The Putnam Scoop

The movie “Shelter” is supposed to be a horror/thriller and at least part of it takes place in West Virginia. Casting calls have been sent out for this movie, and that’s why I’m writing.

The Associated Press says the casting call asked for people “who are extraordinarily tall or short, with unusual body shapes or facial features, especially eyes, even people with physical abnormalities as long as they have normal mobility.” They are mainly looking for children, and said, “Regular looking children need not apply.” Click here for more.

Ahem. Pardon me for a moment while I’m offended.

OK, now I can write.

West Virginia gave you Jennifer Garner and Brad Paisley. Michael W. Smith hails from our beautiful hills, and I’ve had the pleasure of hearing him sing in his home church. Kathy Mattea grew up just down the road. Heard of Bobaflex? (I bet you will!)

Like sports? How about Randy Moss? He’s one of us. Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton is a West Virginian. Jerry West, in the top 50 of all time NBA players, is from West Virginia. Heard of George Brett? You guessed it.

Like your heroes a little goofy? Don Knotts is from here, and Bob Denver (Gilligan) chose to retire here. (The man was no fool!) Hottie John Corbett (Sex in the City, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) is West Virginian.

If you need a dose of “Y’all watch this”, we have Chuck Yeager, first guy to fly twice the speed of sound. OH, YEAH.

Pearl Buck wrote the The Good Earth and won a Pulitzer Prize for it. Not too shabby. Did you see Rocket Boys? Homer Hickam. One of us.

Jennings Randolph gave you the right to vote at age 18 rather than 21. (He had to push for that 11 times, you be sure to use it.)

OK, maybe you’ve heard of some of them. Let me tell you about the non-famous ones.

I know of West Virginia families where every adult has rearranged their work schedules to care for their elderly so they aren’t alone left alone or in a nursing home.

I know a West Virginia family that had four kids of their own, and still took in two orphans. And then a foster child. Hearts here grow wide.

West Virginia is one of the poorest states, and yet we have one of the lowest crime rates in the nation. I will never believe that poverty causes crime. Desperation causes crime. We take care of each other here. We’ll keep you fed and clothed, and if you need shelter we’ll help you with that, too. It’s not embarrassing to one person to ask for help, because we know when he’s back on his feet he’s going to be helping someone else. It’s just how it is.

I know it’s a movie, and you’re taking dramatic license. Pfft. My West Virginians are everyday heroes. You’re making the wrong movie.

Update: The casting director for this movie has been fired for releasing such an insensitive casting call.  

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 7:35 pm and is filed under WV Life, WV News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.