Turner Field isn’t just home of the Braves. The stadium, now marked for demolition, has been a filming location for a number of projects, given the state’s ever-growing movie and television industry.
The 2011 buddy flick “The Change-Up,” starring Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds, not only filmed there but called up former pitcher John Smoltz from retirement and had him suit up for a cameo role as himself.
Actor John Goodman has appeared in two movies that have shot scenes at Turner Field in recent years: “Trouble With the Curve,” starring Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake; and “Flight,” starring Denzel Washington.
A few days after the Braves’ stunning announcement that they will move to Cobb County, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution interviewed Goodman about his new movie, a quirky Coen brothers project called “Inside Llewyn Davis,” opening Dec. 20. He said he couldn’t believe the city plans to tear down the structure where the Braves have played since 1997.
“I hate to see it,” he said. “I’ve always liked the Ted. I’ve always liked the Braves, unless they’re playing my Cardinals.”
He played a Braves executive in “Trouble With the Curve,” a baseball-themed move starring Eastwood as a scout, Adams as his daughter and Timberlake as his rival.
“When I was in there the place seemed brand new,” Goodman said. “I got to every part of that field. I don’t know if it’s progress or what. It’s money. Like everything else, it boils down to money.”
“Inside Llewyn Davis,” starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund and Timberlake, is about an aspiring folk singer in the early 1960s who battles poverty and strained relationships as he struggles for success. Goodman’s character is the garrulous and troubled Roland Turner, a storm cloud of a man whose back story is a mystery.
“I just fleshed him out for myself,” Goodman said. “I had a lot of long speeches. I started hearing a voice. It was happening organically. You gotta hit the pitch that you’re thrown.”
Ah, a baseball reference. With time running out, the movie studio publicist said we had time for one more question. We asked if Goodman had any parting words for the Turner Field folks.
“It’s a temple,” he said of the stadium. “Enjoy your time there.”
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