As thousands of fans go to Mooresville today to celebrate what would have been Dale Earnhardt’s 53rd birthday, an ESPN crew will be in Cabarrus County re-creating scenes from the Intimidator’s life. Since mid-April, the TV moviemakers have spent time in the neighborhood where Earnhardt grew up. They’ve filmed at local tracks. They’ve held open casting calls in Concord to add local flavor. But as close as ESPN producers say they have gotten to Earnhardt’s roots, they don’t have approval from the people who were closest to him: his family. Out of concern for inaccuracies in the script, Dale Earnhardt Inc. — the company run by Earnhardt’s widow, Teresa — hasn’t endorsed the film. “Our job at Dale Earnhardt Inc. is to perpetuate what Dale was all about,” said DEI spokesman Steve Crisp, adding that the company is reviewing a second copy of the script. “To accurately do that, you have to stick with the facts.” One of Earnhardt’s sisters said she is upset that ESPN didn’t contact her side of the family to discuss Earnhardt’s childhood. Because they didn’t, she said, the movie gets things wrong, including where her father worked and where her family lived. Still, producers of the movie say they’re being true to Earnhardt and his legacy. “This isn’t a documentary. It instead is a movie that is a dramatic presentation telling the story of Dale Earnhardt,” said Will Staeger, executive producer of ESPN Original Entertainment. “We feel we have a pretty good grasp of the essence of the man.”(see ful story at ThatsRacin.com)(4-29-2004)
