Media Quotes & Reviews
“Watson’s life reads like a Hollywood screen play.”
The Big Ten Network Television
“Tommy Watson is the most amazing man that I ever met in my life.”
Kare 11 - News (MN)
"Watson had guts... He had within himself the characteristics necessary to succeed.”
Denver Post Newspaper
“Watson is proof... You can persevere.”
St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
“He [Watson] is a reminder of what you can do to achieve seemingly impossible dreams.”
Omaha World Herald
Imagine growing up as kid and feeling invisible to the world for reasons you can't control. You are subjected to constant homelessness and humiliation. You don’t have the support of your drug-addicted parents, who have been arrested 121 times by the time you finish high school. You are moving nonstop in and out of locations not suited for most to live in, not knowing where your next meal will come from. You are constantly separated from your siblings. You are tormented in school due to a learning disability. All the while gang violence looms all around you. Where or what do you turn to for hope? How much of the madness can you take?
Imagine as a kid...
Tommy Watson grew up homeless in the Five Points neighborhood of Northeast Denver, CO, home to comedian Don Cheadle, actress Pam Grier, singer Philip Bailey of Earth Wind & Fire, rap group Tag Team (Whoop There It Is), NBA Hall of Famer, and billionaire, Robert F. Smith, an area of town filled with so much promise and yet so much pain.
Logline
Inspired by a true story, a young boy fights to overcome his parents' 121 arrest and homelessness by making it to the NFL and eventually becoming Dr. Tommy Watson in the process.
Movie has received IP permission from the NFL and the University of Minnesota for usage in the movie and advertising.
Resilient will shed a light on a DIFFERENT type of homelessness in America, distinguishing it from poverty, and serve as an inspiration for millions worldwide, instilling a sense of hope.
MOVIE BASED ON AWARD-WINNING BOOK
A FACE OF COURAGE
The Tommy Watson Story
HOW DID HE SURVIVE?
Award Winning Short Film Trailer
Major Roles
Tommy Watson (10/22)
Handsome, talented, charismatic, calculating. Burgeoning high school All-American football prodigy with NFL aspirations who yearns to escape the suffocating shadow of violence and homelessness hovering over his family. Tommy is hard-working and suspicious of everyone’s motives. He’s a D- student in class, but an honor roll student in school of hard knocks. He earns a scholarship to play BIG TEN football at the University of Minnesota, all the while battling dyslexia, homelessness, and deadly neighborhood violence. His resilience helps him escape from the slums of Five Point, but he still wears a big chip on his shoulder, an unchecked temper that explodes when he’s defied or challenged. He’s very guarded because of the constant betrayal he faces daily, but he uses it as fuel to go to college, get his Ph. D.
Mae Watson
(30/40)
Tommy’s drug-addicted mother who longs to do right, but can’t seem to. She has a lot of childhood pain that drives her to get high. Her and her mother, Grandma Louise, have an estranged relationship. There are dark secrets swirling around in the dark closets of Mae’s family. William is the love of her life and can’t get enough of him. She can’t see his influence has altered her life in a bad way. She’s his Bonnie and he’s her Clyde and there’s nothing anyone can say to make her think otherwise.
William Jones (30/40)
Tommy’s heroin-addicted father who's in and out of prison all his life. William can’t get over his failures in early life. Drugs are his way of coping with the rejection from his father. He vowed he’d never do to his family what his father did to his, but as the saying goes, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Grandma Louise
Tommy’s stern, wise, no-nonsense grandmother. She kept the children together and out of the foster care system by taking them in. Helped raised Tommy to be the man he is today. She is the affable, yet mysterious matriarch of the Watson family. But her Alzheimer’s is progressing quickly and her erratic episodes are happening more frequently. She’s had a hard life and Mae’s drug addiction is making it even harder for her. She feels guilty about Mae’s drug addiction and blames herself. She will do anything for her grand kids. That is her legacy.
Melony Watson
(14/22)
Tommy’s oldest sister. She raised the kids when their parents went to jail and fought to keep them together. Becomes a crack addict in her older years. From the age of nine, she was forced to be in charge due to her parents’ criminal activity. She sacrificed everything to become a mother before her time. She’s looking for stability and safety in her life, which led her to become a prostitute. Though she knows her behavior is wrong, she feels safe and protected by her pimp. She keeps tabs on Tommy though she left the house at 16. She could’ve been a doctor or a lawyer with her smarts, but life had another plan for her.
Martin Watson
(9/20)
Tommy’s little brother who’s always living in Tommy’s suffocating shadow. The only way he feels he can be seen and heard is to delve into the criminal side of life. He joins a gang and starts stealing and fighting which lands him in prison. His life begins to go down from there until Tommy comes to his rescue and cleans him up and puts him back on the right track. But the ‘ghetto fabulous’ life calls to him again. This time with dire consequences.
Ms. Jordan
(9/20)
Tommy’s gold-hearted financial aid advisor who goes out of her way to ensure Tommy makes it through school financially. She loves her job and helping those without resources. She will stop at nothing to see Tommy walk across that stage with his degree in-hand.
Coach Pete
Tommy’s mentor/football coach at Five Points High. He grew up in the streets of Five Points. He understands the plight and struggles of the Tommy, as he has as secret to reveal to him. He wants all of his players to become successful not just on the field but in life, not just at Five Points High. He sees something special in Tommy and pushes Tommy to work hard and be somebody.
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"Being Resilient doesn’t mean that you always win...but it does mean you never lose!!! Why? Because the foundation of resilience is having HOPE."
~ Dr. Tommy Watson
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