NIU wrestling alum pins dream on movie

by Tom Parisi

Former NCAA wrestlers will invade DeKalb next week to show off – not their athletic abilities, but their acting skills.

NIU alumnus James “J.D.” Oliva, who wrestled for five seasons for Coach Dave Grant, is directing a feature-length independent movie titled “7 Minutes,” a reference to the length of a collegiate wrestling match. All of the actors who will portray wrestlers in the film actually did compete at the collegiate level.

Oliva says the cast and crew will shoot at various locations on campus and in DeKalb over three weeks beginning Wednesday, June 22. The movie's climactic scene will be shot at the NIU Convocation Center .

“There aren't really any good wrestling movies out there,” says Oliva, who graduated in 2003 with a degree in communication. “The wrestling community is starving for something like this.”

“7 Minutes,” which also will be shot at locations in Ottawa , New Lennox and Wisconsin , already is generating some buzz. The Chicago Sun-Times published a story on the project in May, and the Web site for the movie ( www.7minutes-movie.com ) has received tens of thousands of hits. Oliva says three corporate sponsors are on board, along with a group of private backers who are financing the project.

He also has some vocal supporters at NIU.

“I never thought it possible for me to find wrestling beautiful to watch,” says Laura Vazquez, one of Oliva's former communication professors. “But James depicts it in a way that evokes the spirit of the competitor – not in the typically aggressive way of commercial sports media.”

The idea for the movie came to Oliva early into his wrestling career at NIU. He collaborated on the script with longtime friend and NIU alumnus Joseph Ziegler (Communication, '02).

“Wrestling is without a doubt the most misunderstood sport out there,” Oliva says. “There are all types of stereotypes, and people don't realize that the sport requires an incredible amount of hard work and sacrifice.

“Mainstream America could use some education,” he adds. “Wrestling is growing at every level except in the NCAA, where more than 300 wrestling programs have been cut since 1972.”

The sport is fertile ground for drama. Set at a fictional university that is considering cutting its wrestling program to meet Title IX requirements, “7 Minutes” focuses on one athlete's quest for a championship. Earlier this year, about 70 people showed up for auditions at the Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago .

Jeff Harrison, who plays the lead role, was ranked in the top 10 nationally at 149 pounds while competing for the University of Northern Iowa last season. Matt Kucala, a former NIU wrestler and state champ at Providence High School , also is in the cast and working on the production of the film. Ken Chertow, a 1988 U.S. Olympian and well-known wrestling coach, has agreed to do commentary.

“My goal is to get as many wrestling people behind the film as possible, to give them something they can call their own,” says Oliva, who plans to enter “7 Minutes” in several top film festivals.

Oliva is originally from west suburban Bartlett and coached this past year at Streamwood High School . He will return to NIU in the fall, where he has accepted a post in the Division of Media Services as a videographer/editor for Inside Huskie Sports.

6-20-05