The filming of The Human Stain in Williamstown brought both fun and tedium to locals who landed coveted slots as extras, more business to North Berkshire inns, and increased exposure for the area that will translate to a future influx of tourists, according to a sampling of residents asked for their reactions.
While about 1,100 people stood in line in the elementary school gymnasium May 11 for a chance to appear as an extra in the film starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman, Liz Costley and her children, Cate, 9, and Luke, 7, were observed, and stopped, on their regular walk to school by the casting crew, and asked to appear.
According to Tom Costley, Liz’s husband, and Cate and Luke’s father, “Liz and the kids walk back and forth to school past Phillips old store where the casting company is based. One of the company stopped them and said, ‘Would you like to be in the movie? I need some kids.’ â€
So Cate Costley rode her bicycle around Waterman Place in a scene in which Anthony Hopkins is jogging.
“They asked her to take off her helmet,†said Costley, “and here we are, we always wear our helmets.â€
Then on Monday, the Costleys showed up at 10 a.m. and were sent home at 2 p.m., and at 4 p.m. they shot the scene, walking from the sidewalk into Lasell gymnasium, which was standing in for the town library.
“Anthony Hopkins nods and says ‘Hi’ to them as they walk in. That was fun because Liz heads the library trustees,†Thomas Costley said.
“In contrast to the hundreds of people, many from outside the area who stood in line to be extras, we weren’t trying to get in the movie,†Costley said.
That method of choosing child extras fits the pattern set by an earlier film producer who, 33 years ago, “borrowed†Brian and Timothy Oakley, sons of former Williams College President Francis C. Oakley and his wife, Claire-Ann Oakley. The producer of End of the Road stopped Claire-Ann Oakley and her small sons, Brian and Timothy, as they walked across campus.
Costley said, “We’ll let them see [the movie] once they’re 18.â€
Townspeople who watched the filming praised Hopkins for being cordial and approachable, posing for pictures, signing autographs.
Town Manager Peter Fohlin said the movie-making experience has been a pleasant one for both the film crew and townspeople.
“It has looked to me as though everyone had a very enjoyable time,†said Fohlin. “The movie people have been very complimentary about the hospitality of Williamstown. And the people I see hanging out on Spring Street seem to be having a good time.â€
The film, said Fohlin, “poured a lot of money into the local economy,†estimating the amount at “easily $125,000 to $150,000.â€
Film folks stayed at The Williams Inn, The Orchards, The Porches in North Adams, the 1896 House, and at least one of the motels on Main Street.
“They gave a lot of business to the bars and none to the police department,†Fohlin said.
Fohlin said he spent an hour inside the post office Monday watching Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman film their scene there. Executive Producer Ron Bozman “is very cordial and has been a pleasure to work with for town officials,†said Fohlin.
Peter Bowes, director of sales for The Williams Inn, called the film crew’s presence in town “obviously a great piece of business for the whole community.
“Lodging got a big boost from it, without a doubt,†said Bowes. “And there were more people visiting the area, just from the curiosity factor.â€
“It’s not every day you get a glimpse of film stars,†he said.
Rob Harris, the film’s public relations person, said novelist Philip Roth, whose book is the basis for the film, was in town for the filming Sunday.
“He was delighted to be here, and very excited to see his characters come to life,†said Harris.
“Things are going great, right on time, right on schedule,†said Harris. “We switched one scene in anticipation of bad weather, which didn’t happen.
“It’s been a great experience being here. It’s the kind of atmosphere where most of the story takes place. I think everybody thinks the story came alive during this portion of our filming,†he said.
In the film, Hopkins portrays classics professor Coleman Silk, forced into retirement when a remark is mistakenly perceived as a racial slur. Kidman plays a janitor and his love interest.
Marc Jaffe of North Hemlock Lane, credits his publishing connection with Philip Roth for landing him his slot as an extra.
