A Glenwood native who is making his directorial debut was in Hot Springs this week, and he brought a Hemsworth brother with him.
After years as an actor, Clark Duke is now directing a movie that he wrote and is staring in. The "Arkansas" cast includes Liam Hemsworth, one of the stars of "The Hunger Games" film series.
Hemsworth, brother to "Thor" actor Chris Hemsworth, and Duke play members of the real-life Dixie Mafia. They are drug runners who work for a kingpin played by Vince Vaughn.
Despite being called "Arkansas," the majority of the film was shot in Alabama. Three locations, though, were shot in Hot Springs -- the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, Maxine's and the Fordyce Bath House on Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs National Park.
The cast and crew spent several days in the Spa City, and numerous people have been posting their encounters with Hemsworth on social media. Photos of him with fans at places like Kollective Coffee+Tea, State & Pride Provisions Company, and DeLuca's Pizza found their way to social media sites.
One person who encountered Hemsworth at a local Kroger store wasn't aware it was the famous actor.
Diana Bramlett was shopping when she noticed a young man on the same aisle as her. While the man looked familiar, Bramlett said she couldn't place him. The man then approached her and complimented her Beatles T-shirt.
When Bramlett got home, she saw a picture of Hemsworth, and told her daughter that she thought she had met him. She then saw one of the many photos of Hemsworth in Hot Springs, and saw that Hemsworth was wearing the same clothes in the photos as when she met him.
"He was just such a nice guy, my daughter wishes she had met him," Bramlett said.
A number of local people got to not only see or meet Hemsworth, but also got to act with him. A club scene filmed at Maxine's required extras.
One extra was Erica Trusty. Trusty went from being in the background to getting to interact with the stars when she was selected to be a stand-in for lead actress Erica Brolin.
Trusty said she heard about the movie when she saw a casting call for extras on Facebook. On a whim, she decided to apply. Two days later she had the job.
When she arrived at the filming location, Trusty said that a member of the crew asked her to stand up, then had her follow her to the set. Over the next 45 minutes, Trusty and another extra were stand-ins for the stars of the movie. They had to stand still while the crew set up lighting and cameras.
While standing there, the rest of the extras were put in place. Trusty said she assumed that this meant she would be at the back of the room, but instead the crew gave her a job in the scene. She had to walk across the room, pick up some prop drinks, then carry them back across the room.
"It was really cool. I just thought I'd be in the background, but I got to actually work in the scene," Trusty said.
Trusty said that getting to see how movie making works was a great experience. She also said that everybody from Duke to Brolin, to all the other crew members were very nice.
In total, Trusty spent around five hours on set.
"It was just a really long, random, wonderful day," Trusty said.
Another person in the scene was actor Trent Beals.
Beals, who has appeared in movies like "The House with a Clock in its Walls" and the TV show "This Is Us" said that he has a very small part in "Arkansas."
In the club, Beals throws something at Hemsworth, causing a scene.
"Working with Hemsworth was a great experience," Beals said.
Beals seemed impressed with how well Hemsworth was able to do his job on set considering last week, Hemsworth's house in California was one of the homes destroyed in the wildfires.
"Liam was great working with, though he ... seemed very distracted, understandably due to the loss of his home a few days earlier," Beals said.
The film is "a great experience for our state here in Arkansas," Beals said.
Duke's cousin, Bob Driggers, was on set for the filming. Driggers also seemed to like Hemsworth, saying he was "just a nice, laid-back, good fellow."
He also said that Hemsworth attracted a large crowd of young women while they were filming downtown.
"At least 150 of them just hanging around for a glimpse of him," Driggers said.
Driggers also said that part of the inspiration for this movie is that he and Duke have a relative that was a member of the Dixie Mafia.
This was the second trip to town that the crew has made. Driggers said that they came around two months ago to scout for locations. The ones who made this happen, according to Driggers, include Mayor Pat McCabe, director of marketing at Visit Hot Springs, Bill Solleder, the National Park Service and the Hot Springs Police Department.
Local on 11/21/2018