Behind the Scenes: On the Set of We Are Marshall

In the Boy's Locker Room

One of the sets I toured was the Marshall locker room. My first observation? It smelled like a locker room. I guess that's what happens when there's a room full of guys -- decked out in football gear -- jumping around, knocking pads, and huddling up to do the "We Are... Marshall" cheer. The actors playing the football players were actually dripping with "sweat" -- production people kept spraying them with water to make them look like they were perspiring.

That's the sweat I want -- clear, odorless.

There were Marshall banners, a chalkboard with plays drawn on it and the lockers were filled with equipment, helmets and personal effects. An interesting tidbit, all the lockers had the names of real players from the 1971 Marshall team on them. The camera didn't get close enough to actually pick up the names, but screenwriter Jamie Linden thought it was important for the lockers to be spot on.

"The names will never be on screen," Linden told iVillage, "but a story like this -- when the true story is so unbelievable -- you want as much authenticity as possible. Everybody is so devoted to that, especially because we spent three weeks filming in Huntington [in the beginning of production.' Huntington really something else because it's a small town and they're really excited about the movie. It's a story that hasn't been told. Everyone would come out everyday -- there would be crowds of people taking pictures. When you have a true story like that, there's a responsibility to do it right. Hopefully we will."

next : Call Me Coach