ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997 TAG: 9704020044
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN THE ROANOKE TIMES
About 200 people found out the hard way that the casting call for "Bull Durham 2'' was more bull than baseball.
If you bill it, they will come.
That thought had to have crossed the minds of people guarding the gates at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium Tuesday afternoon.
Outside the gates, people began lining up an hour in advance Tuesday to be cast as extras in a movie billed as ``Bull Durham 2.'' As the clock inched toward the top of the hour, the patrons eagerly inched their way to the entrance.
``This is what a stadium like this does for a city like Salem,'' gushed one man.
At 3 p.m., approximately 200 people from as far east as Lynchburg and as far west as Greenbrier, W.Va., pushed through the fence with hopes of seeing Kevin Costner and others involved in the sequel to the blockbuster 1988 baseball film. They were undeterred by a report in Tuesday's editions of The Roanoke Times that the event was an April Fools' Joke.
``They got me up at 7:30 this morning and said we had to go,'' said Shirley Boe of Lynchburg, who was flanked by her daughters, Heather, 15 and Tristin, 13.
They had been summoned to the ballpark by Sam Giles and Mark Nelson, afternoon disc jockeys at WROV-FM and proprietors of the ``Chainsaw Circus'' radio show. Last week the duo announced there would be a major Hollywood event at the stadium where the Salem Avalanche baseball team plays.
As people found their designated seats in sections 110 and 108 on Tuesday, however, there was no sign of Costner. Sam and Mark weren't milling around, either. They were up in the radio booth, well out of the range of any tomatoes that could be cast their way by disgruntled guests.
Of course at that point, what reason was there to be disgruntled? Costner could very well have been hidden somewhere, putting his makeup on. The production trucks were probably just stuck in traffic. Or something.
``I've been in six films, bit parts here and there,'' said Michael Hughes of Roanoke. ``Any time anything like this happens, everybody's hoping, `Hey, I'll get discovered.'''
Angela Murphy of Franklin County was one of those. With hopes of latching on to Costner's production, she postponed a flight to New York, where she is moving to be with her boyfriend. Sitting beside her was Mike Hall, who had driven to Salem from Clifton Forge with a rsum in his hands and his head in the clouds.
When the crowd had dispersed at 4 p.m., Murphy and Hall remained sitting with some friends just behind the dugout. They were still trying to digest the fact that they had just been part of the biggest April Fools' joke of their lives. They didn't have a movie deal, but they still had their dreams.
``Ahhh, it was fun,'' Hall said.
Although the casting call for ``Bull Durham 2'' turned out to be a bunch of bull, only a few seemed to mind.
``I think it's awful, plus I'm supposed to be at work, anyway,'' said one woman who left in a huff.
Another girl who asked not to be identified said, ``Are you going to talk to the radio guys? I've got a wristwatch with a bomb in it that I'd like you to give them.''
``It's a [rotten] thing to do,'' said Julie Hansen, a student at Lord Botetourt High School on her final day of spring break.
Hansen's sister, Amanda, said she came out to see her favorite actress, Susan Sarandon, who starred opposite Costner in ``Bull Durham.'' ``I'll never listen to WROV again,'' she said.
Those sentiments aside, a potential marketing disaster was avoided. Aside from the guy that did the wave with his middle fingers flying, the stadium guests were extremely well-behaved.
In no way did it resemble one of the most famous baseball stadium pranks, the Disco Demolition Night in 1979 at old Comiskey Park in Chicago, where fans rioted and forced the postponement of a White Sox game against the Tigers.
Avalanche marketers were careful that when they doled out sodas, they weren't serving New Coke or Tab.
With the guests refreshed and fully caffeinated, Avalanche marketing assistant Tracy Beskid led them in a series of dance numbers that included such standards as ``YMCA,'' ``Macarena'' and ``We Will Rock You.'' They cheered wildly on cue and even did several versions of the wave. It was a ideal opportunity for someone doing a science project on human behavior.
The crowd's antics will be shown in an upcoming series of Avalanche commercials. So they will be on screen, albeit a small one, after all. Everyone also was offered two complimentary tickets to Sunday's Carolina League matinee against - who else? - the Durham Bulls.
``I was the first person that got it,'' said Matt May of Roanoke. ``It was cool. And I'll come to the game because I like baseball.''
Sometimes, though, you don't even need baseball to get people out to the ballpark.
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JANEL RHODA/THE ROANOKE TIMES. 1. John Michael Hall andby CNBAngela Murphy (foreground right) finish singing "Take Me out to the
Ballgame" as they await the end of the practical joke by WROV-FM's
afternoon disc jockeys Sam Giles and Mark Nelson at Salem Memorial
Stadium. color.