Saban returns to LSU days for movie

From The Shreveport Times.

HOOVER, Ala. - Alabama coach Nick Saban talked about the movies at the Southeastern Conference Media Days here at the Wynfrey Hotel.

Saban will portray himself when he was LSU's coach in 2004 and recruiting offensive tackle Michael Oher out of Memphis in the movie "The Blind Side," which will be released in November.

Asked if Alabama people will be upset by his return to purple and gold in the movie, Saban said, "I'm hopeful all of our fans will understand that the movie is an historical event. When this happened and it occurred, that was the part of history where I was."

Saban did say that his players are not interested in the film.

"Our team has already voted not to go see the movie," he said.

Oher, the subject of a book called "The Blind Side, Evolution of a Game" in 2006, chose Ole Miss over LSU and many other schools after Saban left to coach the Miami Dolphins. Oher was a first round pick in the NFL Draft this summer by the Baltimore Ravens. Saban's recruiting visit to Oher was a memorable part of the book and is recreated in the movie. Another scene has him in his office wearing LSU clothes with the 2001 SEC championship trophy.

Oher grew up poor and mostly void of any parental influence. He attended 11 schools in nine years before being brought in by a family in Memphis, and his life turned around.

"I think it's a great example to college football and college football players," Saban said. "I think it's a wonderful story. It's an historical event. It's no disrespect to anyone. We have special memories of the times and things we accomplished at LSU. Nothing that can ever happen is gong to change that. We have a tremendous amount of respect for our fans at the University of Alabama."

Saban said he learned an appreciation for the movie making process.

"It's not the takes that get you," he said. "It's the angles. You have to do seven takes because there has to be a wide angle. Then there has to be a close-up on every person."

Saban said director John Lee Hancock (The Rookie in 2002) let him have a say.

"The director was great," he said. "I would say, 'I wouldn't really say it that way. I would say it this way.' And he said, 'Say it however you wanted it.' That made it easier. I had a very small part."