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The newspaper of The Johns Hopkins University January 5, 2004 | Vol. 33 No. 16
 
TV crew comes calling

An actress carrying a baby rushes to Levering, which stands in for The Johns Hopkins Hospital in the upcoming HBO film about Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.
PHOTO BY HPS/WILL KIRK

HBO Visits Homewood, East Baltimore to Tell Story of 'Blue Baby' Pioneers

A strip of the Homewood campus underwent a brief identity crisis late last month as the university got the chance to play the role of Johns Hopkins Hospital circa 1940s for a day.

On Dec. 22, an HBO film crew descended upon the campus to shoot a portion of the cable network's upcoming feature Something the Lord Made, filling the Levering courtyard with a fleet of antique cars, an ambulance and actors in period dress.

The film depicts the true story of Johns Hopkins surgeon Alfred Blalock and lab technician Vivien Thomas, who in 1944 co-developed a method to save oxygen-deprived "blue babies." The men, who died in 1965 and 1985, respectively, will be portrayed by Alan Rickman and rapper/actor Mos Def.

The previous day the crew shot scenes at the actual JHH, which played itself.

Later this month, HBO will spend another day filming at the East Baltimore campus and wrap up principal photography. Veteran television director Joseph Sargent is directing the film, which also stars Mary Stuart Masterson and is scheduled to air in late spring or early summer.
— Greg Rienzi

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