|
 Title:
Leatherheads, feature film
Cast: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger
Extra: Jeff Powers
Producers: Grant Heslov, George Clooney, Casey Silver
Director: George Clooney
Script: George Clooney, Stephen Schiff, Duncan Brantley, Rick
Reilly
Money
can buy happiness!
Jeff Powers appreciates the wages of an extra! “I remember
being on the set and talking with some guys about receiving their
first paycheck. Some references were being made to how small the
amount was. At the time, I am working part-time with my brother
while I am looking for work and pursuing the music business. He
had been kind of slow lately so I chimed up and said, “What
do you mean? This is the most money I’ve made in the past month!”
Long
sideburns, goatee must go
Jeff Powers can relate to the demands of director George Clooney
and his production staff. When Clooney and his staff decided to
film “Leatherheads” it was going to be as real-like as
possible during that era.
That meant no smoking with filters, no high fives and least of all
no long sideburns and goatees. Jeff showed up as an extra in Charlotte
with long sideburns, he left without them. “I normally have
pretty long sideburns and a goatee. I wasn’t real thrilled
about shaving them, but they grow back,” Jeff said.
It wasn’t the only time Jeff was faced with a hairy decision.
“Since we wore hats, after about the third day of shooting,
I stopped going to hair and makeup in the morning. Putting that
junk in my hair made me feel like a leatherhead.”
Jeff was part of the Charlotte filming for eight days. He was a
reporter briefly the last day and the others he was a fan –
best known as part of the “Scoreboard People” because
of their location during filming. “I was lucky in that we were
needed outside a lot and I didn’t have to wait in the holding
area for long periods.”
Made to order mud for players
One of the more amusing scenes Jeff described was the players having
to play in the mud. “The crew would water the field and make
it muddy. Then the players would wallow in it to get mud on themselves
and even their faces. After shooting a scene they would have to
water down the field again and the players would get muddier. They
kept their uniform on all day. The players’ ate lunch with
mud caked all over them.
“The closest I got to George Clooney was when he was walking
past me and off the field after filming the muddy scenes. He was
caked with mud and as he passed I said, ‘You got a little dirt
on you!’ He kept on walking so I don’t know if he heard
me or not.”
Jeff said co-star Renee Zellweger was in Charlotte for a short time.
He didn’t see her much but he heard her. “There was one
scene where the team scores and you can hear Renee scream all the
way across the stadium.
Jeff said he didn’t seek the camera although he saw others
running for what they thought was a more favorable position or trying
to get into a shot when it wasn’t going to happen. “One
person actually got kicked out at Charlotte. One girl kept leaning
her head into the press box when they were filming and she had to
be dismissed." A man in front of Jeff kept standing on the
bench trying for a better position.
Friendships
aplenty on the set
There was plenty of time to form friendships and Jeff found a former
pitcher at Georgia Tech when the ballpark was first built years
ago. “The man mentioned the Varsity in Atlanta and asked if
I had been there. My wife's parents, Randy and Anne Fossett, met
at The Varsity. It was a good opportunity to network when we were
waiting for the scenes to be filmed. I met a guy on the bus to the
stadium who I gave my card to and who listened to my music. The
next day he introduced me to another "band member" who
was headed to Nashville to record some music. It seems that everybody
on that bus was into music. I met an older gentleman who was a DJ
for a radio station in Statesville.”
Jeff said the decision to participate in the casting call was a
last-minute decision. “My brother told me on about the final
casting call between 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at a mall. I called my wife
to have a photo made and enter my name. It was about 2:30 p.m. when
I got there. I was in-between jobs and trying to work on my music
and get jobs so I figured it would be good practice.
“I never acted but I’ve had many friends say that I should
try comedy. Just recently, I sang a couple of songs for a friend’s
band at a local bar. It was my first time singing for a crowd.”
Have music will travel!
You can learn more about Jeff Powers at http://www.myspace.com/jppowers24
And Jeff invites his many “Leatherheads” extras to listen
to his music – and then call to book him for special events.
|
