WaldenPonders
  • Home
  • About
    • Who is WP?
    • The WaldenPonders Mission
  • Interviews
    • 2015 >
      • "For The Record: Dear John Hughes"
      • "Empire" Primetime Emmy Event
      • "The Luck of the Irish" Screenwriter Andrew Shepard Price
    • 2014 - Under Construction
    • 2013 >
      • "The Newsroom" PaleyFest 2013
      • "Community" PaleyFest 2013
      • "The New Normal" PaleyFest 2013
      • "Parenthood" PaleyFest 2013
      • "Nashville" PaleyFest 2013
      • "2 Broke Girls" PaleyFest 2013
      • "American Horror Story: Asylum" PaleyFest 2013
      • "The Mindy Project" PaleyFest 2013
      • An Evening with "Revenge"
      • "Salute Your Shorts" Reunion
      • "General Hospital": Celebrating 50 Years
      • It's the shizNICK: Nickelodeon Art Show Opening
      • LA Times Festival of Books 2013
      • Ned Vizzini
      • Kirsten Storms, "Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century"
      • Perez Hilton
      • Iqbal Theba
      • Robin Williams: The Craziest One of All
      • Thomas Ian Nicholas
      • The Sandlot 20th Anniversary
      • Ready, Set Visit: "The Big Bang Theory"
      • Doug Jones
      • Mathew Klickstein, SLIMED! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age
    • 2012 >
      • PaleyFest 2012
      • An Evening with "Mike & Molly"
      • "Up All Night" Panel
      • "Top Chef" Emmy Panel
      • Film Review: "Hysteria"
      • She's Making Media: Lily Tomlin
      • Teen Choice Awards 2012
      • Concert Review: Opening Night at the Hollywood Bowl
      • "Wild & Crazy Kids" Reunion
      • Fall TV Previews 2012
      • Penny Marshall: Live Talks LA
      • Mark Silverman & The Tower of Terror
      • Saved by the Bell: Palm Springs Weekend Filming Location Tour
    • 2011 - Under Construction
    • 2009 >
      • Ryan Cabrera
      • Naya Rivera
      • Idina Menzel Concert Review
      • Jo Dee Messina
      • Eve 6
      • 100 Monkeys ft. Jackson Rathbone
      • Jesse Ruben
      • LFO
      • Third Eye Blind
      • David Cook
      • Rufus Wainwright
      • Eric Hutchinson
      • Krista
      • Eric Hutchinson (2)
      • Sandlot Heroes
      • Colbie Caillat
      • Erin McCarley
      • Landon Pigg
      • Justin Bieber
    • 2008 >
      • Kate Voegele
      • Simple Plan
      • Secondhand Serenade
      • Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood
      • Zeke Zelker
      • Michael Rady
      • Joy Behar
      • Quietdrive (2)
    • 2007 >
      • Justin Willman
      • The Cast of "Grindhouse"
    • 2006 >
      • Quietdrive
      • Anthony Clark
    • 2005 >
      • Pauly Shore
      • Anna Deavere-Smith
  • The Avocado Kitchen
    • Kool & The Gang
    • Joel Grey
    • Lesley Gore
    • Three Dog Night
    • Earth, Wind, & Fire
    • Chicago
    • TCM Classic Film Festival 2012
    • Diahann Carroll
    • Deana Martin
    • TCM Classic Film Festival 2013 >
      • Opening Night: "Funny Girl" 45th Anniversary Restoration Red Carpet
      • Jane Fonda's Hand & Footprint Ceremony
      • A Conversation with Tippi Hedren
      • "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" Screening & Cast Panel
      • Around the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival
    • Christopher Atkins
    • John Ratzenberger
    • TCM Classic Film Festival 2014 >
      • Opening Night: Oklahoma! 60th Anniversary Restoration Red Carpet
      • Jerry Lewis' Hand & Footprint Ceremony
      • Around the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival
    • TCM Classic Film Festival 2015 >
      • Opening Night: The Sound of Music 50th Anniversary Restoration Red Carpet
      • Christopher Plummer's Hand & Footprint Ceremony
      • Around the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival
    • TCM Classic Film Festival 2016 >
      • Opening Night: All The President's Men Red Carpet
      • Francis Ford Coppola's Hand & Footprint Ceremony
      • Around the 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival
  • Blog

The Sandlot Celebrates 20th Anniversary
with Nationwide Ballpark Tour and Cast Reunion

October 2013

Picture
"Remember kid, there's heroes, and there's legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."

The Beast. You're Killing Me, Smalls. Wendy Peffercorn. Squints. You Play Ball Like A Girl. The Babe.

Writer/Director David Mickey Evans gave us this lexicon and a coming-of-age story that makes The Sandlot both hero and legend to those of us who grew up loving this 1993 film. Along with Rookie of the Year, The Sandlot has achieved a milestone 20th Anniversary this year, and to celebrate, David and his team of misfits reunited on a national tour of local and professional baseball stadiums to screen the film for fans of all ages.

If you'll recall, Mike Vitar's character Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez eventually moves out of the sandlot to realize his dream of playing professional baseball with the Dodgers. So of course, one of the final ballpark destinations had to be Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where members of the cast gathered over Labor Day weekend on Sunday, September 1st to introduce the event.

After the game, Jumbotrons screened the movie for the Audience in the Outfield - hundreds of fans, old and new, cuddled on blankets under a warm summer sky, ready to travel back to simpler times, when the greatest imagination was what you found in your backyard. Can you imagine a better theater to showcase The Sandlot? 
If only there'd been s'mores...we've all learned how to make 'em by now, right, Smalls?

Prior to game day, I sat down with David and select members of the production and cast at FOX Studios to discuss the influence of The Sandlot and why it's a classic that audiences will cherish FOR-EV-ER. More than just a PG baseball flick, the film's dominating themes of friendship and inclusion exhibit a relevancy that holds up and hits home, as it were, especially during a time when bullying and self-esteem have moved to the forefront of social consciousness. The roundtable dialogue was inspiring, genuine, and all-together awesome, and I'm pretty sure I could listen to David Mickey Evans talk about anything (incidentally, he's also the man behind Radio Flyer, another personal favorite). Here's to another 20 years!
Picture
Art LaFleur (The Babe), Grant Gelt (Bertram), Producer Cathleen Summers, Writer/Director David Mickey Evans, Me, Shane Obedzinski (Tommy), Daniel Zacapa (Police Chief), and Marty York (Yeah-Yeah)
Picture
Picture
Yeah-yeah, you'll wanna see this:
See more amazing cast reunion photos, and read about The Sandlot's tour stop at Dodger Stadium in this great write-up of the event.
Here's a few pics from my front-row blanket spot, too!

Links: Official Site | Facebook | Twitter | IMDB
Picture
Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.