Watch for familiar faces in the background

By THERESA HOGUE
Gazette-Times reporter

At midnight tonight, hordes of eager fans will wiggle into theater seats and clutch their hands together in excitement: The premiere of “Twilight” is here at Carmike Cinema 12. The tale of love between a mortal teen and her vampire paramour has struck a chord with readers around the world. The film is the adaptation of the first book.

In addition to the “Twilight” series’ countless fans, local people who actually appear in the film are planning to be at tonight’s showing. Because “Twilight” was filmed in the Pacific Northwest, a number of local actors had the chance to be extras in the film, and some of them spoke Wednesday about their on-set experiences.

Tiffany Welch of Corvallis has been appearing as an extra in films her entire life, following in the footsteps of her father, who was also a movie extra. When her son Logan was born, Welch decided to introduce him to the family tradition, first in community theater and later on film sets.

Logan, 20, has taught at the Majestic and acted in community plays, including productions at Oregon State University. Being on a film set has opened his eyes to a different style of acting.

“It was a really interesting contrast, being on the set as opposed to the theater,” he said. Also, film scenes are shot out of sequence from the script, usually to make the most efficient use of sets and actors. And acting for the camera is different.

“Film allows you a much more subtle and internal performance,” he said.

Welch and her son are part of Extras Only, a Portland-based company that helps films find extras. So when “Twilight” producers had difficulty finding a stand-in for Robert Pattinson, the starring actor who portrays vampire Edward, Logan got the call. He bears a striking physical resemblance to Pattinson — so much so that producers hired Logan Welch to be Edward’s body double, photo double and even his occasional stunt double.

While he hadn’t heard of the vampire series before being hired, he bought the books at the Book Bin and admitted that he got hooked on the series right away.

“I was really impressed with the story. It was an interesting take on vampires,” he said.

Logan Welch spent three months on set, took a break from his classes at Linn-Benton Community College and quit his part-time job in order to be in the film. Initially he was a stand-in for Pattinson, but because Pattinson was doing so much shooting, it quickly became apparent that there were times Pattinson couldn’t be in two places at once.

That’s when Logan’s participation grew. His tasks included driving a Volvo through the woods, smashing a desk and yanking logs from a hillside. Scenes where Edward’s face wasn’t in the frame became Logan’s, which he could shoot while Pattinson was filming elsewhere.

“He was very busy,” Logan said — but not too busy to spend time with his stand-in. Logan said he enjoyed hanging out and working with Pattinson.

“He’s a great guy; very cool, very talented,” he said.

Tiffany Welch also was cast as an extra. She appears in the background as a cafeteria worker and a teacher. She was on set quite a bit, but not nearly as much as her son. In addition to Logan’s many tasks doubling for Pattinson, Logan’s work as an extra included appearing as a patron in a café and as a prom photographer.

“We like to watch the whole process; the behind-the-scenes is very interesting,” Tiffany said.

Logan, who plans on attending the midnight premiere of the film, hasn’t learned yet whether he’ll participate in the film adaptations of the rest of the Twilight series, but he said he’d be thrilled to continue working with the cast and crew.

“I can honestly say it’s the best film experience I’ve had so far.”

Tyler Nordby, a 2006 graduate of Crescent Valley High School, also was chosen to work on “Twilight” through Extras Only. He plays the role of a high school student who appears prominently in many scenes.

“The director specifically picked a few people to be ‘familiar faces,’” Nordby said — extras who appear consistently throughout the film.

Although he doesn’t have any speaking lines, Nordby does have some close-up scenes and appears in classroom scenes behind main characters, in parking lot shots and during prom.

Because Nordby was in so many scenes, he took a break last spring from his studies at Linn-Benton Community College so he could be in Portland for filming.

“It was exciting to see the stars and get to know and meet all the different people,” he said. “It is definitely a different environment.”

Like Logan Welch, Nordby will be lining up to see the film’s premiere tonight, and he’s already looking ahead to the second “Twilight” film:

“I would love to do more work with them.”

To view a trailer for “Twilight” that briefly features both Welch and Nordby, see www.gazettetimes.com/gt

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