Filmography
Robert Eisele’s movie career began with the production of his screenplay BREACH OF CONTRACT, starring Peter Coyote. Though his focus also turned to television, he’s remained active in feature films, writing screenplays for studios and independents. In 2004, Eisele’s rewrite (uncredited) of RAY, an Academy Award Best Picture nominee, launched the movie into production. RAY was followed by his screenplays for Denzel Washington’s award-winning film THE GREAT DEBATERS, a Golden Globe Best Picture nominee in 2008, and the inspirational HURRICANE SEASON starring Forest Whitaker, released a year later. LAST LIGHT, Eisele’s Showtime movie about death row, starring Kiefer Sutherland and Forest Whitaker, was a WGA Award-nominated screenplay. THE SENIOR, his football drama starring Michael Chiklis, will premiere in 2024. Eisele was executive producer of both THE SENIOR and LAST LIGHT. His screenplay 3: THE DALE EARNHARDT STORY starred Barry Pepper and Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons. Robert Eisele’s work has resonated with audiences worldwide. He continues to develop dynamic and emotional stories for theatrical distribution and streaming.
The Great Debaters
Robert Eisele began research for his screenplay, THE GREAT DEBATERS, after his friend Jeffrey Porro sent him an article about the 1930s debate team from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. The first Black team to debate white colleges in the Deep South, Wiley went on to an undefeated season and a victory over the national champions. THE GREAT DEBATERS chronicles this journey, focusing on Melvin Tolson, the brilliant but volatile professor who uses the power of words to shape his students into an elite debate team. Eisele and Porro collaborated on the story and began interviewing the few surviving debaters, among them the renowned civil rights leader, James Farmer Jr. Eisele then joined forces with Oprah Winfrey’s HARPO PRODUCTIONS and wrote the screenplay. Denzel Washington signed on to star and direct, casting fellow Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker in the role of James Farmer’s father. The film premiered on Christmas Day 2007 to critical acclaim, receiving a 2008 Best Picture nomination from the Golden Globes, among other honors.
The Senior
THE SENIOR tells the story of Mike Flynt, who played his senior year of college football at the age of 59. Michael Chiklis and Mary Stuart Masterson star in this story of a man who was kicked off his college team for beating up his teammate. Flynt never finished his senior year. 37 years later, when he goes to a team reunion as a 59 year-old and confesses his regrets to his teammates, they tell him to quit whining and try out for the team. After all, he has one year of eligibility left! So Mike goes for it and makes the team. But this movie isn’t about football. It’s about a man finally confronting the memory of his abusive father, as he struggles to become a better dad to his own adult son. THE SENIOR is RUDY for senior citizens, and a movie for all ages.
Hurricane Season
HURRICANE SEASON, written by Robert Eisele and directed by Tim Story, tells the tale of the New Orleans high school basketball team that survived Hurricane Katrina, and overcame personal tragedies to win the Louisiana State Title. Based on the true story of John Ehret High School’s state championship team, HURRICANE SEASON follows the journey of Al Collins (Forest Whitaker), the school’s basketball coach, as he gathers a squad of traumatized kids, all of them bitter rivals from different schools before the disaster. But Al, with the help of his wife (Taraji Henson), mends their hearts, molds them into a team and leads them to the state championship.
Last Light
Death row inmate Denver Bayliss (Kiefer Sutherland) gains an unlikely friend and confidant in Fred Whitmore (Forest Whitaker), a prison guard. But Whitmore’s life is a mess. He shuts out his wife, and can’t relate to his son. His friendship with Bayliss is also troubled, but as the inmate’s execution draws nearer, Whitmore clashes with his supervisor, Lt. McMannis (Clancy Brown), over his mistreatment of the condemned man. Whitmore grows closer to Bayliss, and the two men help each other heal the wounds of their traumatic pasts. LAST LIGHT was filmed at Soledad State Prison in Central California.
Ray
RAY, with an uncredited production rewrite by Robert Eisele, was released by Universal Pictures and nominated for an Academy Award as Best Picture. The movie won two Academy Awards, one for Jamie Foxx as Best Actor for his portrayal of the blind musical genius Ray Charles. In his director’s commentary, Taylor Hackford praises Eisele’s contribution to a screenplay that powerfully dramatizes thirty years of Ray’s life.
3: The Dale Earnhardt Story
Barry Pepper portrays legendary race car driver Dale Earnhardt, who died in 2001 during the last lap of the Daytona 500. Produced by ESPN, “3” explores Dale’s life from his working-class childhood in Kannapolis, North Carolina, to his rise to dominance as a NASCAR champion. Dale’s relationships with his father, played by J.K. Simmons, and his own son Dale Earnhardt Jr., are pivotal to the story of the man known as “the Intimidator,” whose fearless racing led to his tragic death.
