SALISBURY, N.C. -- Charlotte, Statesville and Salisbury stood in for chilly Duluth, Minn., last year in George Clooney’s new movie “Leatherheads.” That’s why his whistle-stop tour celebrating the love story, which kicked off in Duluth on Tuesday, rolled through Salisbury’s historic train depot on Wednesday.

Hundreds of fans waited for hours to see Clooney and co-star Renee Zellweger, who play a football player and a newspaper reporter who fall for one another during the early years of pro-football in the 1920s. Liz Jessup said she arrived just after 5 a.m. to guarantee a front-row view.

“It’s just exciting. It’s really awesome,” she said.

The movie stars hopped off a train and spent time greeting fans. They shook hands and autographed posters, purses and even hands.

Many in attendance were some of the thousands of extras used in the movie -- another reason Clooney said he came back to the area, to say thank you for all the help and support coming from North Carolina.

“They all participated. They made it fun to be here,” he said.

But filming in Salisbury by the tracks wasn't always easy. Clooney answered a question about how difficult it was to shoot here by mouthing words as a train drowned him out.

"And that pretty much sums it up," he said.

The co-stars laughed and grinned throughout the press junket. Local leaders have something to smile about too. The movie pumped large sums of money into the region’s economy by employing 336 people and paying for thousands of hotel rooms.

Fans said they’re just thrilled by their brush with greatness.

"He was just joking, just real personable," fan Tara Lowrence said of Clooney.

Clooney spent Tuesday night in Charlotte, the morning in Salisbury and then took off, but he left an impression that many will not soon forget.

“Leatherheads” opens on April 4.