Corny but True

“Field of Dreams,” that Kevin Costner baseball flick set in Iowa farm country, is reaping a harvest of hospitality in the Hawkeye State.

Carl Hoffman, an exec with the Excellence Theaters Chain, tells us the movie has lured near-sellout crowds since opening exclusively in Iowa at Des Moines’ Capri Theater April 21. A total of 3,109 tickets were sold during the three-day opening weekend at the 522-seat theater.

“The theater was even almost filled to capacity last Sunday,” said Hoffman from Iowa’s capitol and largest city (pop. 191,000). “It’s unusual for Des Moines to have a theater full on a Sunday.”

“Dreams” had a charity premiere April 20 in smaller Dubuque, where much of the shooting took place. Cast members Costner, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta and Burt Lancaster were unavailable, but exec producer Brian Frankish and baseball tech consultants Rod Dedeaux and Don Bufford showed up to a cheering crowd.

“The excitement level on this thing is astronomical,” said Lindy Strodel of the Iowa Film Office. “In Dubuque, especially, people feel it’s their own. For eight weeks this film crew invaded the community, in a good way, and the community has grown very attached to it.”