ATLANTA — Much of Centennial Olympic Park is temporarily closed tonight to recreate one of Atlanta’s darkest days.
Eric Robert Rudolph placed three homemade pipe bombs underneath a bench at Centennial Olympic Park during a celebration concert July 27, 1996.
Security guard Richard Jewell discovered the bombs, alerted officers and began clearing the area. The bombs detonated before all the spectators could leave the area, killing two people and injuring 100 others.
Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood is making a film based on the life of Jewell and the incident. The crew is in town this week filming.
“You can make a movie and not re-create the actual explosion at the location. I would imagine that might be jarring to some people," said survivor Calvin Thorbourne.
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Thorbourne shared what he remembers from that night.
“I felt the blast. I felt the pressure from the left, going from left to right," he said.
He showed Channel 2's Justin Wilfon where shrapnel went into his legs. It's still in his left leg.
Despite his mixed feelings about the film, he supports it and believes it's important to tell the story.
In a statement, the Georgia World Congress Center, which operates the park, defended the decision to allow the film to shoot here, saying:
“As with any film shoot in Centennial Olympic Park, we have done our due diligence to understand the subject matter of the film and its impact to the Park.”
For Thorbourne and the other victims, it brings back plenty of bad memories.
“I would hope telling this story and re-creating this scene does not cause them any further despair,” he said.
Cox Media Group
