TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — There was a time when the city of Tucson was the backdrop for a number of major motion pictures.
From Revenge of the Nerds to Major League, Tucson played a prominent role in the movies of the 1980s.
But it was a famous line in the 1974 movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore that introduced moviegoers to Tucson.
“Weird, very weird,” said a young Jodie Foster, who played Audrey. “It’s even weird for Tucson, and Tucson is the weird capital of the world.”
Warner Bros.
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore was shot throughout the Old Pueblo, and helped Hollywood see that Tucson was more than just a location for westerns.
In the 70s, the Tucson Film Commission played a big part in selling Tucson to filmmakers.
“We went to Hollywood and we pitched it,” said local filmmaker Mark Headley. “We hit it real hard. It really took off in the 70s and 80s.”
Headley and the late Bob Shelton, who founded Old Tucson, formed the Tucson Film Commission. They went to work attracting big films to the area.
By the 1980s, Tucson was bustling with movie productions.
“You felt like you were a part of Hollywood,” said Phil Villarreal, KGUN 9 film critic and Tucson area native. “You could kind of grow up and hoped that you might be an extra in a movie at some point. Or at least see some of Tucson on the screen.”
Hi Corbett Field is one of those familiar places featured prominently in the movie Major League.
Paramount Pictures
Thousands of Tucsonans were extras in the stands for some of the spring training scenes.
“People were paid a hot dog and a Coke to sit in the stands if they waited hours,” Villarreal said. “It’s almost impossible to meet someone who doesn’t know someone that was an extra in the stands at the beginning of the movie when they’re in spring training.”
Many of the opposing players in those Hi Corbett scenes were actually University of Arizona baseball players.
One of the biggest movies of the 1980s filmed in Tucson, almost wasn’t.
Revenge of the Nerds was turned down by the University of Arizona, because it was thought to be too raunchy.
20th Century FOX
“The film commission, Bob and I and a few others, really went to bat for the film crew.” Headley recalled. “We went over the script, a hilarious script. They were turned down by a lot of universities that were nervous, but we convinced the University of Arizona this was number one a fun film to do, and number two economic impact on Tucson.”
University officials gave the go ahead and an estimated $4 …….