Will Hoogendyk IV, Campus Carrier sports editor
One of Berry’s biggest bragging points is its one-of-a-kind campus. Because of its size and beauty, it has often drawn national attention, consistently being rated one of the most beautiful college campuses in America. Berry has a history of being a popular place for movie filming locations, and one of the most famous projects filmed here celebrates its 25th anniversary of being released in 2025.
“Remember the Titans” is a Disney movie, released in September of 2000, that follows the story of an integrated high school football team from Virginia in 1971. For a few days in 1999, Run It Up Productions Inc. came to Berry College to film scenes for the movie. The main character in the film, head coach Herman Boone, was played by Denzel Washington, who stayed on campus during filming. Head Baseball Coach David Beasley remembers Washington’s trailer being right by the baseball field.
“I mean Denzel, his camper was right behind our dugout,” Beasley said. “Denzel needed a place to run every day, and so they came to me and asked me ,could he run on the field because it was enclosed? I told them that he could if he let me come to a filming. He let me, and I took my daughter to watch the Ford gym scene. We got into the cafeteria scene where the little girl comes up and talks to Denzel and the other actor. And me and my daughter were about 10 feet away when they filmed that. So, it’s pretty neat how they did that.”
According to the Berry Archives, Washington and costar Will Patton, who played Coach Bill Yoast, stayed five nights in cottages while at Berry. Washington stayed in Frances Cottage and Yoast in Emily Cottage.
Scott Breithaupt (91C), associate vice president for advancement was, working as the director of Historic Berry when “Remember the Titans” came to town. One thing he remembers is how much Washington enjoyed being on Berry’s campus.
“When Denzel Washington toured around the campus before they ever started filming, whoever was showing him around took him up to the House O’ Dreams,” Breithaupt said. “He just kind of fell in love with it up there and so he decided that while he was on campus he wanted to live up there at the House O’ Dreams during the filming.”
Breithaupt remembers preparing the House O’ Dreams for Washington’s stay by purchasing a new bed and replacing historic furniture for him to use during his stay. When director Boaz Yakin heard that Washington wanted to stay up there, he vetoed it because of how long it would take him to commute to the set each day.
The primary filming locations for the scenes at Berry included the Ford complex, The Old Mill and the Oak Hill residence.
At the time, Breithaupt worked under Alan Storey, who was an executive assistant to the president. Storey was in charge of communicating back and forth with Run It Up Productions Inc. when it came to expense reports or other logistical matters. Some of this included providing a list of students who were willing and able to help out on set while the crews were here.
Beasley remembers one of his players, Andrew Smiley, who got to be involved on both sides of the camera.
“Andrew Smiley was one of my players and he was a young kid,” Beasley said. “He came to me and he wanted to try to be an extra. He was on the blue buses they used here when they were going to camp and were just riding down Stretch Road.”
Breithaupt’s office when he worked as historic director was located on the Oak Hill grounds. This gave him a unique vantage point on another scene from the movie.
“They go on a run and they end up at a cemetery,” Breithaupt said. “That cemetery was all built out of fake headstones and stuff right where the Christopher Browning pavilion is at Oak Hill now, and that’s where my office was so, I remember I could look out the window and see the cemetery out there for a while.”
Records from Berry’s Archives indicate that the production team arrived at Berry on the night of Oct. 8, 1999, and started filming promptly the next morning at 7 a.m. Berry was on fall break for a portion of the time they were filming the movie, but some students stayed to help out and work on set. Crews left on Oct. 14, but filmed at other locations in Georgia, closer to Atlanta.
Even though the production wasn’t at Berry for too long, both Beasley and Breithaupt remember Washington and Patton interacting with the students while they were here.
“[Washington] came out and took batting practice with us in the [batting] cage,” Beasley said. “All of his entourage was with him, he had about nine people with him everywhere he went, but he was super nice, super cordial, engaging and talked to the kids.”
Breithaupt remembers hearing students talk about how friendly Patton was with them.
“I remember students saying he was going out of his way to interact with students and answering their questions and you could always find him walking around campus and talking to students,” Breithaupt said. “He made a real connection with the students on campus during that time.”
In the years since “Remember the Titans”, big projects like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Stranger Things” have also used Berry as a filming location. Public Relations Director Chris Kozelle is Berry’s current liaison for movie, TV or fashion shoots that want to use Berry’s property.
Kozelle said the most important thing in scheduling a shoot at Berry is figuring out how it will impact those who use Berry everyday.
“We have to determine if it’s going to have an impact on students, because that’s our first priority,” Kozelle said. “If it doesn’t impact [them] in a negative way, then we will work out the logistics and they will schedule a time and then they’ll come and shoot.”
No matter what project comes knocking on Berry’s door, Kozelle strives ensures that the mission and values of Berry will not be compromised by the project.
“We are always cognizant of Berry’s reputation,” Kozelle said. “We don’t take on any projects that would put Berry in a negative light, because we’re so recognizable.”