“The Fever Pitch” The moment when the movie goddess smiled on Farrelly, the successor of traditional American cinema

The god of movies smiled

The filming of "Fever Pitch" took place during the 2004 American League season, as it required footage of the Red Sox playing in games. The film follows the Red Sox's miraculous success that actually happened during that season, and unfolds in ways that even director Farrelly could not have predicted.

The Red Sox have never been World Champions since their victory in 1918. There is even a jinx called the "Curse of the Bambino" that claims this is due to the curse of Babe Ruth, also known as the "Bambino," who was traded away in 1920. The Red Sox have not won the World Series for a long time, and their last league championship was in 1986, making them a "team that has been abandoned by luck."

In the original script, the Red Sox were supposed to lose in the playoffs. The Red Sox became the subject of the film because (if I may say so) they kept losing. However, the Red Sox in the 2004 season when "Fever Pitch" was filmed was different. Although their performance dropped soon after the league season started, they continued their winning streak as if possessed, and in the American League championship game, after losing three games to their arch rivals, the Yankees, they made a Trading Places by winning four games in a row and won the league championship. After that, in the World Series, which they played for the first time in 18 years, they won three games in a row against the St. Louis Cardinals, and one win away from winning the World Series for the first time in 86 years (!). The staff was forced to change the script and deal with the unexpected situation.

"Fever Pitch" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

The Red Sox made a huge leap forward that no one expected, and won their first World Series in 86 years. The day before that historic day, Farrelly decided to cancel the filming that was originally scheduled in Toronto and film it at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, where the actual game was being played (most of the film was shot in Boston, but some scenes were shot in Canada, where tax benefits are available). The two main actors and staff traveled from Toronto to the stadium a few hours before the start of the game. Because the decision was made so suddenly, the hair and makeup artists could not accompany the actors, so the two main actors applied their makeup to each other on the plane to the stadium. Drew and Jimmy stand by among the general audience in the infield seats, filled with excitement. Just as the Red Sox's victory was decided and the "Bambino Curse" was about to be lifted, Drew and Jimmy burst into the field from the stands. Drew and Jimmy celebrate the World Series victory with the players and act out the final scene of the movie. FOX Sports' television cameras broadcast the situation, which was difficult to determine whether it was acting or real, live. The footage was also used in the final scene of the movie.

During the filming of a movie about the unwinnable Red Sox, the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years. It was a dramatic moment when fiction and reality met. The gods of cinema smiled upon Farrelly. Yes, Farrelly is a director who "has it all." Perhaps he was destined to win the Oscar. Come to think of it, Julia Roberts, who presented Farrelly with the Oscar in "Green Book," was as beautiful as a movie goddess.

Reference material: " Fever Pitch " DVD bonus footage

Text: Tatsuo Ozawa

I make advertising videos. I am an editor at CINEMORE. I saw "Cactus Brothers" at Tokyu Bunka Kaikan when it was released in theaters.

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(c) Photofest / Getty Images