SAN ANTONIO – Jose Canseco still stands tall and muscular at 50 years old, but he's the first to admit his baseball days are over.
However, his film about his admission to using steroids to gain an edge in the game -- and the fallout that he still faces -- is just beginning to pick up steam. The film is now being screened in San Antonio at the City Base Cinema this week.
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The documentary follows his rise to baseball stardom, and then his fall when steroid use was questioned. He eventually wrote a tell-all book called "Juiced," which sealed what some have accepted as his blackballing from Major League Baseball.
Canseco says he did what many players did 20 years ago.
"Especially back then, you had to do anything to win -- anything at all costs. And that's what we were involved in," he said.
He said the use of steroids followed a deathbed promise he made to his mother to become the best in the world.
His new movie is called "The Ugly Truth" and he holds back nothing, including his own emotions of betrayal by the league, his teammates and team management. In the movie trailer, he is shown saying "I was surrounded by an army of darkness. I was. Surrounded by darkness. I was surrounded by liars."
He said he wants closure with his fellow Oakland A "Bash Brother" Mark McGuire, who attacked him for naming names in the steroid scandal. McGuire eventually admitted to his own steroid use in 2010, but still won't accept efforts by Canseco to mend the relationship.
"I tried that, but it hasn't worked so far. Maybe he doesn't want closure, but I'd like to sit down with him and speak with him," Canseco said.
The Ugly Truth's director, Billy McAdams, said he was happy go beneath the Internet persona of Canseco to find the funny guy seen in the movie. He says their rapport is why the movie is so revealing.
It's also why perhaps the movie gets to heart of the backlash that Canseco said he still endures.
"They all were hurt -- the fans were hurt, the managers were hurt, Congress was hurt. These were their idols. It was just this big lie and we wanted to fix it," said McAdams.
The Ugly Truth will be screened at the San Antonio Film festival, which runs through Sunday. It's already won several film festival awards and hits the screen at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the cinema at 2623 SE Military Drive.
To see a trailer of the movie, visit www.thetruthhurtsmovie.com.
You can also visit the San Antonio Film Festival's Facebook page for a list of all movies being screened this week and guests, such as Peter Coyote, who will be a speaker.