A Sporty Movie And A Tear Jerker

The football comedy The Replacements is opening this weekend, with Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman starring.

Also new in theaters is Autumn in New York, a May-December romance starring Winona Ryder as May and Richard Gere as December. This movie is not being screened ahead of time for journalists, and that's usually not a good sign. Generally speaking, it means that the studio wants to try and cash in before critics can tell the public how bad the movie is.

But, in this case, the stars, director, and producers have all issued individual statements saying they wish the movie would have been screened, and they are very proud of it. That's an unusual move.

Another film opening is Bless the Child starring Kim Basinger and Christina Ricci.

The big news, though, is The Replacements, and Early Show Contributor Laurie Hibberd talked to Orlando Jones, who plays team sprinter Clifford Franklin, about the movie.

While his character is a fast runner, he can't seem to catch the ball.

"Dropping the ball is the hardest thing in the world, because it has to look real," says Jones. "So you can't bat it down, and it can't hit you, and if you fumble too much, it doesn't look right. So dropping it somehow became harder than catching it."

But the action in this film doesn't only take place on the field. Jones is at the center of a jailhouse scene in which a bunch of burly guys did the Electric Slide to a recording of Gloria Gaynor's disco anthem I Will Survive.

"I didn't think the scene was going to work," recalls Jones. "I gotta tell you, I was mortified. That ain't the most manly thing you would do in jail, I don't care who you are."

But Jones is used to going for it, as the guy in the 7-uP commercial. A growing number of fans are recognizing him on the street.

Jones started his career as a sitcom writer, and worked at the cable station FX with Hibberd. He hit the big time when he jumped in front of the camera on FOX's Mad TV.