These pretzels are making me thirsty

So…I was an extra in a movie yesterday afternoon. No, no speaking parts like "these pretzels are making me thirsty". I was just a face in a crowd, doing fake cheering for the Norway High School baseball team. The movie is called The Final Season, directed by David Evans, who also directed the baseball movie favorite, The Sandlot. I didn’t really stay around to get autographs from the actors, but I’ll be sure to publish a photo album of it soon. The movie is starring Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), who plays the new coach of the Norway baseball team, a school of only around 100 from a tiny town here in Iowa, that won 20 State Championships here in Iowa. (Click here for more info on the story.)

Anyway, it was kinda cool to watch them film the movie. I stood in a crowd, did some clapping and cheering, some of it mimed clapping, some real. I got to hold up a sign. It was pretty neat to see some of the actors up close. Tom Arnold was there, Larry Miller was there, (the hairdresser guy from the Princess Diaries. Yes, I’ll admit I’ve seen the Princess Diaries.) and a host of others who’s names I can’t completely remember right now. (The kid from Sky High…what’s his name…) Yeah, it struck me as C and D lister type cast, too, but it still was pretty interesting. It was fun to watch the actors deliver some of their lines, as well as the director impatiently look at his watch and even throw off his headset as the daylight hours were being burned.

Anyway, the movie is coming to theatres in 2007, and from what I understand the story of how baseball is dying in small town America is something I can get behind. Hey, plus I got a free lunch and hold up a sign out of the deal. Yippee!

Edit:I forgot to mention also making an appearance there was ex-Oriole great Mike Boddicker, who hales from Cedar Rapids, IA.