Arts & Entertainment

Barrow County Sheriff Talks Golf with Justin Timberlake on Set of Movie

Timberlake was in the area filming a scene for the movie "Trouble with the Curve".


After Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith shook hands with actor-musician Justin Timberlake on the set of his latest film project, the two talked a little about golf.

Timberlake was in Barrow filming a scene for the movie Trouble with the Curve, which also stars Clint Eastwood.

According to IMDb, the film focuses on Eastwood as an ailing baseball scout in his twilight years who takes his daughter, played by Amy Adams, along for one last recruiting trip.

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"I shook his hand and met him and talked to him for a while," Smith said of Timberlake. "I talked to him about golf, believe it or not.”

The sheriff said he asked the star, an avid golfer, how long he was going to be in Georgia — about six weeks, Timberlake told him — and whether he brought his golf clubs.

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"He said, 'I don’t go anywhere without my clubs,'" said Smith, who suggested some of the local golf courses to the actor.

Smith said the scene that was filmed on Covered Bridge Road off Ga. Highway 211 near the Barrow-Jackson county line features Timberlake driving down a country road, where he sees a group of kids playing baseball in a field. An aspiring radio announcer, Smith said Timberlake stops to watch the game and offers his own play-by-play.

"He’s trying to hone his skills, trying to make it as an announcer, trying to make his dream, that’s what I understand," Smith said.

Film producers decided on the Barrow location last Tuesday, March 6, Smith said.

"They love this area, they love Barrow County and the rolling hills, they love the proximity from Atlanta," he added. "Everybody was very thankful, very appreciative of Barrow County and spoke highly of the area."

For Sheriff Smith, Monday's shoot was the first time he's been on a film set.

"I’ve never seen one up that close and never met anyone that could be a movie star or a pop star like Justin Timberlake. I can’t say enough about how nice he was," he added.

The sheriff said Timberlake has his Boxer bulldog on set with him and was very approachable.

"He didn’t have security standing around him like he’s somebody, he was just standing around, cutting up, laughing," Smith said. "It was pretty surreal, it’s not something you see every day.”

Timberlake spent time talking with some of the residents of Covered Bridge Road during breaks in filming.

"He went out of his way to be friendly to everybody and that says a lot about a movie star, I guess," Smith said. "He was just very approachable, that was the coolest thing about it.”

Are you a resident who got to meet Justin Timberlake or got to see some of the filming? Tell us about your experience in comments below.


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