“The Express” will wrap June 19 after two months of shooting at preserved period locations and classic outdoor stadiums that sold Universal Pictures on filming the 1960s story about college football hero Ernie Davis here.
“Chicago had everything we needed. It’s never easy to find good period locations,” said executive producer Derek Dauchy.
“The Express” stars Dennis Quaid as coach Ben Schwartzwalder and Rob Brown as Davis, the first African American winner of the Heisman Trophy.
Directed by Gary Fleder, the biopic chronicles Davis’ life from 1949-1962, from his ascent from a childhood spent in impoverished Pennsylvania coal-mining country to his NFL draft shortly before leukemia aborted his professional career.
Finding perfect locations was crucial to telling this compelling, half century-old story.
Initial locating scouting began last winter, starting in the East, said Dauchy, “but so many stadiums across the U.S. have been upgraded.
