DAMMN!!! Look who's in town! :evil: How to stalk!?
Movie star, penguins invade WEMJessica Alba in town to film new romantic comedy
Published: Friday, August 04, 2006
EDMONTON - A masseuse, a psychiatrist and being filmed only from the left side -- these were some of the demands on the set of Jessica Alba's new movie, Good Luck Chuck.
But the requests were not from Alba. They were from her Edmonton co-stars: 15 African penguins.
"The call sheets became quite funny," said Bill Vigars, one of the film's publicists. "Each of the penguins has their own name and personality."
The demands were a joke, of course, written by a production assistant.
But the penguins, which are owned by West Edmonton Mall, did draw the film away from its main set location in Vancouver to Edmonton for a week.
It would have been too much trouble to transport all the birds that were required for the shoot, so the production came to them.
Filming has been going on all week at a south-side studio.
"Our penguins are quite media savvy," said Kim Evans, spokeswoman for the West Edmonton Mall Marine Life Education program. "You'd probably recognize them best from the Telus commercials they've done."
Good Luck Chuck is about a man who becomes a good-luck charm for women when they discover that each woman he breaks up with gets engaged to the next guy she dates.
When Chuck, played by Dane Cook, meets Alba's character and wants to marry her, he strives to break the pattern.
Alba's character is a penguin keeper, which is why the animals were required, Vigars said.
There are only three cities in North America -- Edmonton, Montreal and Chicago -- where African penguins are kept and the Alberta capital was the most accommodating, he said.
Despite lightning striking their plane on the flight in, Alba and Cook have taken a liking to Edmonton, Vigars said.
Although she hasn't been to West Edmonton Mall yet, Alba went straight to Winners to do some shopping as soon as she arrived last weekend.
Vigars said the star has bonded with the penguins, and has taken a particular shining to one named Tweeblik.
African penguins are ideal for acting since they do not require as cold an environment as other types, Evans said. The birds had three to five handlers with them on set at all times to ensure they were property treated.
The penguins won't be the only Edmontonians on screen when Good Luck Chuck hits theatres. Fifty local actors were hired as extras for the shoot, which wraps up today.
"Edmonton has been absolutely wonderful," Vigars said, adding that when the film is released, there is a possibility of having a premiere here with the penguins on hand.
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=9cb45491-2979-4c1c-a57b-22eb72e43a27&k=42761
Topic: Jessica Alba (Read 124939 times)