Last summer, we got a call from the wardrobe director for the movie TAMMY, starring Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, and Kathy Bates. The movie is produced by Ben Falcone, Melissa’s husband. Melissa and Ben have several ties to Southern Illinois – see the fun facts and links at the end of this post.
The wardrobe director came across our website while researching and she loved the photo {above} of some of our t-shirts hanging above the bar. She wanted to consider one for Melissa’s character, Tammy, to wear during the movie. We sent one of each of our shirts and baseball caps for review, and they ended up ordering three different shirts in specific colors. We had no idea if any would make it into the movie.
Fast forward to this past February. I glanced at my phone and there were multiple missed calls and a message from a California number. Before I could even return the call, the phone rang again. It was from a production editor in Burbank who said, “Hello … this might sound a bit strange, but I’m sitting in an editing bay, working on a trailer for a new movie called TAMMY. Have you heard of it? Melissa McCarthy is wearing one of your t-shirts. It’s awesome and I need one!”
He described the shirt. It’s one that the fabulously talented Matt Price, from Arthur Agency, designed for our staff to wear at a wingfest. We didn’t have any left and never even offered them for sale.
“You’d better order some,” the guy said. “They are gonna sell!”
I kept searching for a trailer of the show where she’s wearing the shirt, but all of the trailers show her wearing a t-shirt with a bear and the word “Mahalo.” An extended trailer was released at the end of June. But still no t-shirt.
The movie opened July 2 and, sure enough, there are several nods to Southern Illinois. Those who live in Murphysboro will notice that the street on which she lives looks very much like it could be Pine Street or Elm Street, with the Craftsman-style bungalows so prevalent in Murphysboro. As Tammy and her grandmother, Susan Sarandon, leave town, it looks as though they’re driving over the bridge on Old Route 13, over the Big Muddy River. There’s a flash of a sign that says “Leaving Murphysboro.”
In the scene depicting a fictitious barbecue restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, there’s a bottle of Blueberry Blonde, by Big Muddy Brewing, on one of the tables. And in a motel scene, there it is: Tammy, wearing our shirt.
We’ve already received so many inquiries and Silkworm, producer of all of our apparel, is printing more now. You can order them by clicking here. They’ll ship the week of 7/14/2014 and they will also be available in the restaurants.
Thanks so much, Melissa, Ben, and the TAMMY production crew! Love the nod to Southern Illinois and to your roots. This is huge for our restaurant and for our town. We are grateful!
Fun facts:
• The show was filmed in and around Wilmington, North Carolina. Many movies and television shows are filmed in that area.
• Ben Falcone is from Carbondale and his parents traveled to Los Angeles for the TAMMY premiere.
• Melissa McCarthy attended Southern Illinois University for one semester; Ben graduated from the University of Illinois.
• Melissa is from Plainfield, Illinois. While she and Ben both have Illinois roots, they actually met at Groundlings, the legendary LA performing group. Read more about them in this article.
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