Little Compton woman has her 15 minutes of fame!

By Jon Alden

everythingwestport.com

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Liz Wordell had no idea of what lie in store for her when she walked into the Meeting House at Tiverton Four Corners last November 3rd for an evening of fun and socializing, despite extratropical storm Noel which took center stage. “I didn’t know they were auctioning a “walk on role”,” the delightful, 35-year-old mother of one from Little Compton said. ”I went there to support Gloria, and to just have some fun! I’m a big fan of Brotherhood; I love the show. Wherever there’s music, I’m there.”

“The Brotherhood Blues Bash last November was a direct result of people coming together to fund a vital community program,” said Gloria Crist, Artistic Director of Theater Direct in Tiverton. “I simply asked some friends of mine from Brotherhood if they would support an event and attend. I asked Showtime to send some items, and got together some of my favorite places (the Back Eddy, Adamsville Wine and Spirits, The Edge Bakery in Providence), all local businesses who believe in the arts! I asked a friend of mine to have his band play (Blue Spark) at the event.”

“The items for silent auction came together with the help of a friend who does event planning and suggested the idea, so I started asking again and came up with some items,” said Ms. Crist. “LDI Casting, Rhode Islands only casting agency, offered up the ‘chance to win a walk on role’. I originally asked for some scripts and posters but this was much better!”

All the items on the auction table went, but the top three were the walk on role, a Hollywood make-over session with the make-up artist from Brotherhood, and an autographed script from Brotherhood that came with wardrobe worn in that episode. “Liz won the role at the final minute, with the help of her mom who is also a great fan of the arts in our community,” said Ms. Crist.

Everythingwestport.com recently caught up with Liz Wordell at the Commons Lunch and talked about her “extra” role in the upcoming new movie ’Hachiko: A Dog's Story’ starring Richard Gere and Joan Allen. The story is a family drama based on a true story of a college professor’s bond with the abandoned dog he takes into his home. The time period was 1998.

ON WINING THE ROLE. “I didn’t want to bid on it at first. My mother talked me into it. It was a scary thing, and I scare easily. But that’s why I finally did it. There was another woman bidding, so we waited until the last second to put in a winning bid of $540. My mother put up half. It was so Hollywood I couldn’t resist it!”

WHERE WAS THE LOCATION? “It was in Woonsocket, RI at an old train station. I believe it’s a museum now. In the movie it’s the train station that Richard Gere’s character uses to go to work. It’s where his dog greets him each day.”

WERE YOU NERVOUS THE NIGHT BEFORE? “Are you kidding? I could hardly sleep. I was supposed to be up by 3:30 a.m., but got up late. I couldn’t get as ready as I planned to. All the extras had to be at the train station by 6:30 a.m. I was so afraid I wouldn’t be able to find that train station! I’m terrible with directions and I didn’t know where I was going. I was on the road at 5 a.m.”

WHAT WAS WARDROBE AND MAKE-UP LIKE? “There were none for the extras. A letter instructed me to be dressed in business attire, and prepared ahead of time. No black clothing was allowed. (Editor’s note: Black clothing doesn’t appear well on camera.) I like the color black, as most of my clothing reflects, so I borrowed a maroon jacket, brown pants and boots, and a leather handbag from a friend. My friend laughed and said she couldn’t wait to see her things in the movie!”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE WHEN YOU ARRIVED IN WOONSOCKET? “I got to the train station around 6:30 a.m. and looked around. No one was in sight. I walked around for a few minutes and ran into another extra. His name was Joe. We sort of roamed about the buildings until I spotted one with activity. It was the holding area for the extras. There were no signs, directions, or anything telling us where to go. I was getting worried. We didn’t have a clue as to what was going on.”

“The day of shooting was Monday, February 25. It was a beautiful day. We were told to dress warmly, so I had my Under Armor on! We sat around in the holding area waiting for instructions. Joe, like me, won his role in another fund raising auction. In fact, several extras won their roles. There were some regular extras there as well. While we were waiting, a production assistant asked me if I knew anything about the film. Joe and I talked about the movie and he explained a lot of it to me.”

NOW TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROLE! “The extras were to be passengers getting off the train, and leaving the station’s front entrance. There were several scenes in front of the train station going in and out of the front door. I did about 3 of them...over and over and over. After the first scene is when we sat in 'holding' for a couple of hours. These first scenes took up most of the day. In one of them the director asked me to smile and wave at the dog as I walked out the station’s front door (picture left). I was one of two passengers just behind Richard. They used a stuffed dog for the rehearsals, but I got to wave at the real dog (an Akita?) on the final take! I sure hope they use that scene. It was a real movie set, with light umbrellas, reflectors, and audio and video equipment set up all over the place. I was very close to the camera in my scenes. It was a long day. It wasn't until the end of the day that a bunch of us got to board the train with Richard. The train actually left the station, and they starting filming our return and then getting off the train.”

WHAT WAS RICHARD GERE LIKE? “The first time I saw him he was coming off the train and calling his dog. He had the Hollywood hair, perfectly done. He was dressed casually, J. Crew style. He looked very stylish. He was a little older with a few more lines in his face, but I was very impressed. We were, however, firmly instructed not to speak with the talent! No autographs, no hellos, no smiles. Every time I saw Richard he was coming off the train calling his dog. He looked kind of silly.”

DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE FOR THE DAY. “I wasn’t nervous at all. I was very excited. If I don’t make it for one second on the screen, it was worth it! I would do it all over again, although I would prefer a more interesting role, like a party scene where you can dress up and act. They even paid me $117 after taxes!”

“Meeting Joe and making a friend was great. It was nice to have someone with which to share this experience; we had so much fun together. My son Sam once played a Munchkin in Gloria’s production of the ‘Wizard of Oz’. We’ll talk about our experiences together for a long time to come.”

The extras’ “holding” area. Photos courtesy of Liz Wordell. Click on all photos to enlarge.

Read about the making of "Hachiko: A Dog's Story"

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