Local Tennis Pro Makes It To Hollywood

The movie was filmed in Austin, Texas, and a little bit in Lincoln. Stempson was able to work with the cast on their tennis skills for some of the scenes. In addition to Scott, Randy Quaid was also in the film. Before it was even finished, a producer thought Stempson and Stock would be the perfect team to write a screenplay about a used car liquidator.

“He started shopping it around Hollywood, and got it in the hands of Jeremy Piven who wanted to play the lead character, Don Ready. Jeremy's brother-in-law is Adam McKay who directed Anchorman and Talladega Nights. He was also Will Ferrell's production partner at the time. Jeremy got it to those guys on a Friday and by Monday they said their company wanted to produce it.”

The star-studded cast included Jeremy Piven, Ed Helms, James Brolin, Ken Jeong, Kathryn Hahn, Ving Rhames, David Koechner, Craig Robinson, Alan Thicke and many more.

Ironically, both movies were released in 2009. “Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach” went straight to video and “The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard” was released to about 1800 theaters nationwide.

“For a brief moment, we were the hottest comedy writers in Hollywood. We flew out and met with the creators of Modern Family. They helped us sell a pitch for a TV show to FOX. Although nothing happened with the pilot, it was a great experience,” Stempson said. “A surreal moment for me was at the premiere of "The Goods" in Vegas, looking around at the after-party and seeing my family and friends talking to Will Ferrell, Ed Helms, and other cast members.”

Stempson and Stock have written more scripts and television pilots since. They even met with Ashton Kutcher at his production office, who showed some interest in their work.

“Ashton and Andy were basically wearing the same flannel shirt. Ashton just kept looking down at Andy's shirt and shaking his head. I think it killed the deal,” Stempson joked.

The duo continues to write when they have the time, which can be hard to carve out when they both have families and full-time jobs. Stempson said their writing has gotten better with time, but they know the reality of how tough the business can be. In the meantime, he’s counting his blessings.

“I think the thing I'm most proud of is how far we got in the business. We never lived in L.A. We did everything remotely. I still have people that come up to me and quote lines from our movie. That's pretty cool. My daughters (ages 12, 9 and 6) ask about the movies now. I might let them watch them someday...maybe when they're 25.”

In the meantime, Stempson continues to teach tennis in the Lincoln community, sharing his knowledge of the lifetime sport but also demonstrating that it’s never too late to try something new.

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