A feature film · In development
City of Champions
A Coach James Reynolds Jr. Story
Detroit · 1989
Based on true events
Detroit · Michigan · 1989
A true story
A feature film · In development
Logline
Against the chaos of 1989 Detroit, one coach, one team, and one season defy the odds — proving that greatness isn't given. It's earned.
The story
A city on the edge. Factories closing, drugs spreading, dreams fading. Inside Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School, James Reynolds Jr. has spent fifteen years building something that isn't a football program.
No-nonsense, deeply compassionate, a former college athlete who came to Detroit and stayed. His locker room is a sanctuary, where discipline, respect, and brotherhood outweigh touchdowns and trophies.
King draws Birmingham Brother Rice — the powerhouse, the program with everything his boys have been told they'll never have. They aren't playing for a playoff spot. They're playing for respect.
At the half, Coach speaks. What he says in that room is the hinge the entire film turns on.
They walk back out and make history as the first Detroit Public School League team to reach the state championship. Through setbacks, personal loss, and moments of triumph, the season becomes a movement.
It is more than a sports story. It's a testament to how leadership and love can change lives, shape generations, and remind a city what it means to win.
Reference frame · King Crusaders
Principals
A towering figure with a gentle soul. A former college athlete turned high school coach, committed to developing his players' potential in football and in life. The winningest high school football coach in Michigan history.
James's wife, and the backbone of the Reynolds family. The cost of what he gives the team is paid at home, and she is the one who sees the whole ledger.
Two of Reynolds's players, embodying the diverse paths of success his mentorship opened. The film's proof that the record was never the point.
Teammate and pivotal influence in Reynolds's move to Detroit — the decision that set the entire legendary coaching career in motion.
A rival coach who becomes a friend and admirer. The measure of the respect Reynolds earned from the people trying to beat him.
The greatest victories were never written on the scoreboard. They were written in the people he led.
Where it sits
True-story, coach-led ensembles with a city or a community as the second protagonist — a category that has repeatedly found both theatrical and long-tail streaming audiences.
The build
Four steps, in order. Each one funds and de-risks the next, and each one stands on its own as a finished film. By the time the feature is financed, the story has already been proven on screen twice.
A short cinematic trailer shot on Detroit locations, with family interviews. The instrument that opens doors with funders, grantmakers, and sponsors.
Raising now“24 Minutes.” A polished short built around the halftime and the deciding game, made for private screenings, festivals, and distributor rooms.
NextThe feature-length film, with a docuseries as the expanded path. Rare footage, the men he coached, and the city that made them.
In developmentThe scripted film, developed in parallel so the story arrives fully proven. Casting through a reputable casting director, on real quotes.
PackagingOpen items
Contact
For life rights, investment, distribution, or archive access — or if you played for him and want the film to get it right.