It sounded like a great idea: hold free outdoor screenings of movies at the location where they were originally filmed. That is until they got to the dreamiest place in cinematic baseball: the Field of Dreams.

It seems that the ‘Field’ sits astride two properties, with basically half being owned by family farmers. One family said yes to the screening, but the other said no. But the show goes on, so it went on in what was originally left- and centerfield with barricades and ropes blocking off the rest of the field.

So why did the other family say no? The article points out the irony nicely:

“We turned it down because we don’t believe in commercialization,” Betty Boeckenstedt, sister of house/landowner Don Lansing, said as she closed up the Field of Dreams Movie Site gift shop before the program began. “Of course, there was no Kevin Costner when we were approached, but we don’t do any events. It’s not our vision.”

Translation? They wanted to get paid, and free screenings don’t put money in your pocket. So they told the promoters to take a hike, and now they’re mad they because they would definitely have said yes if they had known that Kevin Costner was coming….

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