For those that don't know me well, I'm married and have four kids. They range in age from 12 to 28 years. The oldest is a girl, the other three are boys. My actor is the youngest and is homeschooled. I'm not homeschooling by choice, it just seems to be necessary. Also, I'm not homeschooling because of his acting career but because he's gifted and the school really didn't have a very good plan for him. We just recently found a remarkable private Christian homeschool program that suits him well. They allow him to work at his own level while taking classes with other students his age.
Damien's headshot
This past weekend I received a phone call from Paramount Studios. This was a first and apparently it's unusual. They told me they had found Damien's photo online and were interested in using him in a movie called Charlie Wilson's War. This movie is starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. He would play the part of an Afghan Refugee. My son is usually called by his manager, who arranges any work for him so this took us by surprise. They told me that Damien would need to go to a fitting in Hollywood on Monday, which was two days ago. The basic rule when you are a parent of a child actor is only ONE parent may attend an acting job but since this was just a fitting and not attached to our manager, I decided to ask my husband to tag along. This was his first time he saw what goes on behind the scenes. Besides that, my husband can drive those one way Hollywood streets much better and faster than I can.
We had never been to a fitting and we weren't really sure what to expect, but I must say that the crew for Charlie Wilson's War was very organized and everyone was as nice as can be. We signed in and they took my son's measurements while I filled out paperwork. A crew member seemed to be assigned to my son and went on a hunt for shoes for Damien. He had the hardest time finding shoes that fit. Damien is small for 12 years old, at only 4 feet 7 inches tall, he wears a size 5 shoe. He tried on about 3 or 4 pairs and finally they led us back to a dressing room to try on his outfit while his assigned crew member went to find more shoes. His outfit was amazing! Red hat, beaded shirt and string-tied pants. Finally they found some shoes that were just slightly big so they punched some holes so the straps could tighten up.
(I will post a photo here after the film is released.)
The crew were so nice, even though only one parent was allowed to go in the dressing room (of course I went), they told Damien to go out in his costume and show his Dad. After Damien's whole outfit was approved by two crew men, he was sent to hair and makeup. The hairdresser told me not to cut his long black hair and not to color it. She suggested we don't wash it (yikes!) and then he was sent to makeup. We were told to get him chapstick and a sunscreen for the days they would film since it would be hot out and they would be filming on a mesa.
Damien's outfit was placed in a bag and he was given a number to claim them on rehearsal day. We filled out more papers and were given a map and other directions concerning rehearsal day. It was a fun day and we are totally excited about this film. We've seen Tom Hanks twice on another set but of course we never bother him. This will just be amazing to be a part of this historic film. I believe it will be in theaters in December 2007.
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