RoundAbout Madison - Movie Madison 4-05 Film Reaction

Film Reaction

Movie’s impact on town expected to be substantial

South Bend, Milan, Bloomington
film lore still draws tourists

By Debra Maylum
Staff Writer
(April 2005) – As the long-awaited release of “Madison” approaches, city officials have speculated about the impact the movie will have on tourism, visitation and economic development.
“We have been planning for the release of the movie since 1999,” said Betsy Vonder-heide, Special Projects Administrator for the City of Madison. “With any success at all, we anticipate that the movie will attract visitors.”
Tony Steinhardt, who was the 1971 Miss Madison team manager and was called up as a technical advisor to the film crew, said, “I don’t think anyone realizes just how big this will be for the city, the county and the state of Indiana. It’s going to have wide appeal to audiences, judging from the reactions we have been getting at the screenings.”
Steinhardt has shown the film in several cities in pre-release screenings to help build grassroots support for the movie, filmed on location in Madison and other towns in late 1999 and early 2000.
Steinhardt is hoping the film will help produce a title sponsor for the 2005 Madison Regatta. “With the movie coming out, you would think this would be a great year to be the sponsor.”
City officials, meanwhile, are bracing for a influx of MGM Hollywood types and movie cast and crew who are expected to attend the film’s world premiere April 17 in downtown Madison.
But what will it do, longterm, for Madison? RoundAbout took a comparative look at how previous Indiana-based films impacted the cities of Milan (“Hoosiers”), South Bend (“Rudy”) and Bloomington (“Breaking Away”).

In 1979, Bloomington became nationally known as the home of the “Little 500” bicycle race. The movie, about four recent high school graduates struggling with “what to do with their lives,” was filmed entirely on location in Bloomington in 1979. Twenty-six years later, the city still receives attention because of the film, officials there say.
“The stadium is gone now, but people still come in asking where different sites from the movie are located,” said Carol Wilson, Bloomington-Monroe County Visitors Center Coordinator. “They don’t come to town specifically because of it anymore, but once they are here, they say ‘Oh yeah, I remember that movie,’ and they want information.”
She said the tourism office sells numerous copies of the “Breaking Away” and “Hoosiers” each year to visitors. (Perhaps that’s an idea for Madison tourism officials to consider.)
Officials at the Ripley County Convention and Visitors Bureau receive inquiries from around the world about the movie “Hoosiers,” said Katherine Taul, Ripley County Tourism Director. The movie is based on the story of the 1954 Milan State Championship basketball team,
The movie was originally released in 1986. A recut of the film was released on DVD this past January. Nineteen years later, new viewers are still seeing the movie that put Ripley County on the map. “People will be passing through and stop because they see our water tower (which reads, “State Champs 1954’) and they remember the movie and want to see the town,” said Taul.
When visitors come, they can visit the Milan ’54 Museum, which highlights memorabilia and artifacts from 1954 championship game and team.
“People come from everywhere,” said Roselyn McKittrick, who houses the museum in a large portion of her antique store. “It’s such a great story, and they are great boys. It’s a great tourist attraction, and it’s great for the town of Milan,” she said.
Without “Hoosiers,” it is doubtful that the museum would see visitors from across the country, she added. McKittrick recalls reporters filling the town every day for many months after the movie’s release. “They came from all over the place,” she said. “And they still come today. It is one of the best sports movies of all time.”

