"Madison" the movie: hydroplane-racing flick goes into national release.

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME IN the making, but the tale of the city of Madison's hydroplane-racing exploits finally hits the silver screen in a big way this month. The movie called "Madison" first has its official premiere on several screens in the Jefferson County community, then rolls out to selected

"Madison" is inspired by the true story of the local residents who put their town on the Unlimited hydroplane boat-racing map in the 1970s. Like Indiana's other sports-related movies--"Breaking Away "Hoosiers" and "Rudy"--"Madison" is an underdog story, depicting the all-volunteer Miss Madison racing team, which set out with a 30-year-old, community-owned boat to try to defeat wealthier, corporate-sponsored boats such as the renowned Miss Budweiser.

"I felt that kind of Cinderella sports film had been made and remade already," says director William Bindley, an Indianapolis native who also co-wrote the screenplay with his brother, Scott. But the more he learned about the Miss Madison story, the more intrigued he became.

In the summer and fall of 1999, the Bindleys assembled a cast and headed to Madison for filming Starring as Miss Madison driver Jim McCormick would be Jim Caviezel, who later achieved superstardom in the title role of "The Passion of the Christ." Cast as McCormick's 10-year-old son was Jake Lloyd, who had just played young Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace."

Another actor will be familiar to the Indiana business community: the Bindley brothers' father, Bill. The elder Bindley was CEO of Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical distribution giant Bindley Western Industries before selling the firm, and is listed in the credits playing a character known as Sideburns. "I gave him a line because I thought it would be fun," says the 42-year-old director, who also found a small role for his son.

As is the case with independent films, getting the movie financed and filmed is just half the battle, Bindley says. It often takes months or years to get a movie into distribution, which was the case with "Madison," first shown in January 2001 at the Sundance Film Festival and in October 2001 at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Its initial release this month will be in about 20 cities across the country, Bindley says. "It's a limited release. The plan is to roll it out a little bit at a time."