When Crash Kevin Costner lists the things that he believes in to Annie Susan Sarandon he mentions that he "believes Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone." In Oliver Stone's movie JFK, Costner plays Jim Garrison, the man who devoted much of his life to proving that President Kennedy's murder involved a conspiracy.
Director/writer Ron Shelton was formerly a minor league player in the Carolina League.
The movie was filmed on location in North Carolina in October and November, 1987, which is why the grass had to be touched up with green paint. It is also why the breath of the actors can be seen in many of the night scenes.
In one scene, 'Nuke' LaLoosh (Robbins) gives up a home run that strikes the bull, supposedly rewarding the opposing hitter with a free steak. In reality, at the old Durham Athletic Park, the bull was in foul territory.
Kevin Costner (Crash Davis) is a switch hitter; he is shown hitting both left and right-handed at different points in the film.
In the scene where the batboy tells Crash Davis "Get a hit, Crash", Kevin Costner ad-libbed the response of "Shut up." Since the kid actor playing the batboy obviously didn't know this response was coming, he started crying.
The bull sign in the old ballpark was built for the film, but was retained by the Durham Bulls as a new, old tradition. It is a staple of the new ballpark, complete with red eyes, smoking nose and lifted tail when a Bull hits a home run. It also says, "Hit bull, win a steak. Hit grass, win a salad."
The "rainout" scene was based on actual event. In the late 1960s, Ron Shelton played minor-league ball in the Texas League. Shelton's team was in Amarillo, Texas for a season-ending series. The night before the final game, Shelton, some teammates and some Amarillo players were out partying and decided to go to the stadium and turn on the sprinkler system, thereby flooding the field and ensuring a "rainout". However, the Amarillo team owner rented a helicopter, dried the field, and the game was played.
'Kurt Russell' helped Ron Shelton develop the script and was originally penciled in to play Crash, the part that went to Kevin Costner. After the film was made, Russell was so impressed, he actually wrote fan letters to Costner and Shelton.
Ron Shelton was a former minor league baseball player and used his experience as the basis for the story.
Kurt Russell, who helped Ron Shelton develop the script, also played minor league baseball in the early-1970s
The note that Crash writes to Annie actually reads "Let's fuck sometime," not "I want to make love to you". It can be seen over Crash's right shoulder when he writes the note in the dugout.
As the credits are rolling at the end of the film the picture (which is made to be a shrine) is of Yankee great Thurman Munson who died in plane crash.
In their confrontation outside the bar, Crash tells Nuke, "I hear you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a fucking boat." Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda said this in 1984, in reference to weak-hitting San Diego Padres infielder Kurt Bevacqua.
Ron Shelton reportedly based the character of Nuke LaLoosh on a minor league teammate from his playing days named Steve Dalkowski. Dalkowski is something of a legend among baseball fans and is widely regarded as the fastest throwing pitcher ever. Unlike the character in the film, Dalkowski never made the major leagues.
|
