Fayetteville plays part in motion picture ‘War Eagle’
Posted on Monday, August 28, 2006
Hundreds of Fayetteville residents gathered at the Fayetteville High School baseball stadium Saturday night to catch a glimpse of a movie in the making and, hopefully, land a role as a member of the cheering crowd in the movie’s baseball game scene.
The movie “ War Eagle” is set in Northwest Arkansas. The cast and crew has been shooting in Huntsville, Berryville, Eureka Springs and now Fayetteville for the past month.
Producer Vincent Insalaco, a native of North Little Rock, said he chose the setting for the movie to showcase the state of Arkansas.
The movie is the story of two best friends growing up in Arkansas, based on the real-life relationship between Insalaco’s son, Vince, and his friend, Tim, who is con- fined to a wheelchair.
The movie was originally called “ War Eagle Drive, ” Insalaco said, named for a street in North Little Rock where the two friends used to meet. Screenwriter, Graham Gordy, a native of Conway, suggested dropping “ Drive” from the title and setting the film in the Northwest part of the state, near the community of War Eagle.
The scene in Fayetteville is an all-star baseball game, which will determine the future of lead character Enoch’s baseball career.
“ It’s the pivotal scene of the movie, ” Insalaco said. “ The outcome of the game could change the direction of the protagonist’s life. ”
Fayetteville was chosen for the scene because Insalaco wanted an urban setting for the all-star game.
He contacted Fayetteville High School Baseball Coach Vance Arnold.
“ We jumped at the opportunity to show off the field, ” Arnold said. For the past week, Arnold and the Fayetteville High School baseball team and their parents have been getting the field ready.
The field had not been used since July, Arnold said, and the grass had grown up. The players worked hard to make it look nice, he said.
Arnold said the location scout for the movie had been to several other baseball fields and chose Fayetteville for the scene.
“ That made us all feel good, ” he said,
Some area baseball players were feeling pretty good as well. The baseball teams of Berryville and Harrison were selected to play the fictional East and West teams in the all-star game.
Harrison Assistant Coach Greg Crow, playing a member of the coaching staff of the West team, said everyone was excited about the opportunity.
“ It’s a good experience for everyone, ” he said. “ It’s something we will all be able to look back on and remember. ”
Crow said the players weren’t sure what their role would be in the movie but were eager to participate.
“ They don’t know what to expect, but I didn’t have to beg them to do it, ” he said.
The hundreds of crowd members did not have to begged either. The crew put out a call for extras, anticipating about 200 to 300 people to show up.
“ It looks like we’ve far exceeded that, ” Insalaco said.
The crowd played an important part in the scene, cheering on the main character as he took to the pitcher’s mound.
Helen Brown, of Fayetteville, said her love of baseball and family outings, brought her out to take part Saturday.
“ It just sounded exciting, that Fayetteville is going to be in a movie, ” she said.
Some Fayetteville residents may have come for the celebrity sightings. The cast includes Golden Globe nominee, Emmy and two-time Tony Award winning actor Brian Dennehy; Emmy nominated actor James McDaniel from “ NYPD Blue; ” and Academy and Emmy nominated actress Mare Winningham from “ St. Elmo’s Fire. ”
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
