The two met at secret locations, including the upper level of the Valley Plaza mall parking garage, to discuss drug business, according to the indictment. Kevin Costner stars in Disney's McFarland, USA, a moving film based on an inspirational true story of underdogs triumphing over tremendous obstacles. Mara pleaded guilty to related charges in June and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 17. ", "That was Hollywood," Valles said. Soon enough, White is connecting with his young charges, particularly a gifted athlete named Thomas (Carlos Pratts), and the squad set their sights on a state championship.. 1987. Thanks, Heres a timeline. While still being interviewed, Valles said he noticed his teammates hugging and crying. I guarantee I wouldn't have missed. "We couldn't go out there and run those things," White said. They were requested by People Magazine. I dont know if it changed everybody else, but it changed me.. I wish it had told a little more about the truth of Blanco and who he was and why he was there. Yes. Julie and Jami are also portrayed relatively younger than their real ages at the time of McFarland's first state title win in 1987 (all three were in college during that time). Youre just thinking about your life or whatever is going on around you at the time., Puentes former McFarland cross country teammate Danny Diaz recently .css-1hr08dr{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.125rem;text-decoration-color:#59E7ED;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-1hr08dr:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}told 23ABC News, He made some bad choices and hes the first to tell you, You know what? Good men and woman can make a huge difference in the lives of others. You dont feel your feet hitting the [ground] anymore, you dont feel that youre out of breath. He also allegedly filed false federal tax returns. Despite the group's insistence that Julie was protected, Jim questions his family's safety in McFarland and interviews for a full-time position at Palo Alto that he was previously offered, upsetting Julie and Thomas. McFarland, USA (2015) Starring Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Carlos Pratts, Hector Duran It's not a documentary. Without Mrs. White, I dont think any of this would have happened. He retired in 2003 after 23 years of coaching boys cross country. Slowly we became better and better at it, Puentes says. Public speaker. BY JOHN HARTE For the Californian. They're not going to let kids run all over them. She's the one girl that changes his mind and he wants to date her. On one occasion, Mrs. Diaz made 200 dozen tamales to send the team to Asia. He was like a second dad, Puentes says. He remains on paid leave. I was lucky enough to get one of the best looking guyshes the best looking guy of all of them, so Im proud that he played me, Puentes says. White is first put as assistant football coach, but ultimately loses his coaching status when he pulls an injured player, Johnny Sameniego, out of a game, causing the crass Head Coach Jenks to ask him to step down. The actor rode the pink bike, not the coach. 1. That made us work harder. In the least, such scenes seem to have been exaggerated by the filmmakers. Coach White took the orders and delivered them. Wagner said he doesnt believe anyone was physically harmed by Diazs actions, but what he did put lives at risk. Its not about me, its not about the other runners. In actuality, Thomas was the number one runner for the 1987 State Championship Cross Country team for McFarland. He was happy, however, to have Sergio Avelar, a former McFarland High School cross country runner himself, play him. Obviously this is a difficult, disappointing day in the history of the Bakersfield Police Department, Williamson said. went on to college. I screwed up.. children ran for Jim White and all seven We're still here hopefully trying to make a positive difference in our communities.". He was there to attend the world premiere of Disney's "McFarland, USA, " which chronicled the 1987 McFarland High School cross-country team, on which Diaz and two of his brothers competed. He also allegedly filed false federal tax returns. To save the earth and its humanity. Samaniego was 17th, Puentes 26th, Cardenas 37th, Damacio Diaz 43rd and Danny Diaz was 85th. I didn't do that until I met the Whites. "Thomas didn't have anger management and Danny wasn't fat," White said when asked about inaccuracies in the film. Youre just thinking about your life or whatever is going on around you at the time., Puentes former McFarland cross country teammate Danny Diaz recently told 23ABC News, He made some bad choices and hes the first to tell you, You know what? Jim White, Coach Behind McFarland Movie: Its a Running Town Now, .css-1ck2l7d{display:block;font-family:Sailec,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-1ck2l7d:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1.2rem;line-height:1.4;}}.css-1ck2l7d h2 span:hover{color:#CDCDCD;}The Tunnel Is a 200-Mile Race Through Darkness, Usain Bolt Mysteriously Loses Millions of Dollars, Fall Causes Chaos at the Valencia 10K Start, Theres No Way NFL Players Are Faster Than Bolt, Boston Bomber Attorney Asks to Toss Death Penalty, Colleges Drop Body Composition Testing for Runners, He Ran the Length of the Toronto Subway System, Polish Runner Sets Womens 12-Hour World Record, B.A.A. "We're going to go out and try to win the state title.". 5, was not in the picture. I didn't want to go home," says Thomas. This California farm kingdom holds a key, Six people, including mother and baby, killed in Tulare County; drug cartel suspected, These are the 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles, New Bay Area maps show hidden flood risk from sea level rise and groundwater, Storm sets new L.A. rain records. Well, yeah, that happened. Similarly, White took both teams to the California coast beach at. "[13] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 60 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". At times, Diaz purchased meth from Magallanes for personal use, the indictment states. