“Safety”
By Makenna Biehl
Many Clemson Football fans can recall back to the Clemson vs. Charlotte game on September 21st, 2019. Not only did the Tigers blow out the 49ers 52-10 but filming for the movie “Safety” took place at halftime. The film was directed by Reginald Hudlin, produced by Mark Ciardi, and written by Randy McKinnon and Nick Santora, basing the story off of former Clemson Football player Ray-Ray McElrathbey. The Walt Disney Pictures production will be released exclusively on Disney+, with Jay Reeves playing the lead role as Ray.
Ray-Ray McElrathbey came to Clemson in August of 2005, redshirting his first season here. At the time, his mother moved from Las Vegas to Atlanta as she was fighting a drug addiction problem. While with the team in 2006, McElrathbey made the life-changing decision to take in his 11-year-old brother Fahmarr. McElrathbey described his decision by saying, “I really didn’t think much about taking my brother in, which made the decision a lot easier. The scary part was keeping everything to myself and trying to figure everything out on my own.” Of course, taking on that big of a task requires a lot of adjustment. McElrathbey said the most remarkable thing he gained was responsibility, accountability, and vulnerability. Saying, “I couldn’t just pick up and leave anymore. I had to make sure there were babysitters in place and make sure he ate.”
It wasn’t an easy process for McElrathbey to take care of his brother; he described the situation saying how there was a lot of sneaking around being done before people found out about what he was doing. However, to be able to play football and get help with his brother’s care, McElrathbey would need a waiver from the NCAA. He explained the process saying, “By the time I knew I needed NCAA approval, I was already suspended. It was a process because we had to work backward. They came through and granted me the waiver, which they didn’t have to do. The process was eventful, but it all worked out in the end.” After that, he was allowed extra help and support with his brother as he finished his college and football career.
McElrathbey’s story was featured on ESPN’s College Gameday in 2006 when it caught the attention of film producer Mark Ciardi. Ciardi said, “I just thought ‘this three or four-minute clip is having this effect on me. I would like to know more about this story.’ I read some articles and got a little more detail. I reached out to the school and then got in touch with Ray. There were other people that wanted the rights, but I was lucky to secure them.” “Safety” was set in another studio in 2006, but things didn’t work out. Then, Ciardi brought the pitch to Disney+ a few years ago, and they went with it. Ciardi expressed his gravitation towards the platform, saying, “Disney Plus is the way that movie making is headed. The movie goes directly to the customer in an event way. You can just hit play in your home, so it’ll reach more people than it would in theaters. I love that so many people can watch it on day one.”
Having a movie made about him has been eventful for McElrathbey and is definitely a big thing to grasp. One of the biggest things that he battled was his transparency, saying, “Back then and even now, I contemplated on how transparent I should be. My initial goal was to be as transparent as possible, to let people in, and to be vulnerable.” However, McElrathbey explained how many people out there going through the same thing as him, and he knows that it would help for them to hear his success story. Since the beginning of the process, the idea has shown to have grown on him. “People say that sometimes you’re not ready to receive some of your blessings. When the time comes, you just have to hope you’re prepared. I think I’m in a better position to take on this exposure now than I was when I was 19,” said McElrathbey. Even Ciardi thinks that McElrathbey is more prepared now than when he was initially, saying, “Ray was a 19-year-old when I met him, we’ve known each other a long time, and I got to kind of watch him grow up. I think in some ways, he’s probably better equipped to handle a movie now.”
Clemson fans now await seeing the Clemson tradition packed into the movie, including the most exciting 25-seconds of college football. “Being able to come to campus and shooting during a live game is what brought it together and made it feel so real. 85,000 people were so into the film. We got to run down from Howard’s Rock, and the place absolutely went bananas. Everybody came off the field and felt the support from the fans; they were part of the movie. The movie wouldn’t be what it is without those sequences,” said Ciardi.
“Safety”, being released on December 11th on Disney+, will truly highlight what Clemson family means to everyone. McElrathbey describes it, saying, “Clemson family is life. It’s not just something people say, it’s a way of life. It’s permanent.”
