You might have already forgotten about Paris, but comedian Billy Crystal is hard at work on his next sports film.
A near-capacity crowd packed a minor league ballpark in Fresno, Calif., over the weekend for a chance to see Crystal in his latest project. The veteran actor plays Artie Decker, the radio voice of the Fresno Grizzlies.
The Fresno Bee reports the film "Us & Them" spent one day filming in the California city. In the film, Crystal and his wife travel to Atlanta to take care of their grandchildren while their daughter is on vacation.
Most of the film will be shot in Georgia, beginning in October.
Crystal threw out the first pitch, introduced to the 12,500 fans on hand as his Artie Decker character. Right-hander Shane Loux, whose previous claim to fame was being part of the horrible Detroit Tigers of 2003, caught the ball from Crystal. Loux, who also pitched briefly for the Angels, had a 1-1 record and 7.12 ERA for the 119-loss '03 Tigers. That total set the American League record for futility.
Loux also mentioned on Twitter that he had the chance to warm Crystal up in the batting cage before the game.
The San Francisco Giants' Triple-A team made just two changes to the ballpark for the film, adding two huge signs on the outfield fence. One had a big photo of Crystal in a minor league cap that said "Artie Decker voice of the Grizzlies." The other was a special Thirsty Thursday promotion that's part of the film.
The die-hard New York Yankees and Los Angeles Clippers fan hasn't acted in a sports flick since he played the role of Mickey Gordon in the 1995 film, "Forget Paris," in which Crystal played an NBA referee who travels to France to bury his father.
Despite his love of the Bronx Bombers, Crystal wore a New York Mets cap in the iconic 1991 film "City Slickers," and again in the 1994 follow-up.
In addition to acting, Crystal was the executive producer of "61*," the 2001 TV movie that starred Barry Pepper as Roger Maris racing to top Babe Ruth's single-season home run record.
"Us & Them" is expected to be released by 20th Century Fox sometime in 2012.