The 1993 movie, “Rudy,” is the most recent Indiana sports story and perhaps the one that received the most national attention because of its connection to storied University of Notre Dame football. The movie tells the story of a college student who was “too small to play football” but beat the odds and fulfilled his dream of playing for the Fighting Irish. It is one of the few films that has been filmed on the university’s campus.
“We get requests all the time for movies to be filmed here, and 99 percent of them are turned down,” said Dennis Brown of the Office of Public Affairs at Notre Dame. “But this one was selected, and it turned out to be a good decision for us.”
Notre Dame has always been a popular tourist attraction, but the year after the release of “Rudy,” applications for the fall semester increased by 20 percent, officials said. “It can not be attributed entirely to the movie. The football team had done well in 1993 and other things were involved, but the movie certainly had an impact,” said Brown.
The South Bend-Mishawaka Convention and Visitors Bureau also receives a large number of inquiries about the movie. Additionally, they have integrated it into their daily operations. “We send ‘Rudy’ to people to entice them to visit and get them into the South Bend-Notre Dame spirit,” said Executive Director Greg Ahers. “We buy the movie by the case. It is a good marketing tool.”
Only time will tell how “Madison,” the movie, will impact Madison the town and whether the city will take advantage of the heightened awareness the movie is sure to create.
“It is the kind of movie that increases in popularity through word of mouth,” said Vonderheide, who is briefly seen in the movie as an extra named Gertie. “Even if it does not see huge successes in the theater, although I hope it does, I think its popularity would increase through rental. The movie reflects our towns beauty, and people are going to want to see that.”
Katherine Taul, Ripley County Tourism Director. The movie is based on the story of the 1954 Milan State Championship basketball team,
The movie was originally released in 1986. A recut of the film was released on DVD this past January. Nineteen years later, new viewers are still seeing the movie that put Ripley County on the map. “People will be passing through and stop because they see our water tower (which reads, “State Champs 1954’) and they remember the movie and want to see the town,” said Taul.
When visitors come, they can visit the Milan ’54 Museum, which highlights memorabilia and artifacts from 1954 championship game and team.
“People come from everywhere,” said Roselyn McKittrick, who houses the museum in a large portion of her antique store. “It’s such a great story, and they are great boys. It’s a great tourist attraction, and it’s great for the town of Milan,” she said.
Without “Hoosiers,” it is doubtful that the museum would see visitors from across the country, she added. McKittrick recalls reporters filling the town every day for many months after the movie’s release. “They came from all over the place,” she said. “And they still come today. It is one of the best sports movies of all time.”
The 1993 movie, “Rudy,” is the most recent Indiana sports story and perhaps the one that received the most national attention because of its connection to storied University of Notre Dame football. The movie tells the story of a college student who was “too small to play football” but beat the odds and fulfilled his dream of playing for the Fighting Irish. It is one of the few films that has been filmed on the university’s campus.
“We get requests all the time for movies to be filmed here, and 99 percent of them are turned down,” said Dennis Brown of the Office of Public Affairs at Notre Dame. “But this one was selected, and it turned out to be a good decision for us.”
Notre Dame has always been a popular tourist attraction, but the year after the release of “Rudy,” applications for the fall semester increased by 20 percent, officials said. “It can not be attributed entirely to the movie. The football team had done well in 1993 and other things were involved, but the movie certainly had an impact,” said Brown.
The South Bend-Mishawaka Convention and Visitors Bureau also receives a large number of inquiries about the movie. Additionally, they have integrated it into their daily operations. “We send ‘Rudy’ to people to entice them to visit and get them into the South Bend-Notre Dame spirit,” said Executive Director Greg Ahers. “We buy the movie by the case. It is a good marketing tool.”
Only time will tell how “Madison,” the movie, will impact Madison the town and whether the city will take advantage of the heightened awareness the movie is sure to create.
“It is the kind of movie that increases in popularity through word of mouth,” said Vonderheide, who is briefly seen in the movie as an extra named Gertie. “Even if it does not see huge successes in the theater, although I hope it does, I think its popularity would increase through rental. The movie reflects our towns beauty, and people are going to want to see that.”

Click here to go back to the movie story pages.

• For more information, visit the official movie website: www.madisonthemovie.com. To view the movie trailer and message board, visit RoundAbout’s “Madison” movie web page at: www.roundaboutmadison.com.

• Editor’s Note: You can view the movie trailer in its entirety online at:
www.madisonthemovie.com/madison.html. Click on “Madison.”

“Madison” Movie Credits
Made in USA, 2001
Release Date: Late Summer 2004
Distributors: MGM
Runtime: 94 min.
Executive Producers: Carl Amari, Chris Dennis, Steve Salutric, Roy Millonzi
Producers: Martin Wiley, William Bindley
Co-Producer: Lisa Lloyd
Screenwriters: William Bindley, Scott Bindley
Director: William Bindley (Credits: “The Eighteenth Angel,” “Judicial Consent”)
Principal Cast: Jim Caviezel (Jim McCormick), Jake Lloyd (Mike McCormick), Mary McCormack (Bonnie McCormick), Bruce Dern (Harry Volpi), Paul Dooley (Mayor Don Vaughn), Brent Briscoe (Tony Steinhardt).
Additional Cast: Frank Knapp (Bobby Humphrey), Kristina Anapau (Tami), James Andelin (Merle), Reed Diamond (Skip), Mark Fauser (Travis), Richard Lee Jackson (Buddy), Matthew Letscher (Owen Henderson), Cody McMains (Bobby Epperson), William Shockley (Rick Winston), Vincent Ventresca (Walker Grief), John M. Watson Sr. (Walter).
Storyline: A somewhat fictionalized account of a true story about an Unlimited hydroplane driver’s surprise victory in the 1971 Gold Cup at Madison, Ind.
Official website: http://www.madisonthemovie.com