Dennis Quaid's Inspirational Baseball Movie 'The Hill' Sets August Release in Theaters

By Brian Jones

Dennis Quaid will be featured in a new baseball movie that will be released next month. The 69-year-old actor is starring in The Hill, and the movie will debut in theatres on Aug. 25. The Hill tells the story of a baseball player named Rickey Hill who has to battle various physical challenges, specifically a degenerative spinal disease. Quaid plays Rickey's father, a pastor who is against his son playing baseball despite how talented he is. The Hill is distributed by Briarcliff Entertainment and directed by Jeff Celentano. Colin Ford stars as Rickey, and the rest of the cast includes Randy Houser, Scott Glenn, Joelle Carter, and Bonnie Bedelia. 

When talking about the film, Celentano explained how he landed Quaid. "A few years previous to the actual start of the film, I had cast Dennis Quaid all the way down to signing his contract," Celentano said. "I felt there was no better actor to portray the strength, vulnerability and sweetness of Rickey's father, Pastor James Hill. Dennis had all the traits the character needed."

Celentano continued: "After Dennis read the script, he couldn't believe what Rickey had done and what he achieved, Dennis asked me if the story was real. I assured him it was and well-documented. He loved the story and believed in the film, just as I did. He told me years before when production happened to fall apart that he would be on this film for life. He said to me, 'Just try to find a window of time in my schedule, and I'll do the picture.' So we found a date to start when Dennis was available, and began pre-production in October 2021."

The story takes place in Texas, but the filming took place in Augusta, Georgia. "We wanted to film somewhere that had an old 1960s and '70s look and feel," Celentano explained. "I wanted that Spielberg-esque, small-town rural feel, with a southern twang to it. Warren [Ostergard] had shot in Augusta previously, and when I studied photos and scouted Augusta, it became clear Georgia was the perfect location. Once we were green-lit, we set up offices in Augusta, and proceeded to start shooting." 

Quaid is no stranger to baseball movies. In 2002, the SAG and Emmy Award nominee played former MLB pitcher Jim Morris in The Rookie, and the film made over $80 million at the box office. 

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