When members of Christ Church Cranbrook found out George Clooney wanted to film a scene from his upcoming film "The Ides of March" within its walls, they thought smart -- and did some serious good for a local charity.
Members paid $75 to sit in church pews as extras during filming. That money, along with producer fees for renting the space, will help fund All Saints Episcopal Church's Bound Together tutoring program in Pontiac. Thanks to the film fundraiser and a dinner-dance event held by the church, they were able to donate $50,000 to Bound Together.
Excerpt:
About a year ago, he said, the church registered with the Michigan Film
Commission to be considered among locations for producers to choose
from when a filming comes to town. He said Clooney and fellow producers
scouted a few churches before landing on Christ Church Cranbrook, and
that Clooney came back for a second look and personally made the
decision.
"One of the reasons we decided to charge people to be extras is because
we had to know that they'd stay for the duration of filming," said
Hall, adding that paying to be an extra equated to a sort of commitment. "They had to have the same people in the same seats … so we just
couldn't have people getting up and leaving."
Read more about the filming here.
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