Linden grew up in Winter Park , Florida near Orlando , where he attended Lake Howell High School . He attended Florida State University 's College of Communication , majoring in marketing and media production . After graduating from college in 2001 , he and three friends traveled to Hollywood , California with tickets for game show '' The Price Is Right '' . Upon arriving , he was individually called up to compete and won US$ 5,000 and a Tuscan wine server cart , which he saw as a sign to stay in Hollywood : " I thought well that 's a sign , ' I should stay . ' What you want to do , finds you . " Before Linden became a screenwriter , he worked at Mirage Enterprises as an assistant to directors Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella . After reading in a 30th anniversary article in '' FSView & Florida Flambeau '' , Florida State 's student newspaper , about the 1970 Southern Airways Flight 932 plane crash that killed most of the Marshall University football team , Linden says he became " obsessed " with the story . After moving to Hollywood , his first job involved reading feature film screenplays . After being fired from several assistant positions , he decided to write his own screenplay . His first script was titled '' Things to Do Before I Die '' , co-written with University of Florida alumnus Cory Helms , and Warner Bros. gave the pair a blind deal to write another script . Linden says the aftermath of the Marshall University tragedy was the first story he thought of . In 2004 , he pitched the story to Warner Bros. with film producers Basil Iwanyk and Mary Viola . When Warner Bros. bought the script , Linden and other film crew met with many family members of the plane crash victims including Keith Morehouse , whose father was killed in the crash , to collaborate on the honesty of the script and the dignity of the victims . The film became '' We Are Marshall '' , released in 2006 and directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol
Southern Airways Flight 932
Southern Airways Flight 932
Jamie Linden (writer)