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Health & Fitness

Family History Provides Unique Movie Opportunity

I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to play a small part in this movie about by great-grandmother and her son.

I recently had the opportunity to play an extra in a movie about an ancestor of mine. It didn’t pay anything, and I even had to supply my own costume. But I couldn’t pass up the chance, in fact I was compelled, to experience this unique moment.

The story is about my great-grandmother and her 14-year-old son who accidentally shot and killed a Michigan sheriff—the first from the state to die in the line of duty. Now this is not a story my family is proud of, especially back in 1910 when the incident occurred. My dad never talked about it. In fact, I wasn’t even aware of the story until my sister and I organized a family reunion in 2003. But one of my dad’s cousins did know the story and that the family had been shunned for the next generation.

As he researched and learned more about it, he became interested in developing an accurate account of the events and the subsequent trial that followed. As a result, he and his daughter learned how to write a screenplay and were approached by an independent film director who thought it would make a good movie.

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The movie’s title is, Mary’s Buttons, and in the event the movie does well, I will not reveal what the title means or the movie’s conclusion. However time consuming it was (the saying, “hurry up and wait,” applies here). Observing how a movie is produced was interesting and fun. As a matter of fact, I have a whole new respect for actors now. Being part of a movie is very tedious work.

I first participated in a scene as a bystander to an animal auction filmed in a barn near Port Huron. The following weekend, cast and crew filmed at Crossroads Village in Flint. Since the park was not yet open for the season, we pretty much had the run of the place. Many scenes filmed there portrayed everyday life in 1910 with residents (the movie extras) walking up and down the streets going about their own business. Since the director filmed with only one camera, scenes were shot repeatedly from all directions, with sound, and without sound. There were tracking shots, close ups and long shots.

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Real actors were hired for the speaking parts (nobody famous) and I was surprised to learn some of those actors were part of the film crew as well. It is fortunate that many of the family’s descendants still live in this area giving us all the opportunity to participate if we chose to.

For me, this was a once in a lifetime chance and I didn’t care if I had to create a costume, pay for my own transportation, or sit around and wait until extras were needed. I met many nice people and had a chance to visit with relatives I usually only have brief contact with on Facebook. In fact, after my participation, my Facebook friend’s list got a little longer.

I should probably mention that the character Mary’s real name is Maria. In addition, for legal reasons, the last name was changed, although the new name is very similar. The movie will have an opening sometime next year and if it does well, the producer and director will enter it into some film festivals. At the very least, it will go to DVD, but that’s ok with me. Even if I end up on the cutting room floor, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play a small part in this movie about by great-grandmother and her son.

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