Preds QB Stafford In "We Are Marshall"
November 27, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Orlando Predators News Release
Orlando, Fla. (Nov. 27) -- On Friday, Dec. 22 the movie "We Are Marshall" premieres in theaters across the country. The film's plot tells the story of a plane crash that claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and how the team's new coach (Mathew McConaughey) and his few surviving players kept the football program alive.
Former Orlando Predators quarterback Pat O'Hara served as the football consultant on the film and hired many former and current Arena Football League players - including current Predators QB Shane Stafford -- to serve as extras in the movie.
Stafford sat down with orlandopredators.com and talked about the experience:
Q: Shane, how did you get involved in the upcoming movie "We Are Marshall"?
Shane: I got involved through my boy, Pat O'Hara, who has been involved in the business for a long time. He asked me if I would be interested and I said absolutely.
Q: When and where did the filming take place and how long were you involved?
Shane: My part of the filming took place in Atlanta Ga., at a couple of the local small colleges in that area. I went up there, I think it was August. I was only up there for a week...They sure did work us for that week. It was fun.
Q: Is this the first movie you participated in?
Shane: This is the first movie that I did, but I also did a commercial a couple years ago with Dale Ernhardt Jr. It was for Nextel and it aired during the Super Bowl.
Q: What was the neatest thing about being involved in the project?
Shane: I think the neatest thing is yet to come...that is seeing my name in the credits and watching it with my family. Trust me, where I come from things like this don't happen often...My hometown is old school, middle class working people. Not, into the glitz and glamour, so it will be fun to hear my family bust my butt about this.
Q: How much interaction did you actually have with the movie stars? How did they treat the athlete extras?
Shane: Matthew's part of the movie was finished so he was not there. However the other actors were there...guy from terminator 2, he was T2000 in that movie...the guy from Lost, forget his name as well. They were cool to us and joked when they were not too busy...but what we had to remember is that this was their job, they took it seriously, where as we mostly just had fun with it. We were playing the role of football players...that was hard to do..ha..ha
Q: Did you play QB in the scenes you were involved in?
Shane: Yes, I did play the role of quarterback for the Marshall team in their last game before they all died in the plane crash. I got the crap beat out of me for three days straight.
Q: When on location, how did spend your spare time when you were not working?
Shane: To be honest I did not have that much spare time like some of the others did because I was in a lot of the scenes when I was there. The night scene sucked though because we filmed through the night right before the Marshall team boarded the plane that went down. There was a lot of down time then and it was at like 2, 3, 4, in the morning.
Q: Where any parts of the making a movie that you think would surprise the average person?
Shane: The main thing that would surprise people is that it is not that glamorous, at least not for us. Long hours!!! The way that they set up the shots up is pretty amazing and the vision that some of the directors have is pretty interesting. Some of it though, being a football guy, is pretty far fetched but it was so much fun! Your doing a scene and wondering how in the hell is this going to look real...then they put it together and cut it up and bam, it looks great!
Q: Given the nature of the story, is it something that makes you think because of the amount of air travel you did in college and pro football?
Shane: No, not really...it does however put everything into perspective, meaning any moment could be your last. Makes you appreciate when somebody says "good-bye" or "I love you" as they get on a plane.
Q: Is it something you would like to do again?
Shane: Absolutely. It was a lot of fun.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from November 27, 2006
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- Storm announce Holiday Gift Pack - Tampa Bay Storm
- Blaze go over the top to grant Draper boy's wish - Utah Blaze
- Preds QB Stafford In "We Are Marshall" - Orlando Predators
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