Emotionally Truthful on the Page: An Interview with ‘Unstoppable’ Screenwriter John Hindman

Unstoppable is the inspiring true story of Anthony Robles who was born with one leg but whose indomitable spirit and unbreakable resolve empowered him to defy the odds and pursue his dreams. With the unwavering love and support of his devoted mother, Judy, and the encouragement of his coaches, Anthony fights through adversity to earn a spot on the Arizona State Wrestling team. But it will demand everything he has, physically and mentally, to achieve his ultimate quest to become an NCAA Champion.

Adaptations are certainly difficult to tackle, especially when they’re based on a real (and living) person (and hero to many). And while it’s important to not writer yourself into a corner, it’s definitely important to zone in on the emotional truth of the person and their story, and how that connects to you. It sounds easier said than done, but that certainly didn’t hinder screenwriter John Hindman’s approach when tackling the script for his latest film, Unstoppable. As he mentions later in this interview, the film Rocky isn’t about boxing, it’s more than that (and I’d argue it’s one of the greatest cinematic love stories) – it’s about the person and their journey. Same can be said about Anthony Robles’ story portrayed in this film – it’s not about wrestling, it’s about his journey to becoming the well-rounded person he is today. And no…that journey wasn’t easy.

Screenwriter John Hindman spoke with Script about his approach to tackling this true story adaptation, why ‘What is it about?’ was crucially important to staying on the straight and narrow path of the story, to his personal connection and bond with Anthony Robles, and so much more.

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Sadie Dean: How did you initially come on board this project?

John Hindman: The first producer on this was a guy named Andy Fraser. He was brought the project by Anthony Robles' manager when Anthony won in 2011 and Andy immediately fell in love with it, and he reached out to his friend, David Crockett, and those two guys decided that, 'We're going to produce this movie. ‘This is going to be our calling card. This is the one that really  means the most.’ And they had a couple of different writers take a couple of different passes, and then they decided what they needed was a director. And David Crockett had worked with Billy Goldenberg, who is a famous editor, as you know on Gone Baby Gone, and he's like, ‘Billy wants to direct.’ So Billy was brought on, and then they were looking for a new writer, and Billy chose me, and this was in 2017.

Sadie: A great melding of creative minds. What's so great about diving into this underdog story is that you could have started anywhere in his life. But I appreciate that you guys start with him being at the top of his game at the very beginning, and then we witness him start all over again and how he carries himself through this.

John: I think that that makes the most sense in terms of bookending a story. The book really starts at the beginning of his life and is more of a chronological examination of his entire existence. But as you said, as you rightly pointed out, starting with winning, 'I've done it!' as a senior, and then immediately followed by a loss, right? Like, I'm not going to go to the school that I want. And it also made sense, because he really did win the High School Championship in Philadelphia, and he really did win the NCAA championship in Philadelphia. So that just seemed like really good parameters within to tell the emotional story, which is what was most important to me, the facts are already known. Everyone knows that he won the wrestling championship. Everyone knows that he's a guy who's differently abled.

When I was interviewing for the job, I said, ‘I really want to write this, but we have to agree that it can't be about having one leg and it can't be about wrestling.’ And they're like, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Well, Rocky's not about boxing. It's just not about that.’ It was the inner story that I cared about the most. It was the dynamics between him and his family and ultimately his relationship to himself that I was most drawn to and got to bring out. When they sent me out to Arizona to talk to Anthony, they're like, ‘Hey, he's an incredibly positive guy. He's never going to see anything bad about anyone. So, it's hard to get any conflict out of him, because he's just so good. He's just better than we are.’ He just is.

But it turned out that Anthony and I had more in common than you might guess just by looking at us. And I had some similar experiences growing up, and we really bonded over that. And we were sharing with each other what life was like, what it's like now, our sort of emotional journey with that has nothing to do with being a wrestler, has nothing to do with being a screenwriter, and that just kind of gave me the right window in to attack the script. In every story, there's what happens, and there's what it's about. It was the ‘what it's about’ that I really cared about. And for me, it was the story was about healing the broken heart of a seven-year-old boy. And everything was designed to accomplish that goal.