“I think I got to be part of all this because I published Philip and mentioned that to the casting director, that I’d had this past history.â€
When Jaffe was editorial director at Bantam Books, he published about half a dozen of Roth’s books.
“I can tell my grandchildren that I was part of a movie and filmed a scene with Nicole Kidman,†said Jaffe. “But I have to be honest — the camera will show my back. I’m standing by the door to Stetson Hall — with a real professor, Sam Edgerton — when Nicole walks out the door and down the path to a car and embraces Anthony Hopkins.â€
Jaffe was also part of a Spring Street scene, again viewed from behind.
“I did have a chance to talk to the director, Robert Benton, who said that although they looked at many New England college towns, Williamstown was by far the first choice.
“Yes, I had fun,†Jaffe replied to a question. “It was a very interesting experience, but tiring. There was a lot of standing around. The Spring Street scene must have been repeated five times, so that took about three-quarters of an hour, for roughly a 30-second scene, and who knows if it will be in the final film.â€
Jo Procter, Williams College news director, said being an extra in the funeral scene shot in Thompson Chapel was “the only time I’ve ever been in a movie. I wanted to see what the process was. They really are making sure every place is peopled.â€
“It was fun,†said Procter. “I talked to some young people — some union, some getting to be — who want to make this their career.â€
“The people doing the movie were very nice,†said Procter. “Just as nice as they could be, and they have such passion for what they are doing.â€
Procter said some whiled away the down time reading the Sunday papers — one couple brought The New York Times and The Boston Globe — others brought knitting, and some found a square table at lunch in the field house and played bridge.
Hans Koeleman of Bennington, Vt., Procter’s partner, described the experience as “messy. I don’t understand how film people create havoc and enormous messes, and out of that comes a movie.â€
“We were plugged into holes to fill space in more or less decorative ways,†said Koeleman.
“The chapel was full and so were the side aisles in front of the pulpit,†he said. “The front pews were for professional actors able to turn on the tears,†said Koeleman. “We didn’t get home til almost midnight.â€
Koeleman said he was scratched from a scene in which he was to have had a non-speaking part as one of the professors who sit in judgment on Hopkins and kick him off the faculty. But when Koeleman showed up in a blue shirt, which had previously been approved by telephone, he was told by the director, “We have decided, no blue shirts.â€
“But it was fun. People who probably would never have talked to each other talked to each other,†he said.
Opinions among business people ranged from rave reviews to hopes for future tourists.
Mary Ann Fauteux, who runs The Library Antiques shop with her husband, said the weekend was “fabulous. Movie people bought things. It didn’t scare people away; if anything, it brought more people onto the street.â€
At the top of Spring Street, Michele Gietz, who runs Where’d You Get That!? with her husband, said that while business was “not a boom weekend for money-making, it’ll be good for Williamstown in the future to get this publicity. The film makes other journalistic opportunities pop up, getting future articles written in the national press.â€
And, said Gietz, “I think the town is very gracious about handling famous people. There were no huge mobs.â€
Gietz and others have noted that the Williamstown Theatre Festival attracts theatrical luminaries such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Joanne Woodward, so townspeople tend to view them with aplomb.
And Fohlin noted that “when we marched back down to the Legion, it was very heartwarming to see the camera crew and lighting crew, on the scaffolding, clapping for the veterans and the high school band.â€
For a certain age group, movie stars were not the attraction. Nine-month-old Toby Taylor was wheeled in his stroller by his parents, Jason and Vicki Taylor, to observe the film crew at work.
“He liked watching the trucks,†said his parents. At least 20 trucks carrying film and catering equipment were in town.
“We try to stay out of the way of the workers, whose job is hellacious,†said Jason Taylor.
Not all residents expressed unqualified enthusiasm.
One student, whose way was blocked by the filming in front of Sawyer Library, said, “I have to get to Hopkins Hall. This is so obnoxious.â€
And in a gentler vein, retired economics professor Henry J. Bruton said plaintively, “I’m just trying to get to my office. It’s difficult, but I’ll persevere.â€
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