Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master," to which I gave four stars in today's Bee, was shot partly in Vallejo, Oakland and on Mare Island.
But at least one cast member is even more local. Four-year-old Lorelai Hoey of Sacramento appears in the film as the daugher of Philip Seymour Hoffman 's and Amy Adams' characters.
Lorelai (shown in the photo above, with Adams and Hoffman) doesn't have a speaking role, but she appears in several scenes.
Hoffman and Adams "were so sweet and loving and kind" to her daughter on set, said Lorelai's mother, Britany Hoey. Director Anderson was kind as well, she said, and took an "organic" approach to the shoot.
Lorelai, then 3, wasn't aware of who the actors were or that she was shooting a movie. But she was a natural in her first acting role. "She took direction well," Hoey said.
Mom and daughter now have seen Lorelai's photo twice in People magazine. "She is kind of recognizing it is her," Hoey said. "We say, 'Remember when you got to play pretend?' But I don't think she understands."
Britany, a kindergarten teacher, had last summer free and answered a casting call for siblings. Lorelai and her now 2-year-old brother, Liam, won the roles. But Liam appears little in the final cut.
"He was not so in to being on a movie set," Hoey said of her son, who was just about to turn 1 when the film was shot.
"The Master" is rated R, so Lorelai cannot see herself on screen.
"We are waiting for it to come out on DVD, and we can show her just her scenes," Hoey said.
PHOTO: THE WEINSTEIN CO.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.