Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban was able to screen the movie for his team (with Lucas' permission) before the National Championship Game Monday night.
Saban told the press in his postgame press conference, "We went to see the movie 'Red Tails' last night, which I would recommend to anybody. But, you know, those guys' motto was 'to the last plane, the bullet, the last man, the minute we fight and we always stay with the mission.' And I think that kind of described the spirit of that group extremely well, but it also describes the spirit of you know the group of players that we have on our team this year."
When George Lucas got wind of Saban's shout-out, he released a statement thanking Saban:
"The cast and crew of 'Red tails' are together in New York for Tuesday's world premiere so you can imagine the excitement when we heard Coach Saban reference 'Red Tails' at the forefront of his postgame comments after winning the national championship. Everyone associated with the film was so honored that Coach Saban elected to have his entire team screen the film on the eve of their championship game. And then to have 'Red Tails' and its inspirational message of overcoming adversity, never giving up, self-sacrifice and ultimate teamwork so deeply touch the Alabama team is personally very gratifying. I want to congratulate the Crimson Tide on their tremendous victory...the Tide truly rolled on Monday night." -B Meyer
The movie opens at the following Birmingham theaters on January 20:
Carmike Summit 16
RMP Vestavia Hills 10
RMP Patton Creek 15