Hollywood Heavyweights, Including Local Favorite Luke Wilson, Are Headed to Fort Worth For Lone Star Film Festival

The Lone Star Film Festival Gala will bring true Hollywood heavyweights to Fort Worth for its annual fete, which is set for Friday, November 10 at the Hotel Drover. Four movie making and music luminaries will receive awards. Among them are two with deep local roots ― actor Luke Wilson, who hails from Dallas, and producer Marty Bowen, who considers Fort Worth home.

Luke Wilson is getting the Bill Paxton Achievement in Film Award. This award is named after Lone Star Film Festival co-founder and Fort Worth native and actor Bill Paxton. Past honorees have included Taylor Sheridan, LaMonica Garrett, Channing Godfrey Peoples, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater.

Wilson’s movie credits include cult classics like Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. He also starred in 12 Mighty Orphans, which was not only filmed in Fort Worth but also premiered in Cowtown in 2021. Wilson portrayed football coach Rusty Russell in that movie.

Now, Luke Wilson is taking on another heartwarming Fort Worth tale in the upcoming You Gotta Believe.

It’s the true story of Fort Worth’s 2002 Westside Little League team that captured the hearts of the nation. The team which dedicated its season to the dying father of one of its players, propelled itself to the Little League World Series semifinals before losing an epic game. Luke Wilson plays the role of the dying father, assistant coach Bobby Ratliff. Ratliff died from terminal cancer a few months after the World Series run. The Westside All-Stars would serve as the pallbearers at his funeral. 

Wilson’s co-stars in You Gotta Believe include Sarah Gadon, Greg Kinnear and Molly Parker. It comes from the same writing, directing and producing team behind 12 Mighty Orphans ― Lane Garrison, Houston Hill and Ty Robertson of the Austin-based Santa Rita Film Co.

Fort  Worth’s Own TV and Movie Guy

Television and film producer Marty Bowen, who is very Fort Worth proud, will also receive The Visionary Award at the Lone Star Film Festival Gala.

Throughout his career, Bowen has served as a producer and an executive producer on dozens of films and television series through his company Temple Hill Entertainment, which he founded with his friend Wyck Godfrey in 2006. You’ve probably heard of more than a few of them. Bowen’s company is behind The Twilight Saga movie series, First Man, Safe Haven, The Fault in Our Stars and the Maze Runner trilogy.

Bowen tells PaperCity Fort Worth that his family traveled extensively during his childhood (living in cosmopolitan locales like London, Tokyo and Karachi), before landing in Fort Worth when he was in seventh grade. His father who turns 80 this year, was in international finance and will be in attendance at this year’s gala awards ceremony.

Marty Bowen graduated from Arlington Heights High School (at the same time as this writer) before attending Harvard.

“You can spend your whole life building a resume to get to your dream job,” Bowen says. “So when I graduated without a real job offer — and in a downward economy ― I knew it was the perfect opportunity to take a chance at my dream in Hollywood. I only planned to stay for a year, and have never left.”

Bowen says he started at a talent agency to learn the business. When he decided to transition into producing, Bowen gave himself a five year window to either succeed or move home to Fort Worth. It didn’t take that long.

“I wanted to be in business ― selling a product. And, I always found myself drawn to the arts,” he tells PaperCity Fort Worth. “I love to laugh and cry and get scared. . . the human experience. Now I get to make and tell those stories.”

While Marty Bowen’s lived in Los Angeles for more than 30 years, (where he and his wife are raising their three children) Bowen says when he’s asked where he’s from he always claims Texas.

“I consider Fort Worth to be my home,” he says.

More Star Power

The Lone Star Film Festival awards won’t end with Wilson and Bowen, though. Texas singer/songwriter Charley Crockett will be the recipient of the Stephen Bruton Award. Crockett comes from the tiny Gulf Coast town of San Benito near Harlingen and his music is pure Texas. Crockett’s album The Man From Waco claimed the No. 2 spot on Rolling Stone’s list of the Best Country and Americana Albums Of 2022.

Crockett is joining the ranks of some legendary talent. Past Stephen Bruton Award recipients include Ryan Bingham, Michael Martin Murphey, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Lyle Lovett, Ray Benson, Betty Buckley, T Bone Burnett, Waylon Payne, Terry Allen, Pat Green and Clint Black.

Finally, 101 Studios CEO David Glasser will be awarded The Pioneer Award for bringing many successful movie projects to Fort Worth. Working alongside Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, Glasser brought many record-breaking shows to life, including some that were shot in and around Fort Worth in recent years. These include 1883: A Yellowstone Origin Story and Lawman: Bass Reeves which is set to premiere on November 5.

Individual seats to The Lone Star Film Festival gala are available for $750 each with tables starting at $12,500. Proceeds of all sales will go to the Johnny Langdon Film Education Initiative, which provides film education programs for adults and high school students interested in the art of cinema.