ironmanfan,
Yes, part of the movie "Cobb" with Tommy Lee Jones was filmed at Rickwood. Roger Clemens and musician-Jimmy Buffett had parts in the movie and were on hand at Rickwood.
I was still living in Birmingham at the time and was hired as an extra. I spent a week at Rickwood being part of the crowd scenes. I had to go to wardrobe every day to dress for the part, and I even had to have my hair cut by their stylist so that I would look proper for the era. They dressed me in a 3-piece suit and a fedora.
It is not as exciting as it sounds as most of my time was spent sitting and waiting for a scene to be shot. Then it was shot over and over again.
I have never been a fan of Roger Clemens, but I will say that he was very friendly on the day that they filmed his pitching scene. During one break, he came over to where the "extras" were sitting in the stands and chatted and handed out autographed cards.
Jimmy Buffett was also a really nice guy during the filming. After they filmed his last scene, he offered to meet everyone on the set, sign autographs, and chat. That evening, much to everyone's surprise, he gave a concert on the field. Nice guy!
As for Tommy Lee Jones, I won't say that he wasn't a nice guy, but he was not one to mingle with anyone on the set. He would come out and do his part and then retreat to his trailer. He took his acting very seriously (as he should).
All in all, it was a great experience, but I probably wouldn't do it again (my acting career ended in the 8th grade when I was a not-too-convincing George in the Thornton Wilder classic "Our Town"). By the way, I watched the movie only once and could never find myself in any of the crowd scenes. It's probably a good thing that I ended up on the cutting room floor!
Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net
Always looking for World Football League and Atlanta Falcons uniforms, and Willie McGee and Darren Lewis game-used items.
Originally Posted by G1X
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