A struggling farmer’s undying love for the Green Bay Packers is at the heart of Green and Gold, the debut feature film for brothers Anders and Davin Lindwall that’s set for release at the end of the month.
In this drama, Craig T. Nelson – known for iconic roles in “Coach,” “Parenthood,” “Young Sheldon,” and The Proposal – stars as Buck, a fourth-generation dairy farmer whose family farm is on the brink of foreclosure. In a dramatic “Hail Mary” effort, he and his granddaughter, Jenny, (played by up-and-coming actress Madison Lawlor), who works alongside him but longs for a career in music, wager everything on the Green Bay Packers, literally “betting the farm” on the team to win the Super Bowl and save the farm.
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“We’ve always wanted to tell stories. We work in commercials but we’ve always had a passion for the way movies can really touch and inspire people,” said Anders Lindwall, who directed the film and grew up an avid Packers fan in Iron River, a small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula located just a few miles from the Wisconsin border.
The brothers, who together spoke with Milwaukee Magazine about the film, operate a commercial production company that’s based in Colorado and California and whose clients include brands like Otterbox, Levi’s and Nike.
The Lindwalls’ grandfather was a dairy farmer and served as an inspiration for the film, which began to take shape in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It felt like the right thing when the whole world had this feeling of darkness and a polarized political climate,” Anders Lindwall said. “The folks in the community we grew up in were just a reminder of this sense of community and goodness and beauty. We thought if we get the opportunity to tell a story like that and pin it against the backbone of the Green Bay Packers, what a great opportunity this is.”
The film also features Brandon Sklenar (It Ends with Us and “1923: A Yellowstone Origin Story”) who plays a musician named Billy, and marks the final screen appearance of beloved character actor M. Emmet Walsh (Knives Out and Blade Runner), who died last March at the age of 88.
Landing Nelson served as a huge boost for the film, Davin Lindwall said.
“We always joke that is was my wife’s idea because she’s been a big fan of Craig for a long time,” he said. “When we were writing this story, she said you’ve got to look at Craig. Craig is Buck. He embodies him in a lot of ways. We threw out his name to our casting directors and they cracked up, to be honest, because as first-time independent filmmakers, your chance of landing a legend like Craig T. Nelson for our scale of production is pretty rare.”
But the following day the Lindwalls received word that Nelson had an interest in the project.
“We jumped on a call with Craig and it immediately felt like he was on board,” Davin Lindwall said. “He was interviewing us a little bit but you could tell that he was mostly bought in on the project and the script and what we were all about. It was a super humbling opportunity to bring on a guy like Craig. He opened up a lot of doors for us from there.”
They decided to pursue Lawlor to co-star with Nelson.
“She’s been working as an actor for a long but I felt hadn’t gotten a really big break and what she deserves,” Anders Lindwall said. “She grew up in South Dakota around farms, so she was very familiar with that world, too. When we were casting Madison, we were betting a lot of our film on her. We knew Craig was going to be amazing but Madison was younger and at that point somewhat undiscovered. But she just came out of the gates and just crushed it. We knew early on in her rehearsals with Craig that there was this really special dynamic they had with real authenticity and playfulness. It’s pretty special.”
During a Q&A before the local screening of Green and Gold on Jan. 22, Lawlor described taking part in the film as a “truly unbelievable, special experience.”
“I had never been to Wisconsin before and now I understand why you guys love it so much,” Lawlor told a crowd that packed the Marcus Majestic Theatre. “There is such a sense of community and people really opened their homes to us and really let us into their lives and trusted us to share their experience, which was just such an honor to do. I totally fell in love with Wisconsin. It was one of the most special experiences of my life. Everyone that we interacted with was so kind and so excited to help this passion project and to help tell the story.”
Popular Wisconsin comedian Charlie Berens is also cast in the film. Berens is a natural for the film, the brothers said.
“Charlie feels like such a Wisconsin staple, so when we wrote this script, we had a character in mind for him,” Davin Lindwall said. “We thought Charlie would be the perfect radio announcer. We just threw it out to him and Charlie was all about it. He’s certainly a celebrity (in Wisconsin). He’s been a huge help to the project with his ongoing support and advocating for us. He brings a super fun character out in the film.”
Anders Lindwall said in hindsight they should have enlisted Berens to help in writing the script for the film. “What he writes is so fun,” he said.
Green and Gold highlights the struggles of small-town farmers while celebrating family, legacy and perseverance. The uplifting narrative was created to resonate with rural communities and sheds light on the importance of supporting local businesses, the filmmakers said.
“Growing up just north of Green Bay as the grandson of a diary farmer and die-hard Packers fans, we poured our hearts into this film. It’s our tribute to small-town communities and the values they stand for,” Anders Lindwall said.
The film is presented by Prairie du Sac-based Culver’s in support of the Thank You Farmers Project. Founded in 2013, the project directly supports people and organizations engaged in climate-smart agricultural efforts. The program benefits local organizations in communities where Culver’s operates, as well as national organizations such as the National FFA Organization and U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action. Culver’s announced in December that it raised a record $1.5 million for the program in 2024, bringing the donation total to $6.5 million since its inception.
“In an independent film you don’t have the luxury of a studio throwing a bunch of money behind you to get it out in the world,” Anders Lindwall said. “You’re just trying to find some help and support, any kind of thing. We grew up eating a lot of Culver’s. We knew they had this Thank You Farmers project and we thought that if we could get a brand partner that has the same affection for farmers that we do, this would be perfect. We got it in front of their marketing team and they loved it. They didn’t ask us to change a thing in the movie.”
Lindwall said he hopes the film will reinvigorate the belief in the work of farmers, especially those who are young.
“If this could blow a little wind in their sails to the important work they do and let them know that us on the outside notice and know how hard it is but also know how beautiful it is,” he said.
NFL Films and the Green Bay Packers provided additional support for the film.
“The Packers were a little bit of a slower burn and I think that’s because they are such a legacy brand,” Davin Lindwall said. “They don’t throw around the “G” lightly. They are very particular about their business. But they’ve really been huge supporters of the project. Having us be able to say we are a partner of the Packers carries a lot of weight. It was a big win for us.”
The Packers didn’t provide financial support for the film, but have been integral in “getting the word out” about it, he said.
Nelson’s football-focused acting credits also included a starring role in “All the Right Moves,” a 1983 film about a high school football program in an economically depressed Western Pennsylvania town. The cast also included Tom Cruise, and Lea Thompson.
Leading up to the film’s release, Nelson sang the National Anthem at the Packers game vs. the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on Jan. 5. A “red-carpet” event set up as a thank you to the farmers who participated in the film was also held at Lambeau Field that was attended by Nelson and included a teaser of the film and a stand-up performance by Berens.
The VIP party and screening of Green and Gold at Marcus Majestic Theatre included guests such as the Lindwall brothers, Lawlor and Berens. Frank Winters, a popular member of the Packers 1996 Super Bowl champion team who’s enshrined in the team’s hall of fame, also appeared.
“We’re proud of the film,” Anders Lindwall said. “This just started with an idea between me and Davin and it’s just blossomed into having all these community members be part of it. People donating their time and farmers jumping on board, Craig T. Nelson flying across the country for us and having a star like Brandon Sklenar, who blew up in the Yellowstone series.”
The film will be released on more than 1,000 screens by Fathom Events in theaters on Jan. 31.
“This whole film has felt like this lavished abundant gift that we’ve been able to work on and steward,” Anders Lindwall said. “We’re so excited to finally share it with people. The soul of the movie is good and true and we can stand behind that until the day we die.”
