over and over “the moss…on the trees…it was EVERYWHERE…and the gators…and swamp water.” It made us laugh a bit hearing our hometown being described as foreign land once again from another Ohio yankee.

After hearing player after player tell the same tale of arriving to a bizarre landscape with food that was at first inedible only to fall in love with it all in the end makes for good material and has added a nice little segment to the doc i hadn’t planned for. All in all it was like may other interviews we laughed, we cried and had a great time doing both.

After the dust settled from  an extremely successful Tribute night to Beryl last November we stopped production the first week of December so we could find out exactly what in the h#ll we got over the last twelve months. After several weeks of simply sifting and putting things in each proper place we were able to start fleshing out what will be ” the hook” , act 1, act 2, act 3 and act 4 of our baby. As of this weekend we have about 30 to 35 minutes of what we call “talking heads”. That is people strung one after the other simply telling the audience the story that is their life before we sit back again and see what needs  some vintage bball footage on top, a fancy photo animation, a news paper clipping and so forth. It also is the organic and liquid nature of the documentary process in which you start out with “your story” then the characters tell you  theirs and you come out on the other side with a better understanding of the twists and turns any good subject has, rather than simply penning your script and yelling at actors to do it again. So now we are at the point that we have our story arc nailed down and will fill in the needed holes with our upcoming interviews in the coming months.

On the script side of things we have begun penning our narration script and are scouring for “the voice” who will ease along with you. We think we have it narrowed down to a short list of some pretty talented and hopefully not too expensive talents that we will pitch our baby to once we have some polished product for them to watch and hopefully seal the deal. In the mean time shooting ramps up again this weekend and will be the beginning of a blitzkrieg of things to come for us in the near future

So fans stay tuned for more updates and bit more attention from the Nerds crew. It’s been one hell of a ride so far and i can’t think of  a better group of people to have riding shotgun. Trust me, we are just getting started!-D.D.

Jimmy is a member of the clan known as  ”the Original Shipley Boys”, a group of young men that took the first blows from the one known as “Red”.  The Shipley Boys helped Beryl hone his craft as Jimmy puts it “…he didn’t have a whole lot to work with, but man…he sure did work us a lot.” Those early years of Beryls tenure set the stage for the high flying Cajuns that would follow. Time flew by as the jokes and tales from the bench (Jimmy doesn’t have a whole lot of tales from the floor if you know what i mean) made it into the can followed by touching moments of Coach and Jimmy’s lasting bond throughout life as coaches and friends.  Jimmy’s role is simple-when the going gets tough he makes you laugh.

Tom Cox was more than Beryl’s number one assistant, he was an extension of Beryl himself  as well as his right hand man in the trenches. As he spoke of the events that landed him the job in Lafayette it became obvious that fate itself had a large hand in bringing Tom to Cajun country and the landscape hasn’t been the same since.  Yes, our session  proved to be worth the wait in a major way.

Like I said, raising funding for a film is extremely difficult. However, raising funds for a film while simultaneously raising funds for a good cause and increasing awareness for a movie is even more arduous. Doug and Michelle worked tirelessly while the rest of the NERD team watched in awe. Together with a group of talented individuals, and the fantastic people close the Shipley family, this small group of filmmakers did the impossible. We met our funding goal, did some good for a great cause (The Beryl Shipley Mended Hearts Scholarship), and recognized someone that forever changed the landscape of Southwestern Louisiana.

“The Beryl Shipley Tribute Gala” presented by Cox was host to a packed house that were all there to remember a great man, and get a glimpse at the film. The attendees got to spend time with basketball greats like Bo Lamar, Fred Saunders, Roy Ebron, Payton Townsend, and Dean Church. They got treated to moving speeches from former assistant Tom Cox, Julie Dronet of Cox, Douglas Domingue, and current UL Coach Bob Marlin.  Chef Bobby of “Bon Manger”  provided everyone with fantastic food, Schilling made sure the beer was ice cold and the atmosphere was ripe with excitement, the red carpet was alive with the sound of camera flashes, and the NERD team were humbled by the amazing response our community showed for our work.

Of couse films cost money, and the NERD Pictures team was lucky enough to have wonderful sponsors like Cox Communications, The Daily Advertiser, LUS, Courtesy Cadillac, Party Central, Le’ Bon Manger and a host of others. The great folks at Cox, Karmen Blanco and Julie Dronet, helped us to achieve our goals and for that we are thankful. Everyone involved with making the event a reality pushed us one step closer to finishing the film.

Nights like this one come once in a life time. I know that I’ll never forget that night, and I’m positive that the NERD Pictures crew will be forever grateful to those that made it such a special one.