Director Kevin Willmott Discusses The Film 'Jayhawkers'

Kevin Willmott’s film Jayhawkers follows the career of Wilt Chamberlain playing for the Kansas Jayhawks.

In the film Jayhawkers, Director Kevin Willmott explores the recruitment and college career of Wilt Chamberlain for the Kansas Jayhawks, as well as the social and racial culture in Lawrence in the 1950s. Willmot, along with his co-writer and co-producer Scott Richardson, graciously sat down and discussed the many aspects of making the film.

Willmott, a Kansas native from Junction City, was influenced at a young age by a fellow Kansan, Gordon Parks. He majored in Drama at Marymount College in Salina, Kansas, before studying at NYU’s film school.

He returned to Kansas to make the movie Ninth Street, and a connection formed at that time with the city that led to his eventually accepting a position as a professor at the University of Kansas.

The inspiration for “Jayhawkers” formed originally in 1998, when Wilt Chamberlain returned to Lawrence for only the second time in forty years and received an overwhelming welcome by Jayhawks fans. It took a few years for that idea to evolve into the movie “Jayhawkers”.

Willmott and Richardson, as independent filmmakers, are undaunted by things like budget restrictions.

"What we’ve done is embraced our limitations…You have to come up with creative solutions to kind of respond to that [small budget]. I found that kind of rewarding, kind of fun…There are rewards that you get from the low budgets, too. One of the biggest rewards is that we are not having to respond to people. We can do it our way."

One of those things that turned out to be “our way” is a key aspect to Jayhawkers. The movie is filmed in black and white, setting a definite tone, while serving as a practical use as well.

"No one would let you do a movie in black and white in Hollywood….I love black and white. I like the idea of a sports film in black and white. Black and white helps out on so many levels. Black and white makes people think of the past."

Richardson and Willmott liked the look of old photographs of Chamberlain taken of the star by Rich Clarkson, who was a photographer for the Topeka Capitol Journal at the time. These photos featured Chamberlain and other players with the crowd (background) deep in the shadows or blacked out completely.

They embraced that look for the scenes on the basketball court, and it helps set the mood of the film in a very nice way.

This film gives the viewer some nice insight as to why Chamberlain was reticent to return to Lawrence.

"We kind of hoped that moment…that the movie kind of explains that [Chamberlain’s reasons for staying away]…It gives it a reality that I don’t think people fully understood before……There was a lot of speculation about it…Was it about race? Was it about losing the game [NCAA Championship game]? I think it was about both in a lot of ways."

There was always huge pressure on Chamberlain to win while at Kansas. He was maybe the first-ever superstar basketball player, even before he arrived on campus. His size, skill level, and athleticism were very unique.

“Jayhawkers” does a great job of portraying this pressure to win a championship for the school that was heaped on Chamberlain. As viewers, we feel his pain for failing to meet those expectations, and that this may have been the primary reason he left Kansas a year early, in an era when this wasn’t done like it is today.

The film also deals with some of the segregation issues in Lawrence that he had not experienced in his hometown of Philadelphia to a great extent. While Lawrence didn’t have the level of Jim Crow segregation that this country saw in the south, there was still plenty of it around in the 1950s in the Midwest. This was a full decade after Jackie Robinson first played in the major leagues, and a few years before the Civil Rights movement hit its full stride.

"Segregation in this area was kind of a unique situation. Segregation [in Lawrence] was, as my mother used to call it, “nice nasty”. It wasn’t a mean segregation, like down south….They [in the south] had black or colored signs on the bathrooms. You just kind of knew you didn’t go in there.[In Lawrence] There were signs like “Colored Served In Sacks” in restaurants on Mass Street. You knew that you have to get it to go. You could go in the restaurant and order. You just couldn’t stay and eat it in the restaurant."

Willmot and Richardson deal with the racism issues through the eyes of jazz musician Nathan Davis, a friend of Chamberlain’s. While business owners could be convinced to look the other way in Chamberlain’s case, because of his celebrity status, things didn’t change much for Davis and other African-Americans in Lawrence.

"It was kind of an invisible segregation. White people didn’t see it. It is one of those things that make the 50’s a unique time, especially in the Midwest, because white people are with black people, but not really. They are really having two different experiences in the same place."

One underlying thread in the film, one currently relevant in today’s world of college athletics was how Wilt Chamberlain was recruited. The film hinted that Dr. Phog Allen did what was necessary to get Chamberlain on campus but no one really knows what those things might have been.

Richardson was quick to point out that the press conference shown in Jayhawkers was true and that Allen is quoted faithfully. Including when Allen says,

"Sure, we did everything we could to get him here."

The movie touches briefly on a federal investigation into his recruitment, but that investigation led nowhere at the time. No one really knows if Chamberlain came to Kansas just because he really wanted to play for Phog Allen, or if there were some shenanigans involved.

This small storyline just added to the overall narrative of Chamberlain’s time in Lawrence. Willmott and Richardson are skilled storytellers, and their experience shows in how they hint at the possibility of some actions that may not have been overboard, without bogging down the story.

Willmott has worked with true professionals in his career like Martin Sheen, James McDaniel, Jay Karnes, and Wes Studi. He also works with many amateur actors, like Justin Wesley, who portrays Wilt Chamberlain in Jayhawkers.

Wilmott enjoys working with the non-professionals and he and Richardson try to write, knowing many of the roles won’t be filled by professional actors.

"We write with people in mind, a lot of times. We knew, with Justin [Wesley], for instance, we wouldn’t be using a professional actor…The first part is the writing itself. We didn’t want Wilt’s character to carry the film. In terms of working with the actor, with professional actors, it is kind of easy……With someone that is not a pro, you have to give them acting lessons along the way. You always hope you cast someone with a natural feeling for the part. You don’t try to make choices you don’t think they [amateur actors] can pull off…I really enjoy that part of it. It’s when you really get to direct, when you get to learn a little bit…I’ve always enjoyed that part of it."

Willmott was very happy with the job Wesley did portraying Chamberlain, with his reactions, with his research for the part, and his willingness to be in the role. Willmott felt Wesley brought a “real, honest kind of presence” to the role.

“Jayhawkers” is an interesting sports story, not just for Kansas fans, but for basketball fans in general. It deals with some social and racial issues that had not yet come into focus nationally at the time.

It also tells the story of one of this country’s most storied athletes, and how he became the first star collegiate player to turn pro (Chamberlain left Kansas to play a year for the Harlem Globetrotters). Today, this is a common occurrence, but in the 1950s, it was unheard of.

Director Kevin Willmott Discusses The Film ‘Jayhawkers’

By Joel Wagler | Dec 10, 2014

Kevin Willmott’s film Jayhawkers follows the career of Wilt Chamberlain playing for the Kansas Jayhawks.