WELCH — Academy Award winning actress Brie Larson was in McDowell County Friday evening filming a scene for the upcoming motion picture “The Glass Castle.”

Larson is playing the role of Jeannette Walls, the critically acclaimed author upon whose memoir the movie is based.

“The Glass Castle” details the life of Walls and her siblings growing up in poverty in a dysfunctional family. Many of the years were spent in Welch, her father’s hometown.


The movie scene was shot at Vic Nystrom Stadium, where scores of area residents braved the rain and turned out to portray fans at a football game.

Walls attended Welch High School, so the stadium normally filled with gold and brown was decked out with spectators wearing maroon and white -- the Welch High colors.

The Mount View High School football team portrayed Welch High in the shoot, while Riverview High players were cast as the opposing team. The Mount View players and cheerleaders were wearing maroon and white uniforms loaned to them from Concord University.

"We’re all excited,” said Mount View cheerleading coach Cathy Jack prior to the filming. “Our cheerleaders are going to be in the scene.”

Jack attended Welch High with Walls and remembered her fondly. “I hope we have a good reflection in the movie.”








Judy Nystrom, wife of the late, legendary coach for whom the stadium is named, was also on hand to appear as an extra.

“I came to be in the scene, support my alma mater and feel the glory of old Welch High,” Nystrom said. “I don’t come out here much because it brings tears to my eyes, but tonight is a happy night.”


“The Glass Castle” novel received critical acclaim, spending 261 weeks on The New York Times best seller list. During a visit to Bluefield in 2007, Walls told Prerogative magazine that she believed the book appealed to a lot of people “because it’s a realization that parents aren’t perfect — something a lot of people have to come to terms with in their lifetimes.”

Walls stayed in McDowell County through her junior year at Welch High School, then left to join her older sister in New York. She continued her education and became a journalist, and at one time was a celebrity columnist for MSNBC.com.

“The Glass Castle” movie is scheduled for release in 2017, according to the IMDb website. In addition to Larson, Woody Harrelson will be playing Walls’ father, Rex Walls, and Naomi Watts will play her mother, Rose Mary Walls