'42' movie needs 500 extras for crowd shots to be filmed in Chattanooga

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo People wait in line during an open casting call for the film "42" at Eastgate Town Center.

JOIN THE CROWD• Five hundred extras are needed each day of shooting. You can sign up for multiple days.• You must register online at www.beinthemovie42.com.• If you are registering multiple family members, use separate email accounts for each, if available.• You must wear 1940s-era clothing. Examples are on the website.• Plan to be there between eight and 12 hours per day.• Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be provided.• More information and examples of clothing can be found at Facebook.com/SouthernHollywoodEvents.• Do not wear brown clothing and do not show up at Engel without registering first.YOU COULD BE A WINNERPrizes and giveaways include iPads, a three-day trip to Cancun and another to Montego Bay, Jamaica.SING OUTIf you'd like to be selected to sing the national anthem on the set at Engel, grab a camera and film yourself singing it. Be sure to label it with your name. Then go to Facebook and like the Southern Hollywood Events Facebook page. Upload the video. The one with the most likes will be the winner.

Five hundred locals will have 11 chances to be extras on the set of "42," set to film May 21-June 6 at Engel Stadium, and they could win some pricey prizes while doing so.

"This is a unique movie because of the stadium and the historical aspect of the film, and we want the community to be involved," said Trey Toler, social media coordinator for Southern Hollywood Events.

The company is coordinating finding the extra extras who will fill the crowd shots in the movie. These volunteer extras are separate from the people who have applied for paid positions over the last few weeks through CL Casting. The additional 500 extras will not be paid, but only they will be eligible to win the prizes.

"What happened was we had so many people want to be a part of this and those other spots filled up, so we asked the producers if we could find a way to allow more people to be involved," said Jodi Williams with Southern.

"We want people to come out with their families and not just watch a movie being made but be a part of an event," Toler said. "We want everybody in Chattanooga to be proud."

Local filming will take place May 21-25, May 29-June 1 and June 4 and 6, according to Donna Kream with Southern. Everyone who wants to be one of the 500 extras can register online for as many days as they can be there, she said.

"They will get the red carpet treatment," she said. "We'll have photographers there, and the more days they come, the better their chances at winning big prizes."

These includes two trips, iPads, signed baseballs, T-shirts and more.

The film is about Jackie Robinson's rookie year as the first black baseball player in the major leagues. It stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as Dodgers owner Branch Rickey.

Publicist Ernie Malik said most of the baseball action for the film will be shot at Engel and the actors playing ballplayers will be here for that.

"Harrison is scheduled to be in Chattanooga for two or three days, though exactly which days is not set yet," he said.

Some other local sites could be filmed, as well, according to Malik. Other scenes will be shot in Atlanta; Macon, Ga.; and Birmingham, Ala.

Contact Barry Courter at 423-757-6354 or at bcourter@timesfreepress.com.

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