Jennifer Goodin

Title: Leatherheads, feature film
Cast: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger
Extra: Jennifer Goodin
Producers: Grant Heslov, George Clooney, Casey Silver
Director: George Clooney
Script: George Clooney, Stephen Schiff, Duncan Brantley, Rick Reilly

About Jennifer
Hometown: Statesville, N.C.
Characters: Fan, reporter and secretary.
Venues: Salisbury Train Station, Charlotte Memorial Auditorium, Winston Auditorium.
Artist makeup tip: “I don’t wear a whole lot of lipstick. A makeup artist showed me how to put the lip liner on and then the lipstick to make it last longer.”
My fashion statement: “I didn’t wear a hat before I cast for ‘Leatherheads.’ But since ‘Leatherheads’ I wear a hat more often. I liked it when we were all dressed up and it made it feel like we stepped back in time. I think people cared more for their appearance back then.”
Humor on the set: “During a scene in Winston, George Clooney would make turtle faces at Renee Zellweger. "

The highlight of styling hair
Jennifer Goodin got a quick preview what it was like to be on a movie set and having to conform to the director's wishes.

"On the day I went to be fitted for wardrobe and have my hair cut, the hair stylist asked that I purchase a bottle of Natural Instincts to cover the highlights in my hair as women in the 1920s did not highlight their hair. I am a natural redhead and I was a little nervous about dying my hair myself, but placed my trust in her as she has worked on many movies and the color turned out nicely. I was happier than I thought I would be with the color."

Right in the middle of the action
Goodin didn't think she was going to get much face time when she was placed high in the stands at Charlotte’s Memorial Stadium for one scene. “I didn’t think we were going to get anything where we were,” Jennifer said.

Much to Jennifer’s surprise and how filming on “Leatherheads” often took a turn from bad to good for the extras, she was moved behind a soldier. "I was positioned behind a soldier who in this scene has a conversation with Dodge Connolly (George Clooney). Clooney directed me to get the attention of the gentleman sitting next to me and pantomime, 'Look, there's Dodge Connolly!' This was an exciting scene."

Cheering for the home team
Jennifer was a reporter and fan in Salisbury. When the Duluth Bulldogs’ train rolled into the station Jennifer was among the handpicked extras to cheer the team coming home. “Jonathan Pryce and John Krasinski were standing on a box and the extras were crowded around them asking questions. I was positioned with a group of girls who were all swooning over John's character Carter Rutherford.”

Jennifer also got another glimpse of Clooney directing and acting. “I see him on TV and then see him out there and it’s surreal,” Jennifer said. “During the scene I kept hearing a voice I thought I recognized but it was behind me. I soon recognized it as Clooney’s because he projects his voice when he speaks. All of a sudden I heard him again and he was right next to me! All the girls were looking and smiling!

“They did 6 to 10 takes on that and kept moving the cameras in many angles. I might not get cut out of that one.

“One of the things I enjoyed was listening to the actors between takes of scenes. It was interesting, for example, to listen to Krasinski and Pryce (who played CC) talk to each other.”

‘Reporting’ for duty
During Jennifer’s part in Winston she was positioned near the front, but not in the first couple of rows in an auditorium “They didn’t want any women up front. Most of the men in front had flash cameras. The technicians would run a cord down the front of the coats of the reporters so they could control when the flash would go off. I was given a notebook to act as a reporter.

“This was the scene Renee was exposing Carter for not being a war hero. Jonathan Pryce was defending Carter. At some point Renee runs out of the auditorium.

“I was really surprised how small Renee was. She was really small! I had seen her act in Bridget Jones and she looked a lot heavier. Renee exuded that star quality. She was nice but she didn’t talk to everybody like Clooney. My first impression of Renee was that she was really pretty. I had heard, but wasn’t sure, that she was told to cut her hair for the movie but she didn’t like it and wore a wig. While I was in Winston she was frequently working with her lipstick and hair quite a bit.”

Home for the holidays
Jennifer won’t be going very far from home this year. She spent all her vacation time on the set for “Leatherheads.” “It was worth it. I always wanted to do something like this – a major movie. I live in Statesville and I never dreamed they would call me back.”

Jennifer was in her high school marching band and that experience was encouraging enough to push her toward the casting call. “I heard they were looking for extras for a marching band and I thought, ‘I can do that!’

“I waited to the last minute. I had company coming the same night for the casting call. I got a photo taken quickly at home and printed it on copy paper. They would put some papers on one stack and more in another. I really didn’t think I would get called.”

She said she would do it all over again even if it meant eating chicken and fish every day in Charlotte and getting up at 3:30 a.m. to car pool to the set by 5 a.m. “I would get home at 8 p.m. and hit the shower and go right to bed. But I would do it all over again.”

“It was worth it for me. But I can now see how costly these films can be to make. We had over 400 extras in Charlotte for several days. It was like a small Army."