Sadie: There's a line that Coach Bobby says to Anthony, “A man's character is his fate.” That line, not only does it apply to Anthony and how he chooses to carry himself, but it's a nice anchor for all the the other characters that are in his orbit.

John: When I went to Arizona to meet Anthony, I was there for three days, and I sort of took the Anthony Robles tour. And everywhere you go, everyone recognizes him, and people want to talk to him and want to touch him. And he took me to Mesa High School, and I went to the wrestling room, which now, like, three sides of that are just like giant representations of the newspaper articles all about Anthony, as they should be. But on the back wall - and I take a lot of pictures just in life in general - on the back wall, there was a picture of all these hands reaching for a trophy, and it said “A man's character is his fate.” And it's a quote from Heraclitus. And I took a picture of that, and I just knew that I wanted that to be in the story, and it was going to be the very last image, which it is in the movie. It's a little girl seeing that picture, and seeing that a man's character is his fate, and walking in. And I'm glad that you picked that out, because it was really important to me also.

Sadie: When it comes to adapting a book, especially something that's based on a true story, there’s certainly that creative challenge that we writers tend to get in our own way. And there's that extra added pressure of we have to get it right. Did you ever bump against that?

John: I think it's D all of the above. I certainly cycled through all those feelings at different points in time. When I finished the first draft and Anthony got it, he said something that really meant a lot to me. He said, 'A lot of this stuff didn't happen, but it feels like what happened.' And walking that fine line, you don't want to be exploitive, right? It would be like, ‘Oh well, this guy's just a terrible stepdad. And being differently abled is hard.’ I had no interest in any of that. And so, I think the attempt, the endeavor, from all of us honestly, was to be as emotionally truthful as possible. And if you're emotionally truthful, then you are, by default, fair. And in a world of agendas, our only agenda was to honor all of these people, including his stepdad, right? Who isn't just a monster. Including his coaches, who don't just have wisdom, but are also filled with fear and doubt. So, I think that the more truthful you are, the less you bump into anything that people might take exception to.

Sadie: Remove everything else and just focus on what's important, right?

John: That's right. That's basically it. I wish that I had said that, since I'm the one being interviewed, but you've said it now, so just say, ‘John said…’ [laughs] That's absolutely it. People are at war of opposites. I am. I'm incredibly generous and petty. I am filled with hope, and swimming in oceans of fear. And like those two disparate states, where they meet, I think that's the cutting edge of our humanity. And so, my goal, not just with this script, but particularly with this script, was to keep the characters constantly on that nice edge, so at any moment, like everything is possible and impossible. Judy's never felt worse, but we see that there's a golden coal that still burns within her, though we know that it's possible, both things need to be kept alive in the script. And then you turn it over to this miraculous cast, and it completely exceeds any possible version of this that I ever had in my mind, this gang of experts.

Sadie: What do you hope audiences take away from seeing this film?

John: I hope that they see a little bit of themselves in every single character in the movie. I see a little bit of myself in all of these people. I've done the wrong thing for the right reason. I've done the right thing for the wrong reason. I've said something that I wish I could take back, but don't know how. I have been vigilant when no one was paying attention, and I have failed when it really counted. And so, you're afforded the opportunity to see every particular facet on the prism that is our own humanity. And I hope that they recognize themselves in that and take the lesson from it. That's what I hope, because we've heard the lesson before of just stick to it and you can do it, no matter what. It doesn't really get in between my cells the way that I wanted to. So, you have to have to kind of change the molecules in the air a little bit for the audience and to see ourselves in all of these people, all of whom get better, not just Anthony, all of whom learn and grow and change.

I guess the takeaway that I want for everyone is that if you stick to the right path there's going to be some sharp corners and some razor wire, but just stay on it, and you're going to be the hero of your own story, which means the ability to walk around comfortably in your own skin. Writing this script changed my life, and my hope is that it changes the audience's life a bit. I think Anthony says it best, "If you're unchallenged, you're unchanged." So, I hope after people see the movie, they see the challenges in their life as an opportunity, not an obstacle. That's what Anthony's story did for me.

Unstoppable is coming to Prime Video January 16, 2025.