Interviews

Hill Director Collaborates with Dennis Quaid, Pays Tribute to Rickey Hill’s Story

August 30, 2023

7 mins read

The Hill Director On Working With Dennis Quaid & Honoring Rickey Hill’s Story

Summary

The Hill is a sports movie that goes beyond the game, exploring themes of resilience and faith, as a boy with a degenerative spinal disease pursues his dream of playing in the majors.
Director Jeff Celentano was drawn to this project after a chance meeting with Rickey Hill. The script and Rickey’s compelling underdog story inspired Celentano to take on the film.
Jesse Berry, who plays the young Rickey, brought a genuine innocence and naivety to his role that resonated with both Celentano and Dennis Quaid. Quaid, who also has personal connections to the story, delivered an emotional performance.

The Hill is based on the true story of Rickey Hill. As a young boy growing up in Texas, Rickey Hill has a degenerative spinal disease and must wear leg braces, but he falls in love with baseball. Although his strict pastor father is against Rickey playing, afraid of further injury, he isn’t dissuaded. Years later, Rickey grows into an impressive ballplayer who dreams of playing in the majors. When he wants to try out for a major league scout, the family becomes divided.

The Hill is directed by Jeff Celentano from a screenplay penned by Angelo Pizzo and Scott Marshall Smith. The movie stars Dennis Quaid, Colin Ford, Joelle Carter, Randy Houser, Jesse Berry, Bonnie Bedelia, and Scott Glenn. Rickey Hill serves as an executive producer on the movie.

Director Jeff Celentano spoke with FilmmakerFocus about his new sports movie. He revealed that his brother was the one who helped get him involved in the movie through a chance meeting with Rickey Hill himself. Celentano also discussed collaborating with Quaid and what drew him to this underdog story in the first place.

Jeff Celentano Talks The Hill

FilmmakerFocus: Jeff, congratulations on The Hill. It’s more than just a sports movie. It’s really about the resilience of the human spirit and this boy, who was following his faith to reconnect with his father as an adult. What made The Hill so special to you, and what was it about Rickey’s journey that resonated with you?

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Jeff Celentano: When I first read the script, it was a truly bizarre experience. My brother randomly encountered Rickey in a hotel lobby, not knowing who he was or why he was there. Rickey was on the phone, expressing his frustration about trying to get his movie made and searching for the right director. My brother called me and said, “You have to talk to this guy. He’s reluctant to reach out to you, but his story is incredible.” This was a call I had never received from my brother before, so I had a hunch that this could be something special.

After speaking with Rickey on the phone, I immediately felt a connection. He sent me the script that night, and as soon as I started reading it, I was captivated. The story tore at my heartstrings, and I became obsessed with bringing it to life. The journey of a young boy who wore leg braces, faced immense challenges, and endured a painfully difficult childhood resonated with me. The fact that he was so impoverished that he went without shoes for months, and would play a dangerous game with his brother on railroad tracks, hitting rocks with a stick, fascinated me. He became addicted to this game, much like people become addicted to video games.

His skill in aiming the rocks impressed me, and it was a natural progression for him to transition into baseball. But what truly drew me to his story was the underdog element. He was the ultimate underdog, just like Rocky. The world seemed to be against him, but he never accepted defeat. I could relate to that, as I had experienced similar situations as an actor, always being the second or third choice for a role. Instead of getting discouraged, I used those experiences as stepping stones to propel myself forward. I believed that every director I met had never seen me before, and that gave me hope. As a filmmaker, this story was my opportunity to prove to myself and the world that I was capable of making a movie of this caliber, thanks to the powerful script and Rickey’s compelling story.

Yeah. You did a phenomenal job!

Jeff Celentano: Thank you, I poured my heart and soul into it. If I were to share some of the unbelievable experiences I went through, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s a long story, but it was a challenging journey.

It’s kind of crazy, because your brother’s chance meeting with Rickey almost kind of feels like when he’s a kid and he hits that baseball right into the guy’s windshield. It

Wow, it’s amazing how Rickey and I are on such a parallel journey. We’re so alike in that way.

Jeff Celentano: Yeah, we are totally on a parallel, Rickey and I. We’re exactly alike in that way.

That’s incredible.

