Jenna Fischer is on tap to star in a movie shooting on the Iron Range next year. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Has there ever been a more Minnesota-ish movie line than, "Is that the walleye we caught on Mille Lacs with the Jensen boys?"
That snippet of dialogue will appear in a feature planned to begin shooting next February in many locations that the drama, "North Country," used 15 years ago, including Eveleth, Minn., Virginia, Minn., the Thunderbird Mine and a variety of hockey rinks on the Range, in Duluth and in St. Paul. Unlike the tragic (and Oscar-nominated) "North Country," this movie's much less about taconite mining and more about the State of Hockey.
Titled "Way of the Warriors," the "Hoosiers"-esque sports drama tracks how a small town comes together during a hockey season that builds to a David-and-Goliath climax at the state tournament between Eveleth and Edina. John Montague wrote the screenplay, which will be directed by Lee Kirk and star Kirk's wife, "The Office" star Jenna Fischer. She'll play the mom of a hockey family as well as a caregiver for another key character.
Fischer is a rabid hockey fan herself. As it turns out, she and "Office" co-star John Krasinski have a long-running, friendly feud over their respective hockey teams: Krasinski supports the Boston Bruins, while Fischer is a St. Louis Blues fan. Perhaps spending a little more time in Minnesota this winter will bring her over to the Wild side?
