Andie MacDowell Video Interview On ‘The 5th Quarter,’ ‘Footloose’ [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

It’s a beautiful story. It’s a true life story about an incredible family that goes through great loss but also has amazing courage. And portraying Maryanne Abbate was just a great experience. They were there the whole time watching us, so that was also really interesting. So, it’s a family full of love that loses a child, that never should have happened, and they’re coping with that loss and the courage that they have to go on. And it’s also about, you know, the son and football and the community at whole. And how people supported them.

Boy, they’re irresistible. They’re just an irresistible family. You can’t help but love them. They are a very close knit family. They loved Luke so much. It was just really apparent. They were also huge football fans. Luke was a great football player as well and had great potential until he died in a car accident. His brother John lost interest in playing football when he was at Wake Forest after the death. You see what happens after the death. The inspiration comes back. The coach inspires him to play. The family pulls together. The football, going to the football again, really encouraging John. He changes his number to the number 5, like Luke used to wear. They start holding up their hands to signal, “remember Luke?” in the beginning. And as the season goes on Wake Forest starts going into over time, which they started calling the 5th quarter, and winning the game. And it was a huge, successful year for them. And when we went to shoot because we had one day to shoot at Wake Forest and we shot at a real football game and it went into the 5th quarter and they won. It was just uncanny. It was unbelievable, and I was sitting next to the Abbates, and I just looked over at them, and they just went like that [arm motions “what?”] because that was the way they had lived that whole year, that whole season had been like that.

I don’t think you can come from the South and not be a football fan. I don’t think that’s possible. Yeah, I love football. I love the sound of football. I love eating nachos. And having the football, I just like hearing the football game on and eating, and pretending I’m watching the football game, unless it starts to get really interesting. One really important aspect of this film is the fact that Luke was able to save five lives. And someone has his heart. And this person, he’s saved all these people’s lives, so it also is encouraging to be an organ donor, which I am an organ donor. But Luke had just gotten his drivers license, so they had to make that decision to respect his wishes.

Just a great experience. I think it’s gonna be a really big hit. They can both dance. The director had amazing energy. It’s gonna be very updated. And it’s interesting because I think, you know, it’s a beautiful story, and the original is a classic. But I think this is going to also be a classic. They were very respectful of the original. And the storyline still works. It really works. I mean, the idea that in a small town the fear of losing a child could spiral out of control until you started trying to control the kids. It still works. It could happen now, and it’s gonna be much more modern. I don’t dance. No, I’m the preacher’s wife who realizes that they need to dance, though.