Allie Hurley and her two sisters were circling around each other in the street, playing ring around the rosy, when an antique automobile pulled up.
The three girls clambered toward the vehicle and met the gaze of President-to-be Franklin D. Roosevelt, transfixed as they listened wide-eyed to his yarns.
And then the director yelled, “Cut!” and the Hurley sisters waited for take two.
Allie, 9, and her sisters, Katie, 7, and Grace, 4, were picked out of an open casting call for small roles as impoverished farm girls in the HBO film based on Roosevelt’s life, which [was] shooting scenes in Summerville [in October].
“It was fun, but there were some parts I didn’t like,” said Allie. “Sometimes you had to do stuff over and over again because they wanted to get it just right.”
["Warm Springs"], which stars Kenneth Branagh and Cynthia Nixon as Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, chronicles the former president’s struggle with polio. The crew was shooting at Summerville’s old train depot for scenes depicting Roosevelt’s search for a miracle cure in Georgia.
Though the Rome children had little performance experience other than plays at Darlington School, they were eager to be part of the movie when their family heard of the casting call, said their mother Jody Hurley.
“Their dad asked them if they’d like to try out, and they got really excited,” Hurley said. “Not too many opportunities come along like that.”
Her husband, Barry Hurley, first heard of the film when members of the production called to see if they could use some vacant land he owns in Summerville to store trailers and equipment. The couple then took the children to the casting call at Mount Berry Square mall Sept. 19, where the girls’ photos and information were taken.
About two weeks later, they received the news they were wanted on set.
“They were really excited, they kept asking a lot of questions and told all their friends,” Jody Hurley said with a laugh. “I think they thought they were going to have bigger parts than they did.”
Even though the girls had just one small scene to film, they spent more than 10 hours on set Thursday, from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. And most of that time was spent just waiting around for the cameras to be ready.
“It was a long day for (Grace) the 4-year-old,” said Jody Hurley, who loaded up her girls with coloring books, snacks and handheld video games to occupy their time.
“It was surprising,” said Allie. “It’s kind of weird that you have three days of work, but it only makes four minutes of the movie.”
Her mother said people working on the movie told her the girls had great “face time” in their scenes, meaning there’s a good chance HBO audiences will get a look at the Hurley sisters when the film is released.
Allie said she might like to work in movies again, but only “once or twice because of the hard work.” Her sisters, Katie and Grace, seemed to be more enthusiastic, their mother said.
“I think it really gave them a good appreciation of what it takes to make a movie,” Jody Hurley said. “It was a great learning experience.”
*Written by Marc Dadigan, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer, published 10/16/04
