By Lenny Strauss
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Eephus is one of the rarest pitches thrown in baseball, known for its exceptionally low speed and ability to catch a hitter off guard. Former Pittsburg Pirate Maurice Van Robays, who coined the name, stated that the "Eephus ain't nothing, and that's a nothing pitch." In Hebrew, the word "efes" can be loosely translated into "nothing," and the word certainly draws roots from that. In his feature directorial debut of the same name, director Carson Lund’s “Eephus” may seem like a movie about “nothing”. Set in the small town of Douglas, Massachusetts, the film follows two recreational baseball teams meeting up to play on a field on its last day before being demolished to make space for a new school: the last game of ball to be played on Soldiers Field.
It’s a simple story, two teams meet and play a game of baseball, with men competing, conversing, arguing, and most importantly, playing the game late into the night. To those on the outside, that may not seem like much, but it’s far from nothing. Baseball represents small town Americana, and beyond that the journey of life itself. “Eephus” brilliantly captures the passage of time of the ballplayers not just in their own lives and shared experiences, but through the microcosm of baseball. The characters are the focus, and how they engage with each other and the game itself is the poignant message behind Lund’s story, a feeling that all people, baseball fans or not can relate to.
Hometown Weekly had the pleasure of speaking with Russell (Russ) Gannon, an actor playing the role of second baseman Bill Belinda in the film, about his experience in this and some of his other roles, as well as his experiences growing up and playing Little League ball in the town of Needham.
LS: “It’s a pleasure to speak with you, and I wanted to say how excited we all are for “Eephus!” To start off, what drew you to the character of Bill Belinda in the film? Is there something about his character you find appealing/can relate to?”
RG: “He is the family man in the film. This is a film that takes place in the early 90s. Most of the guys are not necessarily friends outside of the field. They have very little conversation about anything, no home life, work life, etc. its all about baseball. Bill Belinda is the only character who’s family comes to the game. When I read for the role, back in May of 2022, he just struck me as this nice game show host kind of guy, and that’s me. What’s nice about the film is that everyone plays a slight variation of who they are in real life. For me, Bill Belinda as this family guy, who comes to the game and wants to play (but isn’t very good) struck me as a fun character to play.”
LS: “What was filming in Douglas/ the film process like? What preparations did you take for this role?”
RG: “We shot for 25 days, October 2022, spread out over 4 weeks. I had never heard of Douglas until I went out to film! A lot of the players came up from New York and Boston, but for me, I would go home at the end of the days shoot. It fit with the character. Everyone else was just a bunch of guys living together for four weeks. I would go home to my family. I hadn’t played baseball in a while. I’d played Little League in Needham, advertising softball league when I was in radio in the late 80s. Despite the fact I hadn’t played in a while, I am a pretty good ballplayer. We had batting practice, we took grounders, stretched, all the stuff we needed. Not all the people in the movie play baseball regularly or play it well. And that actually shows in the movie, since we’re not SUPPOSED to be good. The only frustrating part was that my character really wasn’t supposed to be very good, and I’m better than that! I had to hold back my [skills].”
LS: “How was it filming with and working alongside Bill Lee and Joe Castiglione?”
RG: “When I graduated Emerson College, I got a job with the Red Sox Network at WRKO. I knew Joe Castiglione at the time in the late 80s, early 90s. When I got to set and was speaking with our director Carson Lund, it came up that I’d worked for the Red Sox. He asked if I knew Joe Castiglione and if he would like to be in the movie! Through a mutual friend I [reconnected] with Joe… and he was happy to do the film! It’s a little inside baseball for those who know who he is, to hear that voice. It was really cool to see him. Billy is a trip. We had him for two days, he could not/would not remember his lines, and he loved [improvising], even when Carson needed him to say an important line, he couldn’t do it! We all got to play ball with him and watch him pitch. Even at 78 years old he could still fire that ball in, we all took a lot of videos with each other playing ball with him. I even got to spend some time with him going through my baseball card collection. [That connection] definitely added to the feeling that we were doing something special with the film.”
