The Scotsman 10/28/03
Since St. Andrews played such a huge part in Bobby Jones'
life, it's fitting how a new $15 million Hollywood film about the great man
should also hand a significant role to the home of golf.
An eagerly awaited premiere in the Auld Toun of Stroke of Genius, which it's hoped will be attended by the Duke of York, the captain of
the Royal and Ancient, on 17 March next year, 102 years to the day since Jones'
birth, will give those Scots closely involved in the production a first
opportunity to see their efforts on screen.
The film starts and finishes in St Andrews and tells the
fabled story of the summer of 1930 when Jones won the Grand Slam of his day -
the British Amateur, the US Amateur, the British Open and the US Open. Jones is
the only golfer ever to accomplish this extraordinary feat.
Alan McGregor, the secretary of the St Andrews Links Trust,
the organization which runs the Old Course, found his skepticism about whether
the crew would actually visit Scotland brushed aside when he was invited to play
the part of the starter at the 1930 Amateur.
"A delegation came to see me a couple of months ago and
told me they were shooting a film about Bobby Jones. I must admit my first
reaction was 'we'll see if this ever happens', but it did duly take place,"
said McGregor, who gave permission for the Old Course, which is closed on the
Sabbath, to be used exclusively for filming on consecutive Sundays.
"The people behind the film were also the producers of
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Tom Crow, the Australian who established
Cobra, the equipment manufacturers, is one of the backers. The working title is
Stroke of Genius and I'm hoping I might be up for best supporting actor at the
next Academy awards.
"I was handed a script, a costume and had to have my
hair cut in a style appropriate to the Thirties. One wag quipped that as far as
the extras were concerned the film makers could have saved themselves a lot of
trouble if only they'd asked the R&A members to come out of the club house
and stand around...
"Jim Caviezel, who played the lead in The Count of Monte
Cristo, is Bobby Jones. He's also playing Christ in Mel Gibson's new film The
Passion. I said to his wife he'd gone from playing Jesus to the lord of the
links. Remarkably, Caviezel had never played the game before. Jim Farmer taught
him how to swing like Jones and Jim's son was the double for some of the golf
shots."
Farmer, one of Scotland's leading coaches who also owns a
golf shop in St Andrews, spent two weeks with the American crew teaching
Caviezel how to swing like Jones.
Farmer's son, Jamie, was Caviezel's double in Scotland and
hit the shots from 150 yards out and more while Caviezel himself struck a few
from close range, including a bunker shot from the huge trap at the 11th. Jamie
is a management student at Aberdeen University and was the same height as
Caviezel although a little heavier.
Apparently the first time Jones played the links, he disliked
it so much he walked in. Caviezel was keen to jump into the 11th hole bunker to
demonstrate Jones' sense of frustration but Farmer convinced him Bobby would
never have behaved like that.
The Scot studied videos of the old films Jones made in
Hollywood to understand more about the golfer's swing and mannerisms. One of the
big differences between then and now was how quickly someone like Jones would
hit a shot with virtually no preset routine.
"It was a helluva challenge, and I can't wait to see how
it turns out," admitted Farmer. "I just hope it comes across OK and
that they will use old clips of Jones swinging as well.
"The grip usually is the first giveaway if somebody
hasn't played golf before. We worked on that aspect a lot."
Both Jim and Jamie were invited by the production team to
continue working on the film in Atlanta but had to turn the opportunity down
because Jamie was due back at university. Casting was carried out by Casting
Call of Comrie and production duties in the UK were handled by Ewan MacGregor's
parents, Carol and Jim MacGregor.
Other well-known actors in the film, which is expected to
echo the style of Chariots of Fire, include Malcolm McDowell, who plays OB
Keeler, the sportswriter from the Atlanta Journal, and Aidan Quinn, who plays
Harry Vardon. Jeremy Northam is Walter Hagen.
Crow, an R&A member and consulting producer, believes
"audiences will cheer, laugh, cry, and applaud. We are determined to create
a film that balances old-fashioned storytelling with state-of-the-art
cinema."
Jones once said: "I could take out of my life everything
except my experiences at St. Andrews and I would still have had a rich and full
life."
Happily, the film which tells his tale of glory promises to
reflect that sentiment.
© Scotsman 2003
Archived 2003-08 Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net