Tom Francis Learned a Song for a Last-Minute Bar Scene — SkimNews
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- Tom Francis plays David Schreiner alongside Nicholas Galitzine, Ray Nicholson and Bill Skarsgård in Peter Berg’s “The Mosquito Bowl,” about four college football stars who served in the Marines during World War II.
- Peter Berg added the bar sequence at the last minute, even though Schreiner was not a singer in real life; Francis learned the song “for tomorrow” and expected a campfire rather than the fully staged set.
- The Mosquito Bowl is based on Buzz Bissinger’s book about a Marine football game played while preparing for the Battle of Okinawa; Francis says John McLaughry was the only one of the four men to survive the war.
- Jacques Jouffret said palm trees were set on fire rather than filmed so the battle would not be glorified; Francis called the result “visceral and intense” and said it is uncomfortable at points.
- The Mosquito Bowl lists all four men as 24 in its end credits, while Francis says they left behind families, careers, promotions and futures.
- Netflix will debut “The Mosquito Bowl” Nov. 25 while it is playing in theaters.
- Tom Francis said he wants to return to theater with an original play, seeking the adrenaline and creative ownership of making something new.
Why it matters: Netflix’s Nov. 25 debut follows the film’s immediate theatrical run, giving viewers access to a story in which all four central men were 24. Francis’s account also establishes the fully staged singing sequence and the decision to burn palm trees for the battlefield as deliberate creative choices, not incidental details in Berg’s adaptation.
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