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Dairy Queen Buzz on Tom Cruise:
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Lexington Dairy Queen employee Brandy Carter
holds a
chocolate-dipped cone like the one she made for Tom Cruise. |
"He's HOT Honey!"
By: Beth Jones
beth.jones@roanoke.com |
The Washington and Lee campus isn't
exactly buzzing over the visit Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise
made to Rockbridge County last month. Steve Martinenza, a
senior at the school, said, "It didn't excite me that
much." Other W&L students either hadn't heard about
the celebrity visit or, like Martinenza, don't care enough
to bring it up in conversation.
Doug Harwood, publisher of The Rockbridge Advocate, was equally
apathetic about Spielberg, Cruise and their handlers. having
scouted the county on Sept. 29 as a possible location for
Spielberg's upcoming adaptation of War of the Worlds. "It's
not uncommon for movie folks to be out here." Harwood
said.
Indeed, Robert Duvall come to town to shoot "Gods and
Generals" in 2001. Back in 1992, Richard Gere and Jodie
Foster filmed "Sommersby" there.
Harwood was equally blase about the fact that a scouting
agent for Paramount Pictures (distributor of "War of
the Worlds") had left a business card on the door of
his home. Margot, Harwood's wife, tossed it in the trash.
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The employees down at the Lexington Dariy Queen,
though, made no pretense to such nonchalance. Elvis himself
could have risen from the dead and walked in for a fried
peanut butter and banana sandwich and the wouldn't have been
half as excited as they were about Cruise and Spielberg (well,
mostly about Cruise). But then, they actually got to meet
the pair.
It was exactly 3:12 pm when Cruise placed his order at the
Dairy Queen. Wanda Woodward, the restaurant's manager, knows
this because she saved the receipt from the once-in-a-lifetime
transaction.
Employee Brandy Carter was first to realize that the man
who'd just walked in was Thomas Cruise Mapother IV. Mr. Top
Gun was hiding behind a pair of blue and grey sunglasses,
but Carter could tell a bonafide movie star when she saw
one. "Somebody that gorgeous, it's hard not to notice," said
the 25-year old.
Cruise simultaneously studied the menu while talking on his
cellphone. Carter said it sounded like he was talking to
one of his two children. Then he made his order: a medium
vanilla cone dipped in chocolate. Carter tried to fix his
ice cream, but she was having a difficult time keeping her
mind on the job. "I ended up doing all the orders because
Brandy was worthless," Woodward said (in a non-cranky
manner).
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Although he attracted considerably
less attention, Spielberg was there, too. He ordered an Oreo
Blizzard. After the celebrities sat down with their ice cream,
a member of their posse told Carter it would be OK to ask
for an autograph. After spending the day at Dariy Queen,
Carter said her hair "wasn't exactly like I would have
wanted it to be for meeting Tom Cruise." She grabbed
a piece of paper from the fax machine and walked nervously
over to him anyway.
Cruise asked Carter her name, and if she spelled it with
a 'y' or and 'i.' When he finished signing, Carter boldly
asked for a hug. (Note to the ladies: Ask and ye shall receive.)
Carter, who is single, figures they hugged for at least three
minutes. "He smelled so good." Carter raved. "I
don't know what his cologne was called, but it smelled like
jasmine."
Carter also asked Spielberg for an autograph (but did not
request a hug). The Academy Award-winning director complied,
and told her Lexington was beautiful.
After a bit, the group told Carter they had a flight to catch
at an airport that was an hour away. She figures they headed
to Roanoke Regional. Once the celebrities left the building,
Carter said all the employees were in shock--but not the
kind of shock that renders a person speechless.
"
OK," she admitted, "Yes, there was a lot of shrieking." Even
Woodward, whom Carter describes as the mellow type, was visibly
stoked. "He's shorter than what he looks like on screen,
but he's still hot, honey," the manager said.
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Carter admitted spending the 90 minutes left on her shift
calling her friends to gloat. Since no one in the restaurant
had a camera to capture the brush with fame, the employees
checked the security camera to see if it had captured Cruise's
mug. Tragically, all they saw was a blurry face.
