Fans wondering about Adam Sandler-owned Happy Madison Production’s next project are in for a treat. Netflix’s set of new releases has proved to be a delight for the fans. Home Team premiered on 28th January on the streaming platform. Significantly, this movie will mark the tenth collaboration between Happy Madison Productions and Netflix. The new sports comedy has a fun-filled cast, starring Kevin James. The movie is based on the aftermath of New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton’s suspension. Let’s dive deep into how this film came into production.

A coach’s suspension to a Sean Payton movie

The movie Home Team is based on the Saints’ ex-football coach, Sean Payton. The film’s premise is based on how significant it was for the famous coach’s worthwhile experience of coaching his son, Connor’s sixth-grade football team. Meanwhile, the movie’s lead, Kevin James, in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, “He said it was the greatest season of coaching in his career — and he won a Super Bowl,” said the 56-year-old actor. Here’s an interview of the same:

Chiefly, the idea of the movie came into existence after coming across a story of that sixth-grade team on the NFL network by none other than Payton’s daughter, Meghan. The idea got picked up by Adam Sandler after one of his writers, Christopher Titone, texted a video of the NFL story. Well, now let’s understand the connections in this sequence of the article. Titone is Meghan Payton’s longtime boyfriend and Adam’s brother-in-law. Moreover, Titone has worked for Happy Madison Productions for well over a decade. Adam’s response to Titone’s idea was, “Write that movie.”

Their principal aim was to produce a wholehearted family movie with comedy that Adam and Kevin are best known for. Furthermore, the cast of the movies includes Adam’s wife, Jackie (Titone’s sister) who plays the ex-wife of Payton while James, who portrays Payton, talks about how difficult it was for him to mimic the coach’s mannerisms. The reason being Payton’s upbringing in various places makes his accent hard to enact.

Creator and Cast’s views on the movie’s production

The views of the writer of the movie, Titone, and the lead, Kevin, on the movie’s casting are quite hysterical. Let’s check out some of their quotes. Regarding the enactment of Payton, Kevin would ask for pointers from Titone, “Kevin would come to me, ‘Would he stand like this? Would he say this? Do this?’” said Titone.

While Payton’s view on James’s casting was quite nonchalant, James had a hilarious take on Payton’s reaction. “Think of that, that’s probably the greatest news; that you hear somebody’s making a movie about your life,” James said. “And he says, ‘Who’s playing me? Is it Matt Damon or [Leonardo] DiCaprio?’ And you go, ‘Hold on, no, no, it’s none of those guys. It’s Kevin James.’ “And then you just kind of go, ‘OK, I gotta rethink my life.’” exclaimed the actor playing Payton. James while talking to Netflix about his new film, “It was just what I was looking to do: a fun family sports movie that tells a great story,” said the Home Team actor.

Home Team is a fun-filled carnival of comedy and heartfelt emotions. The family film is certain to pique your interest while tickling your ribs.