WTF Happened to Major League?

[Music] hello again everybody joblo.com here bidding you a big wahoo welcome to what the [ __ ] happened to this movie that's right the Cleveland Indians are well on their way to clinching the AL East which means the 1989 Sports comedy major league is well on its way to becoming a classic of the genre but how did Major League reach this status how did it become one of the most quotable comedies of the decade how did the cast pull off pitching swinging and winning like a pro baseball team how did it go on to represent Cleveland even though it wasn't even shot there and why did they have to make those sequels well let's go just a bit outside to find out what the [ __ ] happened to this movie you might be surprised to know that major league comes courtesy of the same guy who won an Oscar for writing the sting but David S Ward is a huge Cleveland Indians now Guardians fan even though they're far from being the pride of the city as they hadn't been to a World Series since 1954 by the time Major League came out hey according to Harry Doyle they offered free admission to anyone alive when the Indians last won the pennant but it's this clear Cleveland disease that pushed War to right Major League saying I wanted to do a film about an underdog team and I can't think of a more Underdog team than Cleveland still Studios didn't think people would want to see a baseball movie as the MLB was hitting its stride on National Television but there was at least some precedence in the 1980s as both the natural and Bull Durham were huge hits once Ward finished the screenplay which he started writing in 1984 it had to get approval from Bob dibiasio Senior vice president of public affairs for the Indians after that it went out attracting Charlie Sheen early on with the eventual Rick Wild Thing Von saying it was as good as platoon and even comparing it to crack [Music] wow as for vaugh the uncontrollable pitcher from the California penal League was a perfect roll for Sheen who actually played high school ball although he couldn't throw faster than 88 practically alive compared to Von's 101 joining Sheen would be fellow platoon co-star Tom baringer as aging catcher Jake Taylor Manning Third Base except when he's purposely missing ground ball so as not to ruin his pretty face was Roger Dorne played by Corbin burnson the notables taking to the Outfield the rest of those in the dirt didn't get a whole lot of screen time were Willie May Hayes and Pedro Serrano Wesley Snipes actually turned down a roll and do the right thing to play Hay partly inspired of course by Willie ma but his audition was far from easy as he was made to run the bases except he wasn't in any baseball gear and so couldn't gain traction hay it turned out fared much better in his PJs Dennis hayber as the voodoo loving Cuban Sano was based on the famed Aloo brother and even Wade bogs who had his own superstitious habits in the clubhouse like Sheen Snipes and hazur proved they were perfectly cast as the former actually caught a near home run and the latter was smacking home runs himself including the one in the climactic game these skills were discovered during a modified two-e training session led by Dodgers catcher Steve jger who was also cast as the team's third base coach and would even serve as Behringer St stand in at points he coached the prospects in learning more about the game and conditioning after all Ward needed a cast who could well throw a ball and handle a bat as he put it it was really important to us to get a group of guys who look like they could actually play they're not professional quality but you weren't going to look at them and say that guy can't play but not everybody could swing it like skip Garis who instead landed Bob uker co- color commentator Monty and Jeremy Piven didn't make an impression at all as his scenes as a Heckler were cut when vaugh isn't on the mound their spit baller or is it snot baller Eddie Harris played by chelie Ross handling managerial duties as Lou Brown formerly of the too mud hands would be James gamon while ex- showgirl turned owner Rachel Phelps was played by Margaret Whitten who saw her character as a mix of controversial Cincinnati Red zoner Mar shot eventually ousted for being a racist Nazi lover and Yankees icon George steinbrener speaking of steinbrener the production had to get approval from him to use the Yankees as the team the Indians beat in the AL East Clincher Stein brener agreed apparently because of his own Cleveland Roots one standout in that game was Yankee Slugger clue Hayward who was played by Sai Young winner Pete vukovich another MLB face in a key supporting role is the aformentioned Bob yuker who plays announcer Harry Doyle yuker is actually still the Milwaukie Brewers announcer having started his major league career with the team and as you can expect he had lived most of his iconic lines making her big screen debut was Renee Russo as Lynn wesland Jake Taylor's ex the rest of the Supporting Cast includes Charles cyphers Andy Romano and even Neil Flynn later better known as Jan on Scrubs and of course there's joob Buu who has become a fan favorite of the Indians in fact the team taking a queue from Serrano put up their own makeshift Shrine with jobu during the 2016 World Series his magic did not work then with a budget of $1 million Major League began production in the hot summer of 1988 in Milwaukee that's right the movie based around the Cleveland Indians was was shot where the Milwaukee Brewers play as Milwaukee County Stadium stood in for a Cleveland stadium Keen eyes however will notice a sign for WTMJ TV a station based out of Milwaukee there are a few reasons for this for starters the production couldn't properly work around the schedules of the Indians and the Browns who also played at the stadium as it turns out the Browns had started pre-season and so yard markings were already on the field there too were Union issues within Cleveland while it also cost less to film in Wisconsin but Cleveland still gets its due on the screen with the opening credit sequence set to Randy Newman's burn on a reference to the 1969 fire on the kayoga river showing this City's character baseballwise some