'' War Eagle , Arkansas '' is a feature film based on two real-life friends , Tim Ballany and Vincent Insalaco III , growing up together in Arkansas and facing a crossroads in life as they graduate from high school . The character of " Wheels " is portrayed by New York actor Dan McCabe , who convincingly recreates Ballany 's Cerebral Palsy . The best friend role of " Enoch " is portrayed by Luke Grimes , as a troubled teen who excels at baseball but struggles with stuttering and confidence problems . Other stars in the film include Brian Dennehy , Mary Kay Place , Mare Winningham and James McDaniel . The film was shot entirely in Northwest Arkansas , primarily in Eureka Springs , Huntsville , and Fayetteville , and has won over 20 independent film festival awards , including Best Picture and Best Actor at major festivals such as the Breckenridge Film Festival , the Hollywood Film Festival , and California Independent Film Festival . The film 's budget was a modest $ 1.1 million , and was provided by Executive Producer Vincent Insalaco , Sr. and a group of private investors . Of additional benefit to the film was a grant from Panavision , under a new filmmaker 's program , which was based in large part on the screenplay by Graham Gordy , whose other film credits include The Love Guru and My Dog Skip . War Eagle , Arkansas was released in the U.S. by Empire Film Group on June 12 , 2009
Hollywood Film Festival
Hollywood Film Festival
War Eagle, Arkansas (film)