• ‘Blind Side’ director’s latest film, ‘The Founder,’ opens Friday

    With hits like The Blind Side, The Alamo and The Rookie under his belt, John Lee Hancock, BA ’79, JD ’82, has built a reputation as one of Hollywood’s top writers and directors. Friday, the two-time Baylor alum’s 10th feature film, The Founder, hits the big screen.

    Hancock’s latest tells the story of fast-food magnate Ray Kroc, the man who oversaw McDonald’s growth into an iconic company. Movie posters for the film promise juicy details about his role in the company that many fans of the chain haven’t heard. Watch the trailer here:

    Michael Keaton headlines the film in the role of Ray Kroc, working alongside such other well-known actors and actresses as Nick Offerman, Laura Dern, Linda Cardellini and B.J. Novak.

    [REVIEWS: Variety || Los Angeles Times || USA Today || The New York Times]

    The Founder marks the sixth time Hancock has sat in the director’s chair. He has also produced the 2000 film My Dog Skip and wrote six other films, including The Blind Side, The Alamo, Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil and the film that first earned him nationwide notice, Clint Eastwood’s A Perfect World.

    Sic ’em, John Lee Hancock!

    [1/23/17 update: Hancock isn’t the only Bear who helped shape The Founder; Phil Hardage, BA ’87, also served as first assistant director on the film. Hardage had previously worked as an assistant or unit director under Hancock on The Rookie and The Alamo, and with other directors on such films as Office Space, Gone in Sixty Seconds and The Notebook, as well as on such TV series as Friday Night Lights and Dallas.]