Community members recall "Field of Dreams"

By Caroline Rosacker

In 1989, Field of Dreams, an American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, adapted from W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel Shoeless Joe, was filmed locally in northeast Iowa. The wildly–popular, feel-good movie starred Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta and Burt Lancaster in his final film role. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.

In 2017, Field of Dreams was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

The famous ball field, located on the outskirts of Dyersville, recently hosted a historic Major League baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees. Field of Dreams enthusiasts and baseball fans from across the country gathered in northeast Iowa to be part of the iconic event. 

Guttenberg residents Bruce Bryant, a retired English teacher and former Backwater band member who broke away from the MAMA Hall of Fame band to pursue his solo act Carpe Diem, and Lois Goerdt, who always embraces life with gusto, paused to look back on their experiences as extras on the set of "Shoeless Joe" – the film's working name at the time.  The fame-seeking locals both found their call to stardom while reading the Dubuque Telegraph Herald (TH). "There was a story in the TH saying they were looking for extras and to contact Sue Riedel, Theater Manager and Artistic Director at Bell Tower Theater in Dubuque," said Bryant. 

"There was advertising in the paper – and a friend of mine and I decided we would give it a shot," Goerdt told The Press. "I was living in Farley at the time, and working as a teacher's aide."

"It was the last day of school for my students and I was looking for an assignment to keep them occupied," Bryant remembered. "I asked them to each write a letter of recommendation stating why I would be an asset to the film. Some of them were sincere and others were just for fun."

"My friend and I went for it, and answered the ad to be extras in the final car scene," recalled Goerdt. "I can't even remember what kind of car I drove at the time."

"I was called to fame on the last working day for teachers before summer break," Bryant said with a smile. "They gave me my security number – 601, and told me to arrive on the set at 6 a.m. the following morning."

Both Goerdt and Bryant remember being ushered into a large circus tent with many other would-be fame-seekers. 

"It was a long day!" Goerdt recollected. "They fed us breakfast – and we sat there. They fed us lunch – and we sat there. They fed us dinner – and we sat there. Then when it finally became dark enough we got in our cars and were told to flicker our lights as we drove slowly away."

Bryant described a long sweltering day. "At least five hundred of us were packed in this circus tent. I ran in to Alan Moser, a former student who is now deceased, and visited with him briefly as we waited," said Bryant. "We milled around from 6 a.m. until about 1 p.m. with no food or water. It was hot and we were all starting to become cranky. They finally rounded us up and took us to a local gymnasium in a nearby school for our big break. There were five guys standing in the gymnasium with hand-held air conditioners trying to keep us cool."

Bryant would eventually finagle his way up to the front of the line, and was present on camera during the filming of the book-banning scene. "They finally fed us at around 4 p.m.," he reported. "It was a heavy meal – steak, lobster and all the trimmings. The meal offended Kevin Costner and he became upset and fired the caterer on the spot! He said the extras needed a lighter meal; he indicated that too much heavy food would make us sleepy and lethargic. After that our meals were hamburgers, hot dogs and lots of fruit." 

Bryant lingered on the set while the remainder of his group was ushered back to the main tent. "I hung out with the sound guys for a while and then boldly approached Costner," he said with a smile. "I asked him what his next project was going to be and he told me Dances with Wolves."

The film would be Kevin Costner's directorial debut and was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Mixing. The film also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. 

"I didn't understand the concept of either film until I saw the finished product in the movie theater,"
commented Bryant. "I took my wife and kids to the second airing of Field of Dreams. The debut was too expensive. It was pretty thrilling to see myself for a split second, on the big screen in the gymnasium scene."

Bryant's presence provided an opportunity to be called back the following day. "I was called back to be filmed as an extra. I was supposed to run down the hall to the book banning meeting, but they went with the janitor that was actually employed with the school, and had him mop the floors instead.” 

Both Goerdt and Bryant were rewarded for their participation. “I got this button that indicates I was in the last scene of Shoeless Joe,” she said with a hearty laugh. 

“I was paid $50 dollars a day,” Bryant shared. “There was a guy with an attaché case that was handcuffed to his wrist. A cop accompanied him like a shadow. He would open the case and it was packed with crisp $50 dollar bills. I remember people were getting pretty disgusted with the way we were being treated. We were ready to form a mutiny, but one of the directors calmed us down and said ‘Hey! We chose to film in the Midwest because we were told you had a strong work ethic and were dependable. Now don’t make us regret our decision.’ It was all pretty exciting!” 

Note: See next week’s issue for coverage of local residents who were part of the security team at the Field of Dreams game