Fans waited outside in a cutting wind to see George Clooney and Renee Zellweger on their Monday visit to promote their new film, "Leatherheads."
A good number of fans had driven up from the Twin Cities but most were locals on their lunch hour. It was a remarkably well-behaved and good-humored crowd. The motivation for most seemed to be simply the chance to lay eyes on Clooney, and to a lesser extent, see if Zellweger really is that skinny.
When the stars finally emerged from the Depot, 45 minutes before the announced time of 1 p.m., there was screaming but it was polite screaming. Clooney and Zellweger felt safe enough to mingle with the crowd, wading into the ranks to sign autographs, smile, wink and shake hands.
When the three black SUV limousines pulled out with their cargo, PR flacks handed out T-shirts and hats emblazoned with the Leatherheads logo, which were eagerly snatched up -- occasionally snatched right out of recipients' hands in the only bit of fan-crazed bad behavior witnessed Monday.
Ann Borich came to the event wearing her father-in-law John Borich's helmet from his pro football days with the Gogebick Rangers, a team similar to the Duluth Eskimos from Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
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"He was the quarterback," Borich said.
Heidi Bonneville of Superior chauffeured Clooney around. To most questions she replied, "I can't tell you that" but she did say Clooney is "a great guy, very down to earth," and that the stars didn't get to see much of Duluth. They landed last night, were whisked to the Sheraton hotel and came to the Depot this morning -- no touring the city. Was the cold pretty harsh? "Yeah, he said it was 85 degrees when he left and 8 degrees when he landed here," Bonneville said.
Ed Rutledge, Maria Honigman and Sara Thompson noted there aren't many celebrity sightings in Duluth. Honigman is a Clooney aficionado while Thompson is big Zellweger fan. Her favorite of the actress' roles is her turn in "Cinderella Man."
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