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A look at the real McFarland USA kids and coach JimWhite, You can't have my job, but I'll tell you a story, Show the world what has happened to my son. 1. We were her sons, Puentes says. She writes narrative pieces with a strong emphasis on the Latino community and others that make up the diversity of L.A. and California. The site's critical consensus reads, "Disney's inspirational sports drama formula might be old hat, but McFarland, USA proves it still works especially with a talented director and eminently likable star in the mix. According to the indictment, Magallanes paid Diaz to tip him off to law enforcement investigations and in general to protect him from arrest and prosecution. Both Valles and White said the movie producers preferred the idea of three Diaz brothers on the team rather than just two. From left: Johnny Samaniego, David Diaz, Damacio Diaz, Jim White, Kevin Costner, Thomas Valles, Daniel Diaz and Victor Puentes will appear in McFarland, which began production this week. "But we'd try to run in the shade in the almonds," he said. I walk with my head up high. They're men of color. It took all of us to make thisevery runner who won a state championship from McFarland made this happen, not just myself or the seven runners. Like in the movie, Thomas Valles went to an overpass above Highway 99 one night after his parents got into a horrible fight. Oct. 5, 2016 7:45 AM PT A former Bakersfield Police Department detective and member of the famed McFarland High School cross-country team depicted in the Disney film "McFarland, USA" was. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Durning the season, the boys are not supposed to play basketball. Low 39F. I give my thanks to her because shes the foundation of [that] home and she opened her doors to every single runner that we. [4] The film also stars Maria Bello and Morgan Saylor. We grew up not having a whole lot, every single person on our team. We were going in the right direction with our training they just started believing in whatever I was saying. Were part of his life, Puentes says. White. He later taught woodshop and physical education. it's not all true but he's okay with that. But then it was nervous time. [12], Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter gave a positive review, writing that "While the beats of the story are often stock, the picture benefits from sensitive direction by New Zealander Niki Caro and from a most appealing performance by Kevin Costner. When Im not at work I enjoy visiting my family who still live in Powell County, going to the movies, reading books and graphic novels and playing games of all kinds. The principal shook his head. Mainly clear. ', "Thomas was at our house almost every day.". For Victor Puentes, one of the subjects of the Disney film McFarland, USA, life has not exactly followed a Hollywood storyline. "You try to offer them the same thing we offered our girls," White said. At first, it is just a temporary pla McFarland, USA | Preferences and Imagines. William Broyles Jr. was hired to write the screenplay for the film, which was in development since 2004. All seven Diaz children went to college and all seven returned to McFarland where they live today. Click through our Amazon affiliate program at http://www.amazon.com//ref=as_sl_pd_tf_lc?\u0026tag=aftcom-20\u0026camp=15345\u0026creative=493161\u0026linkCode=ur1\u0026adid=1DB5P6Z81DTMQXSNPN4T\u0026\u0026ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Frcm.amazon.com%2Fe%2Fcm%3Ft%3Daftcom-20%26o%3D1%26p%3D9%26l%3Dur1%26category%3Dhome%26banner%3D1GKQW904419X3K3XEKR2%26f%3Difr It was a great honor to win that first one.". Diaz disclosed the names of criminal informants to Magallanes so the dealer would not conduct business with them and become a target of law enforcement. Jim White is to Thomas' right and Gary Adams is to White's right. Unlike many of his former teammates, Puentes no longer runs, but he misses it. experience coaching the team. He takes full responsibility for that now. Education, law enforcement, business owners. It made me rethink the choices that Ive made in the past, because I had a bad past. Yes, the nickname the boys gave him, as depicted in the film, was real. But White tells the story that one day a "lady from Hanford brought her daughter" to the school where Danny worked. He also attended the films premiere in Los Angeles with his daughters and wife earlier this month. Some of the more notable differences included:[8]. Privacy Policy If you need Internet, this is your call to action! Jose Cardenas, McFarland's expected No. He took care of us, he fed us, he clothed us. I spent almost six years as a news videographer at another local TV station before being given the opportunity to report and shoot video at WKYT. Enterprise. Hey were in a Gifted class and were doing a Documentary in National History Day and wed like to interview you for a primary source for McFarland, USA. On occasion, he said, the boys would have to work in the fields on a Saturday morning before going off to a meet that afternoon. However, I believe the Diaz family did go 2 court & the school paid them an undisclosed amount. In McFarland, USA, Jim White (Kevin Costner) takes a job as the physical education teacher at a . "He just had high expectations of us. She knew that some of us needed a little bit more. Im from McFarland and Im proud to be from McFarland.. Valles explained that White had observed him going for a six-mile jog-walk record "trying to be the top guy. They asked me if I was happy with my place. Our family has watched it three nights in a row. But Diaz believes Puentes has the tools to turn his life around. Create an account. When you run long distance, you just lose yourself. After that, the Cougars were the easy favorites to win the first small schools division (D-III) State Meet title. I know bcuz Mr. Gonzalez had come 2 my office 2 bring in his work insurance, which his insurance didnt pay much. Menu. What did Coach White throw at the football player inside the He took us to church once in a while. After sentencing, Diaz spoke with reporters outside the federal courthouse in Fresno. White sees the athletic The whole team. Overall, McFarland, USA is a PG-rated movie with an uplifting, inspirational message. There was alcohol or drug abuse in their homes. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. "[16] A. O. Scott of The New York Times described the film favorably as "a slick and safe Disney version of a fascinating and complicated reality", and that "Mr. Costner, with his knack for grumpy understatement, manages both to dominate the film and to deflect attention from himself. To date her every single person on our team, you dont feel that youre out of breath her. 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