Movie crew to film at Saturday's Grizzlies game

Fans attending Saturday's Fresno Grizzlies game with the Sacramento River Cats at Chukchansi Park could find themselves filmed for an upcoming major motion picture. Details are sketchy, but what's certain is that a film crew will shoot scenes for a movie during and after the Triple-A baseball game.

The film is about a minor league broadcaster who lives in Fresno, so the Grizzlies will wear their regular jerseys and not the name of a made-up baseball team.

"There will be at least one scene with crowd shots, and, while it won't disrupt the game, there will be some things between innings," says Grizzlies spokesman Noah Frank.

The Grizzlies want to pack the downtown stadium for the one-day shoot. Tickets are available at regular prices for the game that starts at 7:05 p.m. Fans are urged to wear their Grizzlies gear. The production company will provide release waivers for all fans to sign who could appear in the film.

Grizzlies President & CEO Chris Cummings calls this a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not only for the Grizzlies, but for the people of Fresno."

The identity of the film's star was not released. But actor Billy Crystal was spotted in Fresno last week and his name circulated on Twitter and Facebook Tuesday afternoon. Crystal's a huge baseball fan and directed the cable movie "61*" about New York Yankees home-run hitter Roger Maris.

Fresno Film Commissioner Ray Arthur says the movie is scheduled to shoot only on Saturday – but there's always the chance that if the crew doesn't film everything they need, they could film Sunday's game. There's also a possibility the cast and crew will return to Fresno at a later date for one more day of filming.

Arthur estimates Saturday's filming will pump almost $100,000 into the local economy.

This won't be the first time Chukchansi Park has been used as a filming backdrop. Gatorade shot the "ball girl video" commercial here in 2008, and in January the first film created by the Hopes & Dreams Project used the stadium.

Tickets are available at the Chukchansi Park Box Office, online at fresnogrizzlies.com, or by calling (559) 320-TIXS.