Charlie Minn's 'The 13th Man' begins one-week run in Bryan on Friday

During Tuesday's edition of TexAgs Live, director Charlie Minn joined to speak about his film "The 13th Man," a documentary honoring the 12 fallen Aggies killed in the 1999 Bonfire collapse. "The 13th Man" begins a one-week run at Premiere Cinemas in Bryan on Friday.

Visit The13thManFilm.com to learn more and purchase DVD copies of the film
 

Key notes from Charlie Minn interview

• Oliver Stone was my inspiration. He was my everything. With the film “Midnight Express” in 1978, he won an Oscar. That was the film that inspired me to be a filmmaker. He was only 32 years old and won his first Oscar and won one or two since then.
   
• We're on the edge of the 25th anniversary of the 1999 Bonfire collapse, so that's why there will be a re-release of “The 13th Man.” I was inspired by Jerry Ebanks. He was the father of Michael Ebanks, who was one of the victims of the bonfire collapse. Jerry passed away a year ago and was probably my biggest supporter of this film. He spoke so valiantly of this movie, and I'm really here for him and, obviously, the 12 fallen Aggies and all others who have been affected by this.
   
• I was based in El Paso for 11 years. I have made 45 movies. I would visit A&M a lot because my films would play in Bryan in the Premiere Cinemas. Many students encouraged me to look into the Bonfire collapse because no one had done a documentary about it.
   
• The film is a clean sweep of that day. It's called “The 13th Man” because John Comstock was the 13th man. A&M said that he died when he didn't, which is why he is the 13th man.
   
• Comstock was pinned for seven and a half hours underneath the logs. He lost a leg. He talked with the first responders and would keep asking them, "How much longer?" Someone said, "We need another hour." He said, "I'll give you another hour." That's how poignant this is. It's a very emotional look at what happened.
   
• For more information people can go to www.the13thmanfilm.com.
   
• I remember showing highlights of Bucky Richardson when I was a sportscaster in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I didn't know much about A&M. I knew college football was huge.
   
• The A&M and Bryan-College Station community is amazing. Comstock was a key cog that day because he referred me to other people on the scene and family members. The movie is a tight 1:48 movie. I'm very happy with it and proud that I made this film. I think that every Aggie should watch this film, and I'm not just saying that because I made it. A documentary is an excellent platform to bring things back and educate people about significant stories.
   
• The movie opens this Friday and will premiere for at least a week. Again, it's www.the13thmanfilm.com.