For the family with tweens/teens, the must-see film at the Wisconsin Film Festival is "Ghost Player: Relive the Magic."
The complete synopsis of the film from ghostplayer.us: "Ghost Player is a documentary that chronicles the adventures of a boisterous and unlikely team of middle-aged Iowa baseball players. In 1989, Hollywood went to Iowa to shoot Field of Dreams. Little did anyone know this blockbuster would spawn a comedic baseball show starring local ballplayers that would have an 18-year run and travel the world. Ghost Player tells the story of how this team ranging from a hog farmer to a State Representative moved audiences around the world and changed the players’ lives forever. From Dyersville, we follow the Ghost Players around the world as warm-hearted, comedic ambassadors of the best that the American Heartland has to offer — baseball, tomfoolery, and good old-fashioned family fun. They bring the comfortable familiarity of home to men and women stationed in the military in the far corners of the world. But most of all, we witness how America’s favorite pastime and a Hollywood movie set can give one group of men from a small Iowa town a second chance to live the life they’ve always dreamed."
Sure, I'll admit it. I am biased. I have loved the movie "Field of Dreams" since it premiered in 1989. I visited the actual field located in Dyersville, Iowa, shortly after the movie became a huge hit. Later on, I visited it again with my daughter, and "had a catch" on the real Field of Dreams infield, just like the character Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) did with his dad.
During our visits, we were fortunate to attend several baseball games led by the vaudevillian Ghost Players, prior to their retirement in 2007. My tween has stared down and gotten a base hit against a ghost pitcher. She and her best friend laughed wildly at the crazy hijinks of the players. Following the game, she had her baseball autographed by every team member. And me, shy person that I am, have upon request, (and with an embarrassed cherry-red face) "resuscitated" an "ailing" Ghost pitcher. So, yes, the Ghost Players are near and dear to my heart.
The Ghost Players, nicknamed the "Harlem Globetrotters of baseball," delighted baseball fans at the Field of Dreams site for 18 years. During this time, "local appliance salesman" turned producer/director, Joe Scherrman, filmed and edited over 600 hours of footage into the resulting 54 minutes of film. Take a look at the slide show below, which will provide a glimpse into the character of these goodwill ambassadors of baseball and family fun.
Ghost Player will be shown at the Monona Terrace Convention Center, on Thursday, Apr 15th at 7:15pm. Prices are $7.00 for adults, $4.00 for students. Filmmakers are scheduled to attend. Ticket sales begin on Saturday, 3/20 at noon. As they say in the movie, "People will come," and they most definitely will, so buy your tickets tomorrow when they go on sale, or you just might miss the magic.
Can't make it to see the film in person? The DVD is for sale here.
Stay tuned for Part II of this article, which will contain information about visiting the Field of Dreams movie site and seeing the Ghost Players play baseball.
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