Posted on 12/21/2002 8:59:38 PM PST by ZULU
Byrd's big screen debut Senator happy with small role in ‘Gods and Generals'
Chris Stirewalt Daily Mail Staff
Thursday December 19, 2002; 10:30 AM
He doesn't get the girl and he doesn't even have any lines, but Sen. Robert Byrd still is looking forward to his big screen debut.
Byrd said he is eagerly awaiting the Feb. 21 premiere of the Civil War movie "Gods and Generals," which will include his cameo as Confederate Gen. Paul J. Semmes.
"My role is small, admittedly, and probably won't earn me an Academy Award," Byrd, D-W.Va., said. "But it was exciting to participate in a project that is helping to promote our nation's history."
The movie, which details the events and battles leading up to Gettysburg, is set to open nationwide with a full fusillade of publicity from Warner Bros. A special screening is planned in Martinsburg, in the center of the history-laden area where the movie was largely filmed.
Several key scenes were shot in Harpers Ferry.
Director Ron Maxwell included Byrd; and fellow Sens. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, and George Allen, R-Va. and media mogul Ted Turner, who financed the $51 million production, in small parts.
Byrd's role as a field commander is an essential one to history buffs.
Gen. Semmes, a Georgia plantation owner and banker, was in command of key brigades in the battles leading up to the war's turning point at Gettysburg. Semmes was mortally wounded there.
Semmes died of his wounds in Martinsburg several days after the battle at age 48. He saw action at Yorktown, Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Savage's Station, Malvern Hill, Crampton's Gap, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg and Salem Church.
Byrd, 84, spent an entire day on location in Fredericksburg, Va., in November 2001 at the recreated headquarters of Gen. Robert E. Lee. He worked with Robert Duvall, who plays Lee in the movie, and other central characters.
The setting is a camp where Lee, West Virginia's Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and other Confederate leaders are discussing strategy for the upcoming battle. Byrd stands at one end of a group of 19 officers clustered around a long, folding table.
"I have talked with Ron Maxwell several times since the filming and am very excited about the final product," Byrd said. "This film allowed me the opportunity to help bring American history to life, to spring it from the pages of history books into the flickering images of the movie screen."
After his experience on the set, Byrd was moved to make a speech on the Senate floor about his experience in the movie and how the current war against extremist Muslim terrorists parallels the challenges faced by America during the Civil War.
Byrd said that he has long felt that understanding our history was a key to dealing with new challenges.
"I have talked countless times about George Washington, James Madison, John Adams, the Founding Fathers, the Constitutional Framers, Nathan Hale, Abraham Lincoln, and other true American heroes," Byrd said. "I try to encourage young people to learn about these great figures of our country's past. I urge students to read, to visit historical sites, and to soak up as much knowledge as they can."
And the reason director Ron Maxwell picked an 80 year old bumbling, stumbling fool to play the part of a 48 year-old General is?
C'mon get outta here.
You trying to tell me that RR didn't really say, "Now go win one for the Gipper."
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