Though weeks have passed, Carter vividly remembers the magic of the moment. If
she had set down to make a list of celebrities she most wanted to visit Dairy
Queen, Brandy said, Cruise would have been at the top (though possibly tied with
Brad Pitt).
" It's not every day you get to meet a celebrity of the magnitude of Tom
Cruise," she gushed. After a moment, she admitted that meeting Spielberg
was pretty cool, too. |
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Will "War of the Worlds" be
filmed in Virginia? |
Martians may soon invade Rockbridge County.
No need to hide in your basement, though. This is good
news. If the Martians land, they'll likely bring along
the creme de la creme of Hollywood: Mr. Tom Cruise.
On Sept. 29, Cruise and Academy Award-winning director
Steven Spielberg toured the county, looking for filming
locations for scenes in their upcoming big-budget movie "War
of the Worlds," an adaptation of the 1898 sci-fi novel
by H.G. Wells about a Martian invasion. If the famous duo
does decide to shoot part of "War of the Worlds" in
the area, it will mark the second time they've filmed a
portion of a movie in Virginia. Scenes for 2002's "Minority
Report" were filmed in the commonwealth.
During a Wednesday phone interview, Andrew Edmunds, spokesman
for the Virginia Film Office, declined to speak extensively
about the office's work with Paramount Pictures, the studio
distributing the film. The concern, he said, is the Spielberg
and Co. might be bothered by media attention and take the
movie to another state. With a major motion picture, Edmunds
went on, any number of factors--the media, say, or a change
in the weather--could keep Hollywood from coming to town.
"I don't believe they're here until they're on the
ground and the camera is rolling," he said. "What
we don't like to do," said Edmunds, "is get people
excited and then let it fall through and create some disappointment."
On Thursday, after talking with the publicist for "War
of the Worlds," Edmunds was able to confirm the the
Virginia Film Office "had been scouting with this
client, a repeat customer" and that is was "very
exciting to be helping him find locations for a piece of
this film. It's an opportunity for Virginia to keep building
a positive relationship with this client," he said. |
"War of the Worlds" Facts
- Other adaptations include Orson Welles' famous 1938
radio broadcast (which convinced some terrified listeners
that Martians had invaded the planet) and Byron Haskin's
1953 film.
- In September, indie-production company Pendragon
Pictures announced it had wrapped principal photography
on it own adaptation of the film.
- It will also star Tim Robbins and 10-year-old Dakota
Fanning ("Cat in the Hat").
- Other filming locations include Bayonne, N.J., and
New York City.
- The Screenplay is by David Koepp ("Panic Room" and
"Mission Impossible").
- Cruise may become the highest-earning actor in Hollywood.
Rather than a set fee for "War of the Worlds," he will
earn 10% of the box office take, plus a share of profits
from DVD's, toys and other movie tie-ins. Experts estimate
he could earn $360 million.
- It may surpass "Titanic" ($198 million) as the most
expensive movie ever made.
Source: imdb.com |
Jean Clark, director of tourism
for Lexington and the Rockbridge area, also spent time
assisting the filmmaker. When Spielberg and Cruise visited
the area, she said, the Maury River was high due to rain
from Tropical Depression Jeanne. After it receded, location
scouts decided it no longer had the flow they needed for
a particular scene. But, Clark added, the scouts also have
looked at two other possible sites for filming scenes.
In exchange for helping the filmmakers, Paramount sent
Clark's office a fall mix boquet. "First time we ever
got flowers from a major movie company," she said. "It's
nice to get acknowledged, to have someone appreciate when
you go the extra mile."
Luring the filmmakers to Virginia will have rewards for
beyond niceties and a taste of glamour. a locality could
keep a quarter to a third of what the filmmakers spend
on pre-production work, filming and post-production work,
according to Edmunds. |
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Celebrity Field Guide
Tom Cruise, age: 42
Identifying Characteristics: petite (5 feet, 7 inches tall),
great smile and overall gorgeousness. May be wearing sunglasses
as disguise. Smells of jasmine. Enjoys the simple goodness
of vanilla ice cream.
Key Fact: Willing to hug strangers if asked politely.
Steven Spielberg, age 57
Identifying Characteristics: Enjoys Oreo's blended in his
soft-serve. Beard, glasses.
Key Fact: May be traveling with Tom Cruise.
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