Jeff Celentano: I wake up every day, and I’ve done this my whole life. Do I have bad days? Do I have days where I’m down? Very seldom, but I do. I’ve been humbled in my life. I had a part of my life where I had no money. My family was all passed away. I had asked all my friends for money. And after you ask your friends for money when you have nothing left, and they all say, “Jeff, it’s been a couple years now or a year and we’ve given you everything we can give you. We don’t have anything for you anymore.” You don’t have anyone to turn to and no way out. Then you learn really about yourself. So when I used to teach acting to kids, and they’d play these characters that had no food or money or were poor, they didn’t understand that.

I said, “Do you know what it’s like not to have anybody to turn to? No one.” You start looking at people eating out of trash cans on the street, homeless people, and you think, “Man, that could be me and a few months.” Scary. I’m not making this up. I mean, this really happened to me. So well, the only reason I bring that up is what it did, it humbled me and made me a better person inside. Where I had a lot of heart of heart and love for people that go through it. That’s what I wanted to translate into this movie is that when you go to a movie theater and sit there for two hours, and you walk out, you want to be moved and feel something related.

I love movies that I think about four weeks later, or months later. One guy came up to me at a screening. And he said, “Jeff, there’s three kinds of movies. There’s the one I just saw, which to me is one that’ll last the test of time. I’ll see it over and over again.” This movie, he said, is going to be around for a long time and it’s going to be a classic. The movies that you forget that you never want to see again and then there’s movies you never hear about. And he goes “Yours is the kind of movie that this world needs today. And the world that we’re in is a really messed up world. It’s upside down. And this kind of brings people together.”

I can tell you I felt so uplifted after watching this movie and Rickey Hill’s journey. Look, I got to talk about Jesse Berry because he’s tremendous in this film. They say never work with animals or kids and Jesse knocks it out of the park. What did he bring to the screen that wasn’t on the page?

Jeff Celentano: I like your pun intended. I like that knocked it out of the park. What do you say about Jesse?

What did he bring to the screen that wasn’t on the page? And also how long did it take him to adjust to wearing those braces on set?

Jeff Celentano: So Jesse, we searched the whole world for that kid, my casting director put out a world search. We got actors from Australia [and] England doing an American accent. Some of them are great. A kid from Australia almost got the job, but I went with Jessie because Jessie had a quality on camera. He had never acted before. He did a

During the audition, he swung the stick with such charm and innocence. There was something about him that had that movie star quality, even though he had never been on a set before. People doubted whether we should hire him, but then I called his father, who happened to be a director. He assured me that his son would be able to handle the role and bring the necessary authenticity to the character. And boy, did he deliver. Jesse showed up with that innocence and naivety that no other kid had. He didn’t have that fake Hollywood actor vibe. Everything Dennis said to him felt like the first time he had ever heard it. It was truly amazing.

Speaking of Dennis, he completely disappears into this role. His Texas twang adds so much depth to his character. Collaborating with Dennis Quaid and Colin Ford on this film was a breeze. I didn’t have to say much to Dennis because he understood the character so well. It was a coincidence that his family was from the same town as the character he was playing. He really embraced the complexity of the role and brought so many different colors to it.

There was a scene where Dennis had to punish his son, and it was such a powerful moment on set. I worked tirelessly to find the perfect line for him to say right before he was supposed to hit his son. But right before we shot the scene, Dennis questioned whether he needed to say that line. He believed that sometimes, you don’t have to say everything. And you know what? He was right. It added so much more depth to the scene.I want it edited. I’d rather have you feel it than say it, but in this moment, I worked so hard on this line. I don’t know if I’ll use it, but just say it, Dennis.” And he said, “I don’t want to say it.” I said, “You have to say it. You have to.” And he looked at me and he went, “Okay.”

He did the scene and then right as he’s about to punish his kid. He just breaks down and starts crying way deeper than what you saw, because I left in the truth of it, but afterwards, he really broke down. I walked up and I put my arm around him. I said “You okay?” And he said, “I wasn’t expecting that. That was my father. My father came into my mind at that moment. And it just wrecked me.” And he turned to me and he said, “You still need the line?”

That’s great.

Jeff Celentano: No, I don’t. I could never ask for anything better than what you just did.

About The Hill

An American biographical sports drama film about baseball player Rickey Hill overcoming a physical handicap in order to try out for a legendary major league scout.

The Hill hits theaters on August 25.

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Ava Lockwood

Ava, a film history enthusiast from Chicago, holds a degree in Film and Media Studies from Northwestern University. Her fascination with the Golden Age of Hollywood and her extensive research into the lives of iconic filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick inform her engaging articles on film history and analysis.