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Title: Leatherheads, feature film
Cast: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger
Extra: Meg Watson
Producers: Grant Heslov, George Clooney, Casey Silver
Director: George Clooney
Script: George Clooney, Stephen Schiff, Duncan Brantley,
Rick Reilly
About Meg
Hometown: Greenville, South Carolina.
Work: Stay-at-home-mom, Mother of twin girls (11) and a 14-year-old
boy.
eBay specialist: Meg sells items on eBay.
Cast: Chicago Dinner Guest and Football Fan.
Wardrobe: 1920’s golden drop-waist dress with a frumpy
brown wool coat. Reddish hat with a big red bow on the side.
Sites appeared: Calhoun hotel in Anderson and Ware Shoals,
South Carolina.
Meg asked to audition as Renee lookalike
When I heard a major motion picture was going to be filmed in SC,
I kept listening for when they would have extras casting. Then one
day, my friend called and asked if I wanted to try out for it with
her and her family. I said yes!
I went with my family with the exception of my husband, Frank, and
my son, Ryan. I took pictures of them anyway and filled out the
proper paperwork and turned all of them in. At the time, my husband
didn’t know I turned in an application and picture of him.
That was a surprise to him when I told him that night.
About a month passed by and I was giving up hope when one day I
got a call from the casting department for Leatherheads. They said
they were interested in me coming in and trying out for a possible
stand-in for Renee Zellweger! Wow! I couldn’t believe they
called me for this! I just wanted to be an extra! What is a stand-in,
I said to myself. I don’t have to pose naked, do I? I hope
not! All these thoughts went through my mind.
Well, they told me to come in to the Greer movie set and bring 2-inch
heels with me. So off I went and needless to say, there were around
10 Renee Zellweger look-a-likes waiting for someone to come in and
tell us all what to do. Unfortunately, I did not get selected for
this job. I told them I would still be available to play an extra.
After a few weeks all hope was lost, until they called my husband,
Frank, to come in to be an official for the game. He told Tona that
his wife had come in to be a possible stand-in for Renee and wasn’t
chosen and I could still be an extra if they needed me. They told
me to come in the same day as my husband to go to wardrobe fitting.
Chicago Dinner Guest at the Calhoun Hotel
Well, I met my husband at the Greer site for wardrobe fitting. When
I got there they asked me if I could come later this week to play
a Chicago Dinner Guest at the Calhoun Hotel in Anderson. Of course
I would do that! They didn’t really have to ask! While I was
there, I received a bob haircut and was told I needed to darken
my highlighted hair to make it appear a natural color.
Time for filming! The day arrived to go to Anderson for the Chicago
Dinner Guests scene at the Calhoun Hotel. It was so much fun to
go to hair and make-up! I was glad to have someone else do my hair
and make-up. This was the most make-up I would wear for my experience
as an extra. After waiting a while with my husband and new friends
and after eating lunch, it was time to go to the hotel to film.
I was very excited!
We were put in a smoky room that looked like a restaurant in the
hotel. I thought I wasn’t going to be in the scene, but at
the last minute a chair was available at my husband’s table,
and Ian told me to sit there. It was just right behind some of the
main character’s table! We actually had food at the table to
eat! We had salad at our table. Each table had something different.
Well to our surprise, all of a sudden George Clooney came in to
direct the scene. He was a lot shorter than I imagined. He made
a joke about the food we were eating. He said they sprayed it before
we came in but it was safe to eat. The camera was rolling while
everyone was talking and eating.
When the scene was over, we all were told to make restaurant noise
for the sound. We talked, clanked silverware, moved coffee cups,
to make the restaurant noise they wanted.
Then we went outside and were placed in different positions. I stood
in front of an old car in front of the hotel with my husband and
two other men. We were supposed to talk while people were walking
by and out of the hotel. After that, I was told to come in the hotel
lobby to make walking noises with other people. That was pretty
much all I did in Anderson.
It’s a family affair at Ware Shoals High stadium
The next week filming was the Ware Shoals High stadium. My husband
was an official, my son was a scoreboard keeper and I was a fan.
The day we went it was overcast, cold and rainy. This was my son,
Ryan’s first day. We were surprised that he was supposed to
be a scoreboard keeper. He is 14 years old.
The fan extras wrapped up a long, cold day of filming. I was left
to wait on my son and my husband. They were filming in the pouring
rain and some lightening. This was the day the football players
were muddy for filming. It was all natural. I was glad I was finally
dry. I felt sorry for everyone else out there.
The next day it was beautiful outside! I got to wear my hair down!
Couldn’t really figure out why they wanted me to change my
hair color and length, because every time we filmed, my hair was
stuffed under my hat. This day was so much fun! We were placed around
the stadium and on the field. Some were to run onto the field when
Carter made a touchdown. My son and husband were some of the ones
to run onto the field. This took a few takes.
The next assignment was to be fans on the other side of the Ware
Shoals High Stadium. My son and I got to sit together. We cheered
for the team as they were running down the field. That was a lot
of fun! Then there was a break for their great lunch. After lunch
and make-up we went back to the older stadium for an autograph scene,
leaving-the-stadium scene and to make crowd sounds for the movie.
This was a full day. It was so much fun and I’ll never forget
it. I wanted to do more, but since we were in Anderson, they couldn’t
use us anymore in SC. That didn’t stop me from sending in my
picture again when they moved to NC. I got a call again, but couldn’t
go, because they needed me to come in a couple of hours to wardrobe
fitting and I lived too far away. Oh well, I’ll try again.
One of the scenes I would have died to be in was the speakeasy scene.
I think it would have been so much fun! The odds were against me
during this time, so all I can hope for is to be an extra in another
movie sometime. This was, by far, one of the greatest experiences
of my life!
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