The White Lotus has been one of the biggest shows of the past few months. It’s no surprise that it took home three wins at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards and Best Limited Series or TV Motion Picture at the Golden Globes. While the buzz around the show has turned creator Mike White into nearly a household name recently, he is definitely not new on the scene.
White has worked as an actor, writer, director, and producer in Hollywood for years. Some may remember him as the timid Ned Schneebly in School of Rock (a film he also wrote). He later teamed up with Jack Black again on one of the last films anyone would ever expect to be based on a true story.
The true story of Padre Tormenta inspired the Jack Black movie ‘Nacho Libre’
The 2006 film Nacho Libre wasn’t the best outing for either Jack Black or Mike White. With only a 46% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film fell flat with audiences. What’s much more amazing than the film’s tired punchlines though is the fact that it is based on a true story of a priest luchador, bravely fighting to save his orphanage.
According to BuzzFeed, Padre Fray Tormenta (Born Sergio Gutiérrez) was a priest from Mexico serving impoverished areas. Throughout his career, he gradually took in more orphans. Father Tormenta had a difficult upbringing himself and wanted desperately to help prevent the homeless children in the slums from heading straight into a life of violence and crime.
The Church wouldn’t fund Tormenta’s growing orphanage, so he donned a wrestling mask and became one of the great stars of lucha libre to keep the children’s bellies full. “The yellow is for the liveliness that Fray Tormenta must display in the ring,” Tormenta said of the mask in an interview with Vice… which he often wears while performing daily Mass as well as when fighting in the ring. “The red is for the blood that Fray Tormenta must spill on behalf of his orphanage.”
Mike White co-wrote ‘Nacho Libre’
While the story of Padre Tormenta’s life is a roller coaster of emotions, 2006’s Nacho Libre fell short of living up to the source material, which in this case was real life. The movie took the very basic premise of Tormenta’s life and made it into a bunch of awkward jokes and catchphrases, and audiences were not having it.
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In those days of films like Napoleon Dynamite, it seemed some filmmakers were more interested in having some pre-viral catchphrase all the kids would be repeating at school rather than translating the readily available drama, comedy, and excitement of Tormenta’s life onto the big screen.
While Black may have been the face of the flop as its star and biggest promoter, White was heavily involved. He co-wrote the screenplay for the film and was also credited as a producer.
‘Nacho Libre’ was a rare misstep in Mike White’s career
Nacho Libre may not have been the hit either White or Black were hoping for. The two had immense success working together on 2003’s School of Rock but just couldn’t duplicate the high energy, charming humor of their earlier work.
White’s successful career goes back to the late ’90s, with writer and producer credits on Dawson’s Creek. He also wrote the cult classic Dead Man on Campus, so it seems more like Nacho Libre was the exception in his career rather than the rule.
That’s not to say it’s all been smooth for White for the past 16 years. The Emmy outing for The White Lotus may be his most successful award show to date, but according to Mashable, he did manage to snag a Razzie for Worst Screenplay in 2018 for the screenplay of Emoji Movie.
