Cinematic castle
New movie films at Brownsville location BROWNSVILLE -The scene at Nemacolin Castle Monday was relaxed as several short scenes were shot for the movie “Pie Head: A Kinda’ True Story,” featuring California Borough native Hollis McLachlan.
Although several movies have been filmed in Brownsville, Brownsville Historical Society member Bruce Hall said it was the first time the historic home has been included in a movie.
“As a little kid I always wanted to make a film here, even knowing nothing about the industry,” McLachlan said. “So, now I’m here doing that. Some people might think it’s minor, but I’m carrying out one of my dreams and that’s important to me.”
Extras on the set included her grandfather, Lou Petrucci, his buddy, Frankie Stasko, and her little brother, Gregory Louis. McLachlan’s mother, former California Borough attorney Louann Petrucci, also plays the mother in the movie and co-wrote the screenplay with McLachlan. She is also serving as the executive producer.
“These are memories that I’m making that not many people in Hollywood have,” McLachlan said.
When Hollie Glumac of Grindstone, one of Louann Petrucci’s old friends, showed up to say hello, she ended up as an extra also. McLachlan greeted Glumac with a hug, introducing her to the crew by saying, “I was named for this person.”
“I wanted to find a Scottish name if I had a daughter. Hollis is a native Scottish plant,” Louann Petrucci said. “This was during the 1984 Olympics. I thought, if she’s an Olympian or a television anchor or in the public, she needs a name that’s distinguished. I never thought about her being an actress.”
Although her mother wanted a distinguished name for her daughter, the baby still ended up with nicknames, including Pie Head, which, McLachlan says, was always used lovingly.
“I was just looking through an old album and there was a photo of her at five months and pie head does come to mind,” Glumac said. “She turned into such a beautiful girl and talented actress.”
McLachlan is not one for putting on airs, running out to the parking lot in the middle of shooting a scene to grab a copy of the script from the mini-Winnebago she uses as her traveling wardrobe, makeup and equipment center.
“It’s such a small production, everyone pitches in wherever they’re needed,” McLachlan said.
“The first rule on this job is ‘No Divas,'” Louann Petrucci said.
Louann Petrucci said that was the top requirement during casting calls as well and she actually turned down one name actress who was interested in being in the movie when the woman’s agent began making demands. The “diva” rule applies to everyone. At one point, she told her son Gregory that he’d be fired if he didn’t settle down and cooperate. The 12-year-old got the message.
The film bug goes back well beyond the current generations.
“My dad’s 89,” Louann Petrucci said. “I found out that my dad’s mom wrote screenplays in the late ’20s and early ’30s. She would write them and send them in. One that she sent in someone in Hollywood pilfered and it became a hit movie. She was crushed and never wrote another thing,” Louann Petrucci said.
Louann Petrucci said she is working with the son of Donald Bellisario of Belisarius Productions to try to track down the movie her grandmother may have written. Bellisario was originally from Cokeburg, Washington County.