Actor/wrestler praises city during spin-off filming

(Check out these articles By JESSICA GUTHRIE...The top about his birthday at Oliver's Grill and below that is commentary Jessica written about her experience meeting Dwayne!)

The Rock spent his 29th birthday at Oliver's Grill in the Shilo Inn.
The World Wrestling Federation celebrity was here in Yuma this week to shoot scenes for his upcoming film, "The Scorpion King," and the cast, crew and restaurant decided to get together to throw him a party Wednesday night. "I want to thank Yuma for all the support, all the warmth they've shown while we've been here," The Rock said while in the makeup trailer parked at the Imperial Sand Dune's Buttercup Campground Thursday. "They threw a surprise birthday party for me, everyone was more than willing, it was great."

The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson, was in the makeup room having the long "Scorpion King" hair removed from his short locks as he told his birthday story. He had spent the morning in the windy sand dunes, being sandblasted and shooting a scene in which his character tries to escape across the desert.

"The Scorpion King," a spin-off of "The Mummy Returns," is about a "Returns" character's rise to power in the Middle East around 3000 B.C. The Rock has been wrestling with the WWF since 1996 and has recently turned to film, with the making of "The Mummy Returns," which hits theaters today.

"The WWF vehicle was a tremendous vehicle to drive in terms of parlaying it into film. I am always looking for growth, personally and professionally. We were just looking for the right film to break into the action adventure movie scene," The Rock said. "The Scorpion King was the right role - not too much, not too little."

Unit publicist David Linck said The Rock will be filming "The Scorpion King" through June, with plans to return to the WWF in July. The film is scheduled to be released in summer 2002 and features actors Kelly Hu, the Scorpion King's love interest, as well as Ralf Moeller from "Gladiator," Grant Heslov from "True Lies," Bernard Hill from "Titanic" and Michael Clarke Duncan of "The Green Mile" and "Armageddon" fame.

" 'The Scorpion King' is such a classic story with such classic elements," The Rock said. "It's everything fans would expect from The Rock. It's everything they would expect from Michael Clarke Duncan." The Rock has been doing a number of interviews lately to promote his new film, including with Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show," MTV's "Diary" and NBC's "Dateline" on Sunday.

For "The Mummy Returns," The Rock said he had to film in Morocco, located in the middle of the Sahara Desert, without the amenities Yuma has to offer. "It's been fantastic (in Yuma)," he said. "I don't mean that facetiously. I can't say Morocco was fantastic. I didn't have the luxury of the Hunter Steakhouse. And Fry's Food and Drug."

The Rock said he also enjoyed Yumans and the slower, less-congested atmosphere here. He said he liked the fact fans were happy to see him and didn't have ulterior motives other than to see him and shake his hand. "I appreciate their support and the town's been really great to me," he said.


The Rock: a hard name for a really nice guy!

By JESSICA GUTHRIE

OK, ladies, hands off The Rock!

Granted, I can understand the temptation to drool, since I was able to stand within a few feet of the World Wrestling Federation phenomenon to interview him. Yes, he's perfectly tanned (the intense Yuma sun only helped in that regard) and yes, he's a in great, muscular, compact shape. And hold your hearts - but when I got a picture taken with him I got to touch his back! (It's very smooth, for those who are wondering.)
To complete the ensemble, he's a nice, articulate guy with a great sense of humor - everything you'd ever want in a man.

But ladies, ladies, the man is married! He is married to Dany, who unit publicist David Linck said is a financial guru of some sort for Merrill Lynch. The couple is also expecting a baby daughter in August. "Have you chosen a name?" I asked The Rock as he had his hair shampooed. Names are important. Just ask Americus Nation from the movie "Where the Heart Is." He paused, grinned with a sly glint in his eye and said, "Rockette."

He was kidding of course. At least I hope so, for the child's sake. Otherwise, she might end up with a collection of feather boas. And what IS with the whole "Rock" thing, anyway? I've heard the local morning show personalities making fun of it - "a rock is something someone paints faces on" and so on, so I asked: Why The Rock?

"It's a strong name, it's a powerful name," he said. And hard and tough and, if it's shaped right, you can skip it across the water.

But in truth, the name evolved over time. The Rock originally hit the wrestling scene as Rocky Maivia, but because of the obvious Rocky boxing link, he switched to something more contemporary and easier to market in 1997. And fans will be seeing "The Rock" in movie credits, not "Dwayne Johnson."

The Rock, despite his size, physique and tough wrestling reputation and name, is a personable, likeable guy. Even though he had been out in the dunes getting sand blasted for half the day while the rest of the crew and cast got to eat lunch in an air-conditioned tent, he still made time for a local reporter and photographer. He said he had seen the front page of The Sun at 4 a.m. Wednesday morning, saw the headline "Scorpion Alert" and the big, empty picture of the dunes. He said it caught his eye and he read the story, thinking that Yuma had a huge critter problem.

"I realized that this is a story about our film," he said. The Rock said that he felt compelled to let Yumans know he appreciates their support and to talk about his new movie. He asked Linck to see if photographer Alfred Hernandez and I could return for a second story.

Oh, yeah, twist my arm on that one! The best part was watching my husband's face turn green with envy. In all, I got to interview a nice guy, have my picture taken with him and get him to sign a piece of paper for my husband. And Alfred and I now have a reason to gloat to our friends and family.

Thanks, Rock, for a great memory of your visit to Yuma.