Conn. Residents Get Small Taste Of Fame In Movie
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DANBURY, Conn. (AP) - Lena, Tibby, Carmen, Bridget and Emily?
Last summer, Emily Fromm, a pretty, brown-haired senior at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, applied to be a movie extra on the set of ``The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.''
``I'd heard they were coming to campus and one of my friends found an extras listing on Craigslist,'' said the 22-year-old Monroe resident. ``I actually did it because I was really interested in seeing or meeting Alexis Bledel.''
Bledel plays Lena in the movie, which debuts three years after the first film based on the best-selling Traveling Pants novels by Ann Brashares.
The books and movies chronicle the adventures of four friends, centered around a pair of jeans that inexplicably fits each of their very different bodies.
``I kind of did it on a whim and I didn't expect to be chosen,'' Fromm said.
But only hours after e-mailing her name and photo, the movie's casting staff contacted Fromm and told her to report to the set the next morning.
``I'm in the background of all the scenes where Alexis Bledel's character is going to her summer art school,'' Fromm said of her appearance in the movie.
WestConn's Danbury campus was used as the backdrop for the movie's faux Rhode Island School of Design.
``All of the clothes I'm wearing in the film are mine. They asked for us to bring several changes of clothes,'' she said. ``They checked us out to make sure we weren't wearing colors that were too bright or wearing something close to what Alexis was wearing.''
Even the university's staff got a chance to step into the limelight, or as WestConn President James W. Schmotter put it, ``We got our 15 seconds of fame.''
Schmotter and Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton were also extras in the movie.
``We were typecast as teachers or professors. We basically walked down about 100 feet and turned right, that was our big role,'' he said, with a chuckle. ``We're hopeful that it's an important scene and we'll be in the movie.''
Sherri Hill, a spokeswoman for WestConn, was also offered a role in the film.
After spending two days walking around the campus, showing the movie's scouting agents every room of the university, Hill was given the chance to have her own 15 seconds of fame.
Instead, she deferred the on-screen honors to her daughter, Rebecca. The 17-year-old Bethel High School senior appears as a college student in the film.
Hill and Fromm didn't have to wait for the film to be on screen, however. Both appear in trailers promoting the movie.
The movie was also filmed in other locations throughout the state, including Griffin Hospital in Derby and several locations in Bridgeport.
Scott Hughes, Bridgeport's chief librarian, saying he ``absolutely'' plans to see the movie, has two reasons to be excited about premiere. Filming took place both at the main Burroughs and Saden Memorial Library branch on Broad Street and near his home in Black Rock.
``The scout was driving down I-95 and saw the roof (of the Burroughs library). He said it would be the best facility for one of the scenes,'' Hughes said.
``They made the set appear to be the rooftop of an apartment building. I saw the first movie, so it was exciting to be behind the scenes.''
Dante Milafiore, bartender at Roberto's Restaurant at Main and State streets in downtown Bridgeport, also had a front-row seat for some of the filming. Several scenes for the movie were shot next door at Playhouse on the Green.
``They were right outside the restaurant,'' Milafiore said. ``They did one quick scene where America Ferrera ran across the street to see her friends. I knew who she was from 'Ugly Betty,' `` the popular television show.''
Ferrera plays Carmen in the movie.
Filming for the movie also took place in Bridgeport's Black Rock neighborhood outside St. Mark's Lutheran Church on Jetland Street and at several homes on Beacon Street.
``All four of the girls were here. They did the graduation scene on our lawn,'' said the Rev. Beth Anderson, pastor at St. Mark's. ``We talked to the stars. They were very approachable and we got to take pictures.''
The Nevins family also had the chance to hang out with the stars when their Beacon Street home was taken over by film crews for an entire week.
``Our house was Blake Lively's house,'' said Michael Nevins, 52. Lively plays Bridget in the film, which also stars Amber Tamblyn as Tibby.
At the time, Lively was a newcomer in Hollywood. ``Her mom said she'd just auditioned for this new show called 'Gossip Girls,' `` 13-year-old Caitlin said of the hyped TV series.
The family, including Kyle, 21, and Colin, 18, enjoyed the experience even though hundreds of people from the film crew trooped through their home at all hours, said Sheila, 47, who works at Ashcroft Inc. in Stratford.
``Basically, we could come in and out as long as we didn't get in the way,'' she said.
The house looked completely different during filming, her husband said.
``They pretty much took everything out of the first floor of our house. There was a mile of electrical wire inside the house,'' Michael said. ``We were up on the second floor. We just moved into other bedrooms.''
Sheila said, ``That was the only crazy part. We were all stuck in two bedrooms.''
The Nevins' master bedroom on the second floor was also taken over for filming, and even painted aqua green.
``We left it that color actually. We liked it that way,'' said Sheila, adding that everything was put back in its proper place once filming was completed.
``For us it was only a week, so it was an adventure for that week,'' she said. ``If it had been for months, it probably would have gotten old.''
The family is looking forward to watching the movie, although maybe not on the day it premieres, to see their home on the big screen. Fromm and Hill also said they couldn't wait to watch themselves on screen.
``My friends will probably scream my name when I come on,'' Hill said.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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