When you see the movie “Resurrecting the Champ,” the most Denver-drenched movie ever to hit the big screen, try to suspend disbelief and forget that most of it was shot in Canada. Yes, the movie is set in the Mile High City, and yes, there will be lots of exteriors shot around here in the next few days. But for the most part, Calgary stands in as an idealized version of our town.
When director Rod Lurie & Co. descend on Denver this week, they will collect footage of Broncos training camp and film one pivotal scene on Monday starring John Elway. The scene includes Josh Hartnett, the movie’s heartthrob lead, and his on-screen son, so Elway will have to bring his A Game. This is no 2-minute drill. Some serious acting chops will be required of No.7.
“Champ” is based on a Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine piece by J.R. Moehringer, now the Times’ Denver correspondent and author of the best seller “The Tender Bar” – just out this month in paperback. A Pulitzer finalist, “Champ” describes an intense, touching and oddly co-dependent relationship between an ambitious young reporter and a washed-up old boxer. Hartnett plays the Moehringer-esque reporter; Samuel L. Jackson plays the champ.
Meanwhile, Alan Alda plays Hartnett’s editor, CBS stunner Kathryn Morris (“Cold Case”) plays Hartnett’s wife, and megahot “Desperate Housewife” Teri Hatcher plays a TV exec. Star-wise, this film has some knockout power.
Lurie, who directed the Oscar-nominated “The Contender” and created the ABC series “Commander in Chief,” changed the setting of Moehringer’s story from Los Angeles to Denver. Thus, the newspaper where much of the action revolves is now the fictional Denver Times, and newsroom scenes were shot inside the Calgary Herald.
To Denverize the newsroom, every other wall is painted with the “banner” of the Denver Times, and Hartnett’s desk is decorated with the obligatory Broncos helmet. One nice subtle touch: Newsroom TVs continually flicker with KCNC-Ch. 4 newscasts, featuring anchors Molly Hughes and Jim Benemann.
One thing that might shock inkslingers: Supermodel/”Alias” siren Rachel Nichols plays the newspaper’s researcher/librarian. No one that good looking has even bought a Denver newspaper, let alone worked at one.
Where’s the beef?
Dan Tang, owner chef at Heaven Dragon in Thornton, got plenty of press and TV time when President George W. Bush was in town July 21. Yes, this column gave him some shout-outs, too. Tang claimed that he was asked by someone in the president’s staff to make Peking duck for the prez to eat on Air Force One after a luncheon for congressional hopeful Rick O’Donnell. Tang has claimed that he cooked twice before for the prez. And got plenty of press those times too.
Only one problem. Local Republican heavyweights with strong White House ties say Bush has likely never eaten Tang’s food. The Peking Duck, sesame chicken and crispy shrimp were delivered by O’Donnell’s campaign manager K.C. Jones to people at Buckley Air Force Base, where Air Force One rested. What happened to it after that is unclear. I heard it was eaten by members of the motorcade.
“It went to the airplane,” now says Tang. “I don’t know who ate it.”
One former White House staffer told me that any food cooked for the president or anyone in the White House Press Corps or staff while on the road is totally vetted – with background checks conducted at the catering service or restaurant. “Think about it,” said another former White House staffer and bigwig Colorado Republican. “The president is not going to eat food that someone brings to him. It simply wouldn’t happen.”
City spirit
“Late, Late Show” host Craig Ferguson is the surprise headliner at the Comedy Works Aug 18 and 19 … Sez who: “If it’s not one thing, it’s two.” James B. Ledford
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Husted also appears Tuesdays and Fridays on “Good Day Colorado” on Fox 31. You can reach him at 303-820-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com.
