Upcoming movie Miracle in East Texas tells true story of Kilgore’s oil field discovery

KILGORE, Texas (KLTV) - The upcoming film “Miracle in East Texas” tells the true story of the discovery of the Kilgore oil field. It stood for decades as the largest oil discovery in the world.

The story follows two conmen, played by director Kevin Sorbo and John Ratzenberger, the voice of iconic Pixar characters such as Hamm from Toy Story.

“They weren’t worried about hitting oil, they were worried about ripping them off so to speak and they get to sell 500% of the share, declare a dry hole, and move on to the next town when they got to Kilgore,” said Sorbo. “So they get arrested because you can’t pay back 500% of anything, and while they are in trial every widow that they scam showed up for the trials and the miracle is not really the oil being found but what happens after they go to trial.”

The film takes place in the heart of the Great Depression. But the story isn’t the only thing that’s old in this film. The script, says actor and producer Sam Sorbo, was originally written for Paul Newman and Robert Redford 30 years ago.

“Those two guys couldn’t get together for the proper dates to shoot the film, and so the film sat on a shelf for 30 years,” said Sorbo.

The Sorbos hope this film of redemption, which features a love story and comedy, can bring some light in a dark world.

“I wanna do movies that bring people some hope,” said Kevin. “We wanna do movies that rejuvenate people and make them want to do something with their lives.”

The film hits theaters nationwide for just two days next weekend, October 29 and 30.

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