LS: “Can you tell me about your journey as an actor? How did you start?”
RG: “When I graduated from Needham High, I thought I wanted to be an accountant. After my first semester at Bentley College, I decided I didn’t want it as a career. I [volunteered at a local radio station] answering phones and taking requests, and from there I had an epiphany: I wanted to be on the radio. My dad said if this was something I wanted to do, I should go to school, and study radio, so I went to Emerson to study radio! While I was doing that, on the side I was doing comedy, writing and doing some stage work as part of a troupe. It was my first time being on stage in front of an audience, and for a while decided I wanted to stick to radio. I was on the radio for a long time, with my last job being at 92.5 The River in 2006. After all those years, I decided I wanted to move on from radio; I was bored! I saw an ad on Craigslist to be an extra in the movie The Game Plan with the Rock, filming in Gillette Stadium in late 2006. When I was in line with the extras, a lady pulled me out of line with the wardrobe department and had me play a coach for the day. I went from one of 800 extras in the stands, to one of 100 on the sidelines. By lunchtime, I’m at the 50-yard line in Gillette Stadium, throwing a football with another extra. I’m like, can I make a living doing this? I got roles in background work, which eventually allowed me to join the Screen Actors Guild. As a former DJ with no acting experience, I took acting classes… I started doing plays, student films, all I could as a union actor. This made me more comfortable in front of the camera and in front of people, and eventually, taking on bigger roles. I look at my career in three phases so far: Getting into it, getting my first speaking role, and everything that’s happened after covid, when I stopped doing background work. The more I do, and the more success I find, I want to do more. I enjoy being on set the same way I loved radio.”
LS: “I draw a lot of comparisons to the Sandlot, and how Eephus feels like an evolution from the good nature and innocence of youth of that film to the maturity and dynamics that come with aging, while still retaining the same passion for the game. Would you agree with that?”
RG: “There are definitely comparisons to the Sandlot but grown up. It’s a true ensemble, there isn’t necessarily a star. The way its made, it’s not a three-act film, it just is. It’s a slice of life. It doesn’t matter who wins the game. It just is. These guys know their lives are going to change when the game ends. No one wants it to end. The feeling of existentialism that appeals to a lot of people that don’t necessarily know baseball, but you don’t need to know baseball to know this film. Its really about the ending of something. It’s the passage of time, the loss of place that you are so comfortable and familiar with. But at the same time, it’s fun.”
RG: “The thing about Eephus is that we weren’t necessarily thinking about making THIS film. We were making a baseball movie, like Major League, or Caddyshack, just a bunch of guys goofing around, doing a little improv. Outside of how much fun we were having, we didn’t think this was going to be a big deal. After watching the film, we found out we were four rounds into Cannes. Three weeks later, we found out we got in, and the entire cast and crew flew to France to watch the film. And there in Cannes, we got to show our film. It was surreal. We walked down the main street to the sold-out theater, with an over 10-minute ovation. That’s when we realized we had something. Since then, it got into the New York Film festival, Sydney, Poland, the reviews just kept coming in. We are almost in 100 theatres nationwide.”
LS: What are you hoping, we as the audience take away from watching the film?
RG: “You know, this is a love letter to a certain feeling, age, and time of life. I think that it is melancholy at times, funny at times, it reminds people to really live. Don’t wait for it to pass you by. Don’t sit in regret that something you loved doing, you don’t do anymore because of whatever reason. Go out and do it. If the film teaches us anything, its that these people stayed until it was pitch black, to finish a game that meant nothing to anyone, except the people on the field. And it meant so much to them that they were willing to stay and make it work. I think if you love something enough, just make it work. That’s my takeaway.”
Come watch Eephus, released on March 14th at the Dedham Community, Coolidge Corner, or Somerville Theatres, out now.
As for what’s next with Russ, he has a film coming out in April called Fletchers Five, playing at the IMAX at the New England Aquarium, and currently does the podcast Twisted Tales of Madness and Murder Presents. Be sure to check that out on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts!
