When Baton Rouge’s Dunham Tigers took on the St. Charles Catholic Comets at the Superdome in the Select Division III state championship game Friday, a film crew was on hand to capture some of the action for a scripted feature, the writer/director says.
The Mascot is a coming-of-age sports comedy about a blue-chip high school quarterback who loses his LSU scholarship and becomes Mike the Tiger instead. Matthew Perkins and his small crew already have shot b-roll footage at LSU home games against Tennessee and Alabama.
The movie’s opening scene takes place at the state championship game, Perkins explains, so this month’s shooting is meant to provide additional authenticity. Both Dunham and St. Charles will be identified by name, he adds.
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“It’s hard to re-create the electricity of a real, live event,” Perkins says.
Casey Cott, best known for his role in The CW Network’s Riverdale, is set to star. While Cott obviously will not be involved in championship game, his character will be a Dunham Tiger in the film.
“I was keeping [his high school] fluid to see which teams made it all the way,” he says. “Dunham made it all the way, and it’s an organic fit to the story.”
Asked whether it would matter to his story which team won, Perkins hints that a particular outcome would align better with the script, but he doesn’t want to spoil that plot point.
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Perkins plans to begin shooting the scripted work at LSU’s campus next year. William Morris Endeavor, a major talent agency, is representing the film, and Perkins hopes to secure distribution for a theatrical run before a home release through a streaming service.
St. Charles Catholic defeated Dunham 32-28, according to WBRZ.
This story originally appeared in a Dec. 9 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.