Local couple attends movie premiere
If you’re going to a Hollywood premiere, it doesn’t hurt to be special guests of the director. That’s how Larry Franks of Brownsville and Natalie Doman of Grindstone enjoyed last Thursday’s Hollywood premiere of “The Dukes of Hazzard’ movie at Grauman’s Chinese theater which they attended as special guests of director Jay Chandrasekhar. The film, based on the popular television show, will open nationwide in theaters today.
“It was incredible – unbelievable,’ said Franks, 24, of the premiere that allowed him and Doman to walk the red carpet, see themselves in the movie as extras, and be taken to an after-premiere party where they had access to the movie’s stars, including Burt Reynolds, Willie Nelson and Jessica Simpson.
“They were like normal people,’ said Doman, 23. “Nobody was arrogant. It was just a laid-back, fun party.’
Franks, the son of Larry and Renee Franks, graduated from Brownsville Area High School in 1999 and from California University in 2003 with a general studies degree. He recently finished a master’s degree in multimedia technology.
Doman, the daughter of William and Janet Doman, graduated from Brownsville Area High School in 2000 and from California University in 2004 with a degree in elementary education. She is working on a master’s degree as a reading specialist and works as a substitute teacher.
Franks, who was born in 1981, is a lifelong fan of “The Dukes of Hazzard,’ originally a television show that debuted in 1979 about a Southern family featuring cousins Bo, Luke and Daisy Duke and their Uncle Jesse who were in constant battle against Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in Hazzard County while balladeer Waylon Jennings told their stories. Another star of the show was the Duke boys’ car, an orange 1969 Dodge Charger called the General Lee.
Franks so enjoyed the show as a child that his family took to calling the blond-haired boy “Bo’ and would buy him “Dukes of Hazzard’ toy cars that started him on the way to the fantastic collection of “Dukes’ memorabilia housed in his bedroom.
“The Dukes of Hazzard’ went off the air in 1985, and it would be 10 years before The Nashville Network (TNN) started showing reruns. Franks enjoyed them all over again as well as the reunion movies. Eventually, TNN went off the air and Franks started a campaign to persuade Country Music Television (CMT) to broadcast the show. CMT started doing so earlier this year in anticipation of the “Dukes of Hazzard’ movie.
Franks introduced Doman, his girlfriend, to the “Dukes of Hazzard’ and she enjoys it almost as much as he does. The two have been to conventions and met all the living cast members in personal appearances, including Franks’ hero John Schneider, who played Bo Duke in the television series.
It was this devotion to the show that enabled Franks and Doman to win parts as extras in the film last January. Franks discovered casting agents on the Internet and asked if he and Doman could be extras. Doman was especially thrilled that Simpson was cast as Daisy Duke. Doman is a big fan of the singer and was glad that her interest in Simpson and Franks’ interest in the “Dukes of Hazzard’ found common ground.
At the agents’ requests, Franks sent photos that included one with his collection and one with the couple in front of a replica of the General Lee. They were flown to Louisiana last January to film crowd scenes for a race in which the Dukes try to win back their farm.
Later, Franks entered a contest to be The Vice President of the CMT Dukes of Hazzard Institute, which gave the winner a job as liaison between the network and fans – a one-year job at a salary of $100,000.
Franks became a finalist and was flown to Nashville in May where he was put up in a suite at the Nashville Hilton. He did interviews on CMT, met the judges who included Ben Jones, who played Cooter on the television series. Franks had previously met Jones.
“I didn’t get the job but it was a lot of fun,’ said Franks.
But since losing the job meant losing a chance to go to the Hollywood premiere, Franks tried another tactic. He wrote a letter two months ago to the director, explaining how the CMT job didn’t work out and how much he wanted to attend the premiere.
“Last Tuesday, I was on the beach at Bethany in Maryland and I got a call on my cell phone from the director’s assistant who said you’re invited to the premiere in Las Angeles on Thursday. I had two days to get there,’ said Franks. “It was a whirlwind. We had to drive home, catch a flight to Los Angeles. But it was awesome. It was so much fun.’
Franks and Doman were invited to walk the red carpet and mingle with the stars with Doman especially excited to meet Simpson.
“Natalie thought it was incredible and she had her picture taken with Nick Lachey (Simpson’s husband),’ said Franks.
“She was very nice. I’m a huge fan and for me to see her was great,’ said Doman of Simpson.
She added of the premiere, “It was unbelievable to be somewhere you could only see on TV. It was like a dream come true. Everyone was so nice and accessible.’
In fact, the director informed the cast that Franks and Doman were coming. Knowing they were such great fans of the series, everyone wanted the Fayette County couple’s opinion on the movie.
“(Chandrasekhar) was so nice and he wanted to know what we thought of it,’ Franks said. “…He was so cool.’
Asked what they thought of the movie Franks commented, “I thought it was great, really funny and the stunts were incredible. And seeing us in the movie, I couldn’t imagine how great it was going to be.’
Doman noted this film is rated PG-13, but commented, “They pushed the envelope, but it’s funny. We saw ourselves five or six times in the race scenes in the stands. We were clearly in one shot even though it’s quick. It was really exciting. The most exciting thing was to be in Hollywood and see ourselves in Grauman’s Chinese Theater on the screen. That was so exciting.’
Besides the “Dukes of Hazzard’ stars, Franks and Doman met other Hollywood celebrities, including actor Seth Green of the “Austin Powers’ film series, “Desperate Housewives’ actress Eva Longoria and director Quentin Tarintino.
Speaking of Tarintino, Franks said, “I met him at the premiere of ‘Land of the Dead’ in Pittsburgh and he remembered me.’
One of the biggest thrills of the night was for Franks to see Schneider, who played Bo Duke in the television series, turn up for the premiere.
“I flipped out because he’s my hero,’ he said, noting Schneider remembered meeting Franks before at other personal appearances Schneider made for his fans.
And Nelson offered a fantastic hourlong concert at the premiere party, which Franks said was a casual affair that included hay on the ground, picnic tables, carnival games and barbeque.
“Everything was perfect. It couldn’t be better,’ Franks said.
The couple is grateful to Chandrasekhar for giving them this opportunity.
“It was unbelievable,’ Franks said of the experience. “I couldn’t have thought of a better way to see California.’