exteriors and footage were taken at their real Stadium including an aerial shot done on July 3rd of that year with 50,000 plus f in attendance as for fans at Milwaukee County Stadium extras came out in drov at the start but began to dwindle once they found out they had to buy their own stadium food I want a nonay explanation another tie of Cleveland is actually found in Tucson Arizona as their then spring training facility was located at high Corbit field filming on Major League was fairly smooth with most of the cast having fond memories of the shoot and how could they not with poker games and late night partying like every night they went out was as if they just won the division the biggest Drinker of them all though was the skipper beloved by the entire cast as a manager on screen and off James gamon came in remarkably hung over on at least one documented occasion such were his powers that Sheen called him a quote [ __ ] warlock Sheen himself kept busy by figuring out how to jugle the flight schedules of the various women he had flown in so they wouldn't run into each other Sheen also took up another hobby using steroids during the 6 to8 weeks of filming to enhance his performance uh on the field we assume and while it increased his fast ball speed he admits it also brought his [ __ ] meter way up but he was a bit testy anyway as his Rick Von haircut made him the subject of constant harassment in bars on the onet factoid side while Sheen did have an arm home plate was moved up 10 ft to give the illusion of faster throws others got some help from the production team as well in the editing room as Willie May Hay's running scenes were all put in slowo because Wesley Snipes wasn't very fast with filming wrapped it was time to put major league in front of an audience where one aspect was so reviled that Ward and Company changed it and were forced into re-shoot originally Major League ended with a Twist Rachel Phelps never intended to move the Indians to Miami after all in fact she was rooting for them to win the entire time using her string pulling to motivate the team to Victory but a test screening revealed that audiences hated giving her a heart which we know she didn't have anyway based on that cardboard cutout as such additional reaction shots of Rachel being pissed off at the team success success were filmed with the better ending in place Major League slid into theaters on April 7th 1989 the same week as the start of the MLB season the movie opened at number one with $8.8 million beating out fellow newcomers the Dream Team Cyborg and dead commom in addition to Rainman getting a post Oscar's boost it would hold the number one spot for another week before eventually grossing a total of $4 49.8 million the Cleveland Indians for their part would go 73 and 89 That season in the 35 years since its release major league would become one of the most beloved Sports movies ever the American Film Institute would nominate it as one of the 50 best ever while an ESPN reader pole ranked it as the second best baseball movie ever not far behind Field of Dreams which was actually released just 1 month after Major League from her viewpoint Renee Russo said out of all the movies I've ever done that's the one that more people come up to me to talk about it really is a cult classic not even cult really everybody just loves that film but not everybody loves these sequels beginning with 1994's Major League 2 which reunited the director with most of the core cast with the notable exception of Wesley Snipes who was replaced by Omar eps as it turns out Wesley Snipes had developed a bit of an ego as Corbin burnson put it he'd become Wesley Snipes that rubbed me the wrong way while it's considered a dud 5% on Rotten Tomatoes kind of dud 1998's back to the miners is even more distinct for just how bad it is even Ward who had no involvement unlike Corbin burnson Dennis hayberg Bob uker and Takaki ishibashi from Major League 2 doesn't even consider it a real SE sequel the title doesn't even make sense but Ward would still absolutely revisit the series there was even talk before of a planned third movie a real third movie that is that would find the Indians actually winning the World Series something he didn't think would be logical for the first movie in 2011 cast members Charlie Sheen Tom Behringer Corbin burnson Wesley Snipes and even Bob uker all reportedly expressed interest with Sheen saying the script was pure gold this time around we'd find Rick ven trying to Mentor his reluctant illegitimate son who is also an ace pitcher Major League has had an impact on the world of baseball itself too aside from various tributes and spoofs within the community the city of Milwaukee has embraced the movie nearly as much as Cleveland has hosting theme nights based around the movie Topps even released a set of trading cards to celebrate the 25th anniversary Ward himself also takes credit for the popularity of relief pctures using walk-on music and yes Mitch Williams who also went by Wild Thing and W number 99 walked out to the same song as Rick vaugh and according to Sheen that [ __ ] guy never gave me credit poor Charlie Sheen the star of Major League seems to keep getting benched when it comes to the movie when the Indians went to the World Series in 201 16 it seemed like the perfect opportunity to have Sheen as Rick Wild Thing Von throw out the ceremonial first pitch and yet management never even invited him to the mound maybe with all that tiger blood they thought he was a Detroit [Music] fan [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] n [Music]

Channel: JoBlo Originals

Views: 62,787

Keywords: joblo videos, joblo, wtf happened to, wtf happened to this celebrity, wtf happened to this movie, wtf, joblo originals, movie review, review, major league, major league movie, tom berenger, david s ward, major league ending, major league wild thing, charlie sheen baseball, charlie sheen major league, rene russo, tom berenger major league, wesley snipes, wesley snipes major league, what happened to major league, bob uecker, major league clip, sports comedies

Id: u0KBbPoL4rQ

Length: 14min 42sec (882 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 28 2024