DYERSVILLE, Iowa – The sprawling eastern Iowa cornfields made famous by the movie “Field of Dreams” are being sold to a company that will preserve the site’s baseball legacy, the owners announced Sunday.
Don and Becky Lansing said they have accepted an offer from Mike and Denise Stillman and their company, Go the Distance Baseball LLC, which will develop the site near Dyersville as a baseball and softball complex. A purchase price was not disclosed.
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“We worked hard to maintain its wholesome allure, and our success says a lot about our nation’s love affair with its national pastime,” Becky Lansing said. “It truly is a special place.”
The land has been in Don Lansing’s family since 1906. The couple put the property up for sale at $5.4 million in May 2010. The parcel includes the two-bedroom house, baseball diamond, six other buildings and 193 acres — mostly cornfields — from the movie.
The film, released in 1989, was based on the book “Shoeless Joe” by W.P. Kinsella and starred Kevin Costner. The site has been a popular tourist destination ever since.
The Lansings said earlier this year that they had gotten several inquiries about the site but were committed to finding a buyer that would preserve its legacy.
The Stillmans’ plan for the property includes preservation of the existing buildings and development of “All-Star Ballpark Heaven,” described as a complex including fields for baseball and softball tournaments and an indoor training facility. Go the Distance plans to offer tournaments for teams of players ages 18 and younger, professional-style training and skills competitions.
As for the Lansings, they’ll live a few miles away and make visits to the site, “especially in summer when the corn is high. That’s when the field is most magical,” Don Lansing said.
Williams praises Israel’s policy on medical marijuana
JERUSALEM — Montel Williams said Sunday he was impressed with Israel’s liberal attitude on medical marijuana, and he believes the United States could learn from the Jewish state.
Williams, 55, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, and has been an outspoken advocate of medical marijuana to relieve pain caused by the disease.
The former host of the long-running “The Montel Williams Show” is in Israel to learn about its medicinal cannabis practices. He is meeting with legislators, scientists and physicians.
In Israel, certain doctors can approve cannabis prescriptions and disperse them to patients, said Itay Goor-Aryeh, head of the pain management unit at central Israel’s Sheba Medical Center.
While marijuana use is strictly regulated, he said, many doctors prefer prescribing it to patients who qualify because it is “the lesser of evils.”
“Those patients, if they do not get cannabis, they will get morphine-like drugs and other harmful drugs,” said Goor-Aryeh.
Sixteen U.S. states, including Maine, have decriminalized the use of medical marijuana to some extent.
‘Puss in Boots’ film lands on all fours
NEW YORK — The “Shrek” spinoff “Puss in Boots” landed on all fours, opening with an estimated $34 million to lead the box office.
The DreamWorks 3-D animated film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, proved the popular character voiced by Antonio Banderas was a big enough draw outside the “Shrek” franchise.
The PG-rated “Puss in Boots” scored with family audiences on the weekend before Halloween and also drew a large Hispanic crowd, which made up 35 percent of its audience.
Although the box office for the top 12 movies was up 7.8 percent from the corresponding weekend last year, it was still affected by both the unseasonable late October snowstorm on the Eastern Seaboard and the appeal of the Game 7 broadcast of the World Series on Friday night.
Rampling says aging brings rewards for acting
ROME – Charlotte Rampling, who plays a dying, elderly woman in a new film, says the rewards of growing old as an actress are “extraordinary.”
Rampling turned 65 this year. She told reporters Sunday at Rome’s film festival: “Who wants to grow old? Who wants to get lines?” Still, she added, allowing yourself the “luxury” of being old, and even ugly and unattractive, while acting brings its rewards.
The actress, known for her sensual presence in films such as the 1974 “The Night Porter,” portrays a dying wealthy woman in her 70s in a dysfunctional family in “The Eye of the Storm.” The film, by director Fred Schepisi, is in competition at the festival, which runs through Friday.
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