From Blue Turf to Silver Screen

Boise Filmmakers Granted Rights to BSU Story

By J. Gelband, 2-27-07

Still repeatedly referred to as “the greatest game in college football history,” people continue to talk about the Boise State University Fiesta Bowl win. Some people specifically in talks about the game are three Boise-based filmmakers who want the rights to the story to make a documentary and feature film about the perfect 2006 football season.

A working agreement for the rights is in place but a final contract is pending State Board of Education review, BSU officials announced Tuesday.

Filmmakers Heather Rae and Russell Friedenberg make up Iron Circle Pictures, a Boise-based production company, and they’ve joined with filmmaker Michael Hoffman for the BSU rights.

The group will first work on a full-length documentary, tentatively called “Out of the Blue: A Film about Life and Football,” to be completed in fall 2007.

“Boise State has been a huge part of my life; it’s where I began my directing career,” Hoffman said. “I’m excited to be back telling the story of a remarkable group of kids and coaches who made magic in a magical place.”

Hoffman is filmmaker now, but in his early years he was Boise State’s first Rhodes Scholar and a former BSU student body president. Hoffman has spent more than two decades working in Hollywood, and some of his work includes directing 1988’s “Promised Land” starring Kiefer Sutherland and Meg Ryan, “Soapdish” (1991), the Oscar winning “Restoration” (1995), the Michelle Pfeiffer-George Clooney romantic comedy “One Fine Day” (1996), and others. 

Idaho native Rae and Friedenberg also have decades of experience in the film industry and recently released the documentary “Trudell,” which told the story of American Indian activist and poet John Trudell. The film was critically acclaimed at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

“Boise State’s story resonates with communities who have seen their sports heroes rise to the occasion and provide a platform for success,” Rae said. “Their example is inspiring to all of us and we’re thrilled to be a part of telling the story.”

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