In her younger days, Lisa Massey had stars in her eyes.
“I had dreams of going to Hollywood and becoming an actress,” Massey said. “But then I started a family here in Turlock and while I still loved everything about performing, I couldn’t imagine going to L.A. I loved it here in Turlock.”
Like so many others, Massey’s dreams of stardom were put on the back burner. But now, Hollywood — via Turlock — is beckoning to Massey and thousands others like her, who are hoping to land a spot in the movie actor Corbin Bernsen is set to film in Turlock.
“I thought it would be just a little taste of what it might have been like in Hollywood,” Massey said.
Bernsen was treated to the sights and sounds of Turlock by the Turlock Film Commission and he was so charmed with the city that he decided it would be the primary filming location for his next movie.
As an added bonus, Home Theater Films, Bernsen’s production company, announced it would be holding open casting calls to fill all the extra roles and behind the scenes crew.
After two days of casting that saw more than a thousand people come out for a chance to be part of the movie, Bernsen is equally charmed with the citizenry of Turlock.
“I’m more than shocked,” Bernsen said of the response to the casting call. “It’s been great.”
Bernsen added that he might be including in a few additional scenes to accommodate the swell of enthusiasm people have had for the project.
The chance to be part of a movie and have just the slightest opportunity to be discovered was a strong lure to many of those waiting in the snaking line.
“I came mostly for the experience,” said Hilmar resident Donovan Smith. “I’ve often thought that if I lived in L.A. I would be auditioning more. But since it’s here, it just seemed like now was the time to give it a try. If it pans out into something more, then all the better.”
While many came clutching secret dreams of stardom, others like California State University, Stanislaus' Katie Den Dulk and Amanda Thatcher joined the long line as a lark.
“We were talking about it on our lunch break and on the spur of the moment decided to do it,” Den Dulk said.
“I thought it would be fun,” Thatcher said. “I’ve been a fan of Corbin Bernsen and his show ‘Psych’ for awhile. Then I found out he was a Christian and I thought it would be a good project to be a part of.”
The film, written and directed by Bernsen, is a romantic comedy about a young woman who goes looking for Mr. Right through a dating website.
Filming is slated to begin Dec. 3 and is expected to last about